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Sedans Volkswagen Jetta Volkswagen Jetta Maintenance and Repair
6242 messages, Last post on Nov 02, 2009 at 12:07 PM
You are in the Volkswagen Jetta Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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I am interested in purchasing a New VW Jetta but people have told me that they are not a quality made car. That is the question I ask you. Are VW Jettas, or VW's in general poorly ame cars? The reviews talk about performance, I want to know about durability. Or if you know a place to look for the information, please direct me there. Thanks for your help, Marcus
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First off, Motor Trend magazine just did published a survey in one of their recent issues (last month or two) on the Jetta. Now, my experience: Everyone I asked loved their Jetta and claimed no problems. I bought a '96 for my wife. The car is a great value, BUT, I did have some problems: The car has a great engine for this price class. Fairly peppy and really smooth and I have had no problems with the engine at all. I took the car in for three warranty repairs! It had the climate control fan burn out (and shoot smoke!), a window motor fail, and the sunroof motor fail. Each repair resulted in multiple visits (which really sucked) because they never have these parts in stock. This was a common complaint in Motor Trend's survey (lack of parts). Also Motor Trend reported that almost all of the owners had to go back in for one or more warranty repairs (ridiculous). My two Nissans have never been in for a warranty repair except my first had 8 year old seatbelts that were recalled and replaced. One niggly complaint I have is that the paint is soft and scratches easily. A plus to this is that minor scratches are more easily polished out. My wife loves her car and would buy another but I wouldn't because I'm the one who has to take care of all of the repairs while she ust takes my Nissan!
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| Yellowboy sounds like he may be a Nissan Salesman! | |
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Let me say that I owned a 98 Nissan Altima - it was a joke! Although, a not very funny one. It was always in the shop. Drivetrain/tranny probs, window seal probs, sunroof drainage channel probs, brake issues, etc, etc. Kept it for one year, and traded, at much expense, for a 99 Jetta VR6. Had this car for 6 months - no probs at all except for one cosmetic flaw - the headliner was "growing" some sort of fungus! Replaced and no more probs. Love the VW - doors slam and the windows don't rattle like the Nissan. The sunroof only lets sun in - no rain, unlike the Nissan. The motor runs well at all speeds, and uses no more gas than the 4 cyl Nissan. NEVER AGAIN NISSAN! And people wonder why they are almost bankrupt. Rosenthal Nissan in Vienna VA was AWFUL and Nissan corp would not take the car back......even to replace with another one. I hope they do go bankrupt. Shotty products do not belong on the road - nobody should have to pay almost 20 grand and get that kind of hassle.
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I have a Nissian Altima and am contemplating buying a VW. I have had my Nissian for about a year and I have to date spent $900 on repairs. I finally got fedup while 2 weeks ago I took it to the shop to have the spark plugs replaced, only to find out that it wasn't the sparks that needed replace, but the Intake Manifold Valve/gasket was the problem. Cost $1000. They have to break the header to get to it. I went to 3 mechanics, and each of the shook their heads and gently told me to get rid of it. Please tell me that VW's are better! |
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Had a 92 Corrado with the VR6 engine. Best car VW made. Had it since new. Would be driving it today except a Toyota 4 runner made an illegal left turn and I hit him at 45 mph. The car was totalled with 90k mi. No problems with the car and as for crash protection-- exceptional(no cabin intrusion). Would have bought another VW, but they don't make anything that compares to a Corrado. So I bought an Audi A4 2.8 quattro. Excellent car!! My advise is go for the Jetta with the VR6 engine(GLS) , then replace the springs/struts with Neuspeed & Bilstein for greatly improved handling. I thought the Jetta was grossly undertired and had too much body roll. I wish VW would make their cars handle like their other division--Audi.
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| ..are the big issue here. I bought my first Beetle off of the showroom floor back in 1972. I've owned 2 VW's since then. Great cars, but delaers NEVER have parts in stock. That was in Chicago...now I live in KC, and hate to think about parts availability here in Jerkwater, USA! The new Jetta's are excellent cars, but be sure to get the V6. | |
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I came into this discussion looking for repair information on the Jetta (4 or 6 cylinder), and am still seeking more data, if it is out there. My experience with VW's (an '80 Rabbit, a '90 Fox and an '85 Jetta) has been that they are in the shop much more frequently than my '94 Nissan Altima, which now boasts 132,000 miles and has had NO problems other than normal wear & tear. The handling has been a great disappointment, however--it does not come close to any VW. Also, tonewheel & jwolff, please tell me why you think that the VR6 is a better bet than the GLS with manual transmission. I have felt that previous VW's were under-powered: is this the basic reason, or are there other considerations? |
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The VR6 is just a better engine. I think its worth the extra money to get a GLS with the 6 as opposed to the 4. I don't know why VW hasn't put the VR6 in their Cabrio-- grossly underpowered given the added wt over a Golf. I think there is more aftermarket stuff for the VR6 and they are better all around engines. If you live in the SW I would recommend putting an (New Dimensons ?sp)additional oil cooler on the VR6 b/c they tend to run hot and after the first oil change ie at 7500 mi change to a synthetic like Mobil one 15w50 or Castrol Synthetic 5w50. |
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| looking for an aftermarket computer chip for the 1999 jetta 2.8 v6. wish the new jettas came with the 1.8 turbo like the passat. change the chip and you get an extra 50hp, but i donl like the passat as much as the jetta!!!!! anybody have any ideas??? | |
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