Reliability of 4th Gen?

s2zeller
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 7:59 pm

Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by s2zeller »

My mother-in-law has about used up her 3rd gen Golf and would like to get something newer... like a 4th gen :)

Anyhow, Consumer Reports doesn't rate this vintage all that well but they were kind of harsh on the 3rd gen, too. So, I'm looking for folks' experience and whether it is worth it to go looking for a Jetta wagon (she wants more hauling capacity).
SuniD
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:19 pm

Re: Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by SuniD »

When I bought my 2000 off a cash lot in 2011, I expected it to hold up longer than a year. In truth, it might have, if my dad hadn't been under the hood. It had been savagely used, and I never wanted a red car in my life, but it had a sunroof and a VW emblem, so I took the deal, which was actually $500 above my stated price range.

The starter was the first thing to go, but it was an automatic, so I pop started it until that got annoying and then a toggle switch was installed. The sound-board style switch shorted out, naturally, but it lasted a whole 2 months instead of the 2 weeks predicted. When I finally did replace the starter, the ignition switch forgot it was an ignition switch and had to be replaced as well. During all of the wire tampering, there was an issue with the security system that I had never even heard of before. Evidently, the alarm had been disabled without bypassing certain security protocols, Lord knows what specifically, and although I couldn't hear it's distress, my Jetta was trying desperately not get chopped. The first clue was 3 brand new batteries being sucked dry over three nights in a row like the little red devil was actually a vampire. I had to pretend that I was turning off an alarm after reconnecting the battery.

Despite all the quirks, this model year got great gas mileage, and ran like a champ, unless it rained heavily. There toward the end, if it rained for two days straight, my Jetta would be rolling along and then chug to a halt as though it were out of gas. I would push it to the side of the road and come back in an hour, no sooner, and it would fire right up. Once I got it running, it would run forever.

I believe the car would still be alive and kicking today if my dad hadn't tried to be a hero. The car started overheating on the reg and my dad decided to replace the water pump for me. It snowed that day and we didn't have a garage. Dad spent several hours encapsulated in a tarp bubble formed around a space heater and the hood of my car. He came inside to warm up and swore that he'd, "almost got it," and was furious four months later when I called U-Pull-It because the water pump dangling out from under the hood of my little red Jetta was money out of his pocket. In short, my 4th-Gen-VW-Jetta was sketchy.
Vlad
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:31 pm

Re: Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by Vlad »

...highly questionable. I bought 2001 Jetta for my daughter in 2009, she drove it for five years (whenever it was drivable), and our overall impression was probably mostly negative.
There were bright sides to owning that car: I bought it relatively cheap, though it was all dinged, scratched and dirty; it drove rather nicely, being quite comfortable with decent handling; it...
OK, now to the major problems: engine was drinking oil like an old alcoholic beer; cooling system - cracked plastic outlets; radiator replacement, also due to cracked plastic; burnt exhaust valve - valve was replaced in a shop, where I brought the cylinder head, the rest of work done by myself; various engine and transmission sensors; transmission...
Automatic transmissions on those cars are probably their weakest spot, just google it - there were many modifications, but mostly all of early 2000's seem to suffer from major problems. Actually, that transmission dying in ugly ways was the last drop, that lead that car to be sold, cheap, to the next interested sufferer. In short, if you really want to buy that Jetta, buy manual only.
Oh, and the car was shedding other black plastic parts, too - various shields and covers from under hood, front end etc. - I guess, many of those were not needed, to begin with.
If I knew at buying point what it would be, I definitely would NOT buy it - that's all I can say here... good luck. My daughter is now driving basic 2009 Yaris and seems to be quite happy with it.
pedal2mtal
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 2:02 pm

Re: Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by pedal2mtal »

My wife bought a 2003 gti (1.8t) ten yrs ago now and that car has been great; granted the water pump and alternator both went out at the 45k mark, exactly. Which upset us since she pretty much just got the car but she paid extra for an ext. warranty which paid for repairs 100%. It now has 98.5k and is fast as ever and handles great, but the interior is starting to go south, and have that famous crayon smell. The paint still looks new and I have not waxed it in 2 yrs. The other odd thing that went out was the high speed on the rad. fan setup, but I read a $2 diode from radioshack (if you can find a store anymore) fixes that problem; her warranty covered it, thankfully... cause it was $1,200 for the fans at the stealership! Her GTi was made in Brazil, not Germany like the VR6 cars were, so I was kind of surprised by that after seeing that on the door jam, but at least its not a Mexican built 2.0 car. My ex g.f. had an 2001 Jetta 2.0 and it was always something wrong w/ it; that was a bad time period for VW no doubt and their reputation tanked cause of those cars and the beetles. The weird thing though is the fact that some of them are actually good cars sprinkled in between the other lemons.
mk4countryride
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 8:41 am

Re: Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by mk4countryride »

I only have praise and excitment to explain how I feel about my Mk4 wagon '02 . It's a five spd that I picked up for $450. cash ,was not firing up and had two flat tires when I found it. Body is slightly rusted but the only thing wrong was starter was bad and altenator I had to replace from it sitting for over 6months. Oh , and the left rear caliper froze if I used the hand brake. But that's it ! It has 182000 miles on it and runs GREAT ! I let my V70 wagon (volvo) go cheap as I knew this was going to be a fun little ride for the country rodes I live and drive. Parts are reletivly cheap too ! At least I think so ..... :)
BlueWagon
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 4:47 pm

Re: Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by BlueWagon »

I've had a good bit of experience with this vintage of Volkswagen.

In short, it seems that you can't go wrong with a German made model with a manual transmission. This basically means the GTI and maybe a few others here and there.

Avoid the automatics as they usually tend to have major problems somewhere around 100k miles and poorer fuel mileage overall.

The Brazilian and Mexican made models seem to have quality control issues with both the interiors and the electrical systems. However, if you get a base model for cheap with very few electronic options, it'll still last a long long time mechanically.

Others may have different experiences, but I've owned a few of these and I wish I still had my GTI...
kendash2000
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:12 pm

Re: Reliability of 4th Gen?

Post by kendash2000 »

Bought my 2000 Jetta (manual) with 89k. Baked into my budget was a new timing belt. Thought I would be able to sleep for a few months before putting out the $700 for timing belt kit (includes new water pump) but water pump started to go 3 days after purchase. Turns out the previous owner knew of the pump problem and tried to change. They stripped the bolts and then decided to sell. Now I can sleep at night knowing that the belt is knew.

Tuned it up. NGK plugs and OEM wires from Amazon (Fowler VW for wires!)

Runs amazing!

Interior pieces are worn out, just google it and order from amazon.
Cup holder, Armrest, Shift boot, inside door handles, glove box, ash tray


If you are handy, get stuff from a place like FCPeuro.com. Quality parts at a decent price. Customer service is off-the-charts with quick delivery! I used them for my 98 Volvo V70 as well.

I have had 2 other Jettas and 1 Golf. All had >200k miles and drive like nothing else. This one was neglected, not abused, so I am hoping to get to 150k.

Time will tell!
2000 VW Jetta 89k Miles
3rd Jetta
1 Golf
2 Beetles
1 Karmann Ghia
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