2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 2.8 VR6 from North America

Summary:

Not worth the money

Faults:

Seats wore badly.

AC broke twice, cooling fan once.

Electrical problems.

Transmission sticks.

Oil changes $50.

Had to change the battery 3 times.

Radio did not work after 60k.

General Comments:

The problems didn't start until right after the warranty ran out at 60k.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th April, 2008

17th Apr 2008, 23:06

$50 oil changes are cheap for a VW, and you bought a relatively high performance VR6 engine.

Next.

2003 Volkswagen Jetta GL 1.8 turbo from North America

Summary:

Would buy another Volkswagen.. maybe a Passat or Touareg

Faults:

We have had a lot of minor electrical and brake light issues. When you apply the brakes hard, the indicator comes on saying that the ABS brakes are not working properly. We have replaced the battery twice... something is draining the battery... the dealership has yet to figure out what.

Also the turbo kicks in when I am doing about 40 km/hour... strange??!!

General Comments:

I do love to drive the car it really goes... pickup is amazing... great for highway driving...

The seats could be a little more comfy. The molded seat does not accommodate all people sizes. Parts of your body can fall asleep.

The turbo does take away from good gas economy. BUT it's FUN...

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

Review Date: 25th March, 2008

2003 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 1.9 turbo diesel from North America

Faults:

The auto tranny was a bad idea, but the wife drives it mostly. The car is on the third tranny now, and we are starting to have some issues...

I get a lot of engine light fault codes for mostly faulty sensors. Get a VAG-COM. Much cheaper than the dealer!!

VW dealers are outrageous!!

Auto TDIs don't get as high of gas mileage. We get upper 30s. Not like the manual TDIs with 50+.

General Comments:

www.TDIclub.com is the reason I got the car. Incredible resource for TDIs. I do most of my own work, so this was an obvious choice.

Upper 30s MPG. Still better than most cars out there.

You have the option to run on bio fuels when all the oil is gone.

The car's value is only going up. Can't say that about most cars.

Get the VAG-COM cable to run diagnostic codes through your laptop. Good for any newer VW and AUDI.

Heated seats are a must!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th March, 2008

2003 Volkswagen Jetta from North America

Summary:

I wouldn't buy another one

Faults:

Water leaks inside the car from sunroof drain lines and a sunroof that became inoperative as a result of Volkswagen dealership attempting to clean drain lines.

General Comments:

Overall drive feel is still good, for a car with 80,000 plus miles. However, while under warranty, and with less than 30,000 miles, the transmission had to be replaced. Have experienced a chronic problem with water leaks due to sunroof drain lines being stopped up. Dealership's attempts to clean out drain lines have been to no avail, and the last time it was in the shop, the sunroof was adjusted, but was damaged and no longer works. I am being told that repair is at my expense, even though problem began before the warranty had expired. The cost may very well run upward of $1,000, and as a result of the water intrusion, the car is definitely infested with mold.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th December, 2007

2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLS from North America

Summary:

Worst New Car I have ever had!!!

Faults:

MUST PUT A QUART OF OIL IN EVERY 1000 MILES!!

Recall on brake light switch.

Recall on seat heaters.

Ignition coil bad, but VW STILL has not recalled part.

Bad Ignition coil ruined other parts on car which VW did not cover.

Tail lights replaced several times.

12v adapter no longer works.

Driver side rear door lock will not unlock automatically.

General Comments:

Terrible car!! I bought a new car so that I would not constantly be doing maintenance on it. In 68,000 miles I have had more work done- or not done- on this car than any used car I have ever owned. No one told me that I had to put oil in it every 1,000 miles. I found out when I RAN OUT OF OIL!! Of course, if I had known before purchasing the car I would have never bought it. (Guess that's why they didn't tell me). According to VW, that is normal for that type of engine, but they failed to mention that to the consumer before purchase, or afterwards, for that matter. I think completely running out of oil is probably not good for the engine. The ignition coil has been replaced twice, but VW still has not recalled the part b/c they haven't made a new one to replace the old one with. SO, I just have to wait til it breaks the next time. I bought a VW because I thought it was a great car, but it is totally unreliable. As soon as I have a child, I am getting rid of the car b/c I don't trust it to get me where I am going safely. The only reason I still have it is because it is almost paid off. No one who knows me personally will never buy a VW b/c of all of the problems I have had with mine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th December, 2007