I bought this car after my other car fell apart. I was looking for something reliable and fun to drive. I would say that my '96 Jetta GL fit the fun to drive description but was not very reliable. I was surprised because I bought it after reading a lot of good things in magazines about VW's improved reliability. I was also reassured by the 10 yr/100,000 mile warranty.

Really the car was great for the first year. I took it on several road trips around Northern California (only 15,000 miles). I took it to Tahoe in the snow, and it did great there. I took it to Yosemite in August, and it did well in the blazing heat.

However, after the first year, the clutch went out and the muffler system fell apart. For some reason or another (I forgot the explanation) neither of these things were covered by the warranty. So I ended up shelling out well over $1,500 in repairs for a car that only cost $14,000 to begin with. Needless to say, I was not happy and have recently sold the car.