VW Jetta's

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I've decided to head back to college in Jan. to finish up with my BA and MBA. I haven't decided which college yet, but the two I would go to are 30+ miles away each. Having a truck that gets 15mpg isn't practical and I'm putting off going big on my business so I don't need to haul a trailer. I'd like to go back to college with 0 car payments and getting rid of my Stang and Ranger on a cheaper car would do that. We have a 2000 Jetta, 4 banger no Turbo, at work on consignment (Dad took it away from her daughter) that I can get real cheap. I've driven Fords my whole life and work on my own vehicles so I'm unfamilliar with VW's. I had a Focus but want something a little more manly, I don't have a girl anymore so saying "It's my girlfriends" isn't going to work. If anybody has owned one, I'd like to know more about them. I've heard of some reliability issues with VW which is why I'm hesssitant.
 
Never owned one, but everyone I know that has one hated/hates it. They're always having problems with them.

BTW, a Jetta is much more girly than a Focus IMO.
 
The Jetta can be a fun car, but maintenance will be pretty high. I had a '95 Golf for a while and parts were extremely pricey - I remember the spark plug wires were about 30% higher than Porsche for some reason. It was a great little car, very reliable, but when things went wrong they did cost more than I was used to paying.

I have heard so many mixed things about the VWs from '99 to present; most of the negative things were with reliability and build quality - most are made in Mexico rather than Germany. You may want to check out epinions.com and carreview.com.
 
I've known a few people that have owned VW's recently (in the past 5 years) and all of them will not be purchasing them again. I think that says a lot. They just have not been good cars to those people.
 
This isn't looking good. Are these major problems or minor? I can get non-Ford parts through work at a 25% discount, and I love working on cars so having to replace parts now and then doesn't bother me....I can do anything but a transmission. The owner's step-son had a Jetta w/ 100k and from what I could tell, beat the hell out of it. I don't remember it being in the shop for other than tires/brakes in the 3 years I've been there. I'll have to check into it.

Any other suggestions for a 4 banger with some room inside? Saab?
 
Sorry in advance to the above responses:
I have an 02 Jetta GLI, the 1.8 T engine, and it runs as good today as when purchased. My gas milage is and always has been ~30 MPG and it has not needed any service at all, knock on wood. I have an odd feeling that the people mentioned above neglect their cars or beat them routinely like many people do. My neighbor also has a GLS with the 1.8 and has never had a problem. My car care routine is somewhat meticulous being that I do follow the manual like a bible providing all of services called for at all the scheduled intervals (like spark plugs every 20K, etc.). Both I and my neighbor have had zero engine problems and we both use Mobil1 5W30 every 3K with PureOne filters. Also the fit and finish of the car is IMO nicer than my girlfriends mothers Jaguar S-Type, which is like a Taurus. To sum it up I would buy another in a heartbeat, especially the new GLI; with the small amount of tuning I have done to the body and enigne (its right about 260hp) the "girlish" sterotype does not apply.
 
MS22 said:
Sorry in advance to the above responses:
I have an 02 Jetta GLI, the 1.8 T engine, and it runs as good today as when purchased. My gas milage is and always has been ~30 MPG and it has not needed any service at all, knock on wood. I have an odd feeling that the people mentioned above neglect their cars or beat them routinely like many people do. My neighbor also has a GLS with the 1.8 and has never had a problem. My car care routine is somewhat meticulous being that I do follow the manual like a bible providing all of services called for at all the scheduled intervals (like spark plugs every 20K, etc.). Both I and my neighbor have had zero engine problems and we both use Mobil1 5W30 every 3K with PureOne filters. Also the fit and finish of the car is IMO nicer than my girlfriends mothers Jaguar S-Type, which is like a Taurus. To sum it up I would buy another in a heartbeat, especially the new GLI; with the small amount of tuning I have done to the body and enigne (its right about 260hp) the "girlish" sterotype does not apply.
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Is the turbo really worth it? From what I've read on some VW forums, the 2.0 is a dog. I'm not looking at setting a speed record, all I want to do is buy a car that's not an econobox to get me through college. I did notice the fit and finish of the step son's Jetta was top notch when I detailed it, it would be nice to have a cheap car that's doesn't feel like your inside a plastic milk jug.
 
Jettas and Cabrios usually need the plug wires, ingnition cap and coil replaced after 5 years or some spooky things can occur. But, that`s not too bad. Parts are expensive.
 
I talked to another Jetta owner earlier to help you in your decision realizing that the engines are different. My father's work associate, and a repeat customer of mine, bought his son a 2000 GL over two and a half years ago (3 years in March) as a birthday present. It has the regular 4cyl. 2.0 115hp engine and runs like a champ. This was for a kid who just turned 16, and who I know to drive quite "spirited"; and to this day they have had zero problems with the car. I spoke to him today and with 87K+ on the car and engine there are no signs of problems and no signs of anything in the near future. A point should be made that they are also very good about caring for their cars in terms of maintenance. I also know a guy from my gym that has a 97 with nearly 200K and he still runs it 100+ per day to work and back as his daily driver. I have only experianced good things with all VW's and would recommend their cars to anyone. Most importantly and without any bias when purchasing used I would take caution and consider how the car was cared for before even thinking about purchasing, no matter what make the car is.
 
Thanks for checking into that for me. I have it home for lunch right now and I love it. My biggest worry was lack of power, and while it's no Mustang, it will serve it's purpose. The first thing I noticed was how tight the interior is, and it's made out of quality materials. The owner at work said it wholesales for $7.5k-$8k so I might be able to get one cheaper if this one doesn't work out....the guy has $11k on the window. If I can snag one in the $8-9k range, I'll have enough equity in my vehicles that I won't owe anything. I'm not going to impulse buy like I did my truck so I'm going to wait until I can sell my vehicles outright. There's lots of Jetta's out there. Now if it just didn't have a dead battery I could go back to work......
 
MattZ28 said:
Never owned one, but everyone I know that has one hated/hates it. They're always having problems with them.

BTW, a Jetta is much more girly than a Focus IMO.
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One can say the same about your ugly F-body.

Anyway, your going to have problems with any car. FWIW, my brother has owned his Jetta for the last 3 years and he has had no problems. Then again he stays on top of all his maintance. I fell in love with his car so much, that I went out and bought a Passat. Now, that should tell you something about VW's.
 
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