1998 Volkswagen Golf GLS review from North America

Battery died within 30 days of purchased. Not covered under warranty.

Exhaust system started to loosen up, and eventually ended up with the down-pipe starting to fail. Not covered.

Tape cassette player decides to start playing tapes on it's own. Even without a cassette in the drive. Also lost rear channel speakers due to a wiring fault. Not even worth asking about.

Ignition switch failed to the point of randomly shutting off all electrical systems, including headlights. Not covered under warranty.

Side moldings falling off. Not even going to ask about warranty on that.

Numerous and repeating lamp failures.

Feels like the syncro from 1st to 2nd is slipping - sometimes it grinds going into 2nd, but only in that gear. Downshift from 3rd to 2nd is OK.

I love the car, and I hate it. It is extremely fun to drive, and handles very well. Good gas mileage.

I'm not entirely sure if I would buy another VW, which is a shame, as it is my first VW, and I do actually like it. However, the wallet gets lighter each time I go to the dealer and spend $500 minimum per trip. For an automobile maker who's reputation is "quality", the car is not living up to that expectation.

I'm only hoping that it survives the next three years of financing.