Volkswagon Jetta

I have wanted a jetta since they redesigned it in 1999 and finally bought a 2003 Jetta GLS used with only 30,000 in 2006. It was a great deal, I thought, $1200 below kbb value and in pristine condition. I compared it to other cars in its price range and the jetta seemed to be the best, it was affordable luxury. The first year and a half was great. While I heard of other people having problems I did not have one. My friend had a 2001 golf (basically a smaller jetta) and she hated it. She said her moonroof would open and close suddenly while driving among other electrical issues. We both figured that since mine was newer and that subsequent generations had been modified that those major issues would have been resolved. Well about a year ago I ran into my first BIG problem. This is the MYSTERY WATER issue that another user complained of and I commented with my story, read that for explanation and detail. My car has now just hit 70,000. Most of the coating on the knobs of the ra... Read more

I bought my Jetta 3 years ago. It's a 1999 VR6 new body model. Here are what so far I got: 2 new On Board Computers 1 new Catalytic Converter 1 new Fuel Pump 1 new Water Pump 1 new Set of Coolant Hose (one hose broken, the coolant was empty) 1 new Vapor Pump 1 new Window Switch(the window still falls down automatically for no reason) 1 new Trunk Switch(for the trunk light) ... The car is just slightly above 80,000 miles. You must be really RICH to own a Jetta!!!

yep, the jetta is a nightmare. Im pretty sure Jetta translates to "ha ha we f**ked you good" or "broken" in german. I bought my 99 (new body style) in 2004. That is when the drama began. Let me just give you a taste of my Jetta nightmare. So far, lets see, Ive been towed everywhere. and I mean everywhere. I know more about towing than you can imagine. If you buy a jetta buy the BEST towing package (AAA or whatever) you can get--you'll need it. I have replaced the battery 3 times, the alternator 3 times, (and dont worry, got towed each time too!) the mass meter, the 02 sensor, --one time, hilarious, I was driving and the window fell out. It has a bit of rust on the door now. One time I came in from the rain, put my umbrella on the floor (tossed it) of the passenger side, and was SPLASHED in the face with a splash of water. The passenger side floor had about a 1/2 foot at least, of water. It is apparently myster water b/c no one can figure it out. When I got it (used) the l... Read more

I have a 2003 Jetta. It has ben a NIGHTMARE!!! Everything that can brake, has at least twice. There are so many plastic, crappy parts that it's almost like they built it to fall apart on purpose so that they can turn around and charge you a fortune to have it fixed. I will NEVER ever own one again. Every single time I have one thing fixed within weeks something else just snaps off, crumbles, peels or flat out breaks. I HATE my car. DO NOT BUY A VW!!!!

I have a 2001 VW Jetta, and I bought it in 2005. I had to replace the clutch as soon as I bought. I had to replace the fuel pump,P/S pump, thermostat, the cupholder broke, the window glass fell off the track, I had to replace the front lights twice so far, and I still need a brake hose and a to have my gas gauge fixed. I received numerous recalls in the mail for this car. I would have to say they probably sent these cars to be sold with out proper inspection. HIGH MAINTENANCE! But it drives wonderful....

so i have a 2002 vw jetta and ive had nothing but problems with it. within the first week i had it i had a problem with it. then within a month i had already put $3000 dollars into it because i had to order the parts from germany. now my abs light goes on and when when its on my brakes work fine, but when the light shuts off my brakes jam up on me. doesnt make any sense to me. basically im saying dont buy a volkswagon. They suck!!!

Whomever said there should be a mass lawsuit against VW, got it right! I bought a 2000 Jetta GL (having heard of electrical probs, I stayed away from power windows & got the base) brand new. Oh, how I love the way VW's drive....but that's it (what other car in same price range can drive like this?! No really, anyone know, please respond!). Just after 2 yrs the entire ABS shut down (not under wrnty), my cupholders broke, glove box snapped off, don't get me started on the low front bumper catching on just about anything, and the myriad oil-burning issues...I could go on, but you've all done it. We all sum it up pretty well. If you have a shitload of $ & time to spend, then have fun driving your Jetta. Otherwise, I tell people all the time not to buy one!

I bought a brand new 2002 jetta because I heard it was cheap, safe and great on gas. Little did I know what I was in for. My check engine light came up 4 times in 6 months.. and for no reason. My catalitic converter went bad (they just sent a recall on that). One day I went to get something out of my glove compartment and the handle broke right off... for no reason! My horn stopped working after about a year.. and now, my battery has gone bad. I had to jump start my car every time i got in it until I could get out and buy a new battery. Not to mention... getting all of this fixed cost a FORTUNE and like other people have said, takes forever to get your car in because other volkswagon cars need fixing too! DO NOT BUY A VOLKSWAGON!! Biggest mistake of my life. I'd rather pay the extra money in gas than spend 2 grand a year in repairs.

I am about to purchase a 2001 Volkswagon Jetta for $5,500.00 Does anybody have any comments that can help me out on this decision?

I have a 1999 Jetta that I bought at 30,000 miles-lots of problems w/the cheap plastic stuff inside but the BIG problem now is that when I am driving along, it dies for no reason. If you let it sits for about 10 minutes, it will restart but if you aren't lucky enough to get it off of the road, it is so unsafe & motorists are angry! My trusted mechanic says these intermittent problems are the hardest to diagnose & fix & he can't figure it out at this point. IL am scard to drive at this point. I agree DON'T BUY THIS CAR.

I have a 2001 Jetta and have nothing but problems with it.. The engine light coming on is a common occurence. I put about $1,500 into each year. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy a VW - they are money pits.

Ok people, I am about to take the cake on the this subject!!! I bought my Volkswagon Jetta in Nov. of 2001, got a brand new 2002. Bought it out right, no payments! (inheritance) I have had nothing but problems with the car, immediately! first the radio not working, then the clock on the dash would screw up, then the window fell into the door twice! Check engine light came on a multitude of times. When you bring the car in for repairs and they keep your car for days, they DO NOT give you a car to drive, you have to rent one. When my warranty was up, I was terrified! Everybody told me to sell it and be done with it,but I loved the car. When it was working, it was real nice. So I would keep it, just a little longer! Now, just last year, my engine almost seized for no reason! I had it repaired, it cost $800.00. Six months after that, I have major electrical problems and the car dies, thats cost $1446.00 now hear I am today, just five months from that time, driving to see my friends ba... Read more

I also bought a 2001 Jetta VR6 used with a little over 30k miles on it and am extremely disappointed with this car. The electrical problems are not the most annoying part of my experience. The inside door handles are pealing and the lights fell out of the doors on the inside! It is cheaply made. Two weeks ago, I had a leak and took the Jetta in for service at the dealer. They told me that I needed a new water pump. After this was fixed I am told that one of the fans was not working. Parts and labor went from $400 to $950. Boy do I feel dumb! Today the engine light came on. I am getting rid of this piece of junk asap!!

DON'T BUY THIS CAR!!! I bought a 2002 Jetta. I was so excited when I drove it off the lot because it was my first new car - I had always owned used cars. Little did I know that my nightmare was about to begin. The car has been in shop at least 20 times in the last 3 years. To make things worse you have to wait over 2 weeks for the dealer to see you because they are so busy fixing other broken cars. Some problems I have had: windows falling, clutch sticks to floor, front bumper falls off car, air conditioning stops working, engine light tunrs on for no reason, battery is defective, car won't start - just to name a few. It just so happens, my car is currently in the shop because it turns out that my radio is defective and it has been draining the battery. I have been driving for 3 weeks without a radio because the amplifier is on back order. PLEASE DON'T BUY THIS CAR!!!

I was surprised to find the Jetta was a lot cheaper than the Civic, and after test driving both cars, the Jetta was far and away a better ride. Not to mention, that its interior makes it feel like you are spending a lot of money while the Civic, Corrolla, and especially the Sentra had lousy interiors.

Bought a 2001 Jetta new. Love the car. Drives well, very comfortable, great sound system, and you can lay the back seat down and throw in a couple surfboards. BUT we had a problem with front passenger window since the get go. Earlier on, the window was falling into the door and thankfully that problem was fixed. However, the same window when you rolled it up would always roll back down when it hit the top edge of the door. It would work on the second try. We'd take it in, the dealer would tell us it was fixed, but the problem was never fixed. We've taken the car in over 4 times now, probably even 5 times. I've been told this is a minor problem, but it would be nice if you paid for something that actually works. At least that problem is still under warranty. There's probably 30K on the car now and now the right rear passenger door window and lock doesn't work. Sure you can still open the door from the inside, but it can be pretty annoying when you can't from the outside. Oh... Read more

Do not buy a Volkswagon Jetta. I bought a 2001 Jetta VR6 two years ago with only 30,000 miles on it and it has given me nothing but problems since the first day I drove it off the lot. The airbags came out by themselves one day when I was stopped at a red light (scared the c$%% out of me). The doors lock by themselves so my keys have been locked in the car twice (it has a mind of its own). The blinkers and hazards stopped working 4 months after owning it. One of the windows got stuck down and wouldn't roll back up. When I'm driving, it beeps really loud for no reason (the same sound when you run out of gas - only I'm not out of gas when this happens). And it beeps over and over again all day long. When I drive, there is a whistling noise (this happend only 1 week after driving it off the lot). So when you buy a VW Jetta, be PREPARED for MANY electrical problems to come.

Overall, the Jetta's a very attractive package that's hard to turn away from. Unfortunately, quality problems have plagued VW's lineup (per JD Power) with the exception of the Passat, which is only average. Combined with the recent reduction of the warranty to only a very slightly-better than average term, and this is one car that I would avoid.