VW Jetta: Good, Bad,Ugly?

[Snot]

Hey everyone,

I am currently in the market for a new vehicle. I have herd nothing but good things about the VW Jetta(2000 model). However ther is a lot of hype about this vehicle. I was wondering if anyone had any personal experience or comments about these vehicles. I am more intrested in haveing a well built good looking vehicle then a car that is sold over initial hype.

I realize that Volkswagon is made by the same company that manufactors Porche and Audi. These cars are very expensive but do not have a good record for reliability for American driving. Can I expect the same from Volkswagon? Any comments or experiences would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

[Rob]

Interesting. Another consultant here at work overextended himself and boought one, and wanted me to carpool with him to re-"coupe" expenses.

So I'm in one every day. Handling is tight and responsive on dry pavement, but on wet, seems about average. Still, I like it.

In the back seat, I cannot even lie down with my feet skrunched on the back of the floor sideways... and three people really don't fit except for a short hop. By contrast, I can lie down comfortably and nap in the back of my SAAB.

The designers have also shortened it so much, that in the back seat, you're sitting on top of the rear axle. This and a short trunk means, no crumple zone in the rear. The front is equally as short, which is good for lowering production costs, but not much else (such as safety).

True to form, the Gerries have wired every last little part of the car to Zentral Kontrol, from the floor mats to the door buttons, which have little LED's in them.

But you can take this all with a grain of salt, since I prefer the old 1960's classics.
But I like it, because of the responsiveness and hard handling. The motor is also quite touruey...


------------------
Cheers,
Rob

[Wolverine]

My wife used to work for VW in customer service at the US HQ. She said they got a lot of calls on little annoying things, but they never got any calls about the Passat. I know it's a little more, but she and I both feel that the Passat is a much better car for the money. I should say that she worked for them a few years ago, and both cars have been redesigned some, but they do still have the same reliability records.

Dave

------------------
http://members.xoom.com/lcrandall/reefpage.html

[O'Man]

Cannot speak for the Jetta, but I had a 1984 VW GTI that I personally drove for 5 years and over 250,000 miles. No problems, just normal wear.

[signu459]

I have a 98' Passat which is the Jetta Big Brother. I can't say enough good things about it. I can find a few small things wrong but overall a great car.

[Larry M]

The last time my wife was looking at cars we drove a Jetta, then drove a Honda Civic. In comparison the Jetta drove like a tin can on wheels. She made her mind up real fast. :)

------------------
Larry M

Visit Reef Stores.com (http://63.75.34.139/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi?) The liaison between hobbyists and on-line retailers.

See my tanks at Northern Reef (http://www.reefcentral.com/northernreef/index.htm)