Faults:

$6.00 coolant hose flange.

$8.00 thermostat.

General Comments:

I absolutely love it, but I do have a thing for Volkswagens. I bought the car despite it having a confirmed 300k on the odometer. The owner seemed very meticulous with it, and when I drove the car, it drove like it was nearly new. Everyone else that has driven the car says the same thing. Since I've had it, I've driven it to 8 different states on numerous trips.

Even at 100mph (no joke, I made it 300 miles in about 3 1/4 hours) with the trunk and back seat full, it got 30mpg.

Performance is decent from the 1.8, could be faster, but it does alright for me. It stops on a dime, the A/C is ice cold, and I'll be very shocked if I don't see 400k roll over the odometer.

It's by far my favorite of the watercooled VWs I have owned.

I only paid $1100 for it, and I've had to put less than $20 into repairs on a 300k car.

Faults:

Nothing except for normal wear & tear items, exhaust, tires etc.

General Comments:

The vehicle was great from day one. Nice ride, decent power, exceptional handling. Excellent reliability.

Even though it was 11-years-old when I bought it (and had approx. 80k miles), the paint was like new and the body was rust-free. The interior of the car was beautiful too. It was manufactured in Mexico, so it has the "fuzzy-cloth" interior. It still looked new!

I found that the combination or German engineering aand Mexican assembly worked well, as the fit and finish were as good if not better as any small car of its time, and on par with many much more expensive makes.

For a little car, it was very smooth and quiet. The 1.8 liter engine and 3 speed automatic transmission worked in fine harmony and returned 25 mpg or more in the process.

The stereo system provide fine sound, and everything on the vehicle worked.

Not bad for a car that cost me nearly $400,000 less than a Maybach.

When I decided to sell it, I just put for sale signs on the windows and parked it out front. In less than a day I got a call from a neighbor who bought it on the spot.

This little metallic gray Mexican Jetta was a very nice little car!

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car. It wasn't used a lot in the past few months before I got it, but it starts right up and drives like a dream. It is very smooth, and the car has a lot of oomph for only having 100 hp.

Certain common Jetta/Golf specific problems are present, but none of them are major and none affect the car's drivability:

A sagging headliner (endemic to these cars, especially with a sunroof)

Left front wheel bearing on the way out.

Power window switch is faulty on one side.

Vacuum operated power door locks are temperamental.

General Comments:

Other than these issues, which require a little bit of work to fix (I do most of my own work so it's more of a hobby than a chore), the car is in mint condition. I love this car, I got it for only $700 which was truly a steal.

These older Volkswagens are what the current VWs should be modeled after - they are so solid and reliable. If you treat these cars right they will run forever, and 99% of the other reviews on this site of the 1985-1992 Jetta/Golf models will prove it.

These cars are easy to work on, parts are pretty easy to find, but most of all, they are a kick to drive. Sure, you can drive a worry free Honda/Toyota, but it will not be nearly as fun to drive or have as much personality as a VW - GUARANTEED. I love my VW, and I will probably own one as long as I live.