1996 Volkswagen Jetta GL review from North America

I purchased this car in September 2003 from an uncle who is a local car dealer. I had seen this car on his lot and my father and I were very impressed by the condition of this car and it had 121K, not necessarily a huge amount for a 7 year old car. And at a price of $2300 it was only about half of the bluebook value, so it seemed to be a good deal. For the first 6-7 months this car ran excellent with no problems. I then started noticing that it was having problems starting when wet and at times stalling out when going over puddles, wet ground, etc. After reading various responses I realized that these issues (among other ones below) are very common for VW Jettas in this time frame:

REPAIRS DONE:

Ignition coils replaced TWICE--over $1200 for the two repairs (been about a year and a half since this was done, so hopefully fixed for good)

In addition to the ignition coil issues, had trouble starting the car. Not a battery or starter issue, ignition switch was replaced--over $300 for that.

Noticed rattling under the car and a new muffler was constructed--$380 but done by the best muffler place in my town.

The car had an antifreeze leak that I dealt with for months--this was about $200 but it has never been a problem since then.

Air bag clock spring was repaired--$475, would have probably let it go, but it would not have passed inspection.

Had to unclog the A/C drain which leaked condensation into passenger floor board and over heated the car at times, eventually the new radiator fan blew--nearly $800 in repairs.

Most recently, an oil leak occured. I know oil leaks can be difficult to find, but it took it to the third place to repair this, could have been a dangerous thing, but turned out OK.

Overall, repairs cost over $3600 and maintenance over $900 for brakes and tires/alignment.

In addition to that, power locks are done (not that that is necessary) and side panels have fell off, but have been adequately fixed.

As the running of the car it runs fine. The car does not consume a ton of gas and really does not burn oil either. Relatively comfortable inside the vehicle and a large trunk as well. For a 10 year old car with a black paint job that has stayed in good condition.

No major problems with engine, transmission, etc. so that's good.

Parts can be both expensive and non-expensive (like most cars) but labor can be quite expensive due to the tightness and lack of size under the hood.

For a car that gets you from point A to B with decent gas mileage go for it, but get ready to open your wallet for repairs.