2001 Volkswagen Bora Reviews

Things that have gone wrong in the five years I've had her are NONE.

The front bumper got wedged under a low grass verge, & when reversing, it was ripped off its mounting/brackets. I had this repaired at a local garage for a minimal fee.

I replaced the interior two years ago for a leather one, and now have extremely comfortable seats, which have heaters in them. These are operated by a switch mounted in the dash above the cup holders. "Bum Warmers" they are collectively known as :-).

I also had spot lights fitted below the bumper, and had the lights switch upgraded, so that I could use them.

Where the original switch had 'one pull out' for the rear fog light, it now has two 'pull outs' for operating the rear fog light, whereas one 'pull out' operates the front spot lights.

Like the Golf I had previously, I love the colours in the car. The blue/red illumination is very 'settling' and comfortable.

I also upgraded the radio/cassette to a USB WMA/MP3 CD unit, which also lights up blue/red.

Wheel bearing - Made humming noise at 80km/h; got it serviced. 70,000k.

Wheel bearing - Second bearing failed a week after the service of the first one. 70,000k

Front fender - Low front end of car is constantly putting the fender in harms way.

Central locking - Remote doors would not lock in cold weather.

Key - Plastic insert to loop around key ring eventually snapped off on both sets of keys (not due to heavy handling).

Catalytic converter - Needed to replace. This part costs $3,000+, 85,000k.

Glovebox - handle internal spring snapped. 85,000k.

Interior paneling creaking - No big issue, ordered as an extra, creaks like I am driving a weatherboard house.

Brake dust on the wheels - Need to constantly clean the wheels. This model was notorious for accumulating large amounts of it.

Knocking sound when turning. Mechanic friend thinks that a large bolt nut had been sealed in the bodywork.

It is a practical car for general use. It can get a little cramped with 4 adults, but is otherwise a suitable car for what is often one or two occupants. It does good economy for long trips, and the 2.0 L engine has reasonable power off a standstill.

From the mechanical side. Spare parts usually have to be imported and expensive. My advice is to really check if your local Volkswagen dealer is genuinely good at servicing your car. My VW service center would replace parts on a whim; when I let a mechanic friend look at it, it was found that a lot of these repairs were not relevant at all.

The A.C. has a funky smell on the left side of the car.

Premature wear on the brakes.

Good car, needs some refining, expensive when parts break, hates the cold winters of the west. In general it is a car for everyone's needs.

Cooling fan sensor which also controlled the air conditioning switch. Not an expensive item.

Transmission stripped out first gear due to "drive by wire" tension slipping - covered under extended warranty. Cost about $2,000. I also replaced the clutch - not under warranty for $425 at about 80,000 miles.

Replaced coil pack again covered by extended warranty. Believe about $400.

Had problems with tire shops stripping out the hub - which I understand is not unusual if they don't take care. Need to be careful with whom you use.

With 125,000 miles the 2001 GLX VR6 with the sport option has performed excellently. It's loaded with everything that VW offered in 01. Since day 1 it's been upgraded with a great deal of high performance equipment, driven hard, raced, but maintained as required.

My 18 year old son checked out the crash protection in a wreck and found out that the air bags work well - and protected him much better than most Japanese cars would. The body shop told me that if he had been in a small Honda or Toyota he might be dead.

VW makes a very safe car.