By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
The current Jetta is in it's FIFTH year production run. You would at least think that they would get rid of SOME of the more well known problems outside of the power window regulators!
Come to think of it, the recent drop in quality coincides with the Jetta build dates when the Puebla plant was in bitter renegotiations for their yearly contracts. Coincidence?
I wonder if the Beetles also got a sudden spike of problems as well...
No German makes made the list. Camry and Altima have declining reliability. The alternative to the Jetta is an Oldsmobile. Get them while they last. ROFLMAO!
What is the relevance of the CR ratings? Yes they do give a fair indication of overall problems with a vehicle. Would you rather drive a car you hated to drive and never have a problem or drive a enjoyable car such as Jetta and have a couple of warranty items?
where is the logic??
i am not in a good mood, but really, all cars are a crapshoot.
- Mark
Fish, you had an Accord that the tranny went on. Did you expect that when you bought it? I would think not.
Everyone who "knows" VWs know about the windows and the rattles. Knowing this information, I still got my car, because I love the way it drives, looks, and feels, and I wanted it. There have been some issues, but all cars have some issues.
So for those who live by CR, get what they tell you to get. Everyone else, get what you want.
just because a car is below average doesn't mean it won't most likely be trouble free though. if the lowest score in some exam was 96%, but most people received an 98% making the 96% score below average, does this mean the person who got a 96% didn't know his subject. i would say no. maybe CR should have cars reach a certain threshold to be recommended because almost all cars today are pretty reliable.
I used to get real mad about my rattles (when I had them), then I thought how I would feel driving a 2 month old car that already needed a transmission.
no one is saying to follow CR strictly, but as one of many factors for getting a car. CR also says the jetta is a fun driving car too. how would you know about the extent of the window problems in jettas if no one would tabulate the results from surveys? that's why everyone knows about this.
But it did make her think very seriously about buying a VW again. When a window breaks once every six months, that's acceptable. When two or three of them break every six months - to the point where you never roll down your window, to vent the car, or get a parking ticker, THAT'S EXCESSIVE.
Since then, I have seen the litanny of Jetta problems just get worse with the current model. MAF problems, et. al. What fun is it to drive a car when it's always in the garage for repairs?
To VW's credit, they did recover the numerous repair bills they paid for her past her warranty. That's why we didn't hesitate to get the more road-worthy Passat.
The window problem has been fixed now, but there is still the MAF issue. It's not as widespread as the window problem is though. Also, the rear brakes wear quickly. VW addresses that individually, replacing parts for free on most cars, from my co-worker's experiences.
Also, 99 was the first year of the new design. Bugs are gonna happen. What's not acceptable is that they are just taking action against some of them (windows, for example) NOW.
This car actually averages about the same as the loaner Beetle I had for 5 weeks, which was a 2.slow. So why not get the extra power of the turbo with no cost in fuel economy?
supposed to be nice weather this weekend. i might try to wax my car. (never waxed a car)
Oh My! I just finished reading 2,500 posts since June 2002.
My dad actually offered to wax the car for me (and I didn't ask him either, he volunteered). I might get him to do it, provided I can keep the car at home for more than a couple hours.
Just apply one section at a time. Let dry, and wipe off. If you are applying the wax too quickly in one section prior to drying, apply another one. At least that's how I do it.
Make sure you wash the car FIRST.
Enough said.
There are several 'secrets' to making the task easier and longer-lasting. (all learned thru trial-error)
BASICALLY:
- Get it squeeky-clean
- apply wax back-forth only rubbing well into pores of paint.
- buff to brilliant shine with orbital motion.
NEVER use silicone-based or petroleum-based productsI went to an automatic carwash once and it took me 3 hand buffings to remove all of those D@MN swirl-marks.
I HIGHLY recommend the products by the german company Zymol
Their cleaner-wax is available at Wallmart for around 12 bucks.
CR's tests have nothing to do with the data they collect from owners. They do a sampling of owners and get legitimate results. I trust those statistically derrived results far more than 5 anecdotes from friends and family.
People in here may claim the Jetta is a good car, but the stats do not back up that anecdotal claim.
like most organizations, CR doesn't impress upon me that warm and fuzzy feeling. enron, martha stewart, the airlines/amtrak, and every single political administration in the world is dishonest. CR isn't above being self-serving. that is why they don't get my vote. real people, that i can see and hear, do.
and now for the wax:
i ended up using Meguires Gold Class. worked out very nice. it got rid of some scratches and was easy to apply and buff out. i also got some Armor All leather wipes for my seats. those worked like a CHARM! never going back to creams/lotions/sprays again. i also vacuumed, treated the tires, did the dash, top of doors, etc.
the car looks and smells great right now. it will rain tomorrow, betcha $50
I am bringing my car down to you next weekend. Will you trade me and give mine the same treatment? Just kidding!
I have a '98 VR6. The highest dealer offer I got on it was $7,000. All the dealers admitted it was the cleanest Jetta they'd ever seen, but they had to maintain a certain profit margin on their retail of the car. So, I posted an ad on cars.com for $35. 6 days later I received my first call. Showed the car to the guy & he offered $12,500. He will pick the car up tomorrow. $5,500 difference - minus the $35 for the ad.
Moral of the story: as long as you take car of the car, selling your Jetta yourself will not be difficult.
Also, this is a stock Jetta - not one modification.
I went back to the dealer where I traded a 99 Protege I had for the 01. They gave me $8000 for the car (and I had to fight for that!), and had car on the lot for $10,900 (pity the person who paid that much for that poor car). With the 01 Pro., they sold listed it for $13,900 after giving me $11,500. It took them 3 months, but they finally did sell it to someone.
Dealers always give significantly less than you would get. I am definitely going to sell this car myself when it comes time.
How many miles did your car have, btw? Just curious...
The car is in immaculate condition, fully loaded.
The car is in immaculate condition, fully loaded.
2. Justin wrote: some lame reason would be mentioned, but it boils down to money and secrets and back door deals.
like most organizations, CR doesn't impress upon me that warm and fuzzy feeling. enron, martha stewart, the airlines/amtrak, and every single political administration in the world is dishonest. CR isn't above being self-serving. that is why they don't get my vote. real people, that i can see and hear, do.
So basically, you're saying all CR's statements about not taking money from outside sources is a lie? So file a class action lawsuit.
as far as CR, i personally don't care, because i don't buy my cars based on their reports. but ever since they had people test driving cars, that don't actually know how to drive a motor vehicle, i have found them repulsive. they are so totally off base...one year a car is in their good graces, the next year not. i know, i know, these finding are based on surveys. that is what they say...
and yes, you would think that VW would figure out that sending a check, or um, making a "donation" to a "non-profit" like CR would get them a little good press....but they haven't figured it out yet. there was a time a few years ago when the Passat was considered better than the Accord at CR though...wondered what happened there?!
they probably stopped sending the checks since they sell each and every horribly unreliable car with no problems
it is all very suspect.
And CR says they don't take donations, but who doesn't lie, right?