1999 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0 4 cylinder from Mexico

Faults:

Nothing wrong, just cheap plastic parts, but easy to fix. I did all myself, so I spent a little money :D.

General Comments:

My last car was a highly recommended Mercury Villager (Nissan Quest), which was very nice Mini Van. I change to a 4cyl for the gas, but the van was wonderful, and easy to fix. Fun to drive and cheap to maintain, the problem is that I've got a business where I need to go often to work outside, and I need something cheaper on gas because the van was 6 cylinder.

Now I've got a wonderful Jetta GLS 99.5. The car had some minor stuff broken, but I already fixed all that by myself. I spent 30 dollars on everything, including antenna. The car is easy to fix and maintain.

I already know about the VW family, because in my family we've had 2 already; a Combi and a Golf, and both were very reliable cars. So that was reason is why I decide to buy the Jetta.

And my father has a Jetta 1998 too, and it's running very nice. He does a lot of traveling in it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th September, 2005

1999 Volkswagen Jetta GL 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Terrible engineering, terrible car

Faults:

Front brakes were replaced at 30k miles and again at 60k and now again at 99k.

Rear brake lights/fuse all blew out within a weeks time.

Battery died due to poor-quality stereo that locked up in the powered on condition. The only way to reset the stereo is to pull the fuse.

Yellow grease poured out from all 4 doors in the heat.

Paint is faded and in poor shape.

Plastic grills in the front bumper missing after 15k miles.

Poorly engineer bumper / poor quality attachment caused the bumper to sag / fall off, which I repaired with a hand full of drywall screws because I just didn't care anymore.

Cheap plastic parts in the cabin are all slowly breaking (cup holder, glove compartment)

Both front seats have lost some sort of big spring, which seems to have no effect on the seats themselves.

Trunk keyless entry unit cracked and jammed the lock. More cheap plastic parts.

AM stereo picks up loud buzzing from the engine, making it useless.

Cheap tape deck started flaking out at 30k miles, died at 70k, showing a constant "Error".

Various O2 / Air Flow Sensors have died, some under recalls, some not.

AC unit loses charge very fast, leading to its lack of use.

Cheap rubber trim around the edges of the door have all constricted / expanded due to the heat and have fallen off / sagging.

Antenna has cracked / sagged due to sun exposure due to MORE cheap plastic parts.

All things said, I'd never buy a VW again. Terrible car, terrible engineering.

General Comments:

The car looks great brand new.

Car handles well.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th July, 2005

29th Dec 2007, 08:54

People who don't like vw's should not buy them. I've had 10 vw's and loved them all. I also took care of them and sold them for good money. they are not perfect cars, but they are easy to fix if you have half a brain.

1st Oct 2008, 14:23

I had a 1999 Jetta, and I agree with the majority here. It was a beautiful car, but it was constantly breaking. After only 3 years of owning it, I found myself using up all of my AAA tows in one month. Countless, countless things went wrong witht his car, so I finally traded it in for a Toyota Celica... no regrets.

I believe that the older VW models were engineered better, so I don't think that the blame should be placed on the owners if we're simply going off past experiences with older models.