1997 Volkswagen Jetta GL review from North America

The pipe in the exhaust broke - 50$ to weld it.

Front brake changed at 72000 - 184$

Timing belt @ 75000 - 200-250$

Rear shock absorber needs replacement @ 75000@ -??$

muffler @ 75000 -??$$

I bought the car because I don't want Japanese cars and needed something cheap for school. I got it second hand from a guy who claimed it was in good shape, and it was not bad, I only needed to replace the tires. The check engine light was always on and when I finally checked it, I needed to get a new O2 sensor for 150$ (?) Later the car wheel started to shake badly whenever I brake which ultimately lead to the replacement of the disc and pads. The molding on the door came off and I lost it somewhere, but it doesn't bother me too much. Apart from normal tear and wear I didn't experience anything bad.

The car handles really well for what you ask for, it can take sharp turns with a little bit of oversteer while coming out and the car does experience a larger than optimal roll. The suspensions are OK and tuned for everyday driving. The brakes are not superb, but does the job and I can't believe they stilled used drums in the back. The engine is 2.0 which would translate to a 150hp if it was made in D-land, but I guess they had to reduce the power by reducing the compression ratio for reliability (especially when its made in Mexico) but probably the 85 octane gas in US doesn't help too. The torque offered by it at below 2500rpm is just laughable, if you want to be cool - make sure the needle stays above 3000. The gear shift is alright just like any 1997 car I've seen switches in nicely, but is nothing compared to the later VW/Audis :- (Clutch is like the average German car - nothing exceptional and in my case the previous owner didn't take care too well for it so it's a bit used up :- (

The interior is average, the layout is alright, but could use a bit of the Audi touch. the front cupholders are useless and I just put my coins there and there is no support for the elbows which is too bad :- (The driver seat can be well adjusted to the drivers hight and is really nice, my girlfriend and I can both be seated in it with good view even though I'm 35cm (1 foot for the americans) taller than her. The seats themselves are a pain!!! my back hurts if I drive it too long because the seat is concave rather than convex just like in the damn boeings. The rear seats are OK, but there isn't a lot of leg room. The trunk is huge and I could put a lot of stuff in in when I moved from Chicago to LA, although when you put a lot of stuff the back sinks dangerously low => not a good statement for the rear suspension, but still handles well.

When I was in Colorado at full load the car was almost dying to make it up the hills, but when going downhill I was going at 130km/h at bends and the car did better than I expected.

In general this is a nice car to drive around and if you take proper care it won't cause too much trouble. DON'T take it to the dealer because all they do is rip you off, just take it to a good mexican mechanic and you can get it done for 1/3 of the price and they'll do it well since the car is made in Mexico.