Faults:

CV joints.

Alternator + battery.

Pretty much the entire brakes + suspension parts replaced over the years I had it.

Various electrical gremlins.

Rear window winder broke off.

General Comments:

One of my first cars, and being an 80's Volkswagen, it was reliable enough, despite the problems above; it never broke down on me or gave me too much trouble.

Very dull interior, but was comfortable despite the basic specification, meaning no electrics or luxuries. I thought it was pretty poorly equipped even for an 80's car. Looked decent on the outside though with the alloy wheels I put on it, and the red paintwork was pretty unmarked.

Not bad to drive, but also nothing exciting; the 1.6 accelerated adequately, but was by no means fast. Economy averaged well over 30 MPG; not great by today's standards, but acceptable back then.

Not much more to say about it, just fond memories of one of my first cars, a solid entry level VeeDub. Sold back in 2005 with over 130K miles on it; doubt it's still going, but who knows.

Faults:

Struts/shocks, ball joints, water pump, alternator, heater blower, o-ring in the in-tank pump sending unit, odometer, A/C. Basically things that you would expect to wear out in a 20+ year-old, 150k+ mile car.

The engine drinks a little oil, but still runs well.

General Comments:

I bought the car for $600, knowing it needed some work (the prior owner had neglected it). It did, but the parts have been very cheap, and it's easy to work on. The odometer was broken when I got it, and I'm pretty sure the car has a lot more miles than indicated. I get between 31 and 39MPG on the highway at 60mph, depending on the time of year.

It handles well, and is very reliable (just watch out for that o-ring in the in-tank fuel pump spring-loaded sending part -- if you hear whining, this is one thing that is often overlooked). It responds well to general maintenance (especially keeping the throttle body and idle air control valve clean).

Faults:

I have no complaints - this car has been fantastic!

General Comments:

The body is still in great shape - it has never even needed painting. I would venture to say that it is the best car I have ever owned or will ever own.

Mechanically, most of the work done on it has been maintenance.

Faults:

Air intake issue caused the car to lose speed on the highway. Had it checked by two mechanics who couldn't figure the problem. Took the car in to a VW dealership and the mechanic knew exactly what the problem was right away, $150 fixed it.

Solenoid problem - starter motor was installed too close to the engine, causing the car to refuse to start after driving it in hot weather. We learned to deal with this by keeping a piece of stereo wire in the car, and making a connection between the battery and the starter. Not ideal, but it worked...

Always had issues with the door handles, locks, trunk lock. In the end we had one door that would open on both sides. Heat was either all or nothing.

General Comments:

We bought this car at 10 years old, and put almost nothing into repairs over eight years - our kids were babies and we had no money to fix the car. All we did in that time was replace the exhaust system (after 6-7 years), brake pads, fluids (sporadically) and one power window motor (the most expensive fix we did, costing over $400). Never had a single problem with the engine, transmission, gaskets - nothing major, despite our abuse. We always enjoyed driving it - it felt so solid and responsive.

We still have fond memories of that car, and would buy another if it weren't for the cheap door handles and locks - too annoying, and a safety issue with kids.