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VW Jetta GL

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smittyclone

Member
Jul 9, 2009
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My daughter wants a 2003 Jetta. Some of the reviews say they don't last past 75k miles and are expensive to repair. Supposedly, the problems are higher if they were made in Mexico instead of Germany. I think a Corolla would be a better choice.

Any CFers have first hand knowledge?
 
My mom has a 2003 Jetta and they are great mileage-wise, but they fog terribly in seasonal weather, a lot of places won't do oil changes on them (they are a pain for some reason, haven't looked at it myself), but other than that she's been relatively pleased with it...they are over 75k without anything major so far, but she has heard repair price complaints from others she has met.

I would never buy one, personally, though.
 
egami said:
My mom has a 2003 Jetta and they are great mileage-wise, but they fog terribly in seasonal weather, a lot of places won't do oil changes on them (they are a pain for some reason, haven't looked at it myself), but other than that she's been relatively pleased with it...they are over 75k without anything major so far, but she has heard repair price complaints from others she has met.

I would never buy one, personally, though.
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I would be attentive to the timing belt. If I was purchasing a Jetta I would look at the TDI. For a teenage daughter I would go with the Corolla.
 
Toyota all the way. German stuff is overpriced and quality wise is worse than American in reliability(and I'm German on both side of my family). Check Consumer Reports out.

My 2 cents worth, for a kid a late model Taurus or Impala would be a great choice. Cheap, reliable, big so they'll hold a lot and also keep your kid safe in a wreck.
 
No offense, but Consumer Reports is anything but objective...if you listen to them you'll be limited to Honda and Toyota.
 
My mom has a 2007 Jetta. She has something go wrong at least once a month. The most recent issue was her windshield wiper fluid wouldn't come out. I know that is not a huge deal, but things like that are really annoying. Her car has had about twice as many problems you should have with a car that has 100k miles and hers only has something like 45k.
 
egami said:
No offense, but Consumer Reports is anything but objective...if you listen to them you'll be limited to Honda and Toyota.
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None taken. They are better than nothing however. Actually we bought my wifes Buick about 10 years ago based on a good review they gave, so they do give the domestics credit at times.
 
Had a Jetta in the 80's. Ran it past 200K. Parents have a new VW Bug now - constantly being nickel and dimed. I just got out of an Audi A6 (Audi and VW are the same company). Arg - that wasn't nickels and dimes, it was C-notes! As they say in Monty Python - Run Away! Run Away! For example the motor on the windshield wiper conked out (well, it anti-conked out because it would not shut off) so that was yet another cool $628...
 
Bobber said:
None taken. They are better than nothing however. Actually we bought my wifes Buick about 10 years ago based on a good review they gave, so they do give the domestics credit at times.
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What I've found is that their reviews on older vehicles, say 3+ years, are pretty accurate and good barometer for gauging what to expect is likely to be problematic, but anything relatively new they just kind of blow things out of proportion on the ratings up front. They've been getting a little better...I notice Toyota is not quite on the pinnacle it once was with them, but man...they still homer hard for Toyota and Honda on new reviews.

And 10 years ago...I think they were much more objective. I've just been real cautious with them in about the past 5 mostly. Used to be a big CR fan.
 
We have a 2003 Jetta 1.8T. The only problems I have had were the undercarriage fell apart (easy fix), the driver side window came off track, and the driver side seat heater started to burn my butt, so we don't use it. We can fix it and send in the receipt for compensation.

Oil is not difficult to change at all. I have done it myself, and I have had no problems taking it in when I'm lazy.

Milage and safety are wonderful.
 
I would stay away from the early 2000's VW's. I had an 06 and it was super reliable but I think they had a lot of electrical problems before 2004.
 
I just "lost" my 2000 VW Jetta GLS in April.

Let me put it to you this way. I loved my Jetta, but it had a lot of problems. If anything breaks on VW you are going to pay through the nose to have it fixed.

My Jetta was packed with features, I loved the handling and looks.

I thought long and hard about buying another VW to fill the void in my life but after much consideration I chose to buy something that wasn't going to cost so much to repair.
 
If you want a product that has lost resale value and is cheap, check out Chrysler products..

But seriously, go to Auto Nation or Car Max and just see what they have. Some of them have the low ball price on the windshield already..
 
I sell cars for a living. I would never, ever own a VW of any kind that was out of warranty. We trade for them, clean them for the lot and put them on display. They normally break down just sitting there. For what it is worth, unless one is a mechanic or extremely wealthy, German cars are best left in Germany.
 
egami said:
No offense, but Consumer Reports is anything but objective...if you listen to them you'll be limited to Honda and Toyota.
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Yeah, and you don't want to get stuck with one of those crappy Hondas or Toyotas. I mean, all they do is run forever and cost little or nothing to own....
 
Phaedrus knows what he is talking about. This car salesman will recommend a Civic or a Corolla for your daughter. A Subaru Impreza without a turbo or a Nissan Sentra would also be an excellent choices.
 
No experience w/ VW Jetta, but we had a VW Passat '03. Many warranty claims, and the same oil leak the local dealer fixed several times. We traded right before warranty was up, so never took a chance on the oil leak again. The car was very nice and functional, and I understand more warranty claims based on more luxury features, more complicated German design compared to Toyota or Honda.

As for Consumer reports, very objective IMO, they buy the cars at random dealer lots.... the reliability has matched the history of the cars I have owned for the last 15 years, including the Passat, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, BMW models. They do give the benefit of the doubt on new model reliability to proven brands like Honda or Toyota, and say too new to tell for American owned brands. Toyota has slipped on a couple of models lately. Ford has really improved reliability on models, and GM on a few too. They call it like it is.
 
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