2001 Volkswagen Cabrio from North America

Summary:

Disappointing

Faults:

Instrument cluster and distributor went out same day at 65,000 miles. Convertible top now leaks. Car has consistently required lots of trips to mechanics even with low miles, regular maintenance, and "easy" driving. Disappointment that despite good care and maintenance car is falling apart after 5 years and 65,000 miles. I thought VW ran 300,000 miles! Not this one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th June, 2007

2001 Volkswagen Cabrio from North America

Summary:

Great fun, but not worth the hassle

Faults:

The "check engine" indicator light keeps illuminating even though the garage has checked all systems and can find nothing wrong after replacing the O2 sensor. Have taken it to the garage four times in last month.

Inside door handles are peeling. Vinyl cowling around gearshift has worn badly.

Interior lights don't work when doors are opened.

Driver's window is balky -- won't open on first touch of control.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 27th July, 2006

2001 Volkswagen Cabrio GLX from North America

Summary:

It's one big let down, very disappointing

Faults:

The car leaks even in a light rain, and floods in a heavy rain.

We've had to replace 4 parts within the first 2 months.

General Comments:

We bought the car used from Volkswagen and we've had many bad experiences with the service.

We were told after we began having problems with it leaking that there is nothing the service department could do to fix it and that is why they stopped making Cabrio's.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 2nd October, 2005

2001 Volkswagen Cabrio GLS from North America

Summary:

I love this car!

Faults:

Drivers window would not always stay up, would just put itself down. That lasted a week and then fixed itself.

General Comments:

Comfortable seats.

Great air conditioning and heat.

Love the dash, easy to read.

Suspension could be better.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th August, 2005

2001 Volkswagen Cabrio GLX from North America

Summary:

This car is a piece of junk

Faults:

Too many things go wrong!

This car is a hunk of junk! I have owned it 4 years and within the first year it spent time at the dealer. Currently the driver side window is down and won't go up, all of the ac/heater vents have broke off, the door handles have peeled (replaced twice, still peel), the center console has popped up and the drink holder cover in the back seat has fallen off. The little plastic piece next to the radio fell off so many times I've now lost it.

General Comments:

Very comfortable, but not well built.

I will NEVER buy another Volkswagen. I am so disappointed in this car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th August, 2005

15th Oct 2008, 17:32

I feel your pain... As I am in the same boat as you. Have had same problems. Some say it is due to where they are actually put together (Mexico vs. Germany) I don't know. I just will keep extending the after market warranty.

2001 Volkswagen Cabrio GLS from North America

Summary:

I will never, ever buy a Volkswagen again

Faults:

Replaced breaks at 30,000. (And no, I don't ride them. I replaced the brakes in my prior car twice in 12 years.)

Check engine, airbag and ABS lights come on randomly.

The door handles have been replaced 3 times due to peeling.

Driver's side tie-rod broke at approx 40,000 miles.

Windows go up and down randomly.

Light bulbs - for breaks, etc. in front and back - seem to burn out every 12-18 months.

Air conditioning, glove compartment and other knobs have broken off.

Beige cloth interior covered with water stains from leaks - looks terrible! If you attempt to clean stains of any kind, the cleaning creates a ring-shaped water stain that can only be removed by evenly wetting the entire seat. All this despite the fact that the car was treated with a special stain protector when I bought it.

Roof leaked into the driver's side seat belt well. No way to empty it, so seat belt molded and smelt terrible. Had to wait until summer for it to clear up.

Most serious problems began after 3-year warranty ran out. Dealer completely unresponsive.

General Comments:

When I first got this car, I loved it. It was fun to drive, had great pick-up, handled well, and was very easy to park.

Five years later, I can't wait to get rid of the thing. The problems began 2 years in, and since then I've spent an average of $1,000 per year in repair costs. The maintenance on this extremely poorly made car is nearly constant. There's always something broken that needs fixing.

I expected much better quality for the money.

Perhaps I am just spoiled though. My last car was a Toyota Corolla. At 12 years old and nearly 300,000 miles, my annual repair costs were in the $0-500 range and the interior was in fantastic condition. What was better, I never worried that something would unexpectedly go wrong the way I do with the Cabrio.

I've had several friends with Volkswagens and they've all complained of the same problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th July, 2005

9th Sep 2008, 13:15

I couldn't agree with you more, however I owned a 1989 Cabriolet. The clutch went at 50,000 miles, and I've been driving standards' for the last 20 years.

I had incessant problems with the ventilation system. For one, after 2 years of ownership, I only had 2 speeds for the fan. A month after the fan speeds broke, the air conditioning compressor went. That was an $800 repair. I then had sporadic problems with the compressor to follow that.

I, too had leaks in the convertible top.

Ever since the car was new, it had a terribly rough ride. Volkswagen told me it was because it was a convertible, and the car had to have a looser suspension so that the top wouldn't become misaligned with the body of the car, however my friend has a Saab convertible, and her car rides 100 times better than my Volkswagen did even when it was brand new.

I also found that the tires wore out in 30,000 miles, and I drove a Lincoln Towncar which was much heavier and I was able to get 60,000 miles out of those tires. And the tires I had on my Volkswagen were Michelin's, so they weren't cheap. When I contacted Michelin regarding this, they said typically they would replace the tires, however given that they were on a Cabriolet, and they have received innumerable complaints from owner's of them, they could not guarantee them and advised me to contact Volkswagen to be compensated.

At this point I just unloaded the car at a tremendous loss, however it was well worth it considering I didn't want to find out what was going to go wrong next, and Volkswagen was not at all accommodating after the initial warranty expired. I would NEVER recommend this car or the new Cabrio to anyone. STAY AWAY!!!

10th Sep 2008, 06:42

I've owned 4 Cabriolets and for the most part they were very nice cars.

I don't have any idea what you're talking about regarding the ride - VW Cabriolets are tight, handle well, and have a comfortable ride.

As far as the tires wearing out at 30,000 miles?

Please!

I own a Saab Convertible - it does have an exceptional ride - it also has a bit more cowl shake than the rock solid Cabriolets.

My last Cabriolet stickered for about $20,000 new - my Saab $43,000. Over twice the cost of the VW.

Yes, I prefer the Saab's luxury - but I was certainly happy with the VW's.

2nd Jun 2012, 12:02

One of the very best cars I've ever owned was a 1993 VW Cabriolet - bought it used with about 64,000 miles on it. Incredible car - never leaked at all. I've owned plenty of new cars, but this little VW is in the top 2 or 3 cars I've had the pleasure of owning. In fact I wish I had kept it.