Ahhhhahahahahahaha,haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, ohhh, meeeee.. Ahhhhahahahahahaha,haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, haaaaahahahahahahahahahaha, oooooohhhh,.....sigh.... Sorry... now that I have my composure... I'll add my 2 cents saying I had to straighten a Cabrio frame, & it was the toughest pull I've done in years!!! Unbeleiveably strong; no wonder they had to put those ribs in for crash folding. & BTW, I wouldn't give a rat's be-hind ~{
As an owner of a '99 (new body) Jetta - I can confirm the original poster's claims. The manual recommends that you take the car to the dealer to replace the headlights. Wha?
I replaced my own, but to replace the driver's side headlight involves removing a bunch of parts around the battery. The passnerger side isn't much better.
My '99 VW - assembled in Mexico - has given me nothing but headaches. I've had the window regulator problem - twice; the airbag repacked - twice; the rearselt belt locked up on my me - twice. They've replaced the entire steering column (at less than 30K miles). And I've had the MAS Airflow sensor, speedo sensor and temp sensor all replaced.
That said - the car has always started and has not stranded me - so, it could be worse.
VWoA - has helped me many times. They've been pretty good to me.
The dealership - Stohlman's in Vienna, VA - was OK about repairs out of warranty and even suggested that I contact VWoA on one of the issues for reimbursement. My salesman sucked - I went to him when I was having problems and he acted like he didn't know me and his hands were tied like he had nothing to do with the service department - yet, when they buy a car they take you over and introduce you to your service rep....
Happily - I have purchased a new car and will be selling the Jetta as soon as I can. Anyone in North VA/DC/MD want a used 1999 VW Jetta?
I've done it on my golf and never had to remove parts other than the old light It's tight but can be done.
Sorry to hear you have had so much trouble. My 2000 Golf has been mostly good cept for the head lights and a relay for 162 000 km. Given that the car has been good to me ang gets 50mpg I really can't say I wouldn't buy another. I think it sometimes comes down to expectations. If you expect Honda reliability your gonna be disapointed. I when in knowing that VW has some issues and expected to have some trouble with the VW. I was pleasently surprised with mine and intend to keep it a few more years unless it starts to cost major money to repair.
It could always be worse. Ask me about my first and last experience with Mitsubishi.
They did the same thing when I bought my Chevy Silverado. Ive become much more aquainted with my Chevy dealerships service staff over the last 4 years than my VW guys.
My 2002 GTi has been problem free since I bought it in December of 2001 - save for the bulb in the passenger side maplight, hardly worth complaining about. It amazes me when people talk about having such severe problems with their Golfs and Jettas because mine has been so perfect, and I do drive it hard. Although my car was assembled in Brazil, not Mexico. I wonder if that makes any difference? A friend of mine has had his 2004 Accord V6 for 2 days now, it's already needed a CD-player fix because it was refusing to play CD-R discs. We're waiting to see if anything else happens.
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