2000 Volkswagen Jetta GL review from North America

Air bag light came on at around 2000 miles. The car needed a new driver's side seatbelt - dealer replaced for free.

Check engine light has come on about 3 times - I can't recall the mileage except for this current time - about 54000.

Took it to the dealer the first time - turned out to be nothing - the dealer said it never turned on for them. A little strange, but OK.

Second time was due to the O2 sensor. Recall took care of that - no charge.

Third time (currently being fixed) the car needs a new vacuum hose, and a new engine coolant temperature sensor (should be covered by extended warranty).

Serpentine belt needs replacing at 56000.

Rear brakes needed at 30000.

New tires needed at 40000.

Rear cup holder broke.

Glove compartment door broke - I had it fixed and it broke again. I'm just going to leave it that way.

Brake lights needed replacing.

I've read a number of very negative reviews about this car. before I bought it, I was made aware of VW's "tradition" of poor electrical systems. So, I bought the GL to try and minimize the fancy electrical gadgets. I'm sorry to hear about many people's problems with various electrical components, but it's not like this is a new thing for VW. Also, items like power windows are nice, but they do have a high incidence of breakage and are costly to replace. So I avoided those for that reason.

I wanted to get the Jetta look, quality and ride for as little $$$ as possible. While I know people like luxury in their car - the Jetta is probably not the vehicle to purchase for this reason. My car cost me about $15.5K which I think it a good price - this is not the car to pay upwards of 22-23K for.

Many car owners do not take their cars in for regular maintenance/service and generally do not take care of them. So, that needs to be kept in mind when folks complain about their cars - a lot of times deferred maintenance cause much bigger and more expensive problems down the road.

All in all I love my car, and it has treated me very well. An Accord/Civic or Toyota might have more reliable - but who needs to see yet ANOTHER one of those cars on the road - boring!

PS. This is a great car for long trips - and I'm 6'4"!