1999 Volkswagen Cabrio review from North America

Transmission mount broke at 64000 miles.

Exhaust system fell off at 66000 miles.

Transmission blew at 70000 miles.

Convertible top cracked clear across at 72000 miles.

Transmission blew again at 89000 miles.

Ignition switch went out at 94000 miles.

Outer trim has fallen off.

Transmission problems at 102000 miles.

I've been driving stick shift since I started driving, and I have to say that this is the worst vehicle I have ever driven.

The transmission is so delicate that simply backing up a 2% grade can potentially break teeth on the reverse gear. I can't imagine anyone being able to drive this car as carefully as it has to be to keep it running.

The exhaust system rots.

A well-known problem with all Volkswagen MK3's, apparently, is the ignition switch. They all have daytime running lights, and they all have headlights that shut off when the car is off. When the ignition switch fails (and it will), the headlights will not turn on, nor will the windshield wipers or the cabin air fan. Apparently, each year and model that used this faulty item has to have a certain number of dealership orders of the part to issue a recall. In other words, some of the Volkswagens that use this faulty part have a recall for them, but others that also use the same part do not.