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the fact is, most American and Japanese SEDANS in the under $25k range are cars people are forced to own. well, maybe except for the horrendous PT Cruiser.
the best thing about VW is, people drive them because they actually WANT to. not because they were scared into it by Honda/Mazda [non-permissible content removed], or because it is all they can afford. i still can't fathom it, but i realize it is true - some people read this forum, and actually go buy a Honda or Mazda because they think it won't break down or rattle. i personally could never live my life in fear like that. would much rather take a chance on a car rattling, than falling asleep at the wheel or slitting my wrists from boredom.
wouldn't matter if every single Jetta rattled, or even had mechanical problems. they are sweet cars. people love them. VW has "something", even I don't know what it is exactly , that other car makers don't.
we can argue and argue and argue, but that fact is, there are some people that swear that they will never buy a first VW, and some that swear they will never buy another one. who cares? i don't. VW doesn't. sure, some paranoid people do. let them drive their Mazdas and Hondas. their as just as many people that for decades past, and decades to come, will ONLY buy VW's. the reason is they have soul, quality, safety, in a nice cheap package, that no one else can seem to touch. shouldn't we leave this board to Jetta owners to discuss/praise/whine about the Jetta? i could never actually post somewhere else, about a car i don't own, without feeling like a total loser with too much time on my hands. but, that's life for me i guess. everyone is raised with different ideas of what is acceptable with regard to interacting with society i guess.
isn't this conversation getting old?
What is George Lucas doing to my childhood? :^(
On Topic: I heart my Jetta.
It seems like many of you have forgotten that our discussions in the Town Hall attempt to provide a civil area for friendly conversation that (for the most part) belongs a) under the topic of the main board and b) under the topic of the specific discussion.
There are many conversations going on in here that don't comply with that tenet at all and this has been going on for way over a hundred posts.
Protege conversation belongs in the Protege discussion. Protege vs. Jetta discussion belongs on the Comparisons board.
Petty squabbling over personal opinion doesn't belong here at all.
The Town Hall also hosts these discussions for folks interested in specific vehicles. There is no way someone looking for honest information on the Jetta would possibly think they might find it here.
And that, my friends, is not acceptable.
I agree with Kirstie, it is way too hard to go back and delete all that should be deleted in here. If any of you understand our point, it would be much appreciated if you would delete your own out of line posts (IAW what I wrote above).
Further messages on this order WILL be removed.
If anyone has any questions or feels a need to comment on my post, please email me.
Kirstie, I appreciate the assist, thanks.
Pat
Sedans Host
Just curious. Without the 1.8T (or a VR6) I wouldn't touch a Jetta.
I would also like to say to all of those out there considering a Jetta that to date, I love my car (2002 TDI). It has had zero problems, no sign of rattling, and I love getting in it every day after work. I actually go out for lunch even when I have food to eat just because I want to drive it, and that is a huge difference over my old car (1994 Chevy Lumina - ugh!).
Also, the heated seat (set on "1") is great, and my back didn't hurt over the 250 miles so far driven. Who says heated seats are only for winter?
Anyway, Happy 4th everyone! Have a happy and safe holiday.
"VW - Mechanics Wanted"
specially in reference to dis-satisfied owners.
All other owners, Enjoy your Jetta.
We like the Jetta for its affordability mixed with Germanic style and will definitely consider one when we move to a small town and are putting 6,000 easy low stress miles on it a year rather than the 20,000 mile a year dangerous Atlanta commute my wife has to make here. I want her in a bigger vehicle on these roads.
Other than the window regulator clips breaking on the driver's side window, we have had no problems with our Jetta. It has been a very reliable car so far and we have 38,000 miles on her.
i can get 31-33 on the highway on long trips. that is about it.
My old 2.4 L 145 HP 91 Stanza could cruise at 85 all day and still give me 30 mpg.
i know the VR6 got a horsepower boast since then, but i don't see why anyone would spend the extra money for the VR6. you'll miss out on the real wood trim and automatic climate control on the top model i guess.
blueguy: an awful lot of cars out there have their trannys geared "wrong" then. 2250 rpms at 60 mph sounds about right to me. during the first few weeks of driving my VR6, i found myself trying to shift up to another gear when i was already in 5th gear. so how does this gearing problem compare to the beam axle?
I have gotten up to 30mpg on this last tank, so it's getting better. Also, there were some city miles on the first (28mpg) tank.
I have not seen one Jetta here in NC the entire time we have been here. I have been looking on used car lots and everything, and not ONE! I still cannot believe it, neither can my dad.
I finally got my new tire while I was here too. It only cost me $122 here, so that's cool (I have the 17s).
He said he has a dash rattle too, but he doesn't want to investigate it, and he deals with it. Maybe I should have talked to him a couple months ago, eh?
posts here regarding rattles,and
numerouse other problems, i decided to visit other car sites such as autoweb,carpoint,and cars.com andautosite among many
others, and sure enough those
jetta owners r haveing same problems as u people in this forum.i especially like the 3 strait reviews in autoweb about regarding 3 different jetta owners who all had driver windows
fall into the door. anyway, not that i did not believe u guys but i just had to check it out for myself. same problems over at those sites as well lots of door rattle problems, electrical problems,among many other. anyway, since u guys talk about rattles so much here i have dubbed u guys the ratt pack. needless to say, i wont be getting a jetta anytime soon.
Seriously, is this the end? Are you just going to live with the rattles now?
Um, I expect about 2500-2600 rpm (about 100 rpm for every 5 mph over 55) at 80 (freeway cruising). You know in Germany they don't have this kind of pathetic cruising gear as everybody who travels on the autobahn would be hyper-mad at VW for giving them cars that can't clip along smoothly and economically at normal speeds.
It's not even the buzzing issue any more (that still gets on my nerves). It's the sorry gas mileage I get every time I cruise up to LA. My friend's Infiniti g35 with 260 HP should NOT be getting better gas mileage when he's loafing along at 90.
-vocus
My doors also make noise but that I can live with as long as the dash rattle muffles everything else. I love my Jetta....but it is a shame that a great car which provides an enjoyable driving experience can be overshadowed by such an annoying rattle. The rattle does not even affect the mechanicals of the car....the only thing it affects is my mind and attitude. I wish I had the ability to ignore the rattle. Though, if my car had alot of miles on it I would figure that rattles come with age......
Actually, someone in my neighborhood yeserday commented on how pretty and nice my Jetta was and they thought it was real expensive. I love to get compliments...especially on a car that has been on the market for over 2 years.
1996 GL 4 cylinder.
I pretty much figured that's what the lawyer would tell you. I'm sure you kind of knew too, but being so mad about the service department might have clouded your judgement.
So let's hope you're ready to enjoy and drive your car............
$122 for ONE TIRE?? Wow! I was looking around for tires for our Jetta, and was complaining about anything over $50-55!!! Holy Crow, what are those things made of, gold?
Wow, that's pretty nervy. I can't imagine talking to someone just because I saw a keychain.
Here you go:
Go for the racer look. Remove All interior panels and non essential parts. Drive with bare metal doors with just the mechanicals there.
This will give you the coveted German function over form look and also (hopefully) eliminate your rattles. It should also reduce weight, and therefore improve gas mileage, braking, accelleration, and handling.
Good luck with your crummy car.
;-)
kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
trouble prone, but thats not what iam talking about here. iam saying that the odds of getting a honda or toyota thats reliable is pretty goood. the odds of getting a jetta that is reliable is pretty slim. i would much rather put the odds in my favor.another words, buying a jetta is a crapshoot, u have to hope and pray that your new jetta is going to be a good one. good luck all future jetta owners you will need it.
but i wonder why yours revs so high. mine, at 75-80mph, is just at 3k rpms. must be really different gearing for the 5 speed manual vs. the 5 speed automatic. what is your car doing at 75-80? like 4500? that is bad.....getting into old Integra GS-R territory there....
are you shifting into 5th? haha. have you had the car checked out? it shouldn't be that high...can't be good for MPG's...
vocus - i often have people ask me where i got my car. i wasn't too keen on silver/gray leather combo at first, but took it because it was the best color combo in the area. lots of people have actually asked me about the silver/gray leather. my point - i guess it isn't too rare for people to question total strangers about their car. i would never have the nerve to though...
aren't you the person that a few months ago came in here and said you bought a Jetta and traded it immediately for an RSX?
What are they going to "check out"? There is nothing you can do about the gear ratios short of changing them.
just asking BLUE if he has had it checked out....:)
Bruno
yep, most small four cylinders do rev pretty high at high speeds. to me, my 97 Honda Civic HX 5 speed, and this 2002 Turbo automatic, are the smoothest revving small fours I have ever driven. very quiet and sedate on the highway. the difference i guess between the two is that i can get the VW to actually go somewhere
the VW is a small four, but i guess it doesn't rev as high as the Integra did because it has turbo, and it comes on so low (1900 or something like that). of course, my redline is like 6k or 6500, where the GS-R was almost 8k.
Thanks for your input.
i would say that is a good thing
is the car not "totalled" now?
i was in a fairly severe accident in a 01 Civic EX. i hit two things head on - a car and a telephone pole, and neither front airbag went off. i thought it strange too.
I was reading on Automobile magazine today that the Jetta will not be redisigned until 2005. That is when my current lease will be up. They said the Jetta will be bigger, which is no surprise.
Also, where in your dash is the rattle?
I'm with you Vocus, a rattle in the dash is not a minor problem. It would drive me wild, and they're practically impossible to find.
they must have new management over there!
by Justin Jul 06, 2002
CONSUMER REPORTS: Hatchback/Wagons Test Drive Comparo- August 2002
Predicted Reliability-
Excellent -Mazda Protege5
Very Good -Toyota Matrix
-Subaru Impreza Outback Sport
-Pontiac Vibe
Good -VW Jetta Wagon GLS 1.8T
Poor -Ford Focus ZX5
Sample Defects (as tested)-
(1) Defect -Mazda Protege5
-Pontiac Vibe
(2) Defects -Toyota Matrix
(3) Defects -Subaru Impreza Outback Sport
-Ford Focus ZX5
(5) Defects -VW Jetta Wagon GLS 1.8T
Justin, to be fair, the VW Jetta Wagon GLS 1.8T was not rated well for reliability or sample defects. However, the VW Jetta Wagon GLS 1.8T was rated #1 in the Overall Ratings.
-love train