2003 Volkswagen Jetta Gti from North America

Summary:

Love the car, but I'm puzzled!

Faults:

EPC light on first then brake lights got stuck on.

General Comments:

First the ECP light was on and I called the dealer only to hear that I may have hit the button on my shifter which isn't even on on the shifter. Then they told me it wasn't a big emergency then in the middle of hte night I got up and seen my brake lights on and they are stuck on.

On the weekend so Monday Morning appointment or not it's going to the shop. Had to unhook battery so it wouldn't go dead. What gives?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 12th November, 2005

2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLI V6 from North America

Summary:

Customer Service is dead in America and apparently in Germany too!

Faults:

Check engine light 15 times since first purchased. Dangerous-- Would stall while driving. Took dealer several months to repair. Service people at VW are generally indifferent. Now I'm stuck with this thing.

General Comments:

This would have been a great car if VW service technicians knew how to fix the car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th November, 2005

2003 Volkswagen Jetta TDI from North America

Summary:

It is of poor quality and is not worth your money

Faults:

Within one week of ownership, the passenger side rear view mirror cracked and had to be fixed. The dealer installed a blue-tinted mirror in place of the regular mirror.

Later, the back passenger door would not open. The dealer had the door fixed, but when returned to us, the window on the door was broken and would roll down, not up. So we had that fixed by the dealer and now it has a terrible rattle. Dealer got grease all over the felt interior.

The lights that illuminate the air/heat controls that come on when the headlights are turned on no longer work.

The lever for opening the armrest has broken.

The Malfunction Indicator Lamp is now turning on indicating some sort of problem with the emissions. No telling what will happen next.

General Comments:

Dealer has been relatively unfriendly and unhelpful.

Drives well for the most part, but is falling apart.

Definitely not worth the money or time wasted getting it fixed only to have it break again.

Strongly recommend against purchasing a VW.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th October, 2005

14th Oct 2005, 02:51

More like a pretty lousy car!

14th Oct 2005, 14:04

Yea. Lousy dealer and pile of junk for a car!

14th Oct 2005, 17:23

I think you should look for another dealer. Dealers can make all the difference in the handling (or lack theirof) of an issue with your Volkswagen.

28th Jan 2006, 11:54

Instead of telling us how bad your dealer is, why not give info on how or why things broke. Just because you dealer gives terrible service, doesn't make the car a lemon.

29th Jan 2006, 10:13

Yes, the dealer issue is very sad regardless of the make. Manufacturers claim that franchise laws and similar legal statutes do not allow them complete control over their dealers, yet THEY are the ones selling the cars - you can't buy direct from the manufacturer.

2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 2.8L from North America

Summary:

Impressive!

Faults:

Nothing so far has been a problem, other than the fuel consumption everything has been perfect so far!

General Comments:

This car is impressive on the road, I bought the GLI 2.8L and gotta admit that I'm impressed with the performance, heated leather seats are great, got the Moonsoon sound system with the amplifier in the trunk which gives great sound. Great luxury car mixed with performance of a sport car...

Overall I'm really satisfied with this car, I honestly preferred this car to the 1.8T Audi A4 as compared to the price I had more options in the Jetta for a more reasonable price!

Bit expensive, but really proud of the car and everything it offers.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th September, 2005

2003 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg 1.8T 180 HP from North America

Summary:

Perfect car for a college student till you have a child, you will just fall in love with it

Faults:

Bad Battery: I had left my car with a friend in Canada for about 4 months (OCT 03 - FEB 04) and when I came back the battery was dead. It might have been because of the cold. But I personally think it shouldn't have happened. Fortunately VW has road side assistance and the pulled my car into the nearest dealer and I had my battery replaced even though I had bought the car in the USA.

There was a recall on this car concerning the two back doors. A part was defective and the dealer replaced it when I brought the car in for service.

Less than a month back Early August 2005 my engine temperature started read lining because of the overheating. I took it to the dealer and he told me that the water pump had died and will be covered under warranty. Also the brake light switch was faulty (the brake light would stay on after you leave the car). That too was fixed under warranty.

I have the monsoon sound system. If it hasn't happened to you great, but I have had to have the knobs replace because they would just break off, also under warranty.

I am scheduled for the 40,000 mile service and new tires. I recommend buying the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 205/55R16. They are about 140 bucks per tire, but they do have the best all weather rating and the best in snow. Something to think about if you live in NJ.

General Comments:

One think I love about this car is the awesome pickup. If you don’t know what a turbo is then listen up. The reason why Porsche, AUDI, Subaru and SAAB became popular in the US is because of their amazing pickup capability. This was due to the fact they all had turbo in their cars which gave a jolt of acceleration to give you the fast startup.

Also only put SHELL premium in the car. Believe me, and I have tested this, the higher octane does give it a boost.

It has ESP (Electronic Skid protection). When I came back from Canada to the US it was early FEB 05. I don’t know if you are aware, but at that time there was a snow storm in upstate NY all the way down to DC. I was probably the only person on the road doing about 65 mph and not killing myself. The fact is this car has amazing handling and coupled with ESP makes it a perfect fit for the snowy conditions. The only thing I would change in the car would be if it had 4 wheel-drive to give an even better grip.

This car is equipped with 6 airbags. All of which make it one of the safest cars on the road.

I bought the phatnoise sound system which its awesome. It has 20GB, but can be increased by replacing the notebook HDD inside the casing.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th August, 2005

10th Mar 2007, 22:39

I've got to say... any battery would die after 4 months of sitting and not going anywhere - that's just what happens. So you honestly have no complaint there.

But I will say that I feel incredibly sorry for you. You mention the turbo which I assume means you have the 1.8T engine.. oh man.. just wait for the problems. You'll put more money into that car than double what you paid for it... lol I used to own a '98 Passat 1.8T and it was a boatload of problems. It had the same exact engine that yours does. Do some research on the 1.8T and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Good luck though.. hopefully you bought one of the very very few good ones..