Faults:

The third rear window wiper motor has just been installed, but not bad for almost a million kilometers. replaced front bearing hub on left and right at about 650000km.the emergency switch has been replaced, but afterwards I found out it was a recall item, but I was well over the kilometers honoured by VW. a little under 800000 kilometers the brake master blew and lost all brakes, but thank goodness to a great emergency hand brake.

General Comments:

I found this car to be very reliable. A fun car to drive very comfortable, but don't like the windshield being so close to my face and if I pull the driver seat back then I can't put the clutch to the floor. Guess that's why they nicknamed me shorty. Almost a million kilometers and running very strong looks great in the midnight blue almost looks purple in the day and dark blue at night. I would recommend this car to anyone and a selling point to me was the 1200 kilometers to a tank that's great fuel economy for fuel prices now days. Now my friend has the same year, but a bug with the same diesel engine and he says he only gets 950 kilometers to a tank. I guess with anything you get your good and your bad.

Faults:

Taillights went out several times within the first year.

Had to replace the oil pan because it was stripped by a Jiffy Lube. It cost me $400 USD to replace.

Brake light sensor went bad 5 times.

New tires at 45,000 miles.

New battery around 20,000 miles.

General Comments:

This was a very reliable car for me.

I specifically liked the seats. Wide with lumbar support. Very comfortable.

The automatic transmission would slip from time to time, but no major problems otherwise.

Seemed a little sluggish on take off, but at higher speeds this thing was quick. I did a lot of distance driving and this car never had a problem passing.

AC was the best. Super cold very fast, which is nice in the Florida heat.

The blue dash lights inside define comfort in a vehicle to me. Very soothing interior.

Faults:

1) Rear window washer line failed and saturated head liner.

2) CEL for glow plug code. Changed harness and plugs, later CEL comes back. Turned off with VAG and still comes back.

3) Air bag fail light. Known issue, VW feels no obligation to fix. 500$ dealer charge; I just leave it lit.

4) Auto trans failed at 67k. 5k$ for complete fix cycle. In 2001 the drivetrain warranty was 10/100k, in 2002 it was changed to 5/60K. I should have taken the hint.

General Comments:

With the repeated electronic/CEL issues and the transmission failure, VW looses all credibility with me. Readers are advised not to purchase a VW without a comprehensive after-market warranty.

Faults:

Brake discs warped

Clutch cable stuck

Electrical faults (numerous)

Rattle from drivers door

Rain water leaks from doors

Central locking failed

Rear screen washer came off inside boot & filled boot with water

Knocking from suspension

Permanent flat spot never properly cured

Interior trim broke off under footwell

Seat seams split

Electric windows burnt out twice

Air con had to be fixed twice

Excessive oil consumption.

General Comments:

GTI handling OK, but 2.0 115 bhp is a joke in a GTI. Has to be worked really hard to go at the expense of fuel consumption (35mpg at best)

Front wheels lose grip easily pulling away from a stand. Handling is very sloppy for a "sports" car.

Terrible reliability. Dealers were friendly, but never actually managed to fix very much. Sometimes the car came back worse than it went to them.

Dealer courtesy car was a 1.2 Polo and it spent months in the dealer. I paid £18000 to drive a GTI not a Polo!

Drank oil like it was going out of fashion. Almost 10 litres between services! Dealer said this was within "acceptable limits".

Several faults were never cured until I traded it in (for another Ford. I never had these problems with my old Ford Focus).

Bad car, badly made, bad dealers, bad experience.

No more VWs for me.