Thinking of buying a Jetta

Right now I'm thinking about purchasing a used Jetta and was wondering if there was anything about them that I should know about. Are there any common problems or things of that nature I should look out for? Is a Jetta reliable? How many miles can they handle before they start having alot of problems? Is the I4 or V6 a good high mileage engine because the majority of the ones I'm looking at have about 100,000 - 150,000 on them?

hey guys

i'm new here
I'm thinkin of buyin a jetta as well, does anyone have any tips at all when I'm looking for this car?
like what should I look out for, most common problems, etc etc?
thanks any help greatly appreciated

John

Is there anyone here that would please comment on my questions? Can I hear some personal experiences from those who have already owned a Jetta? I'm mainly concerned about how well a Jetta with about 100,000 miles or more on it works. Its it a good high milage vehicle?

i have a 98 jetta for sale 5500 52k miles

Ok, so I have 2001 VW... have had to replace the coil pack 3 times now... ran me about $450... warranty covered it the 1st time, 2nd and 3rd time it came outta my pocket. Catalytic converter went at around 60K miles.... supposedly replaced it under warranty. My driver's side seat heater doesn't work.... car bucks alot and they told me it's normal... have had to have the O2 sensor changes a few times now.... and now my check engine light is blinking at me (has been on off and on for about a year now....) and today it's running really rough and bad smells coming outta the car.

I RECOMMEND YOU NEVER BUY A VW
I'VE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS!!

I disagree.... VW is as good of a car as any other. It is the dealer and technicians that create the problems. If your dealer and technicians are reputable, these problems are covered. A lot of what is stated will be covered by warranty, if not, call VW customer service and they will help as well.

It seems to me that the more i read and learn in this forum, the more i see that its the newer cars that have the problems. Im a new used 96 jetta gls owner, never owned a vw before and just by chance we saw this one on ebay calling to me. We bid on it and to my surprise, we won it. Its mine and I love it. After i bought it is did something very strange on the freeway 50 miles from home. It lost alot of power and started revving on its own up and down but at the same time losing power. I chalked it up to be the cruise control. It fixed itself and i made it home. From that moment i had faith that this car would never leave me stranded. I went to autozone had it checked. It needed about $600 in work right away. Tires, plugs, oil. wires. Its ok though its a great car and im not sorry i bought it. i also need o2 sensors but i think im going to have that professionally checked. Just when you buy any car used. always alot your budget for additional expenses on the car jett-n

I owned my jetta for almost a year now and i didnt have any problems with it. it runs strong, engine sounds good, clutch grips perfect. My car has a 59.000 miles (97 jetta GT), i bought it from a wrecked auto auction (IAAI), it was wrecked in the front and back pretty badly, it had 20k miles on it. after i fixed it i did not have any problems....

If you buy a Jetta, i would recomend to use syntetic oil only, change spark plugs about every 15k (buy BOSH), and if you plan to race it - don't redline it( shift ant 5600k rpms) :)

Well first off i own a 2000 Jetta GLS VR6. For the 4 years of owning it, i have had only one problem with her. That was this past summer, i had the MAF(Mass Airflow Sensor) replaced. Supposedly every 60000 miles its supposed to be replaced. Other than regular maintenance, my VR6 has run strong and without worry. I would recommend buying the 6 cylinder version. The 4 cylinder sounds strained and overworked when i drove one 4 years ago. Plus if you get into the aftermarket there is a lot of things that can be performed to the VR6. From VF-engineerings modest yet provocative superchargers to HPA's twin turbo beasts. But if you want gas mileage, than i would go with an older mk2 golf or jetta. Or another manufacturer all-together. Have a happy new year.

I've had my 1997 Jetta VR6 since early September and love it the more I drive it. After seeing this and many other sites, though, I'm worried about its reliability in the long run. I KNOW they have problems with their power windows. Mine wasn't working when I bought it but the dealership paid the bill, also I have a friend who had to get a new power windor motor and read many complaints online about the same problem. I also read somewhere that they have problems with leaking coolant, which I think mine is starting to do. Also the dreaded check engine light... I just changed the oil and filter and soon after that the check engine light came on. My sister-in-law had the same problem with her 2001 1.8T but it ended up being a sensor in the oil filter enclosure. My light went off a few days later...hope it's okay!
If you have a tight budget, like me, I'm not sure a Jetta is a great idea since the labor to fix even small problems seems to be pretty high. I've been lucky so far but if I have to get anything major fixed I'll be without it! Everyone I know personally who have jettas love them.

From my own personal research, I have determined the 99's through current years are not up to par. They have many problems including electrical, excessive oil loss (1 qt for every 1500 miles!), and issues with the factory installed alarm-just to name a few. Also, VW hasn't been standing behind their newer vehicles very well, telling their customer's that these issues are "normal wear and tear".

However, the 95's through 97's seem to be pretty reliable, and don't have the issues the newer ones have. My cousin has a garage, and sees a lot of them come in that lost their timing belts, so it's important to change them. According to "the book", this should be done every 36,000 miles, which seems a little excessive to me, however it's an easy job and can be done on your own if you have any car experience. Also the alarm malfunctions on most of these cars at one point or another, but that appears to be faulty grounds. Again, should be an easy fix if you're familiar with cars.

I personally own a '96 Jetta with 109,000. I have had the timing belt go (that's when I learned all about that issue!), and now am searching for that faulty ground wire for the alarm (it's been locking & alarming itself while driving!). Last year, I had the whole wheel assembly come off, but that was right after a bearing replacement, and I suspect it was a faulty bearing that caused that. The service engine light does come on when it's due for an oil change. The life-time guarentee plug wires are 100.00, but seeing as how they're life-time guarentee, that seems reasonable.

If you have a tight budget, I would encourage you to buy "the book" that goes with the car, and order parts of a web site such as "Car Parts To Go" -they're excellent and the prices are WAY BELOW dealer prices (for instance, their catalityc converter is $177.02). "The Book" has step by step instructions on how to do almost anything to that car, to the point where even I (a GIRL) can figure it out. Some garages will put on parts that you buy, and you only have to pay labor costs. This can be cheaper than buying the parts and paying for the labor from the same garage.

As with ANY car you buy, it's best to find one that has had regular servicing, that will make a difference as to whether you'll get much more than 150,000 out of it or not. I've heard of people getting as much as 400 to 600 thousand on their cars, admittedly, it was the older ones.

From my own personal research, I have determined the 99's through current years are not up to par. They have many problems including electrical, excessive oil loss (1 qt for every 1500 miles!), and issues with the factory installed alarm-just to name a few. Also, VW hasn't been standing behind their newer vehicles very well, telling their customer's that these issues are "normal wear and tear".

However, the 95's through 97's seem to be pretty reliable, and don't have the issues the newer ones have. My cousin has a garage, and sees a lot of them come in that lost their timing belts, so it's important to change them. According to "the book", this should be done every 36,000 miles, which seems a little excessive to me, however it's an easy job and can be done on your own if you have any car experience. Also the alarm malfunctions on most of these cars at one point or another, but that appears to be faulty grounds. Again, should be an easy fix if you're familiar with cars.

I personally own a '96 Jetta with 109,000. I have had the timing belt go (that's when I learned all about that issue!), and now am searching for that faulty ground wire for the alarm (it's been locking & alarming itself while driving!). Last year, I had the whole wheel assembly come off, but that was right after a bearing replacement, and I suspect it was a faulty bearing that caused that. The service engine light does come on when it's due for an oil change. The life-time guarentee plug wires are 100.00, but seeing as how they're life-time guarentee, that seems reasonable.

If you have a tight budget, I would encourage you to buy "the book" that goes with the car, and order parts of a web site such as "Car Parts To Go" -they're excellent and the prices are WAY BELOW dealer prices (for instance, their catalityc converter is $177.02). "The Book" has step by step instructions on how to do almost anything to that car, to the point where even I (a GIRL) can figure it out. Some garages will put on parts that you buy, and you only have to pay labor costs. This can be cheaper than buying the parts and paying for the labor from the same garage.

As with ANY car you buy, it's best to find one that has had regular servicing, that will make a difference as to whether you'll get much more than 150,000 out of it or not. I've heard of people getting as much as 400 to 600 thousand on their cars, admittedly, it was the older ones.

I had a '99 Jetta that was terrible. I finally had to seek legal help. I would not recomend a car that has it's own lemon website. http://myvwlemon.com/

Alot of the problems I had when I had the car VW denied them. I got rid of the car over 2 years ago and now keep getting recall notices on those issues. :nono:

Yeah and i agree, kinda funny if you think about this. Volkswagen=The Peoples Car. I guess they meant you have to be a do-it-yourselfer, i guess. I do all the work for my car, so i dont have to worry about the dealer maintenance fees. But as anyone should know, is dont buy a car when it first comes out, i.e. first model year-in this case 99.5. The 12v VR6, if properly maintained, can last forever or a really long time. Things like timing belt, coolant hoses, guides and such dont need to be changed until you hit 100,000 miles. I love my jetta vr6 and can only speak for it, it's probably not the same for the pathetic 2.0litre baseline, which is a piece of crap, if you ask me. Maybe why the newer ones arent as great as they used to be, is probably due to the fact that they are made Puebla, Mexico and no longer in germany, although i dont know how long that this has been going on. But mainly to make the cars cheaper, but then again how many other manufacturers do the same.

Granted VW's are the most sensitive car ive owned, but i would own another one. So if you want something reliable, than get a Honda/Acura, they seem to be built to last. Though i dont know about the new ones. They might have gone down like VW-in reliability. But remember, VW always over-engineers and somewhat under builds. This is good and bad. But if you want a jetta, go the 6 cylinder way. Take care of it and it will take care of you, trust me, i know. If you, buy one you can reference these two sites geared towards the vr6.
www.gti-vr6.net.com and www.vr6.org

Hey where can you get "The Book"? My car didn't even have the owner's manual when I got it so I just bought one online...sounds like I should've just gotten the one you're talking about so I can learn more about it.

Well Dean the book to buy is the Robert Bentley one. Its really good for DIY's. Although most places stop selling the one that goes through 99.5-02 at 60 something us dollars. The one they sell now is like around 95 dollars at New Dimensions www.ndauto.com it covers from 99.5 to 03 the difference is the addition of the newer 24v VR6. Its pricy but i will make back the money you spent on it. Good investment right along side the VAG-COM. :smile:

Personally, "the book" I use is the Haynes manuel, available at any Napa auto parts stores. It's approximately 13 dollars or so there, and serves for our purposes.

Have a 99 Jetta that went through a quart of oil every 1000 miles from the day I took delivery. Service manager insisted this was "normal during the break in period". After having them do the oil consumption testing (visit dealer every 1000 mi.) they had the nerve to say the car was out of the warranty period and they couldn't do anything. Researched this problem and found that certain Jetta's (VIN #'s supposedly unknown, yea right.....VW just avoiding a massive and expensive recall) were manufactured with the piston rings installed wrong. Thus allowing oil to blow right by.

VW North America was contacted by phone and was pretty much useless. Stated warranty issues are up to the descretion of the local dealers.
Needless to say I fired off a letter of disgust to VW America and copied it to the dealership owner, sent them certified return receipt. That was on a Friday morning.... on Tuesday afternoon the service manager called me and said the new piston rings and other parts are ordered and I should bring the car in for the necessary warranty repairs. I had the work done and they were bending over backwards for me, had it done in two days.
Amazingly, after being told for 10,000 miles of use and five trips to the service dept. that my oil consumption on the 1.8 Jetta is normal, I haven't used one drop of oil since the rings were replaced.
I guess the dealers don't want VW America to know how their service departments really treat customers!

I apologize for being long winded in my previous post. Other than the oil problem and the glove box door hinge breaking (twice) my 99 Jetta is a great, reliable car. I am so confident in their product that I bought the wife the 2003 Beetle Convertable earlier this year. That car is a blast to drive.

For the money... Don't buy a jetta... In fact, don't buy a volkswagen period...

Don't do it!!!! Problem after problem. I used to have a 99. It was a great lil Car. For some reason, I wanted to get a newer one. Got it and it's been nothing but trouble. Just little things, but SO annoying. What happens when the warrany is up? Should I get out now? I've had the windows go, the wipers go, the coils replaced (just in case!!!), and now I have electrical issues. What does the lemon law actually say?

i realy dont know why you people b1tch so much.... people are never satisfied...

i got a 88........an 88!!! jetta 2 csl 1600 .. its got 174000km on the clock (108000 miles) and she goes like a bomb... hell i crack the sump going over a rock.(not my fault) at 130000km and had to have the cylinder head skimmed by a 100th of a mm and the block borred slightly... new pistons fitted and from service to service, she doesnt use a drop of oil...u people must realise that the min and max mark on a dipstick is there for a reason... max at service change..... and then min for the next service.... also... the engine isnt in brilliant condition .. but i still drop cars traffic light to traffic light...

my interior is not brilliant... but i got kids that have ruined it.. i love kid so i i dont kick up a fuss... my aircon is killer... i would freeze if i forgot it on...no leaks on that... i replaced the water pump on it... only cause the thrust bearing got damaged and forgot to put anti rust in the water system... oh that doesnt use a drop either.... i drive comfortably from service to service with reliability... things like the battery have droped me.... thats not VW... they dont make batteries.... theres a manufacturing plant down the road here where i live and they produce the best peoples cars ever... damm... i can buy a brand new engine right off the factory....

If you've read other posts, I think you will see that almost everyone agrees that VW has gone down-hill in their ability to make a quality, long lasting cars. It's a fact, the newer ones have multiple problems with them, and VW consistently blames the consumer-one lady had her clutch go with less than 3,000 miles on her & they blamed her for not driving it right. She'd driven standards (VW's included) for 15 years, and SUDDENLY didn't know how to shift? I don't think so.

Guys, you have to realize that VW's, like all german cars, are soley dependant on how well you maintain them. i have a friend with a mkiii jetta vr6 that has had nothing but trouble with less than 80,000 on the clock, but my brother's 91 mkii 8V digifant (which i am about to buy) has 150,000+ miles and is in perfect condition. doesn't burn a drop of oil, runs like a dream, perfect paint and interior, and has never had a single electrical problem. the difference between these two people is that my friend (apart from changing the oil regularly) has done virtually no maintanence on his car and my brother has had his in the shop every 10,000 miles since he bought it with 22,000 miles. mileage is a relatively mute point when compared with car care.

keep an open mind about cars if you haven't had extensive experience with them. VW's are one of the best engineered cars on the road today.

What would you say if you bought a brand new car, and it burned 1 quart of oil every 1000-1500 miles? THEN the dealership says that's "normal" and refuses to do anything about it. It would shock you to know how many people this happened to-and all these people were new VW owners. Not every single VW they made after '99 had major problems, but there is an overwhelming amount of people out there who can't even drive their new cars because major stuff happened to the engine, and VW won't repair them.

One thing I thought was interesting, when I was thinking of buying my '96 Jetta I checked the VW of America website out, and they had a section for people to post their experiences with their cars. There was a lot of happy campers-especially the "older" ones (and I would consider a '91 older). There was also an abundance of unhappy customers, having similar complaints, and the general concensus was that VW was telling each owner every problem was "normal wear and tear". One lady even had pics of her 3 month old car & all the trim had fallen off around the doors/windows-again VW refused to fix it & said it was "normal wear & tear". At any rate, I again revisted that same site after I found this one, and every single plea for help, complaint, and photo of a falling apart new car were removed. VW of America left on only the "happy camper" stories. Hm---are they trying to hide something?

Burning oil, clutches giving out, and major alarm malfunction before 10,000 is not normal wear & tear on ANY car. If you look at other sites, you will see one after another tell their experiences where VW couldn't find the problem, or said it was normal wear & tear, until AFTER the warrenty, then wanted 1,000's to fix the problem.

As for having experience with cars-lol. Besides major alarm electrical work, there is not one thing my husband & I have NOT had experience with. My Jetta has been one of the "good" ones-yes, there are a few out there. It has not given me much problems, and it waited until it had 109,000 on it before the alarm started to malfunction. I consider myself fortunate, and I love my car, but I don't discount anyone else's experiences just because I've happened to have good luck with mine. From all the research I've done, I think they really fell apart in their craftmanship in '99. I sincerely hope they can get back to where they were, because they really did make quality cars that lasted.

i am gonna have to agree with you on this one teenie. the early mk iv cars (98.5/99-2002) were very poorly built. The main problem with them is the same problem VW has had with all its generation changes. The early MK I cars were built fairly poorly. The early MK II VW's were actually the best engineered VW's, other than mid 90's models. And when they made the switch to MK III in 92.5/93, the car quality was very inconsistant. some would run for 250,000 miles without a problem, others would fall apart in less than ten. And the worst so far, 98.5/99-2002, when they made the MK III to MK IV changover, they really screwed up. If you own a 99-2002 VW Jetta, and have not had a major problem, i would start buying powerball tickets.

Care and Maintanence are very important, but no matter how much you try, you can't polish a terd. gotta start with something good if you intend to keep it in good shape.

lol-I love the reference to not being able to polish a terd...we happen to refer to horrible cars (whether they fall apart or are just butt ugly) as terds in our house...my 5-year-old has even picked up the habit!

I posted that because I got the impression you were saying anyone with VW problems just wasn't taking care of their cars. I'm glad I was wrong!

I take damn good care of my "good looking" car. Took it to service for the trunk popping open while I drive problem. No matter how good I take care of it there is always something. I purchased it with 9,000 miles and now it has almost 24,000. Is my CPO warranty up at 24,000 or 24,000 plus the original 9??

I dunno.... alot of people say that th early mk1 were poor..... the mk2.(which i happen to have and i have a love hate relationship with it... my fault for fiddleing)..... which mind you....if u fiddle with your car is gonna give hassles... i just happen to know VW cars backwards.... we race with them here and they perform outstandingly on the track... the mk3 were bad on fuel.... they messed up their power to weight ratio.... the mk4 jettas are brilliant... the jetta TDI is a fantastic car... one of the best fuel effecient cars out.... not many cars get 5.1l per 100 km..... and keep that for 90000 km on the clock...sorry.....VW still make some of the best cars in the world....... people are just full of...(what your faveorite word...) .......terds....

a guy like me isnt worried about gas mileage. the TDI is an underpowered grandma car. a good car for business trips and commuting yes, but a racecar, NO WAY.

When it comes to fast VW's, you have to start with a MK II body and drop in a MK III VR6 turbo or n/a, or a MK IV 1.8T. the 4th gen cars are way too heavy and the 3rd gen's have been done.

there is nothing like a MK II GTI with a turbo charged VR6.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT????????????/ a tdi is killer.... i cant help you fuckup cant make a good car..... we got tdi that race here..... ill tell you what.... get a brain first with some knowledge of diesel powa.. then work on your car and MAke it a good car.... shit people .... its takes some guts to do up something.... it takes tallent to make a good car...the turbo was the ultimate weapon for diesel... thers no detonation...... and if u know your diesel rules.... u inject diesel in just before TDC.... wont take much to get a good car going...diesel still has more torque than petorl enginees..... i will admit.... the mantenance required on the diesel engine is higher....but damm.... i can race with a mini if i want...

I bought my 03 jetta in jan it has been in the shop for about 5 months out of that time. I dont think it has been one of the best cars I have owned. I have since met 4 people who have bought new jettas and sold them because they too have had many problems with them. So i wouldnt buy a jetta if you dont want to take it to the shop

I have a 97 Jetta and it is the worst car I have ever owned and I have owned alot. I have had nothing but problems. Both door locks broke, the power window in the backseat broke, the manifold on the side of the engine that 5 coolant hoses attatch to broke, the plastic top of the dipstick tube broke, just about every vacuum hose dry rotted after 2 years, the oil pressure warning beeper keeps going off and the dealer can't find the problem, wires broke in the harness going through the door, the air conditioner stopped working after the warranty ran out, the clear coat recently started peeling off, a motor mount broke, the drivers side cv joint went out. I change the oil every 3000 miles and use VW oil filters. The only good thing is it doesn't use oil. I do not drive it hard. These cars use alot of cheap plastic parts. I walk into the dealership with a broken part in my hand and they don't even have to ask what kind of car it is. They sell alot of these cheap plastic parts. This car is only 7 years old and these problems started 4 years ago. I have a Ford truck that is 17 years old and I would trust taking it on a trip instead of the Jetta. The parts are rediculously expensive. The top radiator hose is $110 dollars at the dealer. I found one at Pep Boys and it was still $49. The bottom hose was $27 at Pep Boys. An oxygen sensor is about $97 at AutoZone. I wouldn't have another Volkswagen even if someone gave it to me. :nono: