2002 Jetta GLS

I own a 1999 Jetta GLS with a VR6, new model. I love the car, but I had
$3,000 worth of part replacements in the first 3.5 years (not including
maintenance). My husband's CRX got stolen the other day, and a friend who is
a sales manager at a dealer has a 2002 Jetta GLS with leather, Monsoon and
sunroof, and only 15,000 miles he'll sell us for $13,400 including taxes,
etc. This strikes us as a good deal, but we are not sure whether the Jettas
have a better reputation now than the 1999 ones developed. Anyone know what
if any improvements were made between 1999 and 2002? I assume they at least
have better window clips (!).

Thanks in advance ...

Is it the 2.0L naturally aspirated engine, a TDI, or a 1.8T?

1.8T had coil issues - fixed now... Don't know when the VW's got their
window regulators fixed, but it's not a problem anymore - if it is there's a
7 year warranty on them.

2.0L engines may consume a bit of oil, our 2003 Golf CL has reduced its
consumption now that it is pretty much broken in.

TDI's have problems with their MAF sensors - I had to change mine in early
2003 (1999.5 model) - 7 year warranty on it now too.

Seems like with the used ones the previous owners fixed all the problems
under warranty, I can see a lot of people not wanting to deal with it and
selling it to get a new car - you mentioned you had a lot of parts done in
3.5 years - taking you to 2003ish if you bought it new... how has it been
since then? My 1999.5 Golf GLS (basically the same car minus the leather and
a real trunk) had some issues for the first 4 years - fixed by the previous
owners, and probably the same stuff you had with your Jetta... I've put over
50K Kms of hard driving on it since March 2003 when I bought it and nothing
has gone wrong (save the MAF which was broken when I bought the car - I knew
it, but considering I got a great deal on the car it was worth it) - only
regular maintenance... I think they've nailed the problems down on the
earlier cars.

They seem to have fixed the major issues. I wouldn't buy the car if it's a
2.0L engine, personally - they are very unremarkable engines, unless you
don't really care about performance and just need a decent driving car, the
2.0L is acceptable - the TDI is great for fuel economy, but don't buy one if
you won't drive long distance, there isn't much point... If it's a 1.8T it
will be a nice car IMO.
"MB" > wrote in message
...
>I own a 1999 Jetta GLS with a VR6, new model. I love the car, but I had
> $3,000 worth of part replacements in the first 3.5 years (not including
> maintenance). My husband's CRX got stolen the other day, and a friend who
> is
> a sales manager at a dealer has a 2002 Jetta GLS with leather, Monsoon and
> sunroof, and only 15,000 miles he'll sell us for $13,400 including taxes,
> etc. This strikes us as a good deal, but we are not sure whether the
> Jettas
> have a better reputation now than the 1999 ones developed. Anyone know
> what
> if any improvements were made between 1999 and 2002? I assume they at
> least
> have better window clips (!).
>
> Thanks in advance ...
>

In article >,
MB > wrote:

> [snip] we are not sure whether the Jettas
> have a better reputation now than the 1999 ones developed. Anyone know what
> if any improvements were made between 1999 and 2002? I assume they at least
> have better window clips (!).

The window clips are now made of metal, and there is a seven-year (?)
warranty on the old clips. VW ironed out a lot of -- um, bugs -- in
the three years since you bought your '99.5. I had a '99.5 Jetta that
I traded for an '03 Wagon (really wanted a wagon) and found the '03
better in every respect (except price, of course). You don't mention
which engine the '02 has, but if it was one of the more problematic
ones, they've either replaced the bad parts or warranted them longer.
I'd say a carefully-driven '02 is a better bet than a '99.5 from the
standpoint of build quality.

One suggestion: if you can negotiate into the price a 20,000 mile
service, you're better off. Depending on the dealership, it can be
pricey.

sd

Thanks both of you for the replies! It's interesting, last night I went to
Edmunds site and read the consumer reviews on the 2002 model I am looking
at. I saw so many people frustrated with the same problems as my 99.5 had
that I concluded VW hadn't changed a thing - not even the window regulators.
I guess there's some comfort in knowing the AF sensor and regulators are
covered. The oil thing was new to me, because my 99.5 is a VR6, but the one
we're looking at is a 2.0. People at Edmunds mentioned this oil problem and
we take long trips, so I got extra wary of that engine. But if that gets
better over time that's another story. How much better? I am used to not
adding oil between oil changes. The 2.0 isn't as nice as the quieter, more
powerful VR6, but I think it's enough for our purposes.

After all my 99.5 problems in the first 3-4 years, it's been pretty good,
and I love it when all is well (albeit I've so far refused to pay $99 to
replace the cup holder, and the glove compartment hangs by a thread when
open, and the cloth strip has come off from above the passenger door, the
door handle "plastic" is peeling all over the place ...). They did tell me
last spring, however, that it needs a new catalytic converter for another
$1500 including labor. I haven't decided whether to fix it after-market,
'cause if I have another problem with it later, VW won't talk to me if I
haven't fixed it there.

Asking for the 20,000 mile checkup is a good idea, but since the sales
manager is a friend (of sorts ... from the gym), he's already come down from
$15,900 to $12,000 not including taxes, etc., and pretty much said it's the
lowest he can go. Basically a brand new Jetta. The leather even smells new!

Even if problem parts are covered (to used car buyers too?), there's the
headache factor and a rather long drive to the VW place, and since last
night my husband got a curiosity about the new Mazda 3.

Thank you for all the feedback, I feel a little more like the Jetta's an
option.

The 2002's may have had these issues, but they should be fixed under
warranty by now... 2003 is probably when everything got ironed out
completely.

I haven't seen plastic peal off the door handles like i've heard from so
many people and i've been in at least 9 Mark 4 Golfs/Jetta's ranging from
99.5 with 100K Kms+ to brand new 2004's... I thought the door handles were a
rubber actually?

Glove box door falling off? - No offense to you, but how come everyone keeps
breaking these (i've heard of it before, not jus from you)? Our 2 VW's
glovebox doors aren't breaking... the 3 VWs at my dads work that are company
cars aren't breaking, my friends 3 VW's don't have any broken doors.

The 2.0L engine on some cars can burn oil, our dealer mechanic said it
happens during the break in, if the rings don't seat correctly it will keep
burning oil - 1L per oil change interval usually. Apparantly it's from
people not following the break in procedure or something.... The old 2.0L
engines in the A3's and the 1.8Ls in the A2's never had this problem tho.

Your cloth weatherstriping can probably be re-glued back in

No comment on the catalytic converter... $1500 seems like too much tho...
And just because you get work done (your car is out of warranty anyways) by
an outside shop doesn't mean the dealer can do anything to you... I get
certain things done outside, and certain things done at the dealer, with no
hard feelings from either side.

About the Mazda 3 - I test drove one, and thouroughly went over the car when
my dad was considering a new small car to replace the 1991 Golf... And with
me racking in 40K Kms this year on my 1999.5 I am considering a new car for
myself.

Pro's of the Mazda we
-More powerful engines
-Well equiped
-Interior quality was quite good
-Steering wheel mounted audio controls
-absolutely massive glovebox
-backseat with useable room

Cons whe
-140hp and 160hp really didn't feel like their numbers suggested... you need
to revv these engines to get their full potential - the 115hp engine in the
Golf seems more flexible, tho yes... it was slower
-Safety systems standard on Golf CL (absolute base model) not availible or
optional on Mazda 3 top of the line model
-Seats are too narrow between bolsters (36" waist, 5' 11'' farily typical
male frame here... not some giant or anything)
-Gauges are in deeply recessed tubes, RED illumination
-Styling that will go out of style fast... overstyled car, especially the
hatchback version
-Radio did not sound as good as the Volkswagen system
-A feeling of cheapness
-A feeling of yah but this doesn't really improve upon anything I have in my
car... except mine is 5 years old and this is a brand new design


You get a lot of bang for the buck, but overall I felt that Mazda took a
Jetta, copied what they thought was good (the seat adjustments are a dead
knock off... as are many other things... the dealer even told me that
benchmarked VW/Audi/BMW small cars and "stole" ideas) and improved upon
certain areas. There was no area's other then minor ones that I felt the
Mazda did any better then the Jetta. I found the old Protege 5 was much more
fun to toss around in Corners, I found my Golf could stop faster then the
Mazda, my seats were far superior, as were my gauges... The Mazda was nice,
and compared to a Golf CL... it's a better value... Compared to a Jetta it
can be percieved as a better value if all you look at is figures... But
there's more to a Jetta then what number suggest. I'd buy the VW 6 year old
design over Mazda's 1 year old design for the pure fact that Mazda has
really done nothing in the real of their own engineering - hell the Platform
is mainly from Volvo.

"MB" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks both of you for the replies! It's interesting, last night I went to
> Edmunds site and read the consumer reviews on the 2002 model I am looking
> at. I saw so many people frustrated with the same problems as my 99.5 had
> that I concluded VW hadn't changed a thing - not even the window
> regulators.
> I guess there's some comfort in knowing the AF sensor and regulators are
> covered. The oil thing was new to me, because my 99.5 is a VR6, but the
> one
> we're looking at is a 2.0. People at Edmunds mentioned this oil problem
> and
> we take long trips, so I got extra wary of that engine. But if that gets
> better over time that's another story. How much better? I am used to not
> adding oil between oil changes. The 2.0 isn't as nice as the quieter, more
> powerful VR6, but I think it's enough for our purposes.
>
> After all my 99.5 problems in the first 3-4 years, it's been pretty good,
> and I love it when all is well (albeit I've so far refused to pay $99 to
> replace the cup holder, and the glove compartment hangs by a thread when
> open, and the cloth strip has come off from above the passenger door, the
> door handle "plastic" is peeling all over the place ...). They did tell me
> last spring, however, that it needs a new catalytic converter for another
> $1500 including labor. I haven't decided whether to fix it after-market,
> 'cause if I have another problem with it later, VW won't talk to me if I
> haven't fixed it there.
>
> Asking for the 20,000 mile checkup is a good idea, but since the sales
> manager is a friend (of sorts ... from the gym), he's already come down
> from
> $15,900 to $12,000 not including taxes, etc., and pretty much said it's
> the
> lowest he can go. Basically a brand new Jetta. The leather even smells
> new!
>
> Even if problem parts are covered (to used car buyers too?), there's the
> headache factor and a rather long drive to the VW place, and since last
> night my husband got a curiosity about the new Mazda 3.
>
> Thank you for all the feedback, I feel a little more like the Jetta's an
> option.
>

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 13:36:36 -0400, "Rob Guenther"
> wrote:

>Glove box door falling off? - No offense to you, but how come everyone keeps
>breaking these (i've heard of it before, not jus from you)? Our 2 VW's
>glovebox doors aren't breaking... the 3 VWs at my dads work that are company
>cars aren't breaking, my friends 3 VW's don't have any broken doors.

They changed the design. I had an early production 99 Jetta (A4) and
the door broke the first time in less than 3 months. It broke again a
year later. The first time the part took AGES to arrive. (I was told
it came from the factory in Mexico). The second time it was a stock
item. My next car was an 01 Jetta, and it didn't have the problem.

In the original design the damping that makes the door open smoothly
also offered resistance when you closed it. If you closed it quickly
it put strain on the part, which would crack and eventually break off.
I found cold weather made the situation worse.

Sometime between when my 99 was built and when my 01 was built they
hanged it so it only offered resistance on the way down (opening) but
NOT on the way up (closing) and the problem went away. I heard that
they replaced a LOT of glovebox doors under warranty in the first year
of the A4 models.

--
Remove preceding and trailing X from username for replies
(Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...)

> I haven't seen plastic peal off the door handles like i've heard from so
> many people and i've been in at least 9 Mark 4 Golfs/Jetta's ranging from
> 99.5 with 100K Kms+ to brand new 2004's... I thought the door handles were a
> rubber actually?

They probably are rubber. I wonder if heat is a problem. I live in the
desert, and while I keep the car in a garage most of the time, even with a
windshield protector the car gets very hot when you have to leave it in the
sun during summer. I just now noticed a new thing - the surface "coat" of
plastic/rubber/whateveritis that is just below the gear shift on the left
(right of the driver's right leg) is bubbling off bigtime.
>
> Glove box door falling off? - No offense to you, but how come everyone keeps
> breaking these (i've heard of it before, not jus from you)? Our 2 VW's
> glovebox doors aren't breaking... the 3 VWs at my dads work that are company
> cars aren't breaking, my friends 3 VW's don't have any broken doors.

I don't recall what happened when mine broke. I think the door just fell
open hard for some reason and the hinge snapped. So if you easily lower it
down every time, this probably wouldn't happened. Or maybe I opened it from
the driver's side and pulled slightly toward me at the same time. I don't
really recall for sure, but either move might have done what happened.
>
> The 2.0L engine on some cars can burn oil, our dealer mechanic said it
> happens during the break in, if the rings don't seat correctly it will keep
> burning oil - 1L per oil change interval usually. Apparantly it's from
> people not following the break in procedure or something.... The old 2.0L
> engines in the A3's and the 1.8Ls in the A2's never had this problem tho.

Speaking of the 1.8, do you know if the sound level of it is more like the
2.0 (loud for me) or the VR6 (quieter).
>
> Your cloth weatherstriping can probably be re-glued back in

Ya, just haven't wanted to pay to have it done right. The dealer quoted
something high and I haven't been elsewhere for a while.
>
> No comment on the catalytic converter... $1500 seems like too much tho...
> And just because you get work done (your car is out of warranty anyways) by
> an outside shop doesn't mean the dealer can do anything to you

Good point. I'll probably go outside.
>
> About the Mazda 3 - I test drove one, and thouroughly went over the car when
> my dad was considering a new small car to replace the 1991 Golf... And with
> me racking in 40K Kms this year on my 1999.5 I am considering a new car for
> myself.

I really appreciate your impressions here too. We wonder if it strikes you
as quiet or loud or the same as the VW 2.0L (or other VW engine).

Thanks so much for all this input!
>
> Pro's of the Mazda we
> -More powerful engines
> -Well equiped
> -Interior quality was quite good
> -Steering wheel mounted audio controls
> -absolutely massive glovebox
> -backseat with useable room
>
> Cons whe
> -140hp and 160hp really didn't feel like their numbers suggested... you need
> to revv these engines to get their full potential - the 115hp engine in the
> Golf seems more flexible, tho yes... it was slower
> -Safety systems standard on Golf CL (absolute base model) not availible or
> optional on Mazda 3 top of the line model
> -Seats are too narrow between bolsters (36" waist, 5' 11'' farily typical
> male frame here... not some giant or anything)
> -Gauges are in deeply recessed tubes, RED illumination
> -Styling that will go out of style fast... overstyled car, especially the
> hatchback version
> -Radio did not sound as good as the Volkswagen system
> -A feeling of cheapness
> -A feeling of yah but this doesn't really improve upon anything I have in my
> car... except mine is 5 years old and this is a brand new design
>
>
> You get a lot of bang for the buck, but overall I felt that Mazda took a
> Jetta, copied what they thought was good (the seat adjustments are a dead
> knock off... as are many other things... the dealer even told me that
> benchmarked VW/Audi/BMW small cars and "stole" ideas) and improved upon
> certain areas. There was no area's other then minor ones that I felt the
> Mazda did any better then the Jetta. I found the old Protege 5 was much more
> fun to toss around in Corners, I found my Golf could stop faster then the
> Mazda, my seats were far superior, as were my gauges... The Mazda was nice,
> and compared to a Golf CL... it's a better value... Compared to a Jetta it
> can be percieved as a better value if all you look at is figures... But
> there's more to a Jetta then what number suggest. I'd buy the VW 6 year old
> design over Mazda's 1 year old design for the pure fact that Mazda has
> really done nothing in the real of their own engineering - hell the Platform
> is mainly from Volvo.
>
> "MB" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Thanks both of you for the replies! It's interesting, last night I went to
>> Edmunds site and read the consumer reviews on the 2002 model I am looking
>> at. I saw so many people frustrated with the same problems as my 99.5 had
>> that I concluded VW hadn't changed a thing - not even the window
>> regulators.
>> I guess there's some comfort in knowing the AF sensor and regulators are
>> covered. The oil thing was new to me, because my 99.5 is a VR6, but the
>> one
>> we're looking at is a 2.0. People at Edmunds mentioned this oil problem
>> and
>> we take long trips, so I got extra wary of that engine. But if that gets
>> better over time that's another story. How much better? I am used to not
>> adding oil between oil changes. The 2.0 isn't as nice as the quieter, more
>> powerful VR6, but I think it's enough for our purposes.
>>
>> After all my 99.5 problems in the first 3-4 years, it's been pretty good,
>> and I love it when all is well (albeit I've so far refused to pay $99 to
>> replace the cup holder, and the glove compartment hangs by a thread when
>> open, and the cloth strip has come off from above the passenger door, the
>> door handle "plastic" is peeling all over the place ...). They did tell me
>> last spring, however, that it needs a new catalytic converter for another
>> $1500 including labor. I haven't decided whether to fix it after-market,
>> 'cause if I have another problem with it later, VW won't talk to me if I
>> haven't fixed it there.
>>
>> Asking for the 20,000 mile checkup is a good idea, but since the sales
>> manager is a friend (of sorts ... from the gym), he's already come down
>> from
>> $15,900 to $12,000 not including taxes, etc., and pretty much said it's
>> the
>> lowest he can go. Basically a brand new Jetta. The leather even smells
>> new!
>>
>> Even if problem parts are covered (to used car buyers too?), there's the
>> headache factor and a rather long drive to the VW place, and since last
>> night my husband got a curiosity about the new Mazda 3.
>>
>> Thank you for all the feedback, I feel a little more like the Jetta's an
>> option.
>>
>
>

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 13:36:28 -0700, MB > wrote:

>> I haven't seen plastic peal off the door handles like i've heard from so
>> many people and i've been in at least 9 Mark 4 Golfs/Jetta's ranging from
>> 99.5 with 100K Kms+ to brand new 2004's... I thought the door handles were a
>> rubber actually?
>
>They probably are rubber. I wonder if heat is a problem. I live in the
>desert, and while I keep the car in a garage most of the time, even with a
>windshield protector the car gets very hot when you have to leave it in the
>sun during summer. I just now noticed a new thing - the surface "coat" of
>plastic/rubber/whateveritis that is just below the gear shift on the left
>(right of the driver's right leg) is bubbling off bigtime.

It is almost for sure either PVC (vinyl) or TPO (Thermoplastic
Olefin).

One of my clients is a big manufacturer of automotive interior
materials. Most of their products are based on vinyl, but recently
TPO has become more common, mostly because it is supposed to be a
little "greener". Either one is usually coated with a top finish. I
think it's the top finish that is peeling.

I think sunscreen is a major cause of this peeling.

--
Remove preceding and trailing X from username for replies
(Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...)

Could be heat... I live in Southern Ontario - so a few +30°C degree days in
the summer and that's all (sometimes almost +40-50° with lake effect
humidity) - the cars do well in -30°C if you'd like to know :-)... Germany
doesn't get exteme heat and they only test the car a few weeks in the desert
to test the radiator, A/C and such - prolonged use in hot climates could
affect plastics, as they are temperature sensitive.

My glove box has lost almost all of the dampened effect... But i'm gentle
with it, so that's probably why it hasn't ripped off... I looked at it
closely just 10 minutes ago and it's fairly flimsy... the one in my dad's
2003 Golf is better.

About the 1.8T noise... I just test drove a 1.8T Passat last week (thinking
of getting a new car soon) and it was smoother, and more refined sounding
than the 2.0L - of course the Passat has more noise insulation... the 2.0L
is fairly quiet in the Golf tho, but it sounds like a diesel when you revv
it - V6 engines are always quieter, they have more balance... The 1.8T
seemed good tho.

The Mazda engine is quieter then the 2.0L unit... it's also a newer design,
4 valve per cylinder engine DOHC... vs old tech 2 Valve SOHC technology...
It sounds almost electric, has a nice whine to it... tho it's a peaky
motor - who runs their engine at 4500-6000rpm??? It's typically Japanese in
that it is smooth and quiet, but it needs to be because you have to revv it
up - the 2.0L is happy with short shifting.

If I was buying a Jetta i'd either get TDI or 1.8T, with the 5 speed manual
transmission... If I was going automatic I would take TDI or the VR6... The
1.8T automatic Passat I drove spooled up its turbo slightly after the car
got underway and ended up spinning the tires - I couldn't live with that,
would get annoying... Apparantly the problem isn't a problem with standard
transmissions (my boss has a 1.8T Jetta, loves it)
"MB" > wrote in message
...
>> I haven't seen plastic peal off the door handles like i've heard from so
>> many people and i've been in at least 9 Mark 4 Golfs/Jetta's ranging from
>> 99.5 with 100K Kms+ to brand new 2004's... I thought the door handles
>> were a
>> rubber actually?
>
> They probably are rubber. I wonder if heat is a problem. I live in the
> desert, and while I keep the car in a garage most of the time, even with a
> windshield protector the car gets very hot when you have to leave it in
> the
> sun during summer. I just now noticed a new thing - the surface "coat" of
> plastic/rubber/whateveritis that is just below the gear shift on the left
> (right of the driver's right leg) is bubbling off bigtime.
>>
>> Glove box door falling off? - No offense to you, but how come everyone
>> keeps
>> breaking these (i've heard of it before, not jus from you)? Our 2 VW's
>> glovebox doors aren't breaking... the 3 VWs at my dads work that are
>> company
>> cars aren't breaking, my friends 3 VW's don't have any broken doors.
>
> I don't recall what happened when mine broke. I think the door just fell
> open hard for some reason and the hinge snapped. So if you easily lower it
> down every time, this probably wouldn't happened. Or maybe I opened it
> from
> the driver's side and pulled slightly toward me at the same time. I don't
> really recall for sure, but either move might have done what happened.
>>
>> The 2.0L engine on some cars can burn oil, our dealer mechanic said it
>> happens during the break in, if the rings don't seat correctly it will
>> keep
>> burning oil - 1L per oil change interval usually. Apparantly it's from
>> people not following the break in procedure or something.... The old 2.0L
>> engines in the A3's and the 1.8Ls in the A2's never had this problem tho.
>
> Speaking of the 1.8, do you know if the sound level of it is more like the
> 2.0 (loud for me) or the VR6 (quieter).
>>
>> Your cloth weatherstriping can probably be re-glued back in
>
> Ya, just haven't wanted to pay to have it done right. The dealer quoted
> something high and I haven't been elsewhere for a while.
>>
>> No comment on the catalytic converter... $1500 seems like too much tho...
>> And just because you get work done (your car is out of warranty anyways)
>> by
>> an outside shop doesn't mean the dealer can do anything to you
>
> Good point. I'll probably go outside.
>>
>> About the Mazda 3 - I test drove one, and thouroughly went over the car
>> when
>> my dad was considering a new small car to replace the 1991 Golf... And
>> with
>> me racking in 40K Kms this year on my 1999.5 I am considering a new car
>> for
>> myself.
>
> I really appreciate your impressions here too. We wonder if it strikes you
> as quiet or loud or the same as the VW 2.0L (or other VW engine).
>
> Thanks so much for all this input!
>>
>> Pro's of the Mazda we
>> -More powerful engines
>> -Well equiped
>> -Interior quality was quite good
>> -Steering wheel mounted audio controls
>> -absolutely massive glovebox
>> -backseat with useable room
>>
>> Cons whe
>> -140hp and 160hp really didn't feel like their numbers suggested... you
>> need
>> to revv these engines to get their full potential - the 115hp engine in
>> the
>> Golf seems more flexible, tho yes... it was slower
>> -Safety systems standard on Golf CL (absolute base model) not availible
>> or
>> optional on Mazda 3 top of the line model
>> -Seats are too narrow between bolsters (36" waist, 5' 11'' farily typical
>> male frame here... not some giant or anything)
>> -Gauges are in deeply recessed tubes, RED illumination
>> -Styling that will go out of style fast... overstyled car, especially the
>> hatchback version
>> -Radio did not sound as good as the Volkswagen system
>> -A feeling of cheapness
>> -A feeling of yah but this doesn't really improve upon anything I have in
>> my
>> car... except mine is 5 years old and this is a brand new design
>>
>>
>> You get a lot of bang for the buck, but overall I felt that Mazda took a
>> Jetta, copied what they thought was good (the seat adjustments are a dead
>> knock off... as are many other things... the dealer even told me that
>> benchmarked VW/Audi/BMW small cars and "stole" ideas) and improved upon
>> certain areas. There was no area's other then minor ones that I felt the
>> Mazda did any better then the Jetta. I found the old Protege 5 was much
>> more
>> fun to toss around in Corners, I found my Golf could stop faster then the
>> Mazda, my seats were far superior, as were my gauges... The Mazda was
>> nice,
>> and compared to a Golf CL... it's a better value... Compared to a Jetta
>> it
>> can be percieved as a better value if all you look at is figures... But
>> there's more to a Jetta then what number suggest. I'd buy the VW 6 year
>> old
>> design over Mazda's 1 year old design for the pure fact that Mazda has
>> really done nothing in the real of their own engineering - hell the
>> Platform
>> is mainly from Volvo.
>>
>> "MB" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Thanks both of you for the replies! It's interesting, last night I went
>>> to
>>> Edmunds site and read the consumer reviews on the 2002 model I am
>>> looking
>>> at. I saw so many people frustrated with the same problems as my 99.5
>>> had
>>> that I concluded VW hadn't changed a thing - not even the window
>>> regulators.
>>> I guess there's some comfort in knowing the AF sensor and regulators are
>>> covered. The oil thing was new to me, because my 99.5 is a VR6, but the
>>> one
>>> we're looking at is a 2.0. People at Edmunds mentioned this oil problem
>>> and
>>> we take long trips, so I got extra wary of that engine. But if that gets
>>> better over time that's another story. How much better? I am used to not
>>> adding oil between oil changes. The 2.0 isn't as nice as the quieter,
>>> more
>>> powerful VR6, but I think it's enough for our purposes.
>>>
>>> After all my 99.5 problems in the first 3-4 years, it's been pretty
>>> good,
>>> and I love it when all is well (albeit I've so far refused to pay $99 to
>>> replace the cup holder, and the glove compartment hangs by a thread when
>>> open, and the cloth strip has come off from above the passenger door,
>>> the
>>> door handle "plastic" is peeling all over the place ...). They did tell
>>> me
>>> last spring, however, that it needs a new catalytic converter for
>>> another
>>> $1500 including labor. I haven't decided whether to fix it after-market,
>>> 'cause if I have another problem with it later, VW won't talk to me if I
>>> haven't fixed it there.
>>>
>>> Asking for the 20,000 mile checkup is a good idea, but since the sales
>>> manager is a friend (of sorts ... from the gym), he's already come down
>>> from
>>> $15,900 to $12,000 not including taxes, etc., and pretty much said it's
>>> the
>>> lowest he can go. Basically a brand new Jetta. The leather even smells
>>> new!
>>>
>>> Even if problem parts are covered (to used car buyers too?), there's the
>>> headache factor and a rather long drive to the VW place, and since last
>>> night my husband got a curiosity about the new Mazda 3.
>>>
>>> Thank you for all the feedback, I feel a little more like the Jetta's an
>>> option.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

"MB" > wrote in message
...
>Speaking of the 1.8, do you know if the sound level of it is more like the
>2.0 (loud for me) or the VR6 (quieter).

I've ridden in a stickshift 2.0 and it was pretty loud-ish. I've ridden
also in a '02 1.8T with a 5-speed and a '03 1.8T with a Tiptronic. The
5-speed one seems noticeably quieter. I wonder if the automatic 4-bangers
in general tend to be grouchier sounding? Seems to be the case with the
1.8T anyway. However none of the above sounds as smooth and quiet as the
old 1.8 8V in my A2.