Faults:

Where to start?

Both back windows have gone out and one side slides down all the time.

Passenger door doesn't open sometimes.

Turn signals stopped working; I believe it was the flasher.

Problems with the tire area and brakes.

All this in about 8 months. I have already spent as much fixing it as I did to buy it!

Faults:

One radiator fan.

Clutch hose.

Coil pack.

ABS pump & wheel sensors.

E-brake cable tubes.

Glove box door.

Arm rest.

Rear ashtray.

Dash cupholders.

General Comments:

I got a good deal on this car used. I had no illusions that it had a hard life, given the cheap purchase price, but the bodywork was immaculate black, so the repairs that followed weren't (to me) a big deal.

Well I'm deep into repairs. I have heard horror stories for the 99.5+ yr (Mk 4) Jettas and some are legitimate. The interior components that have failed (glove box, armrest, rear ashtray) are VERY common failures, and thus are very hard to find parts for.

The other parts I've replaced have just been ignored by neglect, most of which have never been replaced before... a testament to VW quality. I question the quality of the 3rd party parts I've bought to replace them, but being knowledgeable in vehicle repairs, I can keep an eye on them.

The ABS system has failed, which is not a big deal as it reverts the brake system back to old school non-ABS. But there's an annoying flasher warning on the cluster that has to be dealt with as $1000 for a new ABS pump is unacceptable.

I am happy with the comfort of this vehicle, but the Mexican build quality is not as good as German (or even Brazilian) builds.

Faults:

Numerous mysterious "sensor issues" that probably cost me about $3,000 in total -- mass airflow sensor (twice), transmission speed control sensor. Took 3 tries to fix that last one. Turns out the 99 1/2 Jetta has a 3rd transmission speed control sensor under the motor mounts, but of course VW techs and their manuals know nothing about this.

Windshield wiper motor/linkage twice.

Catalytic converter.

Constantly changing light bulbs.

Front fairings under the grill both lost on the highway due to inadequate bolts.

Pretty much everything in the interior broke very shortly after I bought it -- cup holders, glove compartment door snapped right off its hinges.

General Comments:

I've owned 2 Rabbit GTIs and a Quantum Syncro wagon over the years, and I loved those cars. The Rabbits were cheap, reliable and easy to fix, while the Syncro had the reliability of the mid-80s Audi Quattro's and the wonderful worry free 2.3 inline 5.

I will now never buy another VW after the constant nightmares I had with this car's quality and reliability. I cannot count the times I was stuck on the side of the road due to another mysterious sensor problem. And the service at the local VW dealer was abysmal, to say the least. Repairs that I knew for a fact to be no more than $200 would run me 3 to 4 times that. I finally confronted the service manager after getting 3 estimates from local repair shops for the same repairs, and I even wrote a letter to VW of America -- they could have cared less. Never again. Too bad, they could have had a customer for life.

Faults:

I got my 1999 VW Jetta Wolfsburg edition in Feb. 2008. We bought it off some guy who just needed a little money and didn't need the car. I drove it everywhere, always going and never had any bad problems. It did have radio problem, but it was my first car and I really didn't care about that.

One day in Dec. of last year I was just driving like usual and my clutch went out. It just snapped back to the floor. I didn't even have any warning signs, it just went out. We took it to the VW dealer and he had no idea how to find a manual or diagram for it. It has been to 3 different shops and no one knows what to do with it. It has now been sitting in my boyfriend's uncle's garage since Feb. of '09 because he doesn't know what to do with it.

Has anyone ever had this go wrong or know where I can get a real manual/diagram for my car?