Fun ride for students!
There is an electrical problem with the car that appears to be pretty common for this model. Have to change the fuses quite a bit, but otherwise it runs great and looks awesome considering it's 11 years old!
Love it!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th May, 2015
With proper maintenance - almost bulletproof
Shocks and struts at 120,000 miles.
Brakes redone at 155,000 miles.
Short in high beams.
Glove compartment latch broke at 85,000 miles.
Timing belt (original) broke at 194,000 miles.
A wonderful car. I got it as a gift when my Escort finally died. I did not want a VW after hearing horror stories about transmissions going bad. But it was a gift - and it turned out to be great.
Other than wear and tear, it gave few if any problems. The high beam short was vexing... but tolerable.
It took me on major commutes for work - which was what ultimately did it in. My last job was a 250 mile round trip daily commute - and despite every mechanic who I asked telling me it was fine - the timing belt broke on the 101 in NorCal and destroyed the engine. Turns out it was the original! I was heartbroken. But it did its duty and I salute its toughness!
I got a 2014 Jetta that I really like - but I still miss my old girl sometimes.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th May, 2015
Fantastic family roadtrip car
Manufacturer recalls we experienced: Brake light switch sticks on, front fender replacement due to possible rust issue.
Turbo replaced at 120k.
We bought this car because we had heard such good things about the TDI engine. I can't say how extremely pleased we have been with this car. 11 years of low running costs, children beating up on it, minor accidents, and it still looks and runs really well. After we paid the car off, we had nothing but regular service and oil changes. We did lose the turbo, but from what I've read it's largely an issue of going too long without an oil change, which I can believe since we only had yearly oil changes.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th May, 2015
A long term car
Seat heater pads were recalled. When we got the car back from the dealer, the driver's seat overheated. Too hot on the one side.
There was a recall with the water pump, which was replaced under warranty.
Radio failed. Bought an aftermarket one with Bluetooth.
Glow plugs replaced. Oil changes. Brakes. Tires. Windshield. Replaced headlight assemblies, which improved night vision as the old ones were faded and scratched.
The car has been driven mostly on the coast, but has also seen -20 Celsius annually.
No corrosion on any body parts or components.
The car has been excellent. Still has original clutch after 244000km. The only issues I had were electrical, and that was after I put a programmer in for extra fuel economy. Once I took it out, all was good.
We are in the process of putting new brakes in and detailing the car. Plan to keep it for another 244000.
Wish the back seat was a little bigger. A car seat installed equals the front seat being pushed forward a little more than I'd prefer.
Also the front end is low and heavy. I bought a skid plate, so when it bottoms out we won't damage the oil pan. It bottoms out leaving gas stations, even when going slow. A friend of mine bought a 2003 TDI sedan and had the same problem, except he broke 2 oil pans (he didn't buy the skid plate). The one I bought was aluminum and they sent it online. Works well.
Approximately 900km per tank.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 17th February, 2014
13th May 2015, 08:29
Uh, you really should be changing cambelts at least every 100K km (62K miles). In the '90s, several European cars (I assume this is more the fault of the supplier) had a recommended timing belt change interval of 120K km - much longer than 80K km common at the time, but they started failing well before that.