I have a 2004 Jetta 1.8T. Overall, the car has performed nicely; lots of fun to drive, great mileage, great engine, and super handling. However, at 50k miles I experienced clutch issues, whereby I could not shift into R or 1st, unless the engine was off. All other gears worked fine when the car was on. I called 2 VW dealers in the area, and both told me "sounds like a minor adjustment will do the trick---bring it in and we will take care of you".

I took the car to two VW dealerships, and they both said that I needed completely new clutch kits. Please note that I have been driving standard cars for 14 years, and don't abuse the clutch at all. On my previous 2 standard cars, I easily put 90-100k on each clutch, without any sorts of issues at all. I might have gotten more mileage out of them, had I kept the cars.

After doing a bit of research online, I realized that I don't have it as bad as a lot of other people. There's a long record of premature clutch failure on VW cars in the most recent years. Essentially, they are installing clutches in their cars that don't last. After speaking to a few VW mechanics about this ongoing issue, they both thought that VW are installing clutches that are inadequate for the 1.8 turbo engine. It's a super fast car when you want it to be, and no matter how skilled the driver, if you put a micky mouse clutch in a car with a beefy engine, you are going to have clutch failure earlier.

A few closing plus's and minus's-- If you don't put your car in a garage, your car will leak in the rain (sunroof drainage ducts get clogged with the occasional leaf---3k repair job for that!), and I have spent over 1k on wheels alone, as the aluminum alloy wheels warp when you go over even a modest pothole. On the plus side, the car's trunk has a lot of storage capacity, and the car overall is very comfortable, at least to me; my car has the "sport" package, and the performance suspension makes for a rigid drive, where you can feel every nick in the road. The suspension, coupled with the 1.8T engine and the low profile tires and light wheels, gives you an extremely fast, solid ride. You really hug the road. For those familiar with the Audi A4 1.8T, it's an extremely comparable car, front to back. After all of my research with my recent problems, I feel that the main difference between these two cars is that with the VW, you will have a lot of trouble with premature replacement of parts, after you buy. I had always heard people say that VW puts parts in their cars that will necessarily fail prematurely, so that they can make lots of money on the repair. After my issues, and VW's handling of it, I know that all of those people were 100% right. So to all those that are considering buying a new VW---buyer beware! A car might be a good deal in the showroom, and might be superb for the first 30-50k miles, but please figure in the costs of premature part replacement in the "actual" cost of the car. Based off of my direct experience, as well as the hundreds of accounts I have read online, that "actual" cost in the first 50k miles might be 3k-7k higher than what you paid for it. They might have an attractive body and price, but any money you save up front will surely be dwarfed by the money you spend repairing the car.

Good luck.

Amount Paid (US$): 28000?
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: Jetta 1.8T