2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLS review from North America
"Basically nice with refined features, but higher maint and lower reliabilty than top japanese cars"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Rear wheel bearing at 34000 miles
rear cup holder rack and pinion failed
leather seats stain easily and can't be cleaned
plastic covers for seat headrest posts and luggage tie downs are flimsy and break or just throw themselves in the floor.
General comments?
2005 TDI Wagon, 37 MPG City and/or Highway at 80 MPH.
Great engineering, great mileage, good build quality, but reliability hampered by a few poor quality parts. A really nice car, hate VWOA policies, all dealership service depts so far (tried 3) due to ridiculous pricing and unknowledgable service writers (i have the car still ONLY since it's under warranty).
Worst cabin feature - When using split rear seat, passenger side down, you cannot recline the drivers seat (what were the engineers thinking here???).
On my wife's Passat with 105K miles, I can do 2 tie rod ends in an hour with basic tools and no lift, my dealer figures 2.5 hours @ $90/hr. labor for 2 tie rod ends?!#$@.
Recommended reviews
| Safe car but shoddy workmanship |
|
| Save your money, get a Honda/Acura. It's okay if you plan to buy again in 7 years |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 2005 |
| Year of manufacture | 2005 |
| First year of ownership | 2005 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.9 TDI Manual |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 7 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 10 miles |
| Most recent distance | 36000 miles |
| Previous car | Honda Passport |
| Date of Entry | 2nd February, 2006 |