1997 Volkswagen Cabrio Reviews - Page 3 of 3

First off, I enjoy this car. I agree with comments about the top being hard to clean. Some advice I can give to get a beige or white top clean- use Softscrub surface cleaner with bleach & allow a lot of time. The interior is the biggest disappointment with my VW. Its faded, stained, worn and generally makes the car look older than it is. I've tried cleaning it with everything up to and including a portable carpet cleaning machine, but they still looks old & worn. Custom seat covers don't exist for this vehicle and the commercial generic ones look dumb. If I wanted to get rid off this car, the interior would be a turnoff to any new buyer. Finally, anything larger than a can sized drink will have to be jambed in the passenger seat adjuster lever ( on the floor) to be held as it won't fit in the drink holder slots.

A good overall buy.

Door moldings fell off repeatedly. Tried to re-glue repeatedly. Finally lost and can't find replacements.

Power windows won't work.

Convertible top leaks.

Engine light stays on, but no one can find out why.

Interior door liner pulling away from the window.

Muffler buzzes when accelerating.

Trunk lock is difficult to work.

I wish I had found this website and all of these reviews before buying this car. No wonder I got a good price. The guy was probably thrilled to unload this piece of @#$!

Almost every problem I have read about has happened to my car. Volkswagen should be ashamed for putting this car on the road.

Nice body style, but not worth the trouble I've had. I used to think of quality and durability when I thought of VW. Many family members and friends had them and drove them for years. Not any more!

I had to have the top replaced because it was so worn and discolored.

The distributor cap had to be replaced 2 times. Blew out all wires and a spark plug.

A gasket blew in my engine and oil was sprayed all over my cars engine.

My transmission had problems where I could not go over 45mph on the highway.

Had to go back 3 times before they could fix that.

I would never own another Cabrio.

I like VW and would purchase a new car from them in the future only if it was covered by a good mfg warranty.

Cabrio top is the biggest problem. It is not easy to clean, has become sticky and there is a pungent rubber/plastic smell coming out of it. That smell makes the driver sick.

It was fun to drive, but.. now it is noisy, smelly and is not at all good for commuting. Door handles have chipped too.

I got the car from Americar-Superstore in Tewksbury, MA. Do not go there! They charged me about $1000 too much for the car, and so far the service has sucked.

The car has a bad passenger side seat because it won't stay in the up position.

The alternator is a little loud, it needs an alignment, and it is filthy inside and out. They were supposed to have taken care of this before I picked up the car, but they jerked me around.

All of these things should have been taken care of by the dealer, but so far they are giving me the run around, and I am about to file a case with the BBB.

Other than that, I think I will have fun with this car. It isn't as peppy as my 1989 Mazda MX-6, but it is more fun to chill out in.

I will probably post another message after I have had the car for a while. The point of this message was to say that if you are in the Boston / New Hampshire area, don't buy a car from Americar-Superstore. They get you by talking monthly payments instead of the car's value.

Just after warranty expired, I had to change a brake disk because the car was shaking when braking at higher speed. I was told it was due to braking after hitting a puddle of water! After complaining to Volkswagen (the car barely has 15,000 KMs), they paid for the parts. I was satisfied with this service.

Recently, door's chime seems to begin playing its little music while I am driving. Garage has not been able to find the problem! Mystery!

The cabrio has always been my dream car and still is! After driving it for 4 years, I still enjoy it just as much as when I first got it.

Handles the road very well because of its weight.

Surprisingly excellent winter car even in Canadian weather!!!

Very stable even when the roof is off. Relatively no wind in the front. In the back, bring a hat or cap if you have longer hair!!!

Roomy seats, trunk a little small but still practical. Larger items can be put in the car with the rooftop off.