Faults:

All these things were replaced between 220000km and 250000km.

Original clutch was replaced (Gearbox seals perished leaking oil into the clutch plates)

Brake equalizer valve (Failed)

Front brake disks and pads (Worn)

Water pump (Failed)

Driver door lock (Failed)

Oil pressure sensor (Leaking oil)

Exhaust front pipe (Broke off)

Engine mountings (Worn)

Tie rod ends and ball joints (Worn, rough driving conditions)

Electric starter coil (Cracked)

My right bolster on the drivers side has worn badly. (Common)

Suspension has an irritating knock which apparently is a loose assembly spot weld. Probably caused from the many potholes I have hit.

I seem to replace my rear wheel bearings every year and no one can tell me why.

General Comments:

Although I have spent a small fortune on repairing this car I still feel that these cars offer good value, since other vehicles (apart from Toyota) do not have the same comfort and qualtiy of a 7 year old car with 300000 K's.

The car has aged beautifully, it still has a very modern look and not a spot of rust.

OEM Parts from the dealer are ridiculously expensive, especially if there is no pirate part available. 2nd hand spares are also relatively easy to come by.

This car is reasonably fuel efficient.

Brakes are not the greatest, but that has been VW's fault even before the MK3's.

The engine uses very little oil.

All in all a good quality vehicle which bears testament to the saying: "They don't make them like they used to!"

Faults:

Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rattles, from day one. Dealers never heard them... so I opened the car myself to rectify them.

Suspected car was damaged while at the factory. Left Rrar passenger door had a loose door seal with paint on it. Dealer pretended as if it was normal. A service manager at another dealership brought that to my attention.

Vibration on brake and clutch pedal when aircon was on. Aircon pump replaced under warranty after year of complaining. Problem went away for a while, but back. Car out of warranty.

Interior light switch broke. Dealer said it would cost R300 to replace as it could not be repaired. Cousin repaired it in less than 10 minutes.

Some relay blew at about 100000K on the clock. Car would not start. Repaired and towed to dealer at VW's cost.

General Comments:

Good car. Quite trouble free all things considered. Aside from the rattles, which are irritating, and pathetic dealer service of whome I've used three and all are the same (it seems to be induced organisational behaviour).

Paintwork is extremely resilient. Have had people bang their doors or cars into mine and all I get is some white mark, which I can rub off. Very happy considering the car is Jazz Blue.

At 134000Km, the tires are still original! Strange, but true. Has to do with long distance driving, I guess. Michelin Tyres rock! and I still have about 10000Km of service left on them.

Brakes replaced for first time at 105000Km.

For me a good car, just that for the price to get it, a 1.6 engine is bit pathetic for such a heavy car. Yet due to my driving style, I get at least 700Km on a tank before the fuel warning comes up.

Will buy another VW product, but will ensure that they do not register it to my name for at least three weeks to ensure that I don't get stuck with problems like rattles, etc!

Faults:

Front brakes wore out excessively quickly even for hard driving.

General Comments:

This car has amazed me from all sides. The performance is on par with both the Golf 4 1.8T GTI as well as the Audi A3 1.8T GTI, running similar top speeds and as aggressive acceleration.

However, the torque on the TDI outmatches both competitors by some bit, and taking into account the cheaper price of diesel and better consumption rates, the TDI's ride is the cheapest of the three!

From first to third the TDI's power is awesome and have to be experienced first hand to appreciate, but fourth and fifth gear seems to lack the same drive. Still, the performance is excellent, and accelerating uphill to a steady 160km/h (100mph) occurs reliably even when loaded with 4 passengers, a driver and luggage.

Service costs are high, but the cheaper diesel expense makes up for it. If you intend to drive anything more than 2000km (1250miles) /month, I strongly advise the TDI just for the fuel savings!