nice looks, good handling

where to begin - the brakes were worn out and needed to be replaced at about 50,000 km; the turbo charger is dead at 60,000 km; the glow plug wiring harness needs to be replaced, at a cost of a few hundred dollars, and until then the check engine light won't go off; various light bulbs keep burning out, and they are very difficult to replace; the interior is very cramped and difficult to keep clean (seats, dash). For some reason, VW service staff - including at HQ - are very unfriendly. Perhaps it's because they are constantly dealing with unhappy customers.

This car looks good, but is a mountain of headaches. You really, really, really need to pay attention to reviews and not be fooled by appearances and marketing. Compared to my Honda Accord, this car is a total nightmare. If you are foolish enough to buy one of these cars after reading all the terrible (and true) stories out there, then get an extended warranty. I'm stuck having to sink money into a car that has only a few months left on the lease, just to keep it operating.

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1998 Honda Accord - beautiful. Heck, even a 1998 Dodge Neon I had was very reliable compared to this piece of ****.

Fun, Fun to drive !!!!! Sporty looks, and excellant performers on the road.

Bad placement of the cup holders, rear seat room is a problem for two 6 footers and a car seat in the back. (This is supposed to be addressed on the New 2005 Jetta)

This is the second VW that I've owned, I had a 1986 VW Jetta (tough as carpenters nails) other than a fuel pump it gave me 225,000 trouble free miles. I have owned three domestic SUV's (1985,1997,and 1999) and they seemed to wear out sooner. My girl friend drives a 2000 model Jetta GLS VR6 (previous Honda/Acura) owner, she's had trouble free service out of it. She was a Honda/Acura person only, not any more. They're really great cars, the only two complaints that I have are the odd placement of the cup holders and the rear seat room. Compairing it to other imports or Domestic cars in its class, Jettas are more enjoyable to drive. Build quality was OK, nothing's perfect, for the money they're not bad quality. The issues aren't that bad to bash the car as a whole. I noticed some seem to want to do that, I don't think that fair.

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1986 Volkswagon Jetta 2000 Volkswagon Jetta GLS VR6

Good on gas, attractive car.

Has a few recall items

This car is great. I have had a few problems but nothing that is major, and everytime something needed fixing, the people at the dealership were so nice. They fixed everything cost free without a hassle.

-Built quality -Fuel mileage/ low operating costs -Standard features -Design -Reliability -Resale value

-Rear leg room-if you have the front seat all the way back, forget about the rear seats -In the winter the motor warms up a little too slow

The best most reliable car we ever owned, trouble free and very very very cheap on fuel and to maintain. My wife is commuting 130 Kms/day and the Jetta needs one fillup of Diesel fuel/week($30 Can).16000 Kms(10000Mi)maintenance intervals.

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1985 Mercedes 300 SD 1991 VW Passat

Environmentally conscious since it can't be driven half the time.

Obviously too many to list...there is a 1200 character limit in this review.

I already posted a not so glowing review of this vehicle, however, I felt it was my civic duty to update the list of problems I have encountered with this vehicle. As of tomorrow I intend on buying a much more reliable car...basking in the knowledge that I will never own another VW. In the three and a half years I have owned this vehicle I have encountered the following problems: 1. Driver side window collapsed into the door frame...twice (there is a pending class action lawsuit regarding this issue) 2. The compressor for the AC fell off of the car...two weeks after the service department said they couldn't find anything wrong with the AC unit 3. The rear brake callipers froze in place destroying the rear brakes which in turned caused the front brakes to over compensate...$700 in repairs with a warranty 4. The charging system had to be repaired...$130 5. Had additional brake repairs conducted...three more times after the calliper incident 6. Had the fuel system repaired after the check warning light activated ($234 in repair costs)...only to have the light go again five days later 7. Paid off the car 13 months early, however, VW didn't send the lean release. After numerous phone calls to the VW Credit I finally received it...three months later. If you are independently wealthy, enoy spending your money on repair costs for recurring mechanical problems, and would like to make a VW service department waiting room you second home...then this is the car for you!

Features for the money, styling, dash lights are cool.

Suspension is weak. Now this may be a unique problem to me, I know. My girl is heavy, actually she is real heavy - more than 360lbs . When there are 3 people in the car ( 2 regular sized plus her), she sits in the back as a courtesy. With her in the back I can see the suspension sitting low and the ride is choppy with the car hitting bottom occasionally. My last car, the Sunfire, handled her weight and other cars do to. Worse thing is, we cannot doubel date in the Jetta. We tried. With me and the other guy in front (neither of us more than 180lb) and the 2 girls in back (mine plus his girl maybe 180) and the car just gives up. The suspension is bottomed on every slight dip in the road! We have double dated in the Sunfire and whle the car sagged under the load, it only bottomed on the harder bumps. Lastly, the seat frame on "her side" is slightly bent to towards the reat. I know my girl is heavy, but not that much to damage a seat! Oh well, we do have to do something and canot afford to buy a new car now since we now have a baby. Making things worse, my girl now rides in back all the time with the baby. The Jetta has now taken on a permenant "sag" in the rear even when empty.

More problems than I can list. Short list goes like this: all windows fall in door, rear brake lights blow out constantly, check engine light on atleast once every 3 months, dealers are very cocky, water leak at sunroof, rear brakes worn out in less than 30,000 miles. But the car is so good looking and feature filled....just cannot recommend it to anyone for quality reasons. I had a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire before this that was a really good car. I traded it in with 68,000 trouble free miles. Should have kept it. I am going back to GM, I hear their quality is better than in the past. I can't afford a BMW and do not like cars from Japan. AS you will see below, the car is not best for heavy people. With just 68,000 miles on it, we are facing rear springs and shock replacements. When my girl used to get in the car, it would sag a good bit. NOw when she gets in the back the car is sitting just 1 inch from the over load bumpers. So, the car bottoms out all the way down the road with just her in back. She is heavy - at about 360lbs, but a car should handle that weight - 2 normal people are around that load size! The old Pontiac could handle her weight - even when she was at her heaviest. She is losing weight, she was nearly 430lbs and even then the sunfire cruised down the road only complaining on bigger dips in the road. The rear seat did bow under her, but was easily reinforced with a 2x4.

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Pontiac Sunfire old VW bug - had to sell due to girl friend...suspension totally shot and finally hit bottom the last time and the shock towers busted off. Maybe VW has always had weak suspensions??

POWER, COOL LOOK, INTEREOR, 17 IN RIMS (BBS), SOUND SYSTEM IS HOT!, AND THE HANDLING

SERVICE PEOPLE

THIS CAR IS VERY NICE, THOUGH IT DID HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE RECALLED PARTS (WINDOW DRIVER/PASSINGER, IGNITOIN COIL, AND SUNROOF SLIDER) WHITCH AS SOON AS VW RELISED THEY PUT A 75000 MI 7 YR ON ALL RECALLED ITEMS. THE STILE OF THE CAR IS A LOT LIKE THE BMW OR THE AUDI TT. ALOT OF PEOPLE DONT LIKE THE CAR BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE OF THE DEALERSHIP, BUT OTHER THAN THAT IT IS ALL GOOD. I RECOMEND THIS CAR TO ANYONE WHO LIKES A LOT OF SPORT WITH A FOUR DOOR AND LIKES THE A LOT OF GAGITS IN THE INSIDE OF THERE CAR. QUICK GET THE JETTA!!!

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MAZDA RX7, HONDA CRX, DODGE NEON SRT-4

Good looking car, gas effiecient

Crappy service people, cheaply put together

I would not recommend this car to anyone. I have had my care for a little over a year and it has been to the shop 6 times. Both of my windows suddenly fell down into the door frame (I thought I was being shot at), my brake light safety peddle light suddenly became "hung-up" and I was not able to switch my car from park into drive (and I was late to work), some type of something underneath my driver side dashboard leaks and gushes water onto the floorboard leaving a puddle of water (that has happened 3 times, and supposedly been "fixed" each time)leaving me a week with a rental car each time. And not only do I feel as if I have purchased a lemon, the service people at the VW dealer are not friendly at all. They act as if I am putting them out by bringing in this piece of s#*! for them to fix. Do not buy a Jetta....everytime I go to the dealer there is another person waiting to have their Jetta fixed and it's just another problem that you can expect to face in the near future. Very nice looking car and a whole lot of fun to drive, yet it is very unreliable and you can count on it staying in the shop at least once every 2 months.

The VR6 can be fun to drive when it's working right.

I'm tired of typing. I think you get the idea.

This car is my nemesis. I absolutely hate it. I'd always heard about the quality of VW but was sadly reinformed. I've had the car a little over a year and have spent more money fixing it then I have paying it off. It has spent close to 2 months in the shop over the past year. First the MAF sensor. Luckily they gave me the part for free and only charged me $200 for diagnosis and labor. (sarcasm). Then I replaced the intake manifold and timing chain. That was covered under my extended warranty but still cost $800. Then there was the Throttle Body Control Module. Not covered under warranty, $900. The only thing worse then dealing with this crappy car is dealing with the a-holes at the dealership. I keep going to different dealerships casue I get pissed off and refuse to give them any more business. I go to a different dealership and the people are just as bad. Maybe these were once good cars but not any more. I'm currently trying to sell the car at a huge loss to me. I just can't afford to put out another $900 for a stupid little eletronic piece that ONLY VW makes.

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Ford Tempo, Mazda RX7, Subaru WRX (coming soon - they're putting my new car together in Japan as we speak :P )

good looks, very torquey, great LED lighting interior, TURBO, decent sounding stock stereo

cheap quality interior plastics (broke glove box door support arm, had it replaced, and i was charged $320+ for the door itself), maintenance very expensive, i was charged $70+ for diagnosing, and $105 to raise the car on the hoist (since i no longer have anymore warranty), customer service is kind of weak.

I've had problems with the car within the first month. took it back and forth to the dealership numerous times where i bought the car from, and they tell me they cannot find the problems or they would say the problems are just normal. when i took it to a different dealership, they worked on my car and fixed everything. but after all that, when my warranty expired, my car started acting up again. i get Check Engine Lights, my right rear brake got messed up, a lot of creaking sounds on the interior, so many recalls, leaks coming from under the car (when i had it checked and repaired, they found out that the leak came from my differential), busted rear right wheel bearing, upholstery starting to rip, material of seats catches many lint, rough when shifting gears, glove box door broke, loud klunking sounds coming from under the car when turning or hitting small bumps and other problems (too much to list). **I do not recommend this car to anyone, too many problems, too expensive, poor customer service, too many recalls, and expensive labor and parts. VW makes their car too high tech with cheap parts, that it easily breaks. when one thing breaks, everything else gets affected!

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nothing compares to this car. this car has way too many problems!!!