Faults:

First of all, exterior moldings do not hold to the car. Lost many pieces will driving on the highway; reflectors, door moldings, and part of my muffler.

The engine is still going great. No problem with the transmission either.

Problems with the interior: dash lights are burnt. Horn, cigarette lighter stopped working. Sunroof squeaks.

General Comments:

Generally, the car runs well and is dependable, mechanically that is. Other things like accessories and moldings fall off too easily. Good on gas.

Faults:

It would be easier to describe what didn't go wrong with this car.

The main problem with this Mexican build car is the electrical system. After just 3 months owning the car, smoke began rising from the steering column, and the rear wiper assembly. This was a shorted wire, which as replaced, every other year, because the problem kept recurring.

Radiator was replaced twice in six years of ownership due to corrosion.

Spark plugs, high voltage wires and distributor cap was replace 4 times in six years. The original brakes only lasted 35,000 kilometers. My after market brakes lasted over 120,000.

This car never started if the temperature dropped below -5 Celsius. I had to install a block heater to ensure I could get to work the next morning.

Body began rusting after only 4 years. Also unsightly stains ran down from the door handles and locks to stain the paint job.

The radio antenna fell off after 60,000 kilometers.

By the time the car reached 120,000 kilometers, I was paying over $2,000 per year in maintenance alone (not including gas, oil or lubricants).

General Comments:

It is a sporty looking kind of car. However, when your sitting on the inside, you don't see the exterior styling.

It handles reasonable well, but it isn't fast by any means. I topped out 167 kilometers per hour, and I was going down a slight hill at the time.

Congratulations Volks Wagon. You've outdone the Yugo and the Hyundai Pony as the worst car ever! Kudos to the Volks Wagon marketing team, you've conned North America into thinking this is a great car.

Faults:

The car ran very well up until about 150K then the electrical troubles began. Everything including dash lights, fuel gage, odometer, tachometer, and running lights either didn't work at all or were very temperamental.

In cold weather, the automatic door locks and alarm were awful, sometimes not letting me in to my own car!

Finally one day the alternator went and the battery exploded.

A computer chip in the transmission went which cost $800 to replace.

Head gasket cracked at 180,000 Km. Another $800 job.

General Comments:

This car was fun to drive, but seemed to self-destruct at about 180,000 Km.

A great car until the planned obsolescence kicked in.

Faults:

Clutch needs to be replaced since it has been slipping if accelerator is pressed to hard, about 34K.

Interior lights in the odometer and tachometer is no longer working and side marker lights due to faulty electrical.

Muffler was giving away, but replace it with DTM mufflers that gives this nice low sound.

General Comments:

The previous owner did not really took a great care of the car, and that annoys me. When I just got it, the front light reflector was missing from the driver side and one vane was missing.

Over all, the car runs great especially in the highway. Throw a little bit of rev-matching and double-clutching technique and there you go speeding up and passing cars ahead of you!

You just have to know how to take good care of the golf!