2000 VW Jetta VR6

[Viper007]

Alright went to the dealer test drove on, but cant seem to decide whether or not its really something thats worth the money. I really want your input on this car and need all the specs i can get. What other options would you consider?

[jcp123]

Well the way they drive is certainly nice. But we owned 2 VW's (albeit a Passat and a Beetle, not a Jetta), and they both proved to not be very reliable at all, so I might perhaps be wary of that. To their credit, out dealer had an excellent service department, but that varies from dealer to dealer. Plus, it seems like Jettas are everywhere. Another thing to think about is that a redesign is coming up, how will that affect its resale value?

[taz_rocks_miami]

jcp is right, VWs are very reliable. The VR6 Jetta and Golf were among the best performing cars in their class here in the Americas at the time. People tell me they were the fastest cars sold in Mexico at the time. Their re-sale value is quite good here. If you liked the car go for it, it's a poor mans Audi

[jcp123]

Read it again, I said ours weren't very reliable

[taz_rocks_miami]

Read it again, I said ours weren't very reliable

Opps sorry jcp It's odd you had problems with your VWs. They normaly are very reliable

[jcp123]

Opps sorry jcp It's odd you had problems with your VWs. They normaly are very reliable

Well, the Beetle was definitely the worse of the two (it's definitely the least reliable car we've ever owned, that list includes some pretty unreliable ones - a '96 Dodge Caravan a '79 Mercedes 300SD, and an ol '64 Porsche 911), and I've heard more problems on those Beetles than any oter model. In its defense, I haven't heard of too many problems on the Passat. But ours had a few niggling issues while we owned it.

P.S. never try and do your own maintenance on these cars. You'll regret it.

[taz_rocks_miami]

Well, the Beetle was definitely the worse of the two (it's definitely the least reliable car we've ever owned, that list includes some pretty unreliable ones - a '96 Dodge Caravan a '79 Mercedes 300SD, and an ol '64 Porsche 911), and I've heard more problems on those Beetles than any oter model. In its defense, I haven't heard of too many problems on the Passat. But ours had a few niggling issues while we owned it.

P.S. never try and do your own maintenance on these cars. You'll regret it.

What year was your Beatle? There are gagillions of them here in Mexico!! People tell me they hardly ever break down and if they do...they're easy to fix. Not that I would ever buy one. I've stated in the past how much I hate that car

[jcp123]

2000 with a 1.8t

[taz_rocks_miami]

2000 with a 1.8t

Oh ok, I thought you had a classic Beatle.

[jcp123]

Oh, no. My Mom can't drive stick, so those were out.

[Quiggs]

VW's reliability with the Mk4 chassis was hit or miss. You either got a good one, or you were at the dealer once a month. The problems are usually coilpacks or window regulators, and with the 1.8T, if you don't keep up with the oil changes you have to deal with oil sludge. But that's your own fault.

If you're looking at keeping the car stock, I'd suggest looking at the later Mk4's, as they had the 24v VR6 as opposed to the 12v motor in the early cars.

If you're looking to modify the car's engine, I'd suggest getting a 1.8T. GIAC has a 93 octane program that gets close to another 30hp and 40lb-ft out of the stock motor. And swapping out an OEM turbo (KO3S, KO4) is really easy.

[jcp123]

Yeah, we had the coil pack and window regulator problems. Actually, the window regulators went out on us 3 times on the Beetle, and the coil packs once each in the Passat and the Beetle. Then the Beetle had this problem of mysteriously disintegrating vacuum lines, various cheap plastic trim pieces coming loose, swtchgear that kept breaking, and the power hatch release that never did work right. Mind you, we took delivery of it while it was brand spankin new and only had it 4 years, same delivery/lease return date for the Passat.

Aside from that, the Passat also once had a problem with the 4Motion AWD computer thingy, and the cupholders never did work right.

All I have to say after that experience with year 2000 VW's is, buyer beware.

[johnnynumfiv]

My mom's 2001 VW beetle TDI has a lot of problems, usually with the egr system. Repairs are a pain in the ass with it. It took the head tech at the dealership 2 hours to replace the headlight, also body work takes forever on it becuase of the way its put together. My dad is probably going to trade it in and get a new mini s.

[Lagonda]

Well, the Beetle was definitely the worse of the two (it's definitely the least reliable car we've ever owned, that list includes some pretty unreliable ones - a '96 Dodge Caravan a '79 Mercedes 300SD, and an ol '64 Porsche 911), and I've heard more problems on those Beetles than any oter model. In its defense, I haven't heard of too many problems on the Passat. But ours had a few niggling issues while we owned it.

P.S. never try and do your own maintenance on these cars. You'll regret it.

I sometimes like to think that the US gets our leftovers or something like that. VW's are very reliable cars, one of the more reliable. I hate them, but they are realiable . And damn a 79 Mercedes 300SD is about reliable as it gets. They run a million km without problems normally.

[RS6]

I sometimes like to think that the US gets our leftovers or something like that. VW's are very reliable cars, one of the more reliable. I hate them, but they are realiable . And damn a 79 Mercedes 300SD is about reliable as it gets. They run a million km without problems normally.

Those Mercs really are reliable. I frequently see them and they always have over 100,000 miles on the clock.