16 years old- is jetta right for me?

I am turing 16 years old in 2 weeks, and my parents are giving me $20,000 to spend on a new car. I know that i can read as many professional reviews as possible, but the best advice will come from the owners themselves. I am looking at the 2003 GL model w/ auto transmission. Please give me the "+'s" and "-'s" about this car. the car itself attracts me and the price attracts me even more. My friends have told me that the jetta is a "chick-car" but im thinking that they are just jealous. Please give me some advice. My other options are the Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS and the Honda Accord LX Coupe. Thanks.

You're friends say the Jetta is a "chick-car." They're partially correct. I'm a guy and drive a Jetta. Lots of guys do. So do lots of girls. The Jetta is marketed, like many other cars, at everybody. And believe me, there are just as many chicks driving civics, accords, mustangs, etc. as there are guys. So find something you like.

My advice: test drive as many cars as possible.

I have a 2000 Jetta GLS w/the 2.0 liter engine in it.
Power=weak.
Steering=good.
Handling=good.
Brakes=very good.
Amenities=very good.

You need to figure out what you want out of the car. Do you want something that looks good, drives well, or will save your keister if some moron smashes into you while you're sitting in traffic?

As far as Jettas go, the engine and the trim package are the major differences.
Trim=Leather? Monsoon sound system? You get the point.
Engines=
TDI: Turbo Diesel engine. Puts out 90hp. Not a lot of them around.
2.0: Most common engine. 115 hp. Solid engine.
1.8T: Turbo. The 2003 puts out 180 hp.
VR6: 6 cylinder engine cranking out about 200hp.

If you want something with some power, go 1.8T or VR6. If you want a very reliable engine, get the 2.0.

Test drive each engine if you can. And match them up against the Impreza and Accord. Also check out the Dodge Neon Srt-4. In terms of power, it'll blow away all of these other cars. And it's priced uner $20G (before taxes and all that nonsense).


Jeff

I agree with Jeff 110%

I bought mine a week ago, and before getting it my friends said the same things and worse.
I love the car. It's not a powerful as the 1999 SVT Contour (which I loved even more, but wrecked), but it is much more refined.
At 16 I was looking for pure performance. If that's you... check out the Neon mentioned above. If you place a little more emphasis on confart, reliability, and class... one of the many Jetta configurations might be for you.
Don't base your decision on anything that anyone says. See and drive as many cars as possible, find the one that you feel most comfortable with, buy it.
$20,000 is more than enough to get a great car that you'll love these days. Happy hunting!

I think as jetta owners we are a bit biased, when I was looking for a good reliable car I figured german engineering would be the best idea, and I was right.

Mine is a 1990 (i've driven the newer ones also) and its been running strong since i've owned it with only minor work done on it that you would have to do to any car. Since I purchased it i've been investing alot of money into it to make it what I wanted and it was worth it.

Personally I think my cars pretty fast (has the vr6), it handles good enough for the back roads, gets good gas mileage, doesn't break down on me, and I don't think its a girls car completly. I know alot more guys that drive jetta's than girls but who cares really, girls also drive mustangs and alot of people still think they are "manly". I've only heard good things about the new jetta's so drive what you like and don't worry what your friends think.

hey i am also 16 years old but had a much smaller budget ($500) i found an 89 jetta that didnt run so good and for that money i made it work good. if you find an old jetta (pre-95) you can use the rest of the money to get a really quick and nice lookin car. new isnt always the way to go because of depreciaton in value. an older vr6 can be very fast for $10000 so youll do better with an older one. dont go honda and the neon engines arent strong enough to support that power they wont last more than 50,000 miles
:2cents:

Jetta Is Right For Everybody!! :)

Well as far as im concerned the jetta isnt THAT reliable... (referring to mkIII mainly... i havent owned a mkIV), BUT, I LOVE IT! I always will... I have a VW tattoo for crying out loud... my first car was a 71 VW Bus... it died on me, i hated vw's... bought a 2000 nissan sentra... it was reliable and comfortable, but i didnt "feel" anything for it... I ended up wrapping it around a tree and realized that I should go back to my "roots"... I bought a 97 Jetta, and have had my share of problems with it... BUT 3 years later I continue to fix it, LOVE it, and dream about it... what can I say? they are the best...
p.s. jettas are known for being chick cars... but u know what? theres a reason for that... chicks love em... chicks flock to em... they wanna get in them, they wanna ride in em, you get where im goin with this...

WoW, 20K for a new car. My first car cost me $100 and I had to earn it myself :)

Anyway, as to your question:

I have owned 2 '96 Jetta Treks. The first one I bought because my wife really liked it and the second one was given to me for free. Otherwise, I would have never bought either. It does have a bit of a rep as a chick car, but I have never worried about that - I see plenty of guys driving them. As far as the other questions -

Power - the power in the 96 2.0l engine sucks - you can only hope that it has improved since then, but so have a lot of other cars..... Personally, though - I would get the manual tranny.

Handling - decent

Reliability - The engine is extremely reliable, but all of the general "wear and tear" stuff like brakes, exhaust, etc... seems to be about 50% more expensive than most domestic cars, AND it seems like parts stores never stock the stuff you need. As long as it is under warranty and you can find a good dealer, you should be fine, though.

Safety - Excellent. If my son was 16 years old, I would feel good with him behind the wheel of a Jetta. I was in a head-on collision with a 1-ton utility truck, towing a heavy trailer about a year after I bought my first one - The thing literally sacrificed itself for the sake of it's passengers. My only injury was some chemical burns on my arms from the airbag - but the car was absolutely mangled.

Personally, I would probably go with the Honda - Actually, if you want a really nice car that is fast, safe, AND reliable, I would go out and find a slightly used Nissan Maxima SE with about 10k-20k miles on it.

I'll be 16 in January, and I've been looking at a 95 Jetta GL for $1600. You talked me in to it. I'm going to get it tomorrow. :-)