2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 1.9 turbo diesel
Summary:
I would love to have another one of these babies!
Faults:
Nothing has gone wrong with my previous car. I would like to have a newer, more luxury car, and also a standard transmission.
General Comments:
I have had my 2003 Volkswagen Jetta TDI for a while now, I have had to pay for large amounts of repair, but this will be explained later. The car runs great and I am very satisfied with it.
The ride is always smooth; tight steering even when it was only on its stock tires, at a very high rated speed. The diesel engine is loud, but the sound proofing of the car is even better. I have had people that heard my car in their building, but I can barely hear it while driving.
Fuel economy is great, I get about 1100km-1200km per tank on the highway. And at least 800km-900km in the city.
One thing important about driving in the north, I have never gotten stuck in the snow no matter how thick it is, even though my transmission is a standard five speed.
The interior design is spectacular for the price. Heated seats help my back a lot when the weather is cold. It also has one of the best stock sound system for people that cannot or do not want to replace them. The leg space in the back seats is a lot less than the front, but it is still enough. I have fit three big guys in the back, and even stuffed seven average sized people in the back seats before. The trunk is basically the body burying place for the mafia; huge! When the back seats are folded down, the whole back is basically a king size bed. I am actually planning to drive across the States and Canada sleeping in that king size bed back there.
Since it was a retired company car, it has logged a very high mileage, 260k. The repairs I mentioned were actually normal wear and tear. Ball joints, bearings, bushings... The only thing that should not have happened was the external linkage of the transmission. It seized up and shifting became harder.
My worst problem with my Jetta actually came from the mechanic. When my first inspection came up after a year, I brought it to a garage. They replaced the ball joints, inner tie rod end, and freed up the transmission external linkage. But everything the mechanic touched had a problem within a week.
I am very certain that the CV boot is on the list of the inspection, but only a day after the inspection, the grease inside of the CV boot was everywhere in my front right rim. This has yet to be the worst.
They heated up the transmission linkage to have it freed up, according to them. As soon as I had it back, I can hear a rattling noise when the clutch was engaging. When the clutch engages, it usually vibrates the car. I was thinking maybe it would be the belly pan (or perhaps called undercarriage splash guard) that was loose. All I need to do is crawl under it and have it tightened. Two weeks later, I brought it back to Volkswagen to have an oil change (since TDIs don't need that many oil changes, it is actually cheaper to have it done there), they determined the rattling noise is coming from inside of the differential. It turned out to the bearing inside of the differential is damaged, and the whole transmission has to be replaced. And the story goes on...
Someone had it right earlier, some people do have bad luck with cars; but my car simply has bad luck getting bad mechanics!
Lastly, if you ever get stopped by an officer; just tell them there's no way you are speeding, your Jetta TDI only has 90 horspower!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th April, 2009