01 Jetta check engine PLEASE HELP

Okay i have a 2001 jetta 2.0 with 88,000 miles. I have had the car for about 3 months. A couple days after i purchased the car the check engine light came on and the car started to stall out i got it checked out and they told me the mass air flow sensor was faulty. Okay so i got it changed 400 buck later new Mass air flow sensor. I was okay with the repair untill 400 miles later light comes on again. I take it back to dealer this time they tell me the cat. converter is messed up. I took the car to meineke(i think thats how you spell it) and got a new cat for 400 more dollars. Car is fine for about 650 miles. Light comes on again, tail pipe is black and the car is eating up a lot of oil so its running rich, i think. I am a college student i dont have much money left to waste on this thing. Is a lost cause? Is the light just going to come back on everytime i get it fixed? Any idea's or comments welcome please!(also i heard about an extended warranty for cat converter up to 120,000 dont know if this is true if it is dealer never said a word about it}

You spent 400 bucks for a Mass air flow sensor? You got ripped off! those cost no more that 60 from the dealer. And 400 for the Cat? you got ripped off again they cost no more that 150 ( And thats for a High performance one!) Does it stall out if you try to accelerate? if it does get your throttle body cleaned up cause it can get a bunch of sludge in there, but I dont suggest you get the person you've been going to to do it, you could do it yourself, otherwise he will charge you 400 bucks for a job that only takes 30 mins and doesnt cost you a thing.

The cats and the MAF are both covered by an extended warranty (at least on my 99.5 they were), since there were known issues with them. I have had both replaced at no cost to me.

Hope you’ve solved your problem by now but, if not, consider this: I have had similar experience with my 01 Jetta (VR6) that I bought new. The problems started at around 21k miles and have continued off and on for the last 4 years (car now has 41k miles on it). In my case I would periodically get stalling and rough running accompanied by various lights, usually MIL and EPC and/or ASR (!) along with the Engine Workshop light and pesky audible. My dealer has changed the O2 sensor and MAF meter a couple of times (all at no cost) but the problem always comes back. I’ve gone as few as 45 miles between episodes and as many as 2400 miles. Problem is, the problem can never be demonstrated in the presence of a mechanic. I am now convinced that the root of the problem is in the ECU but now consider this to be more of an annoyance than a major problem to be fixed (I’m not going to spring for a new ECU or even a MAF unless I’m SURE that it’s bad). In my case, the car is back to normal, performance-wise after 1-3 start-stop cycles of the engine. Some combination of the lights stay on of course, but the last time this happened I bought an OBDII Auto Scanner (~$50) and reset the codes myself (very simple and takes about 2 minutes). I've been trouble free now for about 6 months.

Don’t know if our issues are related but consider that those sensors don’t always need to be replaced. I’m convinced that my computer has been lying to me off and on for 5 years.

Hi guys

I am suffering the same fate at this time I have done everything but go to the ecu and the cat. But I finally broke down and took my peice of crap to the VW dealer in Ottawa and they told me that the MAF was finished and needed to be replaced even though it had just been replaced two days ago and they did say that it may be the ECU and that there is a upgraded reflash for it that was released for our troublesome cars last year so I am gonna make an appointment for next week and I'll let you guys know if this fixes the problem.