'96 vw jetta - need clutch or not?

Hi;
My son and I are at odd ends of the spectrum on this question. the clutch in my vw catches about1/4 or more down, he says it is suppose to catch 1/4 or 1/2 from the floor. He says my clutch is going out. the car shifts good, no hesitation,pulls hills good, but once in heavy traffic, long up hill grade,104 degrees on highway, the clutch was fading as I had to stop and go because someone had an accident ahead. When I pulled into a fuel stop, went in for 15 minutes, came out started car to leave, clutch was fine.......there's 118,000 miles, 5-speed manuel trans.- on the car and I have never had a bit of trouble from it. I'm looking at $465 to replace clutch, hope I don't have too, Help......

way to much money to do the clutch!! yes itz about gone. just cuz itz not slippin dont mean anything.but i would get a good clutch if i was you ! they cost about 250-300$$ just for parts. and about 150-200$$ in labor. so around 400-450 but thats a kevlar buliet proof clutch. so u will get 2 times what u would out of a reg clutch just my opin.{ 2 trans later and 2 clutches} so do it right the first time . lol
good luck with it

and i almost forgot to say hes chargeing 465$$ for a reg sachs clutch witch is a rip off. parts are only 140 and labor is only 140 . so he should ony be charging 280$$ for oem replacment!!!

Volks is right the clutch is def on its last legs. its a common problem with veedubs after the clock over 100k the clutch does tend to become a little "worn" it happened to me on my old mk2 golf was driving along happily when the cable snapped and car ended up dead on the street for 5 hours. As for the prices even over in america that seems extortionate over here its about £100 for the clutch and £75 for the labour. i would suggest going to a trade car parts supplier buying the clutch seperately and then looking round for a decent quote. DONT GO FOR THE LOWEST the mechanic will probably cause more problems and rinse you for more money.

Hey;
thank you very much for the reply, my son looked at me and said, I told you so..... but that's ok, he has to help me pay for it. Ha....
It's a good little car and we have had it 4 years, might get it paid for before it needs an engine. but you know, for the wear and tear, it does good, this is the only problem I have had out of it. Take care and I will keep what you said in mind, I have to get the parts and then look around for a decent mechanic. 10-4....bye for now, Lturner

just a quick side remark. if you have any more veedub related questions then post them in the voltswagen section i know its only the first time you posted but i find that everyone gets back a lot quicker and i'm always floating around in there to answer questions if you ever need some help.

laters bud