2003 Volkswagen Golf TDI review from North America

Paneling inside the car creak and groan as you drive. Coolant leak from the EGR valve. Oil leak from Turbo. Cylinder gasket leak. Upper control arm bushing (both sides). Moisture entering side signal lights. Heating coils replaced because of excessively smoky starts. Door locks not working (computer had to be replaced). Front end shake at higher speeds (unable to solve).

I love driving this car. That is why I bought it in the first place. It drives great. Corners great. Panic stops are excellent. Its wonderful driving a small car that you don't have to rev the crap out of it to get the horsepower. Handles great in the snow and ice. It very comfortable.

But... its built like crap. I bought a diesel car because I put on a lot of kms for my job, and I needed something good on gas that would last for a long time. Well it is very good on gas, but it certain is not going to last for a long time. Up to now every things been covered under warranty, but its still a pain because with my job it very inconvenient to have it in the shop all the time. Also the things that have gone wrong with it would have been extremely expensive to fix. There is no way I can afford to keep this car outside of warranty. For the cost of repairs, driving a full size truck would be more economical than my little golf.