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I'm planning to buy a car. Can not deside among
New Jetta GLS(V6) or Integra or Accord.
Any suggestion !!!
Many people have asked what the common problems on the new Jettas are. After owning 3 consecutive Japanese makes, I too was very worried about the VW reputation for (cough) reliability. It's a bit like asking Dr. Kevorkian to sell you life insurance.
Well I researched it thoroughly. From the consumer guides, newsgroups, owners, mechanics, etc I have talked to, here it is :
1) The front airdam is too low and tends to catch easily on curbs caused EXPENSIVE repair bills.
2) Creaks and rattles. Sometimes in the doors during acceleration or deceleration (fixed by oiling the hinges) but commonly around the glove box area that show up in the first few months of ownership. Also common in the sunroof (a traditional problem area in VWs).
3) Interior parts keep breaking (floor mat holders, sunroof visor clips, rear belts, etc)
4) Door problems with sensors braking. Anticorrosion sealant leaking out of the doors.
5) Awful dealer service. Dealers either don't admit to problems or don't have the parts in stock.
It is also worth noting that VWs have expensive parts so when it comes time to change brake rotors or something, you are in for a more expensive service than you may expect.
Well that's pretty much it. I'm trying to keep an open mind (deep breath) and am still anxiously awaiting my new black Jetta! It couldn't be worse than my experiences with my '93 Mazda MX-6. Never another Mazda! (don't get me started).
Good luck to us all.
perhaps it will turn out to be a mistake, but if there are any other asian car owners wanting but reluctant to make the jump, here's my rationale:
get a base jetta with no fluff. get a 100,000 mile extended warranty. drive with the intent of keeping the car 1/4 million miles (certainly not unusual with a diesel). if the car has been insufficiently reliable during the first 80 to 90K, then make preparations to sell or trade before it's out of warranty, and take your licks.
if the car has been pretty good to you, take a chance on it being good for a decade. after 100,000 miles *no* car is worth much anyway, and if it becomes a nightmare late in life.....se la vie!
if you like compact sporty sedans you won't find any safer than the jetta. even the most humble vw has all the safety features of a passat glx save for traction control. the cars are incredibly solid and heavy for their size. offset crash testing for cars in that class found the new beetle #1; and the jetta / golf right behind. standard features include seatbelt pre-tensioners, abs, drl's, side door beams and air bags, and of course, driver and passenger air bags.
the reason i mention safety is that it offers at least a somewhat valid excuse for purchasing a car *new* in the first place.
the gl doesn't have power windows, which from what i've gathered, can be one of those things that go early and often. no sunroof to break.
the tdi offers *beat your expectations* performance, gets over 40 mpg, and offers the possibility of giving you or your family a decade of rough service.
put a cd changer in the trunk, maybe some small suspension mods, a nice set of 16" montreal wheels perhaps, even splurge on aftermarket leather from cst.....you've got yourself a pretty damn nice german sports sedan for not a lot of money!
of course that's just my opinion... i could be wrong! 6^7
I love this car; great handling, good acceleration, NO problems in 150K+ miles [ other than a CD player that periodically wants to play without a CD inserted and a "check engine" light that goes on and off after driving about an hour (doing that since 60K;) ] , but the styling is less than stirring.
I have been looking at the VW line, but I have to tell you guys/gals; your reliability/quality/dealer issues are turning me back to another Contour.
What can you say to help me decide on a VW?
Regards,
Al
So buy a honda civic you say........yeah, the coupe is neat looking the sedan.....not so much
Ok, so buy a toyota camry......yeah, but in houston every other car is a camry and not only that but one word......Yawn.
So i've been eyeing the jetta. They are definitely way more styling than the civic or camry and one look at the instrumentation and i was spellbound. However, 1. I noticed it is assembled in Mexico 2. I've heard the parts are expensive 3. I've heard nothing on reliability like i've heard on honda and toyota
Whew! Ok so, if you've seen any literature on reliability for instance Consumer Reports.....clue me in.
Germany or Mexico. After reading all the postings
here on this web site. I'am concern about the jetta's that are made in Mexico. I want the diesel
for the gas mileage, but I'am not willing to
scarifice quality for gas mileage.I have been
driving toyota's for 12 years. I have had very
little problems with several toyota's. I had a
diesel 83 mercedes. I loved this car, but it was
costly to repair, but great on gas. Any hints on
the diesel jetta gls?
A Minivan had rear-ended it something fierce. The Jetta appeared to be totaled. What I saw frightened me: The entire trunk section was flattened up to the base of the rear-window. Trust me when I write flattened. Had the crumpled metal not been present, it would have looked as if the whole trunk was cut off.
Is so much damage supposed to occur? Grant it, it was a minivan, but the entire trunk crumpled? Is this normal? Why isn't it more sturdy?
Concerned but still in love.
In any case, she rolled down the power windows while upside down and got out of the car w/out a scratch on her or injury to be found.
All I can say is that I am definitely buying another one. We had 13K on it and it has been the most fun car I have ever driven.
I had a 85 GTI and did have some problems w/ it, but this 99 Jetta seems DRASTICALLY more solid and well designed. I love it and can't wait to get the next one. (as soon as insurance comes in... :-))
www.highwaysafety.org has full crash report with pictures on the 99/00 Jetta.
Also www.nhtsa.dot.gov states the 2k Jetta will be crash tested in Jan 00.
I test drove the GLS TDI with four grown-ups in it. The time was 5:30 PM I was pulling out into rush hour traffic. I told the salesman this is going to be a real world test of the turbo TDI. The car was a rocket, the delay for the turbo was not a problem and when it kicked in all four of us were pushed back into our seats. The sales and my
daughter both spoke in stereo "WOW"
pushed back into our seats.
Passat GLS V6, or the Volvo S40.
I've never driven the Passat, but I believe it's
basically a larger version of the Jetta.
Right now it's a toss up between the Jetta and
the Volvo. Price is not so much a consideration.
Can anyone help?
regarding the one rolling down the hill, I think you sold me.
spoilsport (or anyone else): can you give me more info about cst? I just bought a '00 Jetta GL, and would like to do some upgrades.
it still isn't keeping me away from my 2000 jetta though! put my deposit down yesterday... expect it in 2-3 weeks.
i am sure that there are tons of other posts talking about how bad their car is, but that doesn't mean all of them are bad.
i'd say that the best use is not to see how many problems there are, but to see if the same problems happen to a lot of cars, whether or not the cars are getting fixed, how the people were treated, etc.
Having said that, my favorable comments should carry no more weight statistically than other drivers' reports of problems. The most valid source of reliability data I know of is "Consumer Reports". Over the last few years, VW's have greatly improved their reliability. Of course, new models always present new opportunities for problems to be introduced, but the trend for the VW line as a whole appears clear: they are getting more reliable.
However, according to CR, Japanese cars still seem to lead in reliability. The difficult trade-off for people who enjoy driving, rather than just needing reliable transportation, is choosing between the reliability of Honda or Toyota, or the sheer fun and handling of VW. Being a man who like to make decisive decisions, I have one of each.
'98 GOLF RADIOS (and maybe Jetta) HAVE A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE AM RADIO AND THE TAPE PLAYER.
there is a huge backorder on replacements
My girlfriend's tape player just stopped working recently (she puts in a tape it says side A, then it switches to side B and then it says TAPE ERROR and pops the tape out). I took her car to VW to check this out and they said they have to change the radio and it might take a while because they have them on backorder. I asked if I could have the info on the radio to see if someone else has one in stock and he gave it to me. After checking with 3 or 4 dealers, one of them finally told me this is a known problem and there is a backorder for the entire US that may take weeks. I called VW service and they could offer no help or estimate as to how long it will take. Also, the dealerships don't seem to be very open about this problem.
The car finally arrived and the dealership did a horrible job on the prep, the paint had very obvious swirl marks and a scratch on the hood that wouldn't come out with just a good wax (still there actually.) For the first week the car was a dream, the engine seemed even peppier than in the GTI, the leather seating was lovely. Then on the second week, I pulled the car out of the garage and headed off to work, the steering wheel wasn't straight when I was going straight, somehow it got out of alignment. I got this fixed.
Soon after I started experiencing the horrible engine vibration when you first start it. The service department said that was normal in the VR6, I told them my GTI never did it, but they didn't do anything about it.
Not long after three problems develop, a rattle in the passenger side, what seems to be in the rear door (I later find out its in the B pillar in the seat belt retractor, part on order, still not fixed.) The second problem, a constant vibration throughout the car (you can feel it in the seat and anything you put your hand on) noticable at 45 and above. The third and by far the worst, the steering wheel shakes at highway speeds, seems to be triggered most by rapid acceleration and after exiting any kind of turn, most noticable at 75+. I've had a technician out in the car twice, and the car in for the problem 5 times, they continually blame it on the tires. They even put the two "problem" tires on the back and had me go to Goodyear and get them replaced, problem not fixed. I've called VW of America, they have called the dealership, still not fixed. The dealership tells me that Goodyear tires suck and I should buy different tires, my question to them was why does VW put them on if they suck, and why did my 15" Eagle RSAs never have any problems on my GTI? The tires on the Jetta are 16" Goodyears.
Rear view auto dimming mirror does not dim. Dealership said that was as dim as it gets first time I took it in. Second time they said VW had a new test for the dimming and mine was indeed not working, ordered the mirror. I took the car in when the mirror arrived, they had ordered the wrong one! Problem still not fixed.
Drivers side seat now moves slightly and makes a sound when you accel/decel rapidly. Reproducible by pushing your back against the back of the seat. Dealership says its too be expected, that the seat will have some movement. No explanation for why it was not happening two days before.
Gear shift vibrates and makes noise in 4th gear. This doesn't happen constantly, but seems to occur when you aren't accelerating hard and shift into 4th. Dealership says this is normal. Maybe thats true, my GTI did it also, but at least it was quiet when it did it.
CD changer cartridge sticks for CDs 1 - 3, 4 - 6 seem to work fine. I discovered this was due to temperature change. CD player skips in the morning, I haven't bothered to report this yet because I doubt they'd fix it, they'd just say they couldn't reproduce the problem and thats that.
I discovered today that the tape player won't take tapes. This was the first time I attempted to play a tape, it seems all jammed up inside, and doesn't even try to pull to tape in.
I have no idea what new problems to expect, but I'm not looking forward to them. My GTI, with the expection of an on-going electrical problem which I am fairly certain was due to an engine fan recall, was a great car. I'm taking the car to a new dealership this week, hopefully to at least get the steering wheel shake fixed.
If anyone has had any similar problems, particularly steering wheel or overall vibration related, I'd really LOVE to hear from you, especially if you got them resolved! I can't help but notice that Edmunds does not list a 16" wheel option for the GLX in the 2000 model, maybe VW had such problems with them that they discarded that option?
As it stands right now I'm seriously considering taking the hit and trading this car. I'm not sure what I'd get yet, but it sure won't be another VW. Still I do hope the other dealership will be able to fix the car, because if it didn't have these problems it would be a great car!
stephan
months and I would just like to let people know
some problems I'm having. First I had installed an
aftermarket sound system which sounds great and I
didn't puchace an aftermarket alarm because of the
std. factory one. Well my car got broken into very
easily and I'll tell you how they did it. All they
simply had to do was pop the cover off of where a
key lock should have been on the front passenger
door latch and open seseame. They're in and my
stereo is gone. Bummer.
Second My drivers side seat heater only worked for
a couple of days when I first got it. I brought it
into the dealer and they started replacing
components of the seat heating system ruling out
one component after another (elapsed time 2 days
on
the bus) then only to have the dealer tell me it
was the element in the seat that was faulty. So
they order the part while I continued driving the
car. Finally their parts dept. calls me and tells
me It's in so I made arangements with the service
dept. to drop the car off for the day. They said
it
would be ready that day, Ya Right! A week and a
half later after sending the seat away to be
rebuilt by an upholstry shop I pick up my car
again.(very Bitter by this point). I'm Driving
away
(this being a cool evening here in Canada) I try
my Seat heater only to find out it still doesn't
work. Rage Sets In!!!!
Any body else out there have problems?
Let me Know!
VW of America
Customer Relations
3800 Hamlin Road
Auburn Hills, MI 48326
as for srcleaves, make sure you send the letter because you may have a lemon. they have three chances to fix a problem within the first 2 years or 18,000 miles. look around for the specifics.
By the way I do like my car and I will Buy another one in the futur.
mhurst1
Third day the sunroff jammed opened.
Guide rails were replaced.
Now the sun shade hardly budges.
Brought it back, new roof was ordered
overnight - took 6 days.
It was replaced,
now the map lights don't work.
What a piece of junk.
I've added some text and printed it out, ready to send in the morning.
srcleaves
Does anybody else have a similar experience?
Other than that I like the car a lot.
M.
I CAN'T WAIT!!!