1992 Volkswagen Jetta GL 1.8

Summary:

Small, durable, reliable, but not perfect

Faults:

Battery died in the winter of '05, starting in deep cold still touchy even with fresh battery.

5th gear blew up on the interstate at 209k, drove home in 4th gear.

Burns 1.5 quarts of oil between changes.

Door handles break semi-regularly; poor material.

Loud interior road noise at speeds above 45mph.

General Comments:

Great on gas, 35mpg even at 70mph.

Feels good to drive, very solid car.

Handles turns very well.

Deceptively large trunk space.

Decent backseat space for a small car.

Great for DIY mechanic.

Still runs great after 227k miles and 15 years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th February, 2007

1992 Volkswagen Jetta GL 1.8

Summary:

Great car, I might just wait another year or two for the next

Faults:

Twice all the engine sensors went out. Mass airflow sensor, throttle body sensor etc. 60k and 80k.

At 100k starter went bad.

Batteries seem to die every year or two all brands.

General Comments:

Other than the sensors, which cost $800 each time to fix and the strange battery problem, I have done nothing, but put gas in and go. It still looks good, drives good, no minor, no major issues. For the first 50k miles I was good and serviced it regularly. Now it might get an oil change every other year.

Dealer service is a mixed bag. In 1992 it was awful to buy a VW, salesmen from the dark ages. Tried 4 dealers. Service dept in 90's was great though. Always fixed problems (sensors) the first time, fast for any recall work. The last visit though about in 03 or 04 for the sensors second failure was a nightmare. Line out into the street from all the cars waiting to be serviced, took days to fix the sensors and when I picked up the car it ran bad and then wouldn't restart at the dealers lot.

I love my Jetta, I am finaly going to retire it this year. I love the look of the new Jetta GLI's or as I'm getting older the Passat looks nice too. I'm scared to death though of the reliability issues the last 8 years or so, and even more so about the poor dealer and company service.

Acura TSX.. Jetta GLI.. Honda(boring)Accord. Do I go with my heart or with my head.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th June, 2006

7th Jun 2006, 10:28

Based on what we read on this web site, you should probably go with your head and buy an Accord or a Camry.

However if you are like me, you'll more than likely go with your heart and take your chance on a new Jetta or Passat.

I too am very hesitant to buy a new one, due to the horrendous reliability issues and poor dealer/manufacturer service over the past few years. I hope VW gets its act together and starts taking better care of its customers!!!

I'm planning on keeping my 1993 Cabriolet going for as long as I possibly can. It's been great thus far!!! I never want to get rid of it!

Whatever you do, best of luck!

24th Aug 2006, 23:00

I disagree with that comment personally, I had a 2000 VW golf and the only problem I had was with the turbo. in '05 I bought an 05 golf that was totaled last week, again NO electrical problems, but my turbo on it went a week before (note both cars where TDI's)

12th Oct 2007, 18:13

I had an experience with 2 VW's, a '90 jetta, and a '90 golf. both had a similar problem of running hot when driving slow or stopping for more than a short time. my Jetta would actually overheat and boil over if I wasn't careful. perhaps yours is doing the same thing, but the pressure isn't releasing? I don't know a real lot about coolant systems, but I assume there must be some kind of temp/pressure relief valve in there for when the car overheats, could that be your problem?