1998 Volkswagen Cabrio GLS review from North America

My tan roof was horribly stained from normal wear after two and a half years. I went to the dealership and they really didn't want to deal with me. I contacted the northeast regional service rep and he came down and looked at the car and told them to replace it.

My moldings were discolored and the door molding had fallen off of the car. The same rep told them to replace that at the same time they replaced my roof. They replaced my moldings one more time after that because they fell off.

People working at the Volkswagen dealership are not very helpful and act as though you are doing them a favor by buying a car.

This past summer my car was 5 years old. The driver side of the door and the passengers inside door panel leather peeled away from the door panel and was flapping in the wind like open curtains. I consulted the Volkswagen dealership and they pretty much told me it was too bad and it would cost a gazillion dollars for me to fix it. I contacted the rep again and he told them to fix it comp.

At the same time I had the problem with my door panel, I was getting a sharp object jammed into my back from something metal pointing into my lumbar on the driver seat. They determined it was a coil from the heated seats and fixed that while they were fixing the door panels. They replaced the door panels with new ones.

This summer my alarm on my vehicle decided to work sporadically every time I turned the key to arm it. Now I can only arm the car if I lock it from the passenger side of the vehicle. The volkswagen dealership said the computer in the door goes out and they need to be replaced. They wanted 5 hundred dollars to do the work. I have been locking it on the passenger side since then.

My car developed an annoying problem at the 50,000 mile mark. Whenever it rains the car wheezes like it has asthma and eventually just loses all power. It is very fun when it happens because I always seem to be on a major highway or a deserted stretch of road in a bad area of town. I'm getting a lot of use out of my AAA membership with the 200 free mile towing that is included. Neither the Volkswagen dealership or my mechanic have been able to pinpoint the problem. I have spent a lot of money changing all kinds of wires and the coil and it just happened again today.

Other than the serious cosmetic problems and maintenance problems, the car is undeniably cute.

I don't think I would buy another Volkswagen.

I was hooked by their looks for years, but looking is better than owning. I was thinking about getting an Audi convertible next, but I am rethinking that due to the fact that they are manufactured by the same people.