2005 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8 Turbo from North America - Comments

Wow, where do I begin with what has gone wrong with this car. I think everything on the car has been recalled by Volkswagen.

After have the car for about 4 months the check engine light came on, so I brought the car to the dealership which I purchased it from and they looked it over and just told me that there was a misfire and they reset the dashboard lights. Well a few weeks after they reset the dashboard lights, the check engine light came on and again I brought the car back to the dealership, they told me the same thing that there was just a misfire and they reset the dashboard lights, this went on for about 3 years.

Finally in January of 2005 I brought the car to the dealership where I purchased the car to get my routine oil change. They did the oil change and called me to let me know it was ready. Oh, I forgot to mention that when I needed to get the oil changed it took the dealership over 3 hours to change the oil, even though I had scheduled an appointment. So, I went to pick up my vehicle and everything seemed fine, but on my way home the car just died on me. I called and had it towed back to the dealership, at my own expense of course, and the dealership told me that it seems that they did not put oil back in the car. Pretty important step, I would think. So I had to end up paying over $3000.00 to get some engine work done on the car.

Needless to say 4 months later the car died on me again and now will not start.

I will never buy another car from this company again. I have also been trying to warn everyone I know about these cars as well.

If you are looking into buy this car, do a little research first. I have researched on Goggle and have found numerous websites dedicated to unhappy Jetta customers all having the same exact problems I have been having.

The Dealer should be required to pay for there mistake

A friend of mine had the same thing happen at Can. Tire and they installed a good used engine at no charge.

Why did you pay the dealer $3,000 to fix the engine that had been ruined as a direct result of their negligence?

Didn't you hear it knocking as soon as you started it up?

Are you really telling the truth?

If so, you need a little education in car maintenance and how to handle dealers.

In your position, if they wouldn't agree to fix the car at their own expense, and give me a loaner, I would have asked to test drive a new car, (since the car wasn't running) pretending I was interested in buying a new car and driven it through the showroom window, doing a good bit of damage and getting their attention. And a good newspaper story.

Why would the Jetta owner have to pay $3000 to fix damage caused by the dealer forgetting to add oil to the car? The car owner has literally been taken for a ride.

If you are daft enough to have paid for the engine damage you didn't cause, then you're daft enough to accept anything.

I'm surprised you don't just buy another car from them.

Didn't you consider consulting a lawyer?

Half the people working in a dealership are crooks, the other half are idiots.

The rest are OK.

This guy clearly doesn't know how to own and operate a car. If the dealer didn't put oil in the engine, you don't simply roll over and pay $3,000 for a new/rebuilt engine. Clearly we're not hearing both sides of the story. Furthermore, this calls into question the accuracy and completeness of all the info in the post.

I agree.

Either the guy or girl is a bit mental or just enjoys making up controversial stuff. Certainly drew a response.

Oil warning light and knocking noise would be noticed by a normal person before engine was wrecked, though I know of some women who have no mechanical sympathy doing outrageous damage to a car despite all audible warnings until it just seizes up. In that case, a dealership might be less than understanding even if they did forget to refill engine with oil.

Most common example of this is when people continue to drive cars on worn-down brake pads until the discs are scored so badly it needs new ones. (rotors in USA)

I like the car through the window idea, though.

If you want to read lots of lies, and have a good laugh, read the McLaren F1 "reviews"!

It's an exaggeration, intended for North America, mainly, but not much of one.

I'm appalled at the lack of technical knowledge of mechanics and the attitude of dealers and salesmen, based on 8 years of living in Canada.

As an engineer myself, I grew tired of the ridiculous situations I witnessed.

For example, if you want a new set of front brake pads installed, (and you know that the discs are not scored)

you will be pressed to agree to a caliper rebuild, "turning" or machining of the discs (rotors in USA) which makes them thinner, reducing their thermal capacity and is not needed unless the car has been abused.

I was given a C$750 estimate some years ago to "fix" the brakes on my 2 year old Grand Marquis when all it needed was new front pads.

I considered this attempted robbery.

(I know the semi-metallic pads of recent years wear discs more rapidly than the old asbestos compounds which are no longer used for health reasons, but the discs were fine.)

I declined, bought new pads from Canadian Tire and fitted them myself. Cost: C$14-00. And an hour of my own time.

A friend of mine trained as a manager in a well-known chain of auto repair shops and quit because he couldn't go along with the underhand business practices which were company policy.

Mechanics are encouraged to persuade you to accept complete new sub-assemblies at inflated prices, when a unit can be repaired. I know repair isn't always possible.

I could give dozens more examples, but don't want to go further here.

I think the main thing missing here besides the oil is common sense. My question (like others) is why didn't you get the dealer to pay for the towing expense as well as the expense costs to repair the car?

I think this story may be a little blown out of proportion and lacks the truth.

I personally own a Volkswagen 1.8Turbo Wolfs-burg Ed. I hadn't had any real problems with this vehicle, but I can relate with the on-going problem of the check-engine light, and also the incompetence of the dealership. Yet, when it comes to most dealerships, incompetence is general. For routine operations, such as an oil change, I bring my car to a specialized facility such as Jiffy Lube. For tire rotation and changes, it's better to go to a tire shop, such as Discount Tires or Big O's. And for other specialties such as brake maintenance etc. etc. Dealerships usually don't require much specialty except for selling cars; therefore, don't trust them with the majority of your maintenance. I would also, suggest to do the maintenance yourself except there are two problems that follow this: 1st and mainly, unless you own or work in a vehicular repair center, you cannot transfer the information to the computer systems to show proper and timely maintenance of your vehicle to sustain an accurate resale value and 2ndly, judging from your complaint, you are most likely not very knowledgeable in any form of vehicle repair. After dealing with situations such as this recurrently, you will most likely become more experienced and learn the art of wheel in and dealin'. To sum up this statement, you shouldn't blame companies or others for your personal negligence and lack of ability. The 2001 Jetta 1.8Turbo isn't and was never meant to be the best car in the world. It was mainly meant to give customers with only meager buying power the ability to afford a vehicle with some comfort features that will take them from point A to B. Oh before I forget, it is true that there were many recalls on several of the items on this vehicle, but the Volkswagen dealership had always taken care of those for free. But I wouldn't be surprised if you paid for those, also. And also, sometimes it does take time to do routine maintenance depending on the flow of customers. I.E. if the flow is heavy then expect it to take awhile.

2001 VW Jetta 1.8t

My experience with this vehicle is that it has been the worst and probably the poorest designed car ever built.

First the check engine lights and misfires, misfires, misfires, misfires, and the list continues. I would like to have invested this money into a Pinto instead, and I know I would have some real money now.