2001 Volkswagen Cabrio GLX 2.0L from North America
Faults:
The driver's side window only goes up on the second try.
Front bearings replaced upon purchase.
Radio restarted = code needed to be entered 3 times.
Coolant and oil leak fix.
Door handle peeling.
General Comments:
I live in Ontario, and this car was from Washington DC, then was moved to Montreal where I purchased it for $4,500 (private).
It had a few problems before I bought it, like bearings needed to be replaced, and oil filter, oil and seals changed, which ran me up at my local mechanic $900.
Then a month later it leaked twice; first was coolant, then oil, which was at 101,000 miles.
After the fixes, I drove to Vermont and New York during winter, and the car ran great; the heat is amazing, and the heated seats are great.
Of course spring rolled in quickly, and with the top down, just made me even happier. No problems for a couple of months now :). All that's left to do is fix my radio; FM and AM do not work, but I use XM radio instead.
NOTE: Cabrio interior parts are really hard to find.
In the end, if you get this car at a low price; $5,000 and under, it's great. A Ford dealership offered me $8,000 for the car. Of course I'll wait until the summer is over, and it depends if the car wants to give me any more problems.
Bottom line: Love the car and great price. Looks expensive and cool, but real cheap.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 14th April, 2010
10th Jun 2011, 22:28
In addition to my other post, I had to drive the car through a long and deep puddle, and water got on critical ignition parts. My fiance and I spent a few hours, bought a new ignition coil and finally got it to start. It misfired and stumbled when idling, but keeping my foot on the gas (for about 20 minutes) all of the water evaporated and the car was fixed. :)
Also for high mileage VWs, I recommend replacing the ignition coil; it turns out that that was the source of the "check engine" light problem, and the car drives much better with the new one. Just this week I changed the spark plugs, and it is running quite well.
P.S. if your cabrio windows leak a little when it rains, I suggest shutting your door, then rolling down the window, and then rolling it up all the way, so that it seals better. Just pray that your window still wants to go back up. ;)