I have always liked the looks of this particular car. I need to replace my totaled car and the first choice would be another Subaru Outback, but I probably need to scale back a bit on the money side of it. Plus, I don’t really need a wagon.
Do you love it? Hate it? Mixed feelings?
How’s the gas mileage? Does it jump at green lights or go putt putt?
I’m gonna get an automatic (everyone moan all together now and call me a wimp),
does anyone have any comments on transmission issues?
I don’t have a Jetta, but I do have a 2003 Passat Wagon.
Not sure I’d buy a VW right now–I’ve heard from several sources, including the Car Talk guys, that VW is having quality issues.
The only VW model Consumer Reports is recommending right now is the Passat. There’s no reliability data for the current Jetta because it’s a new design this year.
I drive my wife’s old Jetta.
She now drives a Subaru Forester.
She never did like the Jetta one bit, and was always annoyed at it. Her gripes were all quite valid. Lots of irritating electrical things have gone wrong, Jettas are known for their electric windows falling into the door (snap . . . thunk), and our right-rear window did just that ($$$).
Now for my take: I love driving it. It’s a German car, meant for driving. About as close to a sporty car as I’ll ever get. I regularly battle the Jersey highways at 70-80 (sometimes that’s the slow lane) and even though it’s the GL model, with the regular engine, it still has good acceleration at those speeds.
The Forester has a bit more pickup off the line, but as soon as we’re past 40, the VW hits its sweet spot and has significantly more acceleration.
She just loves her Forester, in fact it’s her favorite car ever. I don’t mind driving it – its big and comfortable for a tall guy like me, but given the option, I still prefer driving the VW. When we are taking the family somewhere, I will reach for my own keys if there is a hint that I will be driving at all.
Gotta admit that it’s mighty convenient driving an automatic for a change. After many years of sitting in heavy traffic, moving an inch a minute, pumping the clutch, I finally appreciate that an automatic transmission does have its advantages.
My 2001 Jetta just got traded in today on a brand spanking new Mini Cooper S.
The Jetta was a good car, I’m going to miss it, in a way. It was a VR6, so it wasn’t terrific on gas, but not a total guzzler either. Mine was a manual 5 speed and IMHO, it wasn’t the easiest manual to drive. I had been driving manuals for 13 years before we got it and it was like I was learning how to drive a stick all over again.
I never had the problem with the windows falling into the doors, but the air conditioning gave me fits. Another thing that was annoying was I’d unlock the car, get in, and if I waited more than a minute to start the car (like if I made a phone call or messed around in the car for a few minutes before starting it), the doors would automatically lock and when I would start it the alarm would go off. I talked to the dealer about that, and they said stick the key in the ignition and that shouldn’t happen. Wrong - the car had to be started for this not to happen.
The passenger side door stuck, so when it was opened the door handle had to be pulled twice - annoying when you are picking up someone who doesn’t know about it and thinks you haven’t unlocked the door. Lots of people will only pull once, and I’d have to yell out to pull on the handle again.
The seats supposedly had three ‘memory’ positions, to remember different drivers preferred seating positions, but mine never remembered more than one. The other two were not programmable, and never worked right.
I was never totally passionate about it, but the Jetta was fun to drive, and a really nice ride. It moved out when it had to, and was very comfortable.
I bought my 1989 Diesel Jetta in 1991; it just crossed the 340,000 kilometer mark, and is going well. Haven’t had very many problems with it in all that time, other than:
bloody instrument panel lightbulbs going out (eventually just gave up on these–there’s still one original shining away over the speedometer);
had the driver’s side power window die about 5 years back, had it replaced;
passenger side door handles broke (front and back)–just badly cast metal, had them replaced.
Other than that, it’s the Iron Jetta; still on the original clutch pedal. Over the last year, I’ve had to have things replaced that have just plain worn out; but after 14 years, that’s not surprising.
Haven’t missed not paying for all those tune-ups, either!!
I have a 1996 Jetta VR6 (that’s a jetta 3 body style) . Now I would like to note, that this was the last year that VW made VWs. Now they are made by… Audi. Damn them.
Anyhoo… I love my little putt putt. 
It has a few little quirks that I’m not fond of. Yep, I have fixed the windows a couple of times, and the cruise control likes to sputter.
It gets pretty good gas mileage for a V6, and drives like a dream. I have a 5 speed manual, and it is smooth and easy. The seats adjust for my shortness, and it has a spiffy sun roof that doesn’t leak.
On the down side, it’s a four door, but not alot of backseat room. A huge hurking trunk, but not alot of leg room. On the up side, it means friends don’t ask me for alot of rides.
It’s easy to find parts for, and drives forever without hiccups. Of course, I talk sweetly to it often…
Inherited my mom’s 95 Jetta.
Plus side:
[ul]
[li]roomy.[/li][li]decent gas mileage, but I forget the specifics.[/li][li]can just about fit another one in the trunk.[/li][li]holds resale value pretty well, I guess.[/li][li]faster than it looks.[/li][li]kick ass in the snow.[/li][/ul]Negative side:
[ul]
[li]very stiff ride; every little bump on the road is felt and in PA, that a lot of feeling.[/li][li]I had too many nickel-dime problems to make it worth keeping.[/li][li]steering wheel felt too far away, unless I sat on top of it; weird angle.[/li][li]in my car, two locks broke completely (console lock, and driver door)[/li][li]stupid rubberized key doesn’t sit well in the back pocket.[/li][li]like Rodd, I had issues with the power windows, except my beef was with the passenger side windows, front and back[/li][/ul]
I eventually traded it in for a Ranger. The Jetta wasn’t the worst car I ever owned, but it wasn’t the best either. It’d depend on circumstances as to whether or not I’d want to own another one.
I just replaced my 98VW Golf, which is the same except for a hatcback vs a trunk to a 98VW Jetta. 194K miles. I didn’t get a new VW due to changes in my lifestyle, (I got a Subaru Baja, it’s a truck on a car frame).
I loved my Golf. Nothing but good things to say about it. Minor maintenance issues only, except for a transmission problem at 125K miles, but that could have happened to any car. 33MPG on a stick. Easy to work on if you’re handy.
My understanding of the general consensus on the Jetta, a couple of years ago anyway, was that the Jetta had electrical problems and little things would break all the time. Generally kinda cheap and unreliable.
As an alternative, look into Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla… better yet, get the same quality as Honda or Toyota for less money and without the theft risk with Mazda Protege .
Funnily enough my family has a Forester and a Jetta also but I’m not minor7flat5’s wife.
Our 2000 Jetta has the same problems everyone else mentions, small electrical problems and little thing breaking (glove box, some light switches, cupholder etc). Mechanically we’ve not had one single problem, but becuase of the frustrations of the little things I wouldn’t buy a Jetta again, nor even any VW. On the upside it is really fun to drive and has great gas mileage.
As for my 2001 Forester, I love it beyond all reason and if I won the lottery tomorrow the car I’d buy is a brand-new fully-upgraded Forester.
Twiddle
I have a 2001 Jetta - I like it! I wish it had a bit more pick up initially but it’s quite zippy overall.
There is - however - NO back seat space. But then again - I have my seat almost completely back so that reduces it.
My main complaints are cosmetic:
The surface of the plastic handles and the radio and console are a matte plastic finish. Well - the matte finish is pealing and my driver’s side handle looks kind of sad. There’s a perfectly decent plastic underneath which irritates me even more because it would look fine w/o the finish and now it just looks poo-ey with the finish pealing. Bah! And the finish is threatening to peel on the radio face and dials as well.
And the center console is not one solid piece - the part where your arm rests can be moved back. Well that makes it unstable and after 4 years of it being bumped or just leaned on it’s loose and is driving me nuts. And the little clasp on the console storage thing breaks easily (plastic) and I’ve now done it twice - my hand slipped when pulling the emergency break and it snapped off on one side.
Overall - it’s a good car, dependable, good gas mileage (but not great) and the service people for all my check up-y things are really very helpful and kind. I don’t know that I’d buy one now with the ratings the way they are - but I haven’t had any huge problems. I plan to drive this thing until it falls apart.
(Sorry for the long post)
The Mazda Protege isn’t being made anymore, it’s been replaced with the Mazda3.
I was going to get a Jetta because I love the way they look, but they just seem shoddily built to me: thin doors, loud, bumpy… too expensive for what you get.
I got a Mazda3 and I adore it. Manual, 29 mpg on average. 160 hp 148 torque. Takes off at lights just great and has the sporty look you might like. Cheaper than an Outback, comparable to the Jetta.
Is it not the other way around? 
The only Jetta I remember being in was a car my Dad had temporarily in the 80s. Reddish in colour, all I remember of driving in it was not being able to see out of the rear because the rear windows seemed up higher than on other cars of Dad’s. Or maybe it was the other way round 
I completely agree with everything quoted above.
I have a '99 Jetta with just about average miles on it… 87,000 miles, some long distance, some commuting, some city driving. All of them hard. I have submitted this car to years of difficult conditions, less than stellar upkeep, and multiple accidents. Yet it has been always a fantasic car for me. Anyone looking for a cheap, but decent car, the late 90’s models were and are very good value.
Also, the Jetta has a ridiculously volumunous trunk, which seems a silly perk until you have it.
You don’t sound manually inclined, but I will say that my Jetta has the most ridiculously easy clutch in the world. No other car I’ve driven has shifted the way my car does.
Years ago when my wife was test driving Jettas with me (before she knew she didn’t like them), we test drove a manual; I kindly mentioned to the salesman that she doesn’t drive stick. He had me sit in the stopped car and told me to simply lift my foot off the clutch without any gas – the car smoothly accelerated, as pretty as you please. I have done this before with my other stick cars, but in those you have to gently caress the clutch, nursing it to life, and the car complains as it rumbles forward.
So, from that short demo, I was sold on the quality of the manual transmission and clutch. Didn’t make any difference – she wanted an automatic.
Yep, Audi bought VW. It was a sad, sad day. If course, we VW owners are reluctant to change. Why mess with a good thing?
To clarify my VWness, I have owned (co-owned in some cases with my hubbie)
A 1967 Window bus
A 1996 Jetta 2
A 1989 Rabbit GTI
A 1975 Bus
A 1996 Fox (Hated this car, it was base model and everything went to crap after 2 years. It was hard to drive, and I was glad to see it go)
And my baby, my 1996 Jetta VR6
I’m sure it was the other way round, the VW group bought Audi and most of their cars share a platform.
I’d be a bit wary of the new Jettas right now. My experience with VWs [1] would indicate that VW needs a year to work out any kinks on a new model type. Addiionally, the quality of the US built VWs in the recent years has been sub-par for VW.
OTOH, I hartily recommend the Passat. You could probably find a low milage used one for the same price as a new Jetta.
[1]72 Karmann-Giha
81 Vanagon
85 Quantum
92 Cabriolet
04 Passat
I’m not claiming expertise by any degree, but I have to agree with you. From what I’ve just read on The Volkswagen Group’s website (http://www.volkswagen-ag.de/english/defaultIE.html), VW bought the company that eventually became Audi all the way back in 1965.
Getting back to the OP, I have an '03 Golf, which, as someone has already explained, is essentially the same as the Jetta. I have the diesel version. It’s fun, zippy (although we do have manual transmission), and just two weeks ago, my wife and I took a 2300 mile road trip where we averaged 45-47mpg.
Granted, I haven’t had the car as many years as some of the other VW owners out there, but we haven’t experienced any of the problems mentioned above (yet). The last I heard, the problem with the windows was fixed with the '02 models because they stop using the obscenely cheap plastic clip that held the window in place.
I have a 2002 VW Jetta GLS and love it. The car handles better than anything else in its price range. My only slight complaint is that the air conditioning takes a bit of time to cool down. However, I’m not sure they make a car ac unit which can cool down a car quickly in 100 degree weather.