Hey guys, Im new to the forums and new to VW and their jettas.

My 98 Buick Regal LS was wrecked 3 weeks ago due to some drunk driver plowing in to my poor parked car. I was settled with 8100.

I dont know alot about cars, I dont know about whats out there besides what I see. I've been looking at alot of models of cars, from Camrys to Accords to Camaros and 240sx'. My dad wanted me to get something reliable, so the 240sx I was looking at was just a bit too much. I settled with my next pick (sorry if that offends anyone!), the Jetta.

Now, partly why I didnt come to Jettas first is because nobody in my family, immediate and extended, has ever owned a Jetta. Where as 2 of my uncles have owned a 240sx at one point in time. However, my neighbor has had 3 Jettas. 1 for his wife and 2 for him. He loves them to death and says they are a blast to drive.

Now, Im not exactly sure what to look at. To be honest, I prefer the late 90s look over the newer one. I just like that boxier look. Reminds me of the BMW E30's I suppose. Regardless, I think they look better, so Im a bit partial to them.

What Im looking for in a car is something reliable yet fun to drive. I am thinking I can find this in a jetta, correct? From your experience, are jettas a reliable vehicle?

What I wanna know is what exactly is different from Jettas out there? Im shopping on Craigslist and I see "Wolfsburg editions", a Jetta GT, etc etc.

What Jetta would be the sportiest option for me? Which is considered the low end?

Here are a few of the Jettas I am looking at:
99 Wolfsburg Ed. 5 spd
97 GT 5 spd

Also, should I bother looking at Jettas with a rebuilt engine? Or is that asking for trouble later on? Like this one.
Finally, is there much of a difference in terms of performance for the Jettas that are from say 97-99 than those from 00-02?

Thanks guys! I appreciate the help.

 

whats up man! good choice on the jetta, i must say. As far as what youre looking for, what do you want out of the car? I mean, if you go mk 4, like the 1999.5-2005, do you want easy average performace, or harder, but more high end performance? Have you considered a GTI? id look into one of those as well. If you look for a mk3, the Jetta GT is ok, but id look into a vr6, you can do a lot with a jetta thats got a VR6 in it. As for that diesel, i think they say rebuilt, but by that they mean they added the CAI and chipped it. I wouldnt really trust it fi they are modding and dont even really know what they have.


as far as sporty from the showroom, id look into a 20th anniversary or 337 edition GTI or a 2004 or up Jetta GLI. They will run more, but they will look better from the factory, have uprated suspension, and a 6-speed transmission. wolfsburgs are pretty nice as well, thats what i own. They are a notch down from the 20th/337/GLI.

The car will take car of you as long as you take meticulous care of it in return. Other wise, i wouldnt reccommend bothering. They are good cars, but its the owners choice for it to be a good car, or for it to be a money pit. Most are really good for a person if they choose to take care of it. I have hardly any problems with mine, i love it to death, and the culture around dubs is amazing. Ive made so many new friends after i bought mine.

so think about that stuff, and think about what you want out of the car, and let me know, ill be able to help you better that way

 

What do you mean by easy/average performance and harder/high end performance? I dont quite follow. I dont know what you mean by easy and hard, heh. Unless you mean the amount of work Ill have to put in the engine to upgrade it. If thats the case, I dont plan myself doing any work on the engine in terms of upgrades. Dont plan on it. Then again, Ive never owned a car Ive truly felt as mine and one that had capabilities of being upgraded.

Well, I dont see a whole lot of offerings on the 20th /337/GLI. There is that Wolfsburg though. Unfortunately I cant shop around long. It also makes it difficult shopping for a jetta and looking for a manual. Granted a whole lot more VWs are manuals than the accords, etc I was looking at, but I found a 112k GLS that looked really nice but was a automatic. =(

A 6 speed transmission sounds like a blast though.

Define meticulous. I mean, like I said, Im not a big car brainiac, unfortunately. I do change my own oil and do it very frequently (2500 to 3000 miles), and Im concious to my car, like paying attention to the gauges and stuff, but other than that, I wouldnt be able to pinpoint a problem.

What care exactly does one put into their car to keep it from being a money pit? Besides the more obvious stuff like not changing the oil, red lining the car, etc etc.


Thanks again =)

 

you sound like you could take care of it just fine. Just like chainging the oil, the air filter, fuel filter..so on, just follow the service manual.

as per the performance, i meant like if you wanna spend more on mods, you should get the vr6 to turbo it and such, or you can get a 1.8t, and you'll run into getting as much power as you would a VR6T, but itd be decently easy to get like 250hp or more to the wheels. It all depends on what horsepower range you are looking for. do you see where im coming from? yes/no?

stuff that the GLI/337/20th have that the rest dont, a lip kit, sport package suspension, a 6-speed, recaro seats, vw motorsport cat-back, e-code headlights, darker tails, BBS RC or OZ Aristo Wheels, and just fun little other junk. they are bitchin, but yeah, if you dont wanna spend the cash for the em, and dont have a bit to search, a wolfy is always good.

any more questions, just ask away man

 

OK, well a GLI, 337 sounds Ideal. I cant find ANYTHING on the 20th cent. Well, ideal being that I can get a sporty car right out of the showroom. But I dunno if I could swing with that pricetag.

I wouldnt mind doing work to my jetta, its just that I dont know engines. Might be fun doing some work myself or at least taking it somewhere. Ive never really had a car with potential so its a new world to me.

Anyways, like Ive said, the real only models that I can find that isnt a GLS are the wolfsburgs. Can I do work on those to give me a sportier package? I know you mentioned they are a notch down from the 337 and the GLI, but you mostly mention the VR6 and 6 speed vehicles. Dunno if Id be wasting my time with a wolfsburg if I wanted a sporty package. One thing I should ask, is the wolfsburg package an upgrade in the engine, or more for the interior?
I dont think Id ever race my Jetta like my friend races circuits, but I mean, I could still do work to my Jetta to make it more fun to drive. Modest looking vehicles with a bit of power under the hood always intrigued me =)

How much HP am I looking at with a stock wolfsburg? I mean I understand its not a 6 speed so Im not gonna get the sportiest package, but really, 90% of the Jettas Im seeing on Autotrader or Craigslist that are within my price range are GLS models.

Also, is there a difference in performance between the gen 3 and gen 4 jettas?

Basically, the cars that I can look at within my price range (Im going 10k max. Some of this money can come from my pocket).
Gen 3 Wolfsburg
Gen 4 GLS
Gen 4 GLX

How would those rank performance wise? There are SOME VR6 that I can look at, but they are nearing mid 100k in miles, so Im kinda shying away from those cars.

I also really prefer the look of the Gen 3 because its just something DIFFERENT. As opposed to all the rounded cars you see on the road. I think the gen 3 has alot of personality to it. But if the gen 3 is using a more gimped engine, then I may stick with the gen 4 because those dont look bad at all, just not as different =)

 

I cant tell you whats differnt on the mk 3 wolfy, but on the mk 4, its the seats, steering wheel and shifter, suspension, and wheels. If you get a mk 3, get a VR6, i dont really dig on the 4-cylinders before the 1.8t. If you get a mk4, get something after 2001, cuz the 1.8t gets a 30 hp increase. As far as power goes, each car(GLS, Wolfsburg, GLI, 337, 20th) all have the same power. Its the 1.8t. what makes the different cars special are the trims involved(aesthetic stuff) so its really up to you. if you only care about power, then just go with a GLS or GLX, just pick your motor. But with a vw, as long as you dont get like an 8 valve 2.0, you have a lot of room and a lot of potential to grow. you can make your car as sporty as you like. Id personally suggest something with a 1.8t, i think thatd suit your needs entirely. EIther that, or go with a mk3 VR6. thatd be perfect for ya. But yes, you can make your regular GLS look like a GLI or whatever, just gotta get your wheels, springs, lip kit, and so on. Its just really what you choose man

 

OK, sounds good.

Now, I dunno if Im getting in to a can of worms or not, but I havent heard much about Jettas before this, including reading the itnernet, etc. The more research I read on Jettas and VW, the more I read on people having problems with their VW. Is this from people who just dont know how to care for a car (regular oil changes, air filter changes, fuel filter changes) or does addition care need to be taken to maintain a VW?

Also, am I gonna be running in to a lot of problems by buying a VW thats at least 6-10 years old?

 

The consuer reports are always off...they favor asian cars...who says a bmw isnt reliable? i mean, seriously...consumer reports are crap, and people that have trouble with em just dont take care of em like they should...things do go wrong, they arent a honda, thats for sure, but its not like youre buying a saturn, where after 50k you are ****ed. A dub 6-10 years old will be fine. i own a 2001 and its perfect. dont even worry about all that. i looked into crap on the internet, but its all by people that dont know jack, so it looks bad on dubs. just get involved with a good vw/audi or euro club, and they will make sure you are taken care of...

 

Will do =)

 

good luck man, and happy dubbin!