I have had the car for 18 months and have put 60,000 miles on it. I love driving the car when its running correctly. The problem is it doesnt run correctly very often. I recently had to have an alternator replaced ($580.00), Timing Belt and Water Pump ($400), the list could go on but ill leave it at that. Also anyone that has this car read this: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/recall/vw2.htm

This car has been great to me. Bought it used still with factory warranty and had a complete inspection prior to it running out. The only things that needed to be done is blow out the drian line for the sunroof and replace the rear seat arm rest. The interor smelled until I changed the cabin air filter which was a little hard to find the first time but easy to do. The only I dislike about my jetta is the sound system, it pops and snaps. I know that I need to replace the speakers, just suprised so soon. Overall a great car!

I LOVE the suspension and steering! Heavy, road hugging. Great pickup and go. Head light goes on and off. NE winters are cold and so is my car for the first 6 miles....then I feel the heat!!! I have even used a small blanket to and from work when temperature is in the teens. As soon as the warrentee was up, my driver side door had electrical
problem. Master door with all the controls went hay wire. Cost over $700.00 to repair. Today as I type this my car has been towed to the dealer ship. Something popped in the engine. Engine light came on. My car felt like it was traveling over railroad tracks and exhaused filled the car and smoke came pouring out the tail pipes. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the call from the repair shop.

My first and last volkswagen! I researched carefully and thought there might be electrical problems (there were many + cruise failed twice and very expensive to repair I finally gave up on 3rd failure). I wanted a diesel engine for the higher mileage and fuel savings. I serviced it meticulously at VW dealership (timing belt, all servicing done right on schedule). Car engine dropped a valve at 180,000 km left me and my young children stranded in the middle of a packed 6 lane highway (needed emergency rescue to exit car to safety). VW offered nothing except offer to let me buy another new car from them (no deals)...I bought this car brand new and always VW serviced it...expected a lot more. I always had Hondas before and they were still running like a charm (no oil even being used) at 240,000 km+ with a gasoline engine. I have since heard that one can expect anything with VW made after 2004....German engineering made in Mexico is not the same. VW is a great little car as long as you do not mind buying it several times over and over and over again!

I HATE this car!!! Have spent thousands on it! I have had it 3 years and something is always going wrong. Fuel pump problems, electrical, fuse, lights, AC and wheel bearing issues. It only has 56k miles.

My Jetta is great. I have had it forever and not many problems ever go on. It is easy to drive and maintain.

I bought this car on Monday before Christmas. I'm starting to believe that I have made a terrible mistake. I saved all year while riding the bus to classes at Cal State. I should have done my homework. Three days after getting it the check engine light came on and the transmission started to shift erratically, then it wouldn't go into 4th gear. The dealer made the repairs at no cost. The next day after getting it back the check engine light came on again, this time the engine has a sort of sputter when intially starting and today the coolant light started to beep. When I checked the bowl the level fluid started to bubble to the top, so I quickly closed the cap and went back into my apartment. Oh my God, what have I done?

Love my car but she costs me a fortune!

This car is a peice of crap! We bought this car used about 2 weeks ago and right as I write this it is in the shop being "fixed". We had the car for about 4 days when it left myself and my 7 week old son and my 4 year old son on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in minus 35.
When we first got the car we were excited b/c we always wanted a Diesel car. We even laughed about the ALL the electrical problems:
1. The heat only works on high. So it's off or full bore.
2. The heat only works if the headlights are on.
3. There are no low beams only high beams.
4. The only way to turn the headlights on is to pull the lowbeam/highbeam switch and jam a pen behind it.
5. Can only make left turns as the right turn signal lights don't work.
6. When making left turns if you turn on the signal light the pen falls out no there's no lights and no heat.
7.We have power window, not windows, WINDOW, but at least it's the drivers window.
8. Sometimes we can't get out of the car and have to repeatedly pull the handles very hard till it works.
9. Doesn't like to go into second gear.
10. Water pump failure is what left us on the road.
That said for some reason we still love this little car, but we won't be taking it very far from home until we can have a VW dealership look at it. As it is we live 2 hours away from the nearest one so we'll wait until summer lol.
Oh,and we live in Canada not LA but you need a Zip Code to fill this thing out. lol

I bought this car a little under 5 years ago. in the intervening time I've put almost 150,000 miles on my jetta, and not the old lady driving back and forth to the market to get Wheatabix kind of miles, but the jobs in three different cities, hauling metal and tools for metal art, drunken offroading at my mom's house kind of miles. i've put this car through the worst sort of hell one can imagine. it's been unreal. throughout all this punishment, the jetta has been unfailingly reliable, cost me less in maintenance than any three of my previous cars combined, basic upkeep only, absolutely no serious or even minor repairs. I love my jetta, let me say that again I love my jetta. if i weren't paranoid of little hybrid man/jetta babies, i'd make love to my car daily...that line will probably get me flagged but you get my point.

My wife bought a Toyota Camry at the same time and it stacks up fairly similar to hers. The only problems I've had with it is that the heating in the winter time takes FOREVER to get going. It's a challenge to not fog up the inside of the windows when it's extremely muggy outside. Also, the plastic on the radio buttons started bubbling up and essentially tore off after only a year and a half of having the car. No major problems, at least not through 65K.

no problems

Great car!! I have a 2001 Jetta TDI and the only problems I've encountered are the cheap plastic clips that hold the windows up...they WILL break! I read a review about this before I bought mine, and sure enough my driver-door window fell down into my door about six months after I bought my Jetta! Brake, tail, and headlights seem to "burn" out quite frequently, but are an easy repair. Also the air mass flow filter needed replaced at about 100,000 miles..made my car have no pick-up or power at all! Try to get that fixed while you still have a warranty!! Honestly though I have no complaints and would buy VW again. Oh yea, and my car smelled like crayons forever!!!

i like it, just dont know where i could it fixed if anything were to go wrong

love the T.D.I. but it's too low in the front. It catches on curbs.

For its age, my 92 Jetta is holding up fairly well. I did have a very annoying and internmittent problem with starting for awhile, and after much time and energy discovered that someone along the line had removed the heat shield for the starter and it had burned out. It burns a little oil, but really none the worse for wear.

dud

I'm also have a problem with the starting system. I paid to get the ignition switch replaced and that isn't the problem at all. I'm thinking the same thing about the Heating Shield for the starter because when the car cools down, overnight, the car starts right up. But if I'm out and about the starter doesn't want to work. Overall, I"m having problems after problems with this car. I bought the car for a few hundred dollars and so far, I've spent more than it cost.

I bought my 97 VW Jetta GLS used a little over a week ago from a mechanic. He had replaced the transmission (as I understand is a relatively common problem with these cars). I downgraded to this car from a 98 Acura Integra GSR. The first day, the check engine light came on. The second day, the distributor failed. The 3rd day, the sunroof stopped working (bad fuse...easy fix). The 4th day, the tail pipe fell off. When I have had the opportunity to drive the car, it runs good. The seats aren't all that comfortable and the car is a little "boxy" looking, inside and out. It's an "ok" car overall, but considering the relatively lower mileage (129k) for it's age, it should hold up a little better. It's clear now that previous owners did not care as much about maintenance as I do. My only advice to potential buyers is to get a reputable mechanic to check it out first...engine, exhaust, electrical parts. Push every button, more than once. This will likely be the last German car I buy, even though I am from German roots. I'll stick with Honda's and Acura's. The Japanese seem better at building quality cars, with exception to typical rust that seems to easily develop.

Regular maintenance is the key. That which has worn out, or gone bad has been minimal for us. It's our third Jetta going back to 1986. Second Jetta saved my life in a rollover accident. (Deer in the road) We love the car, but HATE inconsiderate scum that can't/won't watch their door opening technique. You know who you are, and I hope all of the cars you ever drive are piles of junk!

TDI. 86K miles. Lifetime avg. gas mileage 47 mpg. Town 43 - Hwy 50+. Only negative was in front spoiler design - too low clearance so that catches on objects such as concrete parking stops resulting in detaching spoiler from body. newer models appear to have corrected this deficiency. Had to replace malfunctioning radio under 50K warranty. Glow plugs replaced at 68K miles. Good car!

i bought my jetta with 50k. replaced coil packs which is expected with the milage i have now. also some evap system hoses. other than typical repair this car is solid, fun, comfortable, and oh yea my 20valve 1.8 turbo is fast.

Bought this car used 7 months ago for our teenage daughter. Liked the idea of side airbags, and she loved the sunroof. First time we had it towed, cost $700 for a new fuel pump. Second time it was towed was for a broken axle. Third trip to the garage cost us another $200. Sunroof no longer works, door panels keep coming loose, headliner falling. The catalytic converter needs to be replaced, and I can't afford it. Inside was filthy when we got it and I thought we could clean it up with no problem, but absolutely nothing will clean the vinyl - its sticky and gross. Have tried commercial cleaners, soap & water, goo gone, alcohol. And, like an earlier post said, ours smells like crayons, too. I'm disappointed in my purchase and we're going to sell it because I can't afford the upkeep. Its not the reliable car that I thought I was getting.

just had problems with engine studdering turns out vw doesnt like e3 sparkplugs and the electrical system SUCKS

Having persistent problems with electric system. It's as if there is a ghost in there. Hazard lights go off at will - windshield washer comes on once every other day - and not a drop of rain falling here in south Texas! Have had to replace the CD/Radio three times . Knobs fall off the seat control.... But I love this car--am fortunate to have an excellent VW dealer.

I have had this car for over a month now. It is difficult to regulate the heat inside the vehicle. The climate control is very sensitive. It goes from cold to hot too easily. There seems to be no middle. Everything else is just great. A little more expensive to service than I had anticipated, but still a VW lover.

The car burns an excessive amount of oil (a quart every week or two). There are many problems wrong with the electrical system, recently the brakelights turn on by themselves after the car is shut off and it has killed the battery.

DO NOT BUY THIS CAR EVER!

CONS:
- Body style with low clearance front bumper is easy to tear off and not easy to repair
- Interior hardware is flimsy. Passenger and driver side chairs have both broken in the past. Dashboard knobs have fallen off.
- The car has its own smell that has changed over time. Friends have told me my car smells like crayons (especially when it's hot outside), and that it could be due to the disintegration of the tint glue.

PROS:
- For the most part, the car has been reliable in the areas where it really counts
- I like the Monsoon default sound system
- It's small and nimble and is easy to park and drive

I drove a 2000 Jetta for 6 years and it never gave me one problem. With regular oil changes and maintenance, this car ran great. It never even had any of the electrical issues that many Volkswagons tend to have! Great car.

I've returned religiuosly to the dealership with a rear defroster issue that is now causing the fuse box to catch fire and melt. The car has been in 8 times for the same problem and I have contacted VW directly and am still waiting on a response.

overall good car except for the electrical system

This has a pretty good bread and butter sort of car.Not exciting at all , but it runs and runs.Fairly comfortable , not a great performer , but easy enough to keep up.The interior shows its age , I put tires on it now and again.Biggest expense has been timing belt and water pump replacement.A/C went south awhole back but still a good daily driver.