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please elaborate.
thanks!
FYI - almost bought a Maxima - lots of experience with them. As far as the G - drove one about 2 months ago for about 30 minutes. I couldn't get past the cheap interior, and the typical sleazy non English speaking salesperson. gold chains and all. no kidding. that is what is selling infiniti's here in the DC area....
Outside of front end styling, the G just doesn't offer anything over the Max in my opinion. But again, I would be in a Passat over any of them. Why is it that even Lexus GS400 power window switches are cheap compared to my Jetta? I guess I have been spoiled....
i was remarking how, if VW wanted to "keep it real"...they should have made the ad different. assuming most jettas bound for the U.S. (target audience for ad) are made in Mexico.
got anything else???
I had to remove each rear wheel as you have to drill into the plastic wheel house to line up the mounting screws. I put a small piece of plywood under the jack so those nubs would not crunch into my concrete garage floor. I keep it in the spare tire bay JIC. It was good though to be familiarized with how the jack does work for any future reference. The flat piece of wood would come in handy if you had to change a tire on a soft shoulder too.
BTW...I believe we have VW roadside assistance that would have done your emergency tire change for free...
I chose to go the Jetta route this time because I was looking for a car that was a little more fun to drive and I think I have a winner in my 1.8T!
Now, looking at it from a kid point of view, for the same money as a Jetta, couldn't the folks get junior a Miata? On the coolness scale, I'd say that the ragtop is a lot cooler than the sedan! Or even the Rab..., uh, Cabrio?! That might also be cooler than the Jetta.
Anyway, just my $.02
Of course if my kid bought a used VW I'd assume he/she was the milkman's progeny.
You guys have been busy!
I'd choose this option. You can have dedicated snows, the cost is less, and you can do it yourself as the season dictates. You can even switch to non-snows for a long trip if you know it will be dry roads...
Plus, there is probably more variety of tires in 15". You'll also get longer lifespan out of your tires.
Normal avg. here is 6-18 in. plus ice."
Here in Taxachusetts,(http://www.smallgovernmentact.org), we can sometimes see twice that in a single storm!
Get 2WD, and the 4.3 motor, smaller motor if you are worried about gas efficiency.
Don't worry about body, but make sure good mechanicals.
If you are in snow country DON'T SKIMP, GET GOOD SNOW TIRES. Also, get a locking rear differential. This will be as good as 4X4 for way less money.
You will be happy with the performance, you can move your stuff around, and you might be able to use it to make some money on the side (moving people, landscaping, odd jobs, etc.).
Good luck.
Visualize a sharp knife versus a dull knife
sigh...
that was not a nice thing to do. you're a meanie.
Now, looking at it from a kid point of view, for the same money as a Jetta, couldn't the folks get junior a Miata? On the coolness scale, I'd say that the ragtop is a lot cooler than the sedan! Or even the Rab..., uh, Cabrio?! That might also be cooler than the Jetta.
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#7263 of 7271 ferric by blueguydotcom
My feelings on cars and kids: you want a car, earn the money and buy it yourself. It's what I did and I strongly believe in that concept.
...
Cool? Get the kid a Jeep or a VW Thing.
Best idea? UMass had free (to local residents, not to taxpayers of Taxachusetts) buses around the 5 college area.
ian18 "Tires, tires, tires" Aug 18, 2002 9:44pm
I'd choose this option. You can have dedicated snows, the cost is less, and you can do it yourself as the season dictates. You can even switch to non-snows for a long trip if you know it will be dry roads...
You want smaller 15" (steel) rims in the winter so you have more sidewall to absorb the impact of all the potholes. 17" wheels don't last long in the winter in my part of the world. (Northern New England) If you happen to live in a part of the world blessed with good road surfaces, 17" wheels with all-season radials should work fairly well for occasional snow driving.
It's also better to run a width no wider than a 195 on a VW in the winter. On a slippery surface, it's the downforce per square inch that gives you the traction so you're trying to minimize the amount of tread on the road. A wider tire will work OK but you'll be giving up some traction.
All in all, a VW is a great snow car and it'll get you there in the snow with performance 17" tires as long as you drive cautiously and avoid driving when there's more than 6" of unplowed muck on the road. I run Nokian Hakka Q's on 15" steel wheels in the winter but that's because I frequently see rain to ice to snow transitions where the new generation high tech studless snow/ice tires work best.
I figured I would lift the car myself and do the tire swap this time, but didn't realize the standard jack was so complicated. I am glad that woman came by and let me use her big jack.
I haven't used it but I thought VW roadside was actually AAA? The quality of AAA depends 100% on the luck of the draw on the local garage. I've had them no-show. I've had them show up in 5 minutes and do a really good job.
I figured I would lift the car myself and do the tire swap this time, but didn't realize the standard jack was so complicated. I am glad that woman came by and let me use her big jack.
I got a flat when my GTI was a week or two old. I had to read the stinkin' manual but the jack worked well enough to do the job. I couldn't get anybody to pull off my snowtires last spring so I went to WalMart, bought a floor jack, and changed the steel wheels and snowtires out in their parking lot.
I am thinking about investing in a floor jack, as to not have to worry about using the jack that came with the car. I never thought it would matter really, since I don't do my own maintenance or anything like that. But, with my luck with tires, it seems almost appropriate to buy one of those jacks.
To their credit, I love the way VW lays out the compartment for the spare and tools. Very nice. The jack seems more complicated than the ones I used with the Proteges (99 and 01) that I had.
My wife says I'm really good with mechanical things, but I think that's only because she can't tell a phillips head from a straightedge.
Which is why you should report them to AAA. If they get enough reports, they will not carry that garage any longer. It really does work to complain to the right people you know.
As far as the jack, it just seemed like it was difficult to get under the car. Of course, it was hot as hell and dark when I was trying to do this, so I was not in the most cooperative of moods.
I have been reading a lot about fuel pump problems on older Jettas...and I wonder if the guy selling this one smells a problem coming. My friend is a 52 year old woman, and she is single.... so she has no one around to give her a straight opinion. she has called 2 mechanics and they disagree.
Then again, numerous short trips play havoc with a car's transmission. It is really a toss up - have them both inspected by mechanics before you decide. (as opposed to just calling the mechanics and asking their opinion!)
But at that price point ($2K) she can't go wrong with the Geo. Possibilities
a. Very carefully maintained, no problems, continues to provide great service - great!
b. If problems crop up, they can't be major (assuming no major repairs were previously needed and the inspection checks out ok), and will cost MUCH less to repair and take care of than the Jetta.
beware VW Credit.
i financed my 2002 Jetta through them for 60 months last October, at 5.5%. my credit union is offering me 4.9 %. so to save money (and consolidate other credit union business) i sent a pay off check to VW credit. they received the check. i know this because I Fed Ex'd it, and, they admitted they received it.
however, they have now conveniently "lost" my check. they tell me I have to stop payment on it, and get another check from my credit union.
VW credit are complete and total idiots. if it weren't so time consuming, i would not be getting another check to them. the family attorney says that they have my payment - they admitted to having it - not my fault they chose not to cash the check but he says i would still receive bills in the mail from VW, and it would be a court battle. so, to save time, i am actually allowing them to humiliate me, and i am doing more legwork (going to the credit union, fed-exing again, etc).
just wanted to pass it along. VW cars = near perfection. VW CREDIT = common corporate thieves!
Get the name of the recipient whom signed for your FedEx envelope...
Ask your credit union to see if the check has cleared... Was it a CU draft signed by your bank or did you sign it? OR, was it a payoff check made out directly to VW credit by your CU? Get this information and call them to force them to track it. If they did cash it and your CU has the returned canx check, then you can shove that down their throat. Usually your refinancing institution will sent a bank check or draft directly to the lien holder since they are acquiring the new lien on your vehicle. Get your CU involved and do not take VW credit's humiliation. You need to humiliate them period.
Good Luck...
Justin: I am sorry to hear about your "VW Credit" problems. I'm sure it will work out in the end.
i am sending one more check. i have been advised that this one will be processed immediately.
we shall see....
i wouldn't generalize about VW Credit except that i have spoken to literally 20 people - each one more idiotic than the next.
I just turned 20K miles last night, and everything still is fine...
I don't mind commuting for work though, since the jobs in Baltimore city tend to pay less. Also, you have to pay for parking there. So on that alone, it's worth the drive.
Even though I have 20K miles now, the dealer told me a couple weeks ago I would still get $18K for the car if I traded it in (which is NOT happening any time soon). I think that's pretty good resale.
Burns oil, has the same loud knocking sound, has bad brakes that were supposed to be replaced, but were not...., rattles, climate control lights do not work, new driver door latch needed, going over any bumbs or road irregularities-you hear LOUD squeaking from the car, like the shocks need lubrication or something, and once again the passenger chair needs a new seat frame....POS
Anyone got any idea what the loud squeaking whilke going over bumbs or bad road is? I've had it for a while and never thought anything of it then my cousin with his 02 Jetta said his does not do it and my friends 93 Saab doesnt either.
Also, yesterday I was coming home from New York City and stuck in some traffic, but then it opened up alittle bit but the road was all chewed up for construction, and while going over that I noticed the EPC light come on. What does that mean? What could the reasoning be?
Someone here at work does have a problem that I forgot to mention though: They just bought a used Jetta GL from Carmax about 2 months ago. He realized the car burned 4 quarts of oil in about 1000 miles. He is HOT! I told him that was a characteristic of the 2.0 engine, and he should have done his research.
Another co-worker of mine hates his gf's Jetta, saying the back brakes went up on it at 30K miles, and some other things happend to the car. She can't wait to get rid of it.
if you have no smoke, and no pools of oil, then the car is just an oil pig.
not a good thing mind you, but i wouldn't think the car would actually be damaged, unless it runs out of oil.
some cars go through times when they use more oil than other times. when my car was new, it used about a 1/4 of a quart. ever since the 5k oil change, it hasn't used ANY. not sure why....
On the 2000, the window fell into the door. The guy said he doesn't like the car much at all, yet they still have it. He said they were gonna get rid of it a couple of weeks ago, and the payoff matched what the car was worth. If they hate the car so much and they are even on top of it, I wonder why they didn't get rid of it? Makes no sense to me.
On the other hand, my other co-worker leased a 1999 Jetta GLX with everything. She said she loved the car in the 3 years she leased it (she took it back to them, because she didn't want a car payment), and NEVER had a problem (no windows, no MAF, no nothing). So there are good Jettas out there, contrary to some popular belief.
This is not an issue for me right now, but just something I was thinking about. What do you all think? And would you buy the same car again if you had the chance all over again?
As far as VW Credit sending a next months bill when you paid an extra $100, their computer system was correct in billing you the lesser amts. That was OK as you just continue paying your $100 over payment. Your true total payoff amt. is dropping along with the accrued amt. of interest. I had the same situation with a Student loan for 10 yr term. I would send in normal payments in the beginning, and sent in big chunks resulting from bonuses and large tax returns. They in turn sent me statements that would say I didn't owe anything until some future date as the total of ten years to pay it back still stood.