Volkswagen Jetta ... Opinions?

[WWJAI]

Ok so long story short. I had a Civic which got written off and now i'm in the market for another car. I've been looking at several different cars (mainly imports) and have just started looking at used 2000+ Jetta's. Now i've never even considered looking at these cars until recently since they fall into my price range.

I have pretty much absolutely no knowledge regarding Volkswagen Jetta's but am actually quite interested in getting one. I've searched up a little bit about them but haven't got much detailed information. So for anybody who know's about these cars...specially for the 2000-2001 years (since this year seems to be what I can afford), I would like your opinions regarding durability, reliability, mechanical issues, other pros and cons of having this vehicle. And could you please explain to me the trims and what would usually fit my needs. I'm just looking for something that gets me from point A to point B and it seems that Jetta's come with several different engines...so help me out. Thanks.

[Merkur]

Find a well maintained TDI and start enjoying 1000km's to a tank.

[Weapon_R]

They are nice cars but they have some widespread issues that seriously hurt VW reliability ratings in past years.

[danno]

i have a 07 gti, which already has a new ecm module going to be put in. so if that says anything. they spent 19.5 hours trying to figure the problem out.

i think the mk4 jetta looks great, but as far as i know all kinds of little issues. you'll find people that have a had no issues and people that have tons of problems. the old saying is never suggest a vw to a friend.

you want reliable get a honda, you want a class above honda get a vw but be prepared for it to be in the shop.

just my 2 cents

[bigbadboss101]

My friend has a new Jetta and it's nice. I am not a VW fan myself. Audi yes but not VW. As for class, I don't see VW > Honda.

[Doozer]

My wife has an '02 Jetta, and so far it's been pretty good for us. She has the 2.0L engine which is less horsepower than the 1.8T (the 2.0L is about 130hp or so, and somewhat gutless).

She doesn't need a lot of power, so it's fine. But the car has a lot of small details that you won't find in something like a civic. For example, all the of the body sheetmetal is a millimeter or two thicker than any other car in it's price range, which gives you a little more resistance to door dings and rust. Plus a little more sound deadening which is nice.

I can't remember what else the sales guy told us, but the only real problem I have with her car is the power. It drives well, reasonably decent on gas, and the only significant mechanical issue was when the front passenger window came off the track.

[tictactoe2004]

I've owned a lot of VW's in the past, my latest one is a 2001 GTI VR6 that i've owned for almost 5 years now. Not one of them has ever let me down or left me stranded anywhere... The only person that I know that has ever had a problem is a buddy of mine who put heavy 18's on a 1997 VR6 and blew his tranny after a lot of races at race city and on the street... I've read about people having issues, i've heard a friend of a friend's cousins wife has had issues, but never personally known anyone that would say anything bad about them.

[Aleks]

We have an 07 VW Rabbit. IMO it's above its class in interior quality and design, features for the $ etc...

We haven't had any issues with it so far at 8K. I never thought I'd be driving one either because of all the horror stories I've seen online and from friends. But the car won us over the second we spent some time behind the wheel...

[nickyh]

I own a 2002 1.8T and from the get go have had nothing but realibility issues with it, that being said 99.9% of my problems have been covered under warranty.

My husband and I had planned to sell ours, but are now going to keep it.
We find the 1.8T to best city driving engine we've ever owned, we love the way it handles and the looks both interior and exterior.

VW's are hit and miss in terms of reliability - get a good one and you are laughing, get a bad one and you are crying.

[kamatayan]

My wheels before switching to Honda.

01 Jetta TDI - Still recieving a recall letter, Sold 3 Years ago
00 Golf VR6 - 1000km/tank commercial end up trading this car
92 Jetta GTX - Brother still rollin with it
89 Jetta - The best 8 valve ever, Sold to get a manual

They all have the Best Heater ever. IMO

[Mitsu3000gt]

I put my friend in a 2000 Jetta VR6 when she was looking for a car to buy. It's had absolutely no problems except for the clutch, which was her fault lol.

Another friend of mine just bought a 2005 Golf TDI and absolutely loves it. No problems whatsoever and 800-1000km on a $40 tank of diesel.

You will notice they have a more "solid" feel than a Honda or similar, with better interiors and such but if all you care about is outright reliability, the Honda is likely better. That said, if you maintain your car properly and get either the 2.0 or VR6 motor I doubt you would have a significant amount more problems than you would with any other vehicle, same old story.

Also they are much torquier than it's Japanese competition and in my opinion that is a quality that makes them MUCH more plesant to drive around in the city.

Go drive one and if you really like them, I would put them on your short list.

[EmJay]

also check out http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeromain?id=1 , its a volkswagen forum with a pretty big community

[teggypimp95]

I was into the whole honda scene. Then i got a vw. And i have never looked back. I first had a gti 1.8T 2002, LOVED IT and now i got a 01 jetta 1.8T and love it. 99-01 jettas 1.8t 150 hp 165 tq 2002 and up 1.8T 180hp. There a ton of fun, good on gas, very solid cars. They tent to have little things go wrong with them, like burnt out lights or switches or just stupid little things. But the cars them selves are solid.

[teggypimp95]

If you stay on top of maintance and learn about your car, you will have no problems. I was new just like you when i bought my GTI. But since then i have learned so much and it has been a blast.

[Moe Man]

auto or manual, dont buy a auto, trannys are week

[essential.mix]

I had a 1994 GTI golf and it had 220,000km (still ran great) before I got 2002 1.8T Golf. I just took a drive up to edmonton and I got about 750km on one tank (highway + city driving). I love the 1.8T jetta or golf it doesnt matter because you will be happy with it no matter what. Try it out, you'll see for yourself, and you'll never go back to anything else.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by kamatayan
00 Golf VR6 - 1000km/tank commercial end up trading this car

What VR6 gets 1000 km to a tank? Do you mean TDI?

[codetrap]

www.tdiclub.com

..and I know a guy that's selling a 2005 with 38k on it for around 24g.

[Klobi-1-Kinobi]

A vw can end up being a lemon, just like any other car. Then again my modified 1.8t gti has been far more reliable than my friends bone stock acura mdx.

I say get one with the 1.8t.

[kamatayan]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


What VR6 gets 1000 km to a tank? Do you mean TDI?

I end up trading my VR6 to TDI

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by codetrap
www.tdiclub.com

..and I know a guy that's selling a 2005 with 38k on it for around 24g.

MY friend paid $19,000 for his 2005 TDI with 18k on it. It was the Golf though, if that makes any difference.

[teggypimp95]

I had way more problems with my integra then my gti or jetta. On the highway in my gti i got like 800 to a tank and city about 500.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by teggypimp95
I had way more problems with my integra then my gti or jetta. On the highway in my gti i got like 800 to a tank and city about 500.

Yeah, I find they're great on gas too, on a single tank my VR6 made it from calgary to edmonton and back and didnt have to fill till two days later.

[teggypimp95]

PLus any performance or mod you can think of you can order off www.ecstuning.com and its good quality stuff!