I would not buy another VW!
The floor in the back on the passenger's side gets soaked whenever it rains. The problem seems to be getting worse.
I can't believe VW would not want to address this issue!!
It's a decent car, built nice and heavy.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 20th November, 2006
Great little car !
I have had no problems with this car yet.
The 1998 Jetta has been the most reliable car I have owned. Great on gas mileage. Plenty of power. I have nothing negative to say about this car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 10th October, 2006
A quick, spacious, and durable little car
The car handles great and is very quick for a 2.0l engine.
The interior doesn't look to great, but it is surprisingly spacious.
The car feels solid, although the steering feels a little too loose.
This car was maintained very poorly by my girlfriend, but it held up for 174,000 with very minor problems (axle and starter had to be replaced). The car still runs, although the transmission waits until the rpm goes very high (about 4000/5000 rpm) for it to change gear.
I am very satisfied with the car and would probably purchase another VW, despite the claims of poor quality of other Jetta owners.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 19th September, 2006
Expensive nightmare
Everything...
In 2003 I had to replace the transmission at $2000.
A few months after that, the whole exhaust system went - $350.
Now my car is overheating and I've replaced 4 different parts in the cooling system including the radiator. VW dealer said the radiator was clogged, but they were WRONG!!! - already spent about $400 and the problem is not fixed.
I wanted this car so badly. I loved it at first. I still like it somewhat, but have had so many major problem with it that I would never buy a VW again.
My father is my mechanic and has taken care of the car to a tee.
This car does not live up to its reputation.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 28th May, 2006
An amazing all around car
Had the car two weeks and got into an accident, rear ended some idiot who stopped in the middle of an intersection because the light went yellow. Although the accident probably couldn't have been avoided I noticed the braking performance on this car is the worst I've experienced.
After the accident I found out how expensive VW parts are and how hard they are to acquire in my neck of the woods.
Repaired the front end and I am now having big problems with power loss. I think it might be because of the turbo, but I am not a mechanic and am only guessing.
The car comes with keyless entry and an alarm and when I bought the car "as is" I had to use the remote to unlock the doors otherwise the alarm activates. Also the key won't open the trunk anymore.
First diesel I've owned and it has some strange quirks when it comes to starting the engine from cold state. Lots of smoke and have to turn the key on and off 3 times, allowing the glow plugs to warm each time before the engine will start. Actually seems to start easier in the winter than in the summer.
As I mentioned before, the brakes are horrible on this car, but other than that it is the greatest car I have driven.
It was definitely built for the autobahn. It hugs the road and I love driving it at high speeds on winding roads.
Only 100 hp, but 173 ft*lbs of torque and 5 speed standard gives it great acceleration and powers up hills.
Great sound system with 8 speakers.
The greatest thing about this car is its fuel economy. I get 800 kms in the city on 55 litres of diesel and over 1000 kms on the highway if I keep the speed below 130 kph, which is hard to do in this car.
The trunk space is huge, excellent car for a gangster as you could easily fit 3 bodies in the trunk.
Not many cars I know of can rack up 533000 kms on the original engine and keep on ticking like this one does. Only paid $3500 CDN for it and was a great investment as I will save that in fuel costs in 2 years compared to driving my Monte Carlo.
One little fact you should know about VW odometers. After they reach 300000 kms, the restart from zero so beware if trying to buy one with "low kms" as it might have rolled and someone is not sharing that information with you.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th May, 2006
Re: the 300,000 km odometer limit.
Oh boy, I bought a 92 Jetta Turbo Diesel with "low" km's on it. Even though I expressed my amazement to the previous owner in regards to the low km's; he didn't say much, just sort of glossed over the whole topic. I asked him if the odometer was turned back, he did say 'no'. Could you imagine my surprise when the license bureau gave me a print out showing that what I thought was a 185,000 km car was actually a 350,000 km car 3 years prior. I never felt so dumb as I did at that moment. I paid a premium for that car, now it's falling apart by the day (as any 500,000 km car would) and I'll never get half what I paid for it and it kills me to put even more money into it. Expensive lesson learned. Always get the used car report PRIOR to purchasing a vehicle!! Especially with the VW's 300,000 odometer limit!
28th May 2006, 21:33
Sorry you've had issues with your Jetta. but the exhaust system is pretty normal wear & tear.
The overheating shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.
The tranny should've lasted longer in normal use.
Not all Volkswagens are problematic, so hopefully you'll decide to give VW another try in the future.
I love mine.