Faults:

Replaced some wiring at 20000 km.

General Comments:

The car is excellent. Aside from one minor repair under warranty there hasn't been any serious problems. The fuel economy is excellent which is plus since I drive a few thousand kilometers a month. Handling is excellent and performance is perfect for commuting especially for those who have long commutes.

Faults:

I bought a automatic 2004 Jetta with only 6000 miles on it. The transmission starting "clunking" right after I bought it. The problem grew worse and eventually the car would not come out of the lower gears. Took it to the local dealership and they claim that animals have chewed through all the wiring and repairs are not covered under the warranty! ($1200.00) We are still arguing over who should pay.

General Comments:

The Volkswagen dealership does not stand behind their cars!

Faults:

Absolutely perfect vehicle!

General Comments:

I have had my 2004 anniversary Jetta GLI 1.8T for a year and a half now, and have over 25,000 miles on it. I love the car almost as much as my 97 GTI VR6 that I traded in on this one.

My last VW had 228,000 miles on it, and was great for the first six years, but as with any car, the repairs started at about 190,000, and I decided to trade it in. I got 4,000 bucks for it!

My Jetta is great with 18” BBS wheels, Recaro seats, and many other extras that came at no extra charge for this limited edition.

I have not had a single problem with the car, and everything is perfect. The number of compliments and looks are unbelievable. I will definitely be purchasing another VW!!!

Faults:

Had a sensor light come on.. got it fixed it was faulty. and trunk was very heavy had to get them replaced. only two things that have happened to the car in the two years I have owned it.

General Comments:

I really loved the feature that allows you to roll down your windows with the key in the door lock until every Volkswagen in my neighbourhood got broken into in 1 night. It is a great feature, but it is very easy for car thieves to break into. all they do is stick something in the door lock and your windows roll down and the alarm disengages, and the door unlocks. this happened to me in the middle of winter, at least the person was kind enough to do up my window after!!! called in to complain and they did nothing for me. I did not replace the lock instead I put a cap on.. I know have no door locks on the car. I figure this will permanently solve this problem instead of just replacing the lock and letting it get broken into again.

Faults:

The trunk latch stopped catching.

The horn stopped honking when the security system in engaged.

General Comments:

This car was a replacement for my work car. Gas mileage and "fun" factor were important. I must say the mileage and "fun" are certainly there. This is a great car to drive.

I'm still out on the reliability due to the two problems noted. However, no performance related issues yet.

The service department has been great. Everything has been a warranty repair.

I looked at buying another Japanese car because of my experience with the performance reliability of those I've owned. I drove this car and was sold. Additionally, the finish of this car, and all the VWs I looked at seemed superior. I refer to it as the "pop can" test. You close a door on some cars and it sounds tinny like a "pop can". You close the door on others and it's solid, this was solid.

In terms of finish, I find I really like the European finish. Direct, not flashy, efficient. All good.

There are a couple of "considerations" you have to get over to buy the car. First, for me, was the dealer locations. We don't have one in the city I live in. We drive about an hour for warranty word. But, to date the service department has been very good to work with. Yeah, I do have concerns that I'm working with them this soon. Hence, the 8 on reliability. Higher than 5-7 because they are non-performance related to date.

Second, they cost a little more. They hold their value better too, so you have to decide.

Third, and this is a pet peeve, that knob to adjust the seat is just someone's idea of a bad joke. I'll bet he's (or she's) still laughing.

Fourth, back seat. It's a little tight. Although the new models are larger in that respect.