good handling; awesome look (especially interior lights)

Oil consumption
Customer service

If you asked me within the first year of purchasing this vehicle if I would recommend it to anyone, I would definately had said yes. I would probably have said it is a car with great handling, an awesome look, good reliability, great customer service. Ask me today, I'd tell you to never buy a Volkswagen.
I am on an oil consumption program with a VW dealership. Every month (ie. approximately every 2000km=~1250miles), a VW dealership adds at least a quart of oil into my car. To be told that adding this much oil into a brand new car is normal is proposterous but yet VW is telling me just that. To get a bit of peace of mind, I have asked different dealerships and head-office to perform certain tests, they have refused. I told them I would pay, they have refused. I have told them I will hire my own mechanic to perform these tests and they have told me that if I do, the warranty may no longer be applicable. Does this sound right to you? If you are experiencing similar problems with your '99/'00 vehicle, contact me. If you aren't, please keep this review in mind and check your oil EVERY time you fill up your gas tank. For those of you considering a newer Jetta, please think twice.

Similar Products Used:

Buy a Honda.

Great sounding and working engine.
Beautiful body style, and classy looking interior.
All around great car.

slight body roll.

I have been very satisfied with this car. It has been my first new car and I would buy it again in a second. I have the VR6 and it has more than enough power. It gets better gas mileage then VW said it would (between 26-29 in the city and 32-36 on the highway. And I drive it fairly aggresive. I love the sound of the engine. The feel of it on the road. My only complaint would be that it has a slight body roll when taking corners fast. It's been over a year since I bought it and I still catch myself walking backwards when leaving the car just to look at it longer. I have heard some horror stories from other owners and maybe I've been really lucky. LOVE THE CAR.

We were duped by the how nice it looks... but boy does it run poorly. For the money you pay you do not get your money's worth for this car. We will never buy a VW again. Hoping to get rid of it soon.

Stalling, bucking, noisy, unreliable. Constantly in for repair. Very nervous to drive at this point. We have had many near misses on the highway due to stalling.

BEWARE OF THE 2000 VW JETTA. Absolute disappointment! We have had nothing but trouble with this car. It is an unsafe vehicle. The car has had constant "surging" bucking problems, stalling, loud when cold. The following parts have been replaced:
Fuel sensor, throttle body control TWICE, various connectors, wiring, timing belt, water pump, left front and right rear window regulators, air flow sensor, cruise control, door hinges, transmitter, temp. sensor, gaskets, brake work, the list goes on and on. All in first 12 months of owning car. We had it in for two weeks straight last time. Just got it back last week. We are waiting to hear from Volkswagen Canada. Now seeking legal advice. The dealer says there is nothing he can do but continue to repair it. What a big lemon!!!

Similar Products Used:

Jeep products are far superior in reliablity. Still own one now.

Please heed our warnings and go to Capilano, Cowell, or Clarkdale dealerships in order to save yourself a lot of time, money and frustrations.

None

This is just a WARNING to all of you about to buy a volkswagen who live in Vancouver British Columbia Canada. Do not buy your Volkswagen from Westminster or Westgate Volkswagen dealerships. These dealerships are extremely brutal when it comes down to honesty. These dealerships are owned by the same person and the salesmen must have all gone to con school in order to work at these dealerships. This is a just a friendly warning as my wife and I were just about to buy a Jetta from Westminster when the con game began. We were told lie upon lie which we learned after visiting a few other dealers. We know that salesmen can be con men but we have never been so lied to in dealing with any other car dealerships.

Similar Products Used:

None

-This car is a rocket ship. My Jetta has eaten up numerous new BMW 325's, and A4's.
-The car's handeling is phenominal. I take sharp off-ramp corners at 70mph with barley and tire screech. There is some understeering which is common in most cars with front wheel drive, but the ASR (Anti Slip Regulation) keeps tires under control.
-The Monsoon Sound System is incredible! I think that I could enter an IASCA compitition and do OK with a stock system! Try and do that with another car's stock system.
-Multi-function steering wheel adds cruise control, and audio controls at your fingertips.
-The leather seats are as soft as butter, yet very, very supportive (lumbar helps alot as well).
-I love the rear sun-shade during the hot days. I wish it was power though!
-The Jetta's trunk is absolutely enormous! I have folded the rear seats down, and slept through the trunk with plenty of room.
-The wood accents throughout the cabin are tastefully placed and add a nice touch of class.
-My girlfriend loves the heated seats, as I like to keep the A/C at 65 degrees most of the time.
-VW Climatronic (VW's version of automatic climate control) is a great feature. No need to bother with annoying dials that keep you guessing at cabin temperature.
-I really like the front cup holders despite what others have said. They fit 40oz drinks easily so long as you pull cup holder arm back.
-Programable key fobs are awsome when they work. They will move the seat to your programmed memory position upon unlocking the car's doors.
-Self dimming rear view mirror is great at night on the highway.
-Gas milage seems good at 26city/29+highway (using Permium gas).
-Low levels of wind noise at highway speeds.
-Very, Very safe car. 5 Stars on gvt. crash test ratings. This car has 6 airbags. Four of which roll over windows in the event of a side impact to protect occupents from glass.
-Many aftermarket upgrades available. (www.vwvortex.com)
-Free scheduled services for 24k miles.

-My friends complain that the back seat is to small. (What the hell do I care, I'm the driver!)
-Car begs to be driven fast on the highway. At speeds of 70 it seems like your going 45. This can lead to tickets :(
-Crappy tires for such a high-performance sedan.
-Paint seems to chip easily around gas filler opening.
-Should have HomeLink system built in.
-There should be a rear arm rest.
-GLX should come with a standard rear spoiler (like pervious GLX models).

I am writing a follow-up on an earlier post. Since my last post I have encountered several small problems with my Silver Jetta GLX. These are very minor problems that were easily fixed while my Jetta was in for it's 5k service.
-Front right hand side amber fog light has burnt out.
-The right directional signal seems to be stuck, and blinks very fast.
-The rear ash-trey came off of the track and cracked.
-Sometimes the front plastic lip of the sunroof does not go down all the way upon closing, this caused it to open again. Only when I heald it down would it close.
-The memory feature on the power seats only seems to work about 50% of the time, and only when car is off.

My automobile previous to this Jetta was a 1999 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Edition which gave me my share of problems (rear axle cracked at 1500 miles!) so these small repairs seem normal to me. The dealership that I use is Patrick Motors. They are located in Auburn MA, on Rt. 20 and have been extreemly understanding, and helpful. Everything was fixed in under 2 hours while it was in for a rutine oil change. I was never inconvienced, therefore I have no problems.

Similar Products Used:

1999 Jeep Wrangler Sahara (Different category)
2000 BMW 528ia
1999 Mercedes-Benz E320 4Matic
1997 VW Jetta GLX

Great looking, fun to drive and......... pretty much it

First I just took my car in for STRUTS CHANGE!!! The struts are leaking after 50,000 miles. My roommates Civic never hasn't had to change stuff yet. After twenty some thousand miles my muffler and exhaust wore down. HHMMMM makes me wonder. I guess these are considered minor compared to others, and the check engine light, I really wonder.

Bought my car in 98 and everything was alrite. But i really can't believe why the muffler goes out so early. And I will list my problem below. But overall I've been lucky and somewhat satisfied.

Similar Products Used:

Civics and Accords, they are better value.

Nice physical design, fun to drive.

The little things that fall apart! (just as others here have said)
I swear, these cars are set to have things fail right after the warranty. At about 20K miles, the lights behind the heating controls died. The dealer in Oregon (Herzog-Meier) said it would cost $70 just to look at it, and since it was "electrical," it wouldn't be covered under warranty. Whatever.
At 24K miles, the tires completely wore out. I had to replace all four.
At 27K miles, the "check engine" light has appeared. I'm going to play with my gas to see if this helps (I've been getting Costco gas because it is so much cheaper here in Northern CA).

Little things have failed since about 20K miles. Not anything that has forced me to give it to the mechanic for any period of time, but it is dreadfully annoying stuff - and I'm sure that there will only be more problems. This car is fun to drive, but I wouldn't get another VW as they seem to have serious issues with quality control. I wish that review boards such as this existed at the time I purchased this car, rather than going on thinking that VWs last a really long time (the old models do!) and that the Jetta was nice to look at.

Similar Products Used:

We also have a 1998 Saturn SL1. That puppy has been run into the ground and still performs extremely well with no maintenance other than oil changes. Nothing has broken on it - it isn't as fun to drive as the Jetta, but it is nice that nothing on it falls apart.

the fuel efficiency of the turbo diesel is great. sufficient power for a diesel.

as raymond from san jose states, the interior needs some babying. the kids managed to rip out the rear cup holder in no time. we added in the center arm rest that sits over the brake lever. this is poorly designed, and comes apart any time we reach for the interior trunk button.

(1998 Model) - overall, we love the jetta tdi. warning about the free oil changes -- get to the dealership early. if i show up past 8am, i'm waiting until after lunch. if i'm first or second in line, i'm out of there by 9 am.

Huge trunk, comfortable interior, good range (300+ miles per tank), and prewired for a Clarion 6 disc CD Changer

The factory rack came with only one bike mount. Guess where you need to purchase the other one's from... that's right the dealer, for more than the going rate of comparable racks. The air conditioning is not very effective on very hot days, at full blast it doesn't reach back seat passengers.

(1997 Model) - This car handles well, and likes 75 to 95 mph. Could use a little more oomph in the low speeds, but I guess that's why they make a VR6 model. Stiffer suspension would be nice for those twisty mountain roads. Definitely a great car for the money and fun to drive.

great car, smooth, and haven't had any problems for over 3.5 years now. it has an automatic sun roof, fog lights, automatic door locks, AC, Bose (Premium Audio) stereo system, with 6 speakers. 30,000 mile free tune up. and i've forgotten the warranty on parts, i believe 100,000 miles, but i'm honestly unsure. ricaro seats!

well, i have a demanding cargo. i wish i could fit a double-bass in it, but can't. the plastics inside, like the glove compartment broke. a plastic shield under the passenger seat broke too. cup holders aren't all that great.

i love the car. probably not the most efficient for a commuter car. it's about 28 - 30 miles to a gallon. but the drive, the industrial design (inside and out) are great! the drive is smooth, and very comfortable. don't tell anyone, but i've taken it going about 115, and was still ready to go. i wasn't. it's a 4 cylinder engine, but can hold it's own. but bottom line, it's just a fun car to drive.