My friend whose Saturn died finally found a car - 1998 Volkswagen Jetta GL with 97k miles for $2250. On the way home from the dealer the check engine light came on.
I guess I should be happy to have steered him away from the SL2 coupe with head gasket issues? (guess what happened to the first Saturn).
Frying pan, fire.Originally Posted by thevictor390
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Re...en&model=Jetta
Occasional problems on this vehicle are failures of the Timing Belt and the Mass Air Flow Sensor. Periodic problems on this vehicle are failures of the Water Pump and the Vacuum Hoses. Failure of the Timing Belt and Mass Air Flow Sensor apply to 4 cylinder gas and diesel engines only. Failure of the Water Pump applies to 6 cylinder engines only. The cost to repair the Timing Belt is estimated at $28.00 for parts and $117.00 for labor on gasoline engines and $63.00 for parts and $227.00 for labor on diesel engines. The cost to repair the Mass Air Flow Sensor is estimated at $380.00 for parts and $65.00 for labor. The cost to repair the Vacuum Hoses is estimated at $25.00 for parts and $65.00 for labor. The cost to repair the Water Pump is estimated at $81.00 for parts and $208.00 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65.00 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.And a not-uncommon sort of review from Edmunds users:An occasional problem on this vehicle is failure of the Ignition Switch. Failure of the Ignition Switch may prevent the vehicle from starting. The cost to repair the Ignition Switch is estimated at $28.00 for parts and $136.50 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65.00 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
Although my 1998 Volkswagen Jetta was two years old when I purchased, it had low mileage (it still has low mileage) so I was enthusiastic. I loved the style, the way it handled, and the way it drove. BUT it is a piece of junk. I have had to replace every window control on it, the axels, side trim, throttle body, it quit on the interstate when the coil went out, and on and on. And it is expensive! To have the transmission serviced was $500! I will never purchase another VW of any kind. I still have it because I have too much in it to be able to recoup any expenses but I am going to have to do something with it.. I can't afford to "drive" it!I just sold my Jetta with only 80,000 miles on it. I had planned on keeping it for a lot longer. It just completly fell apart. It was a great car up until 80,000 miles, and then it just went downhill. Everything broke on this car, EVERYTHING. It just isn't reliable.
Last edited by Spectre; October 7th, 2012 at 3:29 AM.____________________________
My God man...how did you let that happen?!? That Jetta doesn't even offer the comfort of a nice cabin for when he's broken down on the side of the road:
Still better than the Fisher-Price interior of a Saturn.My God man...how did you let that happen?!? That Jetta doesn't even offer the comfort of a nice cabin for when he's broken down on the side of the road:
A chinese car likely has better fit and finish tbh, the dash plastics in that thing...hell the way they engineered the upper part of the dash was ass backwards. Just a rattly buzzing mess of a car.*
The "gen 2" refresh cars gave the interior nicer materials but it was still pretty poor i'll admit.
Last edited by rickhamilton620; October 7th, 2012 at 4:09 AM.____________________________
Are you feeling okay? Bu..but it was beige? I distinctly remember you saying how nice your Saturn's interior was at every opportunity!
1) He overpaid by about 3 grand
2) how Is it any better?
- - - Updated - - -
And just to add insult to injury all the Audi/VW dealers I been to charge pretty much same prices for working on VWs as they do for Audis. So you get a mid-range unreliable POS AND have to pay premium pricing for parts/services.
Place $2250 of cash in a pile, soak in petrol, light on fire. It will be cheaper in the long run than going broke paying for a VW.
Wrong year, that's a Mk4 Jetta interior, 1998 is Mk3.My God man...how did you let that happen?!? That Jetta doesn't even offer the comfort of a nice cabin for when he's broken down on the side of the road:
Mk III Jettas.
Top Gear Top Tip: Avoid
Originally Posted by frankiess Originally Posted by 93Flareside 
Now that's a dumb choice. IIRC one of the criteria for the car was "above all: reliability"...
I've readily admitted many times the quality shortcomings of the interior, particularly the multipiece (dashtop "sits" atop dash face...the meeting point is rattles just waiting to happen) dash construction, but there's other aspects of the interior that kick some modern compact's asses:
Door trim: entire door trim was (albeit thinly) padded vinyl wrapped, with a cloth section above the armrest:
That padded vinyl was not only a nicely grained material but extended all the way into the map pockets, something only seen on luxury sedans today. those same materials covered the rear doors as well Today's cars in the segment widely said to have "good interiors" fall flat when it comes to the doors:
Civic: hard plastic
Focus: soft touch uppers only on SEL and Titanium and then only on the front doors
I could go on...
The headliner was NOT scratchy cardboard, but instead a plush material that felt good to the touch.
That was part of the joke...I was suggesting that he at least get a Mk4.
In MA, all usedcars with less than 125k miles purchased from a licensed dealer must come with a warranty that at the very least ensures the car passes inspection. A CEL will insure a failure so the dealer is obligated to take care of the problem (not just clear the CEL).
Ref: http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/consumer/a...ranty-law.html
On other topics:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...the-motor-car/
Epic amounts of want. I found a full set for $60 + $3.99s/h. I am very tempted to get it.
On on even further topics:
A coworker of mine just got a Scion FR-S. Walking through the parking lot back to our cars, I asked him if it was a manual. His exact reply, word for word "No, but it looks like it would have one." When he saw the half confused half disgusted look on my face, he added "its got paddle shifter mode though!"
Last edited by CrazyRussian540; October 7th, 2012 at 6:55 AM.____________________________
so does mine, but it takes a while to "feel" the outside temperature. So it'll say it's +10° while it's actually -10° because of the first reading in the garageMine will tell you when the temperature drops to 4°C or lower while on the move as well
Doesn't help all that much if the icon turns on while you're upside down from sliding on black ice
Rick, most cars even in the shitbox class don't have scratchy (sputter-covered) cardboard for a headliner, and haven't for years.I've readily admitted many times the quality shortcomings of the interior, particularly the multipiece (dashtop "sits" atop dash face...the meeting point is rattles just waiting to happen) dash construction, but there's other aspects of the interior that kick some modern compact's asses:
Door trim: entire door trim was (albeit thinly) padded vinyl wrapped, with a cloth section above the armrest:
That padded vinyl was not only a nicely grained material but extended all the way into the map pockets, something only seen on luxury sedans today. those same materials covered the rear doors as well Today's cars in the segment widely said to have "good interiors" fall flat when it comes to the doors:
Civic: hard plastic
Focus: soft touch uppers only on SEL and Titanium and then only on the front doors
I could go on...
The headliner was NOT scratchy cardboard, but instead a plush material that felt good to the touch.
That was part of the joke...I was suggesting that he at least get a Mk4.
Also, there's a reason why most cars don't use that full foam-back vinyl on the doors. In places where you're not chipping ice out of your undergarments for a couple months out of the year, the summer heat causes the vinyl, foam backing, and the door card to all decay and debond from each other in a few short years and then it looks like ass unless the manufacturer uses materials and adhesives generally uneconomical to use in low-end cars.
Remember the discussion elsewhere about GM's idea of low cost anything? Yup - 'low cost' door panels. They disintegrate fast in the Texas (and for that matter California) sun and in short order look like you have curtains attached to your doors. The larger the expanse of foam back, the bigger the flap of material will be.
So, like many things GM, looks better than you'd think at first glance, but when you actually have to live with it or you look closer at it, you find out it is crap.
Last edited by Spectre; October 7th, 2012 at 11:46 AM.____________________________
It does take a while to adjust, yup - if the turn out of your driveway tends to get icy you should not rely on the car's indication
Astra
Octavia
Fabia 
A couple of days ago, I jumped into the Sapporo after having driven the BMW for a week. Surprisingly, the Mitsu felt damp, cold, iffy and behind the times; on Friday it had been a brilliant highway machine and somehow all that kudos had been erased from my mind. It wasn't helped by the feeling that due to the lower beltline, I felt I sat on the car, not in it; the BMW feels more like a bathtub in that respect. Today, I gave the Mitsu a break: I let it warm up properly, dialled some Herb Alpert from the USB stick and gave it some gas on the surrounding roads and highways.
It's not a piece of shit. The ride is way better than on the BMW and it's got way better lungs; despite there only being a 10-hp difference between the cars, the engine's sheer size (2.4 litres vs 1.8) gives it some good, old-fashioned grunt when needed. In the 5-series, when you put it in the proper gear and bury the throttle, the car makes a pleasant noise but the only needle that moves is the fuel consumption gauge. Don't get me wrong, I like the M43 engine a lot, but there are things the Sapporo still does well. Its presence is justified.
This is because you did it right- almost no options and no silly technology packed add ons. That's the ruin of German cars. Just ask Adrian about his 4500 € shocks
So far, what I need in terms of electronics is a new dimmer switch for the dashboard illumination, it likes to go all night panel-y like the Sapporo every now and then. And the windshield washer hoses are split, but that's not exactly electronics.
You know what's likely to happen now that you've posted that, right?This is because you did it right- almost no options and no silly technology packed add ons. That's the ruin of German cars. Just ask Adrian about his 4500 € shocks
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