Fun cars to drive. You get a lot of features for your money. This dealership was acceptable.

Lots of minor problems but very few major problems. VW/Audis seem to be good for 60,000 miles then the repair bills start. however, I suspect this is typical of most cars because they appear to use the same suppliers and all of the components look the same. By the way, the Jetta is assembeled in Mexico and the Porsche designed Tiptronic transmission comes from Japan. The ratings below apply only to this Jetta. The "similar products used" are rated 4 out of 5.

We purchased the Jetta as a commute car for my wife. She was pleased with the selection. Styling, comfort, performance, safety features were all to her liking. The salesmen were courteous and did not pressure us. The "deal" wasacceptable: a good discount off of MSRP and a goodoffer for our trade-in car. The paper work was handled efficiently. The terms of the loan were fine. The car was fully detailed while the paperwork was completed. Then we went to drive the car home... There it was in the lot: gleaming like polished obsidean, 17" wheels, leather/wood interior AND a stream of coolant running down the pavement. Just sitting in the lot, just back from the detailer, and the cooling system sprung a leak! As we watched, the coolant level in the reservoir slowly decreased as the stream of coolant spread along the pavement. The salesman did not think it was coolant because "it is not green" (this guy is not up to date as VW has used G12, pink, coolant for several years). We had test driven the car twice in the previous days and had looked under the hood. No sign of leaks and the coolent was at the specified level. Three salesmen and I could not find the leak. The dealership offered to repair the car but we refused. Who wants a brand new car that needs to be fixed even before you drive it off of the lot? We have been VW and Audi owners since 1978. We had accepted their ideosyncracies like minor electrical problems and miscellaneous buzzes, rattles, and resonances; but, this was the last straw. We immediately went to see their finance manager, explained the problem to him, tore up the contracts, and left the dealership. Today we are going to a BMW dealership. Hopefully, the bimmers will be more reliable (however, I am doubtful, My old BMW motorcycle, a 1981 R100RS was not as well built a a typical Honda motorcycle

Similar Products Used:

1987 Scirocco (excellent) 1979 Rabbit 1984 5000S (excellent) 1987 4000CS 1995 90S 1998 Passat 1.8T wagon (excellent)

Beautiful to look at, handles nicely. The steering wheel radio/CD controls are awesome. Very comfortable and the dashboard is laid out nicely. Sturdy feeling car.

The cup holders block the stereo system and the velour interior was a pain to keep clean. Anything I wore would leave fuzz and fibers all of the seats. The beige was not a good choice for the interior, even though it looked great with the green exterior. Now I have gray leather with black, much better.

This is my second Jetta and I love it! I bought a 2000 GLS and had a minor accident with it 6 months after I bought it. My local dealership was very careless in repairing the damage and caused more problems than the accident did. I never really felt the same about the car after that. When my 2 year maintainance deal was almost up I decided to trade it in for a 2002. I love it, just like I loved the 2000 when I had it.

Similar Products Used:

2000 GLS

power value looks simple yet nice interior

very few except the gas mileage could be better and the humidity caused the car to run sluggish sometimes.

Rides like a bigger car, very reliable, vr6 has low end kick. The leather interior help up nicely nad was easy to clean. I added a pfflow kit and chip to get another 30 horses out of it. The only problem I recall having with it was the engine light would go on and the dealer would have to shut it off and when it was humid the car ran sluggish unless you ran it for a while. I put 52k miles on it before my lease ended and now I miss it. I see people had problems with this car, I've owned 3 and they were al great cars and I'm going to buy another since I need something more practical than my fiances cabrio to haul my bikes around to races as well as the wonderful weather here in the midwest. For my purposes, I''l take this car and pcket the difference from a BMW 3 series.

Similar Products Used:

1994 Jetta GLS, 1996 Cabrio

I have a review further down on the page, but i wanted to share what has happened to my car over the three years that I have owned it. I bought it used, and since then, I have not had one single problem, nor have I had any problems with the two VW dealers that I have dealt with. I only feel that I need to write this to point out that every person who has a jetta is not experiencing huge problems with their cars. Mine has been trouble free with regular maintence, and continues to look and perform well.

I have had nothing but problems with my 1999 Jetta. Both my front window regulators failed which took nearly two weeks for the dealer to fix because so many people were having problems they were on back order for the part. My locks on the back doors were not locking with my key. My key has fallen apart. My mass air flow sensor has failed which they are charging me over $400 to fix. I have had nothing but problems with my jetta.

-VR6 -huge trunk -VR6 -butch looks -VR6 -reliable -VR6 -reasonably inexpensive -VR6

-limp-wristed suspension -wheel/tire package too small @15" -needs more sound deadening -interior on the cheap side -shifter throws are too long

My 3rd VW and not my last. There was no reason to buy this car unless you got the VR6 considering the only other option in ''97 was the anemic 2.0L that could barely power a lawn mower. Anyhow, I''ve been very happy w/the purchase. 90k miles and only 3 minor issues. 1) wheel bearing at 45k 2) new plugs and coil pack at 60k 3) a pair of cv joints at 80k Aside from those two unexpected stops, the only other issues have been routine.....tires, oil, filters, etc. The car is still stock aside from the radio, but the only big complaint I have is the suspension; it''s weak-kneed to say the least, but the fab vr6 makes up for most, if not all, of its other shortcomings. For 22k in ''97, there was no other competition. Even today, try finding a v6 w/a manual in a compact sport sedan for less than 25k and you won''t find much to choose from. It''s never let me down and I haven''t been particularly caring of it. I''m lusting after a GTI 337, but I''m hoping to keep my trusty GLX for another 60k miles and hope VW treats us with a Euro-spec GTI VR6 4-Motion by the time I''m ready to buy another VW!

Similar Products Used:

-89 Golf GL -92 GTI 16v

NONE

EVERTHING ABOUT THIS CAR IS HARABLE DONT BUY ONE

This is the worst car ever made!!!! I have a 2002 Jetta and it is not even 6 months old and the transmition is slipping. It also has a sticky lifter it burns oil and it is harable on gas. I brought it to the shop and they wont fix it. They only fixed a light that kept shorting out and charged me $50 for the light bulb. I think that they are the worst people and cars and theyr warrenties dont count because when you have a problem and are under wanrenty they wont fix it. I am reporting them to the better business buerow. And they are hearinig from my laywer

Cute, love the interior, the turbo engine is fab, good handling, CD player is a great plus, sunroof is huge, trunk is a nice size and love the heated seats.

Having your brand new car towed away for major repairs twice in 5 months. There is virtually no storage space, cup-holders block access to the stereo and are a little flimsy (also stick often which I pointed out to the dealership--they found nothing wrong), the trunk is a beast to close...takes both arms, seats are awful lint traps--had to buy a lint brush to keep in the car, and having to constantly fill up the tank with Premium gas can be costly.

I leased this car in December of 2001 and was overjoyed. I''ve always admired VW Jetta''s driving around and finally I had one all of my own. I have the 1.8T with Automatic transmission with the Triptonic thingy (which I never use)...also have the winter package with the heated seats, the cassette player & CD player (monsoon), and a great sunroof. Considered it a fabulous vehicle--at the time. I now have had to drive around a bare bones Jetta as a rental while mine''s been in the shop. Today will be the 2nd time I''ve had to witness my brand new car being towed away. Breaks my heart...and royally pisses me off. Both times now it''s been because the check engine light comes on and flashes (which they tell me is extremely bad--when it''s flashing it means there is damage being caused to the engine-yipee). The first time I took it in it was because of a "Bad Ignition Coil". They told me..get this..that this is "something that is common in damp weather"--so what? I''m just supposed to park my Jetta on rainy days? (BTW, it''s clear as can be today...no friggin dampness--what''s the story going to be now?) WTF?? So fine. Got the "Bad Ignition Coil" replaced and she''s run fine since then. Until this morning where it was deja vu all over again. Same crap. Engine light''s on and flashing...she''s running super rough. So again I call up roadside assistance and have them come and take my car away on a wrecker. How friggin'' embarassing. I live in a high-rise apartment in the middle of the city so I had plenty of witnesses. Probably thought it was the repo man coming to take her away. Just a total inconvenience...throughly disappointed. As I write this I am awaiting (yeah-over an hour) a call back from the dealership to find out what it will take to get a rental and when it is they can look at the car. Crappy thing is each time this had occured on a Friday so I''ll be without my car for the entire weekend and thensome. Ugh. ***If anyone else has experienced similar problems, please email me. Thanks! :)

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1998 Pontiac Sunfire...had minor problems but never had to have the car taken in for major repairs.

Maintains good market value, huge trunk, nice sunroof, great fuel milage 40mpg city 47hwy (slightly lower than advertised), maintenence free, fun road trip car, handles great in all weather conditions, very comfortable at highway speeds and above.

The backseat is fine for kids (2 car seats and maybe a kid in the middle), but no leg room for adults (even cramped for little ol'' 5''2" me), cup holders won''t hold anything bigger than a 12oz can, passenger windows seem to fog up easily.

GO VW!!! Though not as cute as my ''65 bug this Jetta has required FAR LESS maintenece. General Description: This is a 5 speed manual trans diesel Jetta. Manual window cranks, power locks, am/fm cassette, sunroof. Bought it new 4.5 years ago. Has 60,000 miles. Maintence: Lets see, regular oil changes, replaced the windshild wipers, new tires, new brakes (just) I don''t baby this car - I have loaded and over loaded the trunk, hit tons of potholes that would have swallowed a lesser car, it has some dings and scratches, but it is most utilitarian, and still looks great.

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1998 Jetta TDI - bought it used last year for our second daily driver. This one leaks a little oil, but over all just as impressed.

Fast, good on gas,and looks different.

Every thing you could say about your old car but its new.

I got this car as a gift and do apperiacte it but it a peice of poo just like the other two she bought at the same time.