Within the next 6 months, I'll be courting several VW dealerships to locate me an example from the tail-end of the last generation of Jetta.
That's right - a '03-05 of the generation before the current. No electric steering assist, and one of the best handling ratings of any compact car up to that point.
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So I'd really appreciate some feed back from owners of these Jettas. Specifically those who own automatics.
_____________________ You mean nobody here, on a water-cooled VOLKSWAGEN n.g., has experiences/opinions about 2003-05 Jettas they've owned and/or driven??
Maybe I'll post this over in the CORVETTE section.
Well you asked about 03-05 with automatic. Everyone owns TDIs with 5 speeds. Works great for me but I only have 205,000 miles on mine. Drove a 2004 TDI with a DSG. Seemed fine for the 7 miles I drove.
Read the archives and you will see that some folks have had issues with the automatics. The DSG transmissi>>> Within the next 6 months, I'll be courting several VW dealerships to
_____________________ You mean nobody here, on a water-cooled VOLKSWAGEN n.g., has experiences/opinions about 2003-05 Jettas they've owned and/or driven??
Maybe I'll post this over in the CORVETTE section.
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Well I've never owned or driven an 03-05 Jetta, so what would be the point in me replying?
I have just seen too many of the automatic transmissions with issues. I have not seen too many 2003 and up Jettas. This year: One 2002 Jetta just had to have their automatic transmission's valve body repaired. One 2001 Jetta had their automatic transmission renewed by the dealer for free.
I am just not fond of the VW automatic transmissions!!! But other manufacturers also have had problems.
well, personally I have never owned a VW with an automatic and probably never will. They also didn't have a particularly stellar reputation back in the 80's; the seals/gaskets between the trans and the final drive could fail, taking out both. Don't know if that has been rectified, and don't particularly care... the appeal of a VW to me is that it's more of a driver's car than the competition from Honda or Toyota.
Well, personally I have the new 09 version (and love it)... but would encourage you to visit a TDI newsgroup I frequent - thousands of posters every day, and groups committed specifically to the year and model you mention..
________________________ I'm not interested in a diesel-powered(TDI) Jetta from any year! I just want a 2003 or 2004 era gasoline-powered automatic Jetta. Is there another VW forum where owners of such Jettas congregate?
________________________ I'm not interested in a diesel-powered(TDI) Jetta from any year! I just want a 2003 or 2004 era gasoline-powered automatic Jetta. Is there another VW forum where owners of such Jettas congregate?
__________________ "4 year old car"! Jeez, you make it like I'm looking for a 1984 Jetta instead of an '04!
The only two reasons I ask for input on this is because the roads, at least here in CT, are packed with Jettas from 99 up to 04, even more, still, than the bloated current model. And secondly, many reviewers from the time when that design was current considered it to be the "best Jetta of all time".
I guess owners of those Jettas are too busy enjoying them to be chained to a keyboard relating their experiences to others. ;)
**Hello, fellow CT Yank. I've owned two Jettas. Both were 2003s but one was an automatic 2.0l and the other was a 5-speed 1.8T. If you look around those Jettas that we always see in traffic, you'll see even more Subarus of all makes and models :) and that's what I have now.
I only owned the 2.0l Jetta for 8 months so I can't really comment on it. It was a nifty car, but the 1.8T was AWESOME. It was tornado red, with the sport suspension, 17-inch Longbeach wheels and a spoiler. The interior was one of the best I've ever seen on a car, just gorgeous. In fact, my sister (at the time) owned a new BMW 3-series wagon and, after a shopping trip, she ran her hand over the Jetta's dashboard and remarked: I should've gotten the Passat, I just love the inside of this car. Major fun factor when driving it, also.
Buuuuuuuuuuut, yes, I gave it up with 26K on the clock because it was developing too many niggly problems and I needed something reliable. Some of the problems weren't VW's fault and some were, but I ditched the car before I had to spend any money on it. :D Naughty, I know. I
*really* miss that car, but I do *not* miss shifting that sucker. There was the infamous 2nd-gear grind which was really nasty during the winter.
On the flip side, I dipped my toe into the Subaru pond with a 5-speed
2005 Impreza RS Sport Wagon. Loved and no problems except for a CD player that would stop playing a couple of hours into a (very) long drive. The wagon was spectacular in the snow! Several times I left work at 10:30pm only to be confronted by a foot of snow and the car had no problems navigating the hills of Litchfield County. Now, I have a 2008 Impreza 2.5i (the base model) and I'm hoping that it's just as good in the snow as the previous model. I have to admit, however, the previous Impreza was a far more *fun* car than the 2008. The 2008 has been vanillafied for the masses. :)
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