Thinking of buying a Jetta

[drew900]

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?

[burn7]

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

[drew900]

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?

[tomek_nj]

i have a 98 jetta for sale 5500 52k miles

[neverbuyvw]

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!!

[HeirMuench]

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.

[jett-n-along]

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

[jettaGT]

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)

[Vee Reihenmotor 6]

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.

[dean-oVR6]

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.

[teenie]

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.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by teenie

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.

[Vee Reihenmotor 6]

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

[dean-oVR6]

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.

[Vee Reihenmotor 6]

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.