Jetta FSI Turbo

[tofo17]

Hi all,

I have ordered a Jetta 2.0 FSI Turbo and should take delivery this week! I know many on this forum have waited months for their cars so I can't really complain, but this two week wait is killing me! In order to let off some excitement steam, and if you'll indulge me, I'm going to tell you a little about the process I went through (long thread warning).

So, first off what am I getting:
- an 06 plated Jetta 2.0 Turbo with DSG
- Blue Graphite Pearl Effect
- Anthracite Leather
- 18" Charleston alloys
- iPod connection
- Tint

The purchase time (i.e. now) was based on two things; 1) a good time of the year to get discounts on 06 plated cars, 2) the wife is expecting our first born, so time for a "family" vehicle. All up, $44k on the road, which I think is pretty good given RRP was over $51k.

The background:
When the MkV Golf GTI came out I was smitten, then I started reading the reviews and lust quickly turned to love. But what to do about these appetites? I couldn't justify a new car, waiting lists were enormous anyway, and a hatch was just never going to cut it knowing a new family wasn't far away. So this burning desire was feed scraps from afar - a glimpse of a GTI on the road every-so-often and reading reviews in magazines and online. Eventually my yearnings quieted and became background noise... for awhile anyway.

The Jetta didn't get anywhere near the attention the Golf got, but I started to spy the odd review and saw a few on the road. My wife was actually the first to put voice to a liking for the Jetta when we saw one parked. I didn't know this about her but apparently she has always liked VWs! I saw my opportunity and started to do some research. You can imagine my delight when I discovered a Jetta with the GTI driveline. Sure it sacrificed a little in terms of dynamics (apparently it has the Sportline suspension, not the GTIs) but for me the gains were far more important. First of all, that boot! Bigger than a Commodore's or Falcons's this was a proper family car. Next of course was the price, two grand cheaper than a GTI with DSG, and no waiting lists. Of course having a less sporting bent might be a negative for some but losing the boy racer image was a plus for me and, importantly, for the wife.

However I didn't let my excitement get the better of me (yet). I went out and test drove the competition. My sister has a Honda Accord Euro, so I spent some time with that... very nice. I spent some time with the Mazda 6, impressive. I didn't bother with a Liberty because I'd want a decent spec one i.e. 3.0B, and that was out the price range.

All of this before test driving a Jetta so that it would have to work hard to impress. Oh, and I even test drove a new SS commodore so I knew what "fast" felt like... man they move.

I arrived at the dealer without permission (from wife) or intention of signing anything. I'll not build anticipation here, I didn't order it that day.
As soon as I sat in a Jetta I was impressed. The sense of quality and of being in something "special" was akin to the first time I sat in my brother's new Mercedes E350, it was that good but a third of the price... OK, for those of you rolling your eyes I know it probably isn't that good on close scrutiny but it felt it. The soft touch plastics, panel fit and design all oozed with elegance, particularly after sitting in the new SS Commodore. The dealer happily offered a test drive, so away we went. Here are my dot point pros and cons:
PROS
- quiet
- comfortable and not as jittery as some reviews had led me to think it might be (perhaps it is compared to other models)
- quick... damn quick, and keep in mind I drove that SS the day before
- DSG, how do I love thee, let me count the ways! Man, the most fun I've had in a car for a long time
- handling, very flat through corners, have to push hard to evoke understeer, lovely weight to the steering (although see cons)
- stereo - it rocks and I love the controls
- intuitive/ergonomics - this was important as the wife is a new driver, but I felt this car was very easy to drive, everything was where it should be
CONS
- steering off centre a bit dead (maybe a result of being electro-mechanical?)
- wooden brakes (though they work bloody well)
- traction/FWD - it's just hard to get power down in a FWD

In my mind it was the closest to perfect match for my requirements:
- not too "boganish" or boy racer - check
- excellent safety - check
- easy to drive for the missus (and auto) - check
- faster than you're average family car - check
- well equipped - check
- $40 to $50k - check
- FUN - check

Though the mentioned competition (Mazda6, Accord Euro) are damn fine cars and fit most of the requirements, they missed two critical requirements - speed and fun. Sure one of the MPS Mazdas might do those things, but not with an Auto tranny. And though not as important, they also don't exude the same sense of luxury and exclusiveness that European cars have.

Suffice to say, that night I mentioned to my wife that I had a test drive of the Jetta and, of course, I waxed poetic about its many virtues. Not expecting much excitement you can imagine my surprise when she says "why don't we just get one if you can get a good deal"! So the next day I'm back at the dealer and we do some haggling and end up at the price quoted above.

All things being equal I should get it this week and I CAN'T WAIT.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your experiences, thoughts and advice for when I pick mine up.

If you've read this far, thanks for your patience!

Cheers,
Tom

[nsshunt]

I'm new here as well! Welcome to club - enjoy your car!

Loved your first post and agree with your comments on the other cars. The Mazda6 MPS is manual only so could not have been an option for you anyways.

Fit and finish on these cars is simply a cut above the competition - the only small grief I have about my GTI is that only volume control (for the stereo) is on the steering wheel, unless you can set that up to be different somehow - haven’t read the manuals yet - lol - time spent reading the manuals is time wasted not driving it!

Do you have to use 98 ron fuel for your model as well?

[Bug_racer]

Do you have to use 98 ron fuel for your model as well?


highly recommended

[tofo17]

I'm new here as well! Welcome to club - enjoy your car!

Loved your first post and agree with your comments on the other cars. The Mazda6 MPS is manual only so could not have been an option for you anyways.

Fit and finish on these cars is simply a cut above the competition - the only small grief I have about my GTI is that only volume control (for the stereo) is on the steering wheel, unless you can set that up to be different somehow - haven’t read the manuals yet - lol - time spent reading the manuals is time wasted not driving it!

Do you have to use 98 ron fuel for your model as well?

Hi nsshunt, thanks for the comments. As stated above, yep, 98RON is the go. All the motor specs are the sames as the GTI.

I agree with your comment re: the stereo controls, I'd like skip station/track functionality too (especially as I won't use the phone controls). Having said that, I like how the large display has shortcuts to the stations with the station name/frequency displayed.

How long have you had the GTI for and what's been your favourite driving experience so far?

[DubSteve]

Welcome Tom, and congratulations on your purchase of your Jetta good to see another VW driver in our midst. I'm sure that you will many questions for us and I'm sure that we can answer them for you. Where abouts do you hail from? (i think thats how you spell it;) ) Make sure that you come along to one of our cruises good way to meet everyone and see the people behind the User Name lol.

Lol that was a awesome first post loved reading it. Good to see that your missus likes the car aswell, its good to have a family that like VW.

Got to love those turbos fast and zippy.

As for using 98 ron considering its a new car of course you would use it wouldn't you, especially a turbo?

[nsshunt]

About 10 days / 1000K's
:-)

Went for a lovely drive yesterday - lots of long winding mountain roads. Twisties my favourite thing so far - just the best handling car I've had - period!

Just love the way the car pulls hard out of the corners - leaves you just wanting more and more.

I've still got that 'look back' thing happening when I hop out of the car - lol.

Enjoy!

[tofo17]

Thanks for the replies lads, no doubt I'll have plenty of questions and it's good to find a friendly place to have them answered!

In answer to Mk3vr6, I'm in Brisbane.

When I test drove the car (twice) I didn't notice any problems with DSG, in fact as I said, I loved it. However I've read a few comments that it can be grumbly at low speed and be a bit rough when pulling up quickly. Is this true? Oh, and what behavioural changes does the "Sport" mode invoke?

Cheers,
Tom

[Lima]

Great post Tom. Welcome, and enjoy!

Your Jetta will be a lovely sleeper and DSG as well will ensure you get off the line smartly. Congratulations (on the expecting kiddie as well).

:)

Cheers Liam

[Matty R]

Hi everyone! my first post too!!

im in a similar boat to tofo17, family on the way (wife due in may) and need somthing with a bit of room. I fell in love with the GTIs straight away but i just need a bit more room so in late 05 we bought a brand new x trail, they are a great car but boring as all hell! (coming from a n15 sss pulsar)

We had a good look at the Jetta on the weekend and fell in love. We couldnt belive how big the boot was! Im sold. Unfortuanly i need to pay some more off the x trail before i can sell it, but hopefully it will be around the end of the year.

My only concern is the DSG, everything ive read about them is good, but ive always been a manual man, i guess ill have to drive one and decide for myself

[tofo17]

Hi everyone! my first post too!!

im in a similar boat to tofo17, family on the way (wife due in may) and need somthing with a bit of room. I fell in love with the GTIs straight away but i just need a bit more room so in late 05 we bought a brand new x trail, they are a great car but boring as all hell! (coming from a n15 sss pulsar)

We had a good look at the Jetta on the weekend and fell in love. We couldnt belive how big the boot was! Im sold. Unfortuanly i need to pay some more off the x trail before i can sell it, but hopefully it will be around the end of the year.

My only concern is the DSG, everything ive read about them is good, but ive always been a manual man, i guess ill have to drive one and decide for myself

Hi Matty R, all I can say is test drive one with DSG. I've always been a manual man but the wife only has an auto licence and ostensibly the Jetta is hers, so it had to be auto. Well, even if I had a choice of manual, which you don't in the Turbo FSI Jetta, I wouldn't get it. DSG is a bloody marvel and I think offers the best of both worlds. Once I get the car and have had more time with it I'll give more of a review.

Cheers,
Tom

[Lima]

With the exeption of the Outback that made way for our GTI I've always had manual cars, right back from learning to drive in a 3 on the tree 1971 HG Premier. I find in our GTI, and I assume the Jetta would be similar, that the pedal travel is quite long on the clutch and the gate's are not as tight as I would like them to be. Maybe it's just because I only drive the GTI on the weekends and am not as familiar with it. Dunno???

However, I've had a quick blat around the block in a mate's GTI with DSG and it really is superb. I could easily see myself living with it as a day to day proposition. The biggest fault it has is the fact that it's pedal setup makes it look like an auto, when in reality it's a manual in an automatic sheep's clothing.

[tofo17]

With the exeption of the Outback that made way for our GTI I've always had manual cars, right back from learning to drive in a 3 on the tree 1971 HG Premier. I find in our GTI, and I assume the Jetta would be similar, that the pedal travel is quite long on the clutch and the gate's are not as tight as I would like them to be. Maybe it's just because I only drive the GTI on the weekends and am not as familiar with it. Dunno???

However, I've had a quick blat around the block in a mate's GTI with DSG and it really is superb. I could easily see myself living with it as a day to day proposition. The biggest fault it has is the fact that it's pedal setup makes it look like an auto, when in reality it's a manual in an automatic sheep's clothing.

I also learnt how to drive on a three in the tree, but mine was a HT Premier! I have fond memories of carrying a mallet in the boot as the linkages use to get jammed from time to time and you'd have to give them a good wack :D Good times... good times.

[Lima]

Mallet ... luxury ... had to pop bonnet and use hands me. I'd love to drive one again just to see how much of a nancy boy I've become. j:

[LS1 Cobra]

Congratulations!

We did something similar. I'd been looking at Golfs for a while, one of my work coleagues has one and it struck me as solid well built car. I wanted a new family car that was reliable solid with a bit of class that we could keep for a few years. My wife has been driving a 92 model Jaguar for the last 5 years or so. Nice car to drive but I'm getting a bit tired of working on it as it's getting a bit long in the tooth.

We went to the dealer to look at the new Golfs but my wife went for the Jetta when she saw it. The more we looked at the more we liked it.

We went for the TDI diesel with DSG and identicle paint and leather as yours although we optioned electric drivers seat as my wife loves them in her Jag.

I was thinking about the FSI Turbo but at the time I also had a Ford Pursuit Ute for my performance kicks. We settled on the Diesel as it was very impressive in it's power delivery, this thing has got grunt. It felt significantly quicker to drive than the non turbo petrol version. I guess it's all that low down torque and the way the DSG just keeps snatching the next gear keeping you in the thick of it.

The economy is what has stunned me since. I was used to putting around $90 a week into the Pursuit as a daily driver. Now we drive the Jetta everywhere and put $60 in every 2 weeks or so.

I guess we've gotten hooked on diesel now since I've sold the Pursuit and bought an 03 TD5 Landrover Discovery. The Cobra is up and running now if I need some speed thrills.

Cheers

Michael

[tofo17]

Well I'm very excited! I just received a call from the dealer to tell me the car will be ready as planned for tomorrow. I must admit to having been a bit sceptical the car would be ready on time, so this is a pleasant surprise.

Any advice on what to look for when inspecting the car before handing over the cash?

Cheers,
Tom, who probably won't sleep well tonight!

[GoLfMan]

Well I'm very excited! I just received a call from the dealer to tell me the car will be ready as planned for tomorrow. I must admit to having been a bit sceptical the car would be ready on time, so this is a pleasant surprise.

Any advice on what to look for when inspecting the car before handing over the cash?

Cheers,
Tom, who probably won't sleep well tonight!
i've noticed on new cars that some of the paint jobs on new cars arent up to scratch so check that...
general check over interior check for oil leaks (it can happen!!) check lights and everything works...
well thats just wat i'd do just do a general inspection :)

[fergVdub]

Hi Tom

congratulations I had to wait 5 months for my Jetta,

some tips would be to check as many things as you can
On pick up of my car I missed two things that are in the process of being fixed, firstly there was a mark on the door panel from the protective paneling that was not removed and more annoyingly the rear passenger window did not close properly and a replacement is on back order.

The Jetta is a complex vehicle in its electronics and features and as long as you read up on the pro and cons on sites such as this you can have a good understanding of what to expect.

At the end of the day they are great cars and I am very happy with my purchase and it isn' even run in yet

good luck

Ferg

[Lima]

Well I'm very excited! I just received a call from the dealer to tell me the car will be ready as planned for tomorrow. I must admit to having been a bit sceptical the car would be ready on time, so this is a pleasant surprise.

Any advice on what to look for when inspecting the car before handing over the cash?

Cheers,
Tom, who probably won't sleep well tonight!

Good advice from ferg above.

I'm not sure it was because our stealer knew we're fussy or not (they even let me put on the rego sticker), but they showed a PDI check list that we had to tick off and sign, partly to absolve them of anything I guess, but also to make sure that we had a decent look over the car to see that everything was alright.

Good luck, the day you collect a new car is one of life's welcome pleasures.

Enjoy!

[tofo17]

Well, I picked it up yesterday and everything went pretty well.

A few little things:
- They forgot to install the iPod adapter but that is being done right at this moment.
- The driver's seat and the centre console storage compartment lid touch and, as they are both leather, squeak when going over bumps. It's very quiet and only noticable when you have absolute silence in the car and go over a rough road.
- the leather on the passenger door near the grab handle looks like it needs to be tucked in under the panel better

Other than those very minor points, everything is wonderful. Of course I am taking it pretty easy for the first 1000k or so (in accordance with the owner's manual) but even so, this is still a quick car. A little run up Mt Cootha demonstrated that it likes the corners... the 225/40 on the 18" wheels surely do hang on well and I imagine they are still scrubbing in, so more grip to be had.

DSG is just a delight and makes me smile from ear to ear. I took a relative for a test drive and he said it felt like an electric car, just a constant surge of power. I tried Sports mode briefly... it's a bit bloody enthusiastic to say the least! It holds gears for eternity and changes down very early, I can see that there's going to be some fun had once she's run in!

I must admit, there is a learning curve here. At first I found driving the car smoothly a bit of a trick. It seemed to be either too slow or too fast, but now I'm getting the hang of it.

Interior comfort is better catered for than in any other car I've owned. For a car with so many features the controls are very intuitive and ergonomic. The stereo really pumps out the tunes well. They've leant me a TDI for today and the difference in sound quality is quite noticable (not having a go at TDIs here, a very nice drive).

Photos will be forthcoming next week.

Cheers,
Tom

[Subie25L]

I must admit, there is a learning curve here. At first I found driving the car smoothly a bit of a trick. It seemed to be either too slow or too fast, but now I'm getting the hang of it.


Congrats on the purchase.

I found the same thing. I now have 2000km down and i am much better but not perfect. I have hills starts down now without the use of the handbrake. The first couple of times the DSG said WTF and i didn't go anywhere when using the brake and accelorator at the same time.


Enjoy those twisties.

[Lima]

Well, I picked it up yesterday and everything went pretty well.

A few little things:
- They forgot to install the iPod adapter but that is being done right at this moment.
- The driver's seat and the centre console storage compartment lid touch and, as they are both leather, squeak when going over bumps. It's very quiet and only noticable when you have absolute silence in the car and go over a rough road.
- the leather on the passenger door near the grab handle looks like it needs to be tucked in under the panel better

Other than those very minor points, everything is wonderful. Of course I am taking it pretty easy for the first 1000k or so (in accordance with the owner's manual) but even so, this is still a quick car. A little run up Mt Cootha demonstrated that it likes the corners... the 225/40 on the 18" wheels surely do hang on well and I imagine they are still scrubbing in, so more grip to be had.

DSG is just a delight and makes me smile from ear to ear. I took a relative for a test drive and he said it felt like an electric car, just a constant surge of power. I tried Sports mode briefly... it's a bit bloody enthusiastic to say the least! It holds gears for eternity and changes down very early, I can see that there's going to be some fun had once she's run in!

I must admit, there is a learning curve here. At first I found driving the car smoothly a bit of a trick. It seemed to be either too slow or too fast, but now I'm getting the hang of it.

Interior comfort is better catered for than in any other car I've owned. For a car with so many features the controls are very intuitive and ergonomic. The stereo really pumps out the tunes well. They've leant me a TDI for today and the difference in sound quality is quite noticable (not having a go at TDIs here, a very nice drive).

Photos will be forthcoming next week.

Cheers,
Tom


Good stuff Tom. :cool: :cool: :cool:

[tofo17]

Well things were going well until yesterday. At about 5:45pm I was driving to a friends house when I noticed the temperature guage start rising slowly. At the same time I noticed the air-con seemed to be ineffective (it was very humid in Brisbane yesterday).
The temperature guage continued to rise until the car decided to tell me to stop. So I did. I checked the coolant level, it seemed fine. So I called VW Assist you informed me they couldn't do much except send a tow truck to take the car back to the dealers. An hour later the car was towed.

So 800km on the odo and one week of ownership (today) it's back at the dealers. They're checking it out and should get back to me this afternoon. If it's not simple to fix and can't be done today they've offered to give me a loan vehicly, which given it's a long weekend is a good thing.

As you would imagine, I'm not very happy. Yesterday was the first time I did drive with a little enthusiasm, so maybe this exposed something that was loose... who knows :?

On a more positive note, I have really enjoyed driving it over the last week :)

Have a great long weekend everyone. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll give me a GTI for the weekend.

Cheers,
Tom

[DubSteve]

Yesterday was the first time I did drive with a little enthusiasm, so maybe this exposed something that was loose... who knows :?

Cheers,
Tom

Bad news there Tom hope you get it back tomorrow and it all goes well. When you say with a little enthusiasm what do you mean by a little enthusiasm ;)

[Rod_H]

Don't these GTI engines have a faulty temp sender unit. I have read over at the Tex forums of this same thing happening.
Aircon cuts out with high temp readings from faulty sensor and the gauge goes off the scale and can hunt from cold to hot.:rolleyes:

[william]

I noticed the temperature guage start rising slowly. At the same time I noticed the air-con seemed to be ineffective (it was very humid in Brisbane yesterday).
The temperature guage continued to rise until the car decided to tell me to stop. So I did. I checked the coolant level, it seemed fine.

Cheers,
Tom
im sorry to hear of your inconvience aircon has been a problem for later vws they had a major recall on compressors on some early golf 5 models but the compressors are shocking which is strange as golf 3 and 4 a/c units had no issues if sealed. with the temperature issue which seems to me a coolant temperature sensor also common but from factory very strange ,they truely are great cars with excellent dsg gearboxes and the 16v 2.0t gti engine which are pretty fullproof i love them but issues like this turn me off new cars .

[Lima]

Sorry to hear that Tom. Good luck getting it sorted, hope you're back on the road quick smart.

[Dr Spine]

Bummer mate! Hope you've got everything in order to come on the SEQ Number 2 drive next sunday.

[tofo17]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

As you know the car was towed on Wednesday night. On Thursday I talked to the dealer and they said they would check the car out but would offer me a courtesy car for the long weekend if they weren't able to fix it. I received a call at about 2:30pm on the same day to inform me that the radiator fan had failed (an electrical fault) but they had the parts, had done the fix and my car was ready to go!

So less than 24 hours later I was back on the road and the car is fine... racked up 1000km today.

Definitely a disappointing thing to happen to a brand new car but I was impressed with the service from VW. They were clearly pretty embarrassed.

Still loving the experience... oh, and they cleaned the car.

Cheers,
Tom

[Lima]

That's great Tom. Always love to hear about pleasent dealer experiences. More important;ly, glad you're back on the road. Excellent news.

[PeterH]

Tom, sad to hear of your problems with the radiator fan. In my industry (computers) we have a term for this "early life failure". We actually say this to customers, it is meant to imply that not everything is perfect coming out of the factory. And generally after one or two glitches their machines go on to povide years of trouble free service.

I took delivery of my GTI on 19 Jan. The compliance plate says 01/07 but the manufacture date is 12/06. This could suck in a few year's time should I trade it in (dealers always seemn to go on manufacture date), but then again, maybe I'll never trade it?

Continuing from ealier in this thread, I'm at the other end of the scale, last child (twin girls 21yo) just left home so we are officially 'empty nesters'. We have had family cars for years due to necessity, and always automatics, although I had manuals before we married.
I went for a test drive in the Jetta TDI and I liked it, heaps of torque, lovely on hills. Only problem was I then went for a test in the GTI and it was just love, fast and nimble.
OK, so this is not fair, I should be comparing it to the Jetta FSI Turbo, but the truth of the matter is that the dealer didn't have one at the time.
The other factor in my decision is the DSG. I have always preferred manuals, but my wife has RSI and other complications and finds it painful to operate a manual gear shift. So the DSG is the perfect compromise, and I can't believe how quickly it changes gear.
You can tell that underneath it's really a manual by the way it rolls backwards on a slight incline. In 'real' automatics I tended towards laziness at times and just let the auto keep it stationary rather than keeping the foot on the brake. Can't do that on the DSG, I'll have to relearn the manual way of doing it.
I did try explaining why this was the case to she who, but her eyes sort of glazed over; think it has something to do with the hormones.

Peter

[Lima]

Does DSG have hormones?! j:

[dilbert_rocks]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Definitely a disappointing thing to happen to a brand new car but I was impressed with the service from VW. They were clearly pretty embarrassed.



Hmmm...

I am seriously considering purchasing a Jetta (TDI or T FSI), but I have read some worrying reports about poor reliability (VW in general) and high problem rates (like 33% have something go wrong in the first 1000km - incl squeaks / rattles). It strikes me that I might be gambling with $50k?! :?

I'm after some objective user feedback - though most people here seem to be happy. I haven't driven one yet.

Any clues on costs of servicing and parts? (is it 10,000 or 15,000km services)

Also, any good / bad experiences with dealerships in the SEQ area?

From a hopefully "happy" future VW'er

[brackie]

Welcome to our forum! Be careful when you read statistics. "Something goes wrong in first 1000km"... is very open ended. Lots of people are nit-pickers and will return to the dealership with silly requests for repairs/replacements that others wouldn't even notice. So it's a good idea to get a statistical breakdown of the fault types before making a judgment. Also, be sure to target the country in which the problems were encountered and take into account the quality of the dealers concerned. IMO VW cars are no more unreliable than any other and probably more reliable and better constructed than most.

There's been a lot of discussion on this forum regarding service intervals. Do a search on this forum and read it as you'll find it interesting, particularly regarding TDIs. My TDI goes in for it's first service next week and @7500km it hasn't missed a beat, has no rattles despite being driven on rough, twisty, hilly country roads, and gets better with every km.

[bitsurfr]

I've joined the VW club and ordered a Jetta Turbo FSI over the weekend :)

I'd like to get a list of things I should check when taking delivery of the vehicle (in particular, those functions that have to be set by the dealer as my car doesn't have the multifunction function 'plus' display) and so far I have:

- make sure automatic locking after takeoff is turned on;
- make sure automatic kerbside function when reversing for passenger side exterior mirror is turned on (left mirror dip);
- driver door open on first click of unlock (does this mean all the other doors will need 2 clicks to open? Actually, what is the purpose of requiring 2 clicks to open?)
- have only order regular NSW premium plates, not the wide Euro style ones, so I have asked the dealer to remove wide black felt backing underneath the rear plates.

Any help is appreciated

[anarchycamp]

Hmmm...

I am seriously considering purchasing a Jetta (TDI or T FSI), but I have read some worrying reports about poor reliability (VW in general) and high problem rates (like 33% have something go wrong in the first 1000km - incl squeaks / rattles). It strikes me that I might be gambling with $50k?! :?

I'm after some objective user feedback - though most people here seem to be happy. I haven't driven one yet.

Any clues on costs of servicing and parts? (is it 10,000 or 15,000km services)

Also, any good / bad experiences with dealerships in the SEQ area?

From a hopefully "happy" future VW'er

There has been a few reliability issues reported on this forum and other forums but as with most things, people usually only kick up a stink when things go wrong, therefore you hear more about the problems rather than the good things (even though there is a lot of love going on generally :) ).

If anyone was able to get the REAL stats comparing VW reliability to other manufacturers I would say they would rate quite well...cough Holden...cough cough cough :D

[neil]

I've joined the VW club and ordered a Jetta Turbo FSI over the weekend :)

- have only order regular NSW premium plates, not the wide Euro style ones, so I have asked the dealer to remove wide black felt backing underneath the rear plates.

Any help is appreciated

Hey Bitsurfr

Can you let us know what the rear number plate looks like when you get
the car.
I have a jetta on order and have selected the slim line plate, however
after seeing a few with the felt backing still exposed I thought I might go
for the euro plate, but if the felt is removed and it looks ok I will stick with
the slim line.
Keep us informed.

[blur32]

Try having three Alfsa Romeos in a row...you will never, ever criticise another car again for being unreliable....even a Korean one!

Nearly 15000k's up on the R32 on rural NSW roads (almost as bad as Sydney roads) and driven hard....no dramas (other than known factory ones: front suspension, rear left tail light, all fixed under warranty and are now perfect), no rattles (even with the added vibration of the new exhaust) and everything stil opens, closes, turns on & off and is still there (definitely not italian then)

Just do it!

[jb747]

(other than known factory ones: front suspension, rear left tail lightWhat's the story with those faults? My R32 is on the boat....

[DaveMack]

What's the story with those faults? My R32 is on the boat....

Yeah but ... you'll probably drive it a bit slower than Blur. :D

Dave

[BarneyBoy]

Welcome tofo17 - you picked a nice model.
Thought about the Jetta myself (love the boot, too) but it would've been too long for my car and the trouble & strife's to both fit in the driveway.

I had a warning light come on in the first 600ks (the engine outline light). I was halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide with the car refusing any more than 3000rpm (limp home mode). The Stealer said that it was traced back to a faulty aircon sensor.

It seems that this is a similar fault to what some others have experienced. A reset was all they could do, and 3,000ks later, all is well.:?:

Anyway, enjoy your Jet!

[blur32]

Yeah but ... you'll probably drive it a bit slower than Blur. :D

Dave

jb747: will pm you. And there are plenty of threads around re: this

DaveMack: what are you implying? I am a respectable, law aviding citizen.....:rolleyes:

[tofo17]

This thread is a little old now, I've had the car since February and have now done over 8000km. Besides the initial problem things are going very well and I still love it. It's been APR'd and has the Carbonio CAI. Soon to have the APR downpipe and stage II tune. A recent very wet track day (GTI drive day) let me explore the performance envelope and left me very impressed... particulaly with ESP which, despite some pretty ham fisted driving kept me in a straight line!

My wife had our first child last week and so the Jetta is now doing family duties (the reason I got a Jetta and not a GTI). I've got to say that the large boot is a god send, eating up prams, travel cots and the like with plenty of room to spare. And of course, I feel safe in the knowledge the car has excellent passive and active safetly to keep the little fella (and us) safe!

I still love how this car exudes class. My sister has a Honda Accord Euro, which is a great piece of kit, but the Jetta just feels more expensive.

The most telling comment? For me, a serial car swapper, there is still nothing on the market for the price that I would rather have.

Cheers,
tofo

[DaveMack]

jb747: will pm you. And there are plenty of threads around re: this

DaveMack: what are you implying? I am a respectable, law aviding citizen.....:rolleyes:

Nuttin' much, Blur. It's just ... how do you get a nickname like ... BLUR? :D

(Summat to do with SPEED, I'll wager.)

Dave

[moguzhan]

my jetta is probably one of the most recent on here as its only got 2000kms.

from experience, the first 1,000kms - the car wont breathe or open up so you cant really "thrash" it and its getting broken as you can smell the rubber burnin, tyres wearing away until the first 500 and removing the sealent on them, etc etc.

the car is a bit more "open" as it will let you gas it and it'll breathe and takes off nicely.

the cd player is not mp3 compatible unless you get 08 model.

i havent had any problems with it except someone smashed the drivers side window and stole the gps that was on the dashboard, so i had to replace the window other than that its a real nice smooth ride.

it needs a tighter suspension as it over steers in the turns but that can be fixed with a sway bar.

thumbs up from me.

[bitsurfr]

Hey Bitsurfr

Can you let us know what the rear number plate looks like when you get
the car.
I have a jetta on order and have selected the slim line plate, however
after seeing a few with the felt backing still exposed I thought I might go
for the euro plate, but if the felt is removed and it looks ok I will stick with
the slim line.
Keep us informed.

I picked up my jetta yesterday. So far I'm all :D

The dealer did a good job of removing the black felt, can't see any remnants of it. So no problems for those who just want regular premium number plates instead of euro ones.

I also got the weathershields. However, they are simply mounted on the door by being stock over the chrome trim. This seems to spoil the side view of the car. VW should make the top of the weathersheilds chrome so they don't spoil the profile.

I have the auto door lock programmed to turn on at 15km/h. However, I have noticed that if I drive away, then stop/slow down to less than 15km (eg coming to a stop at traffic lights), when I drive off again the door locks seem to try to arm again after passing 15km/h again. This happens every time and you can hear a quiet (not as loud as the initial deadlocking of the lock) "click - click" sound on the driver's side. Not sure if it's suppose to be like this so might have to check it out with the dealer. Any one else notice this?

[Tim]

i turned off the auto locking feature on my car today. The GF was getting confused when trying to get out of the car cos u have to pull the door handle twice to get out of the car! once to unlock and once to open the door. Just seems a bit dinky to me

[bitsurfr]

I had a look at the tyre pressure label on the inside of the fuel flap but it only has numbers for KPa. What is the equivalent (correct) tyre pressure for the 17" tyre on the TFSI in PSI measurement?

Also, the inside of the fuel flap seems to be flat so can't seem to hang the fuel cap on it when filling up petrol. The manual shows a picture where the cap can be hung on the inside of the flap?

[trippyfoo]

Hey bitsurfr - I haven't actually thought about it , but you're right, there's nowhere for the fuel cap to hook on . .. I had a look in the manual as well and yeah, there appears to be a lil doodad that the cap is supposed to clip on . . .any other Jetta owners (Petrol) with this issue.

[GermanwithaVdub]

I've joined the VW club and ordered a Jetta Turbo FSI over the weekend :)

I'd like to get a list of things I should check when taking delivery of the vehicle (in particular, those functions that have to be set by the dealer as my car doesn't have the multifunction function 'plus' display) and so far I have:

- make sure automatic locking after takeoff is turned on;
- make sure automatic kerbside function when reversing for passenger side exterior mirror is turned on (left mirror dip);
- driver door open on first click of unlock (does this mean all the other doors will need 2 clicks to open? Actually, what is the purpose of requiring 2 clicks to open?)
- have only order regular NSW premium plates, not the wide Euro style ones, so I have asked the dealer to remove wide black felt backing underneath the rear plates.

Any help is appreciated

check tyres for sidewall damage, wheels for scratches, upholstery for stains and the paint/panels for scratches/dents/chips

[stephen8512]

reviving an old thread

ive noticed on my jetta that when i'm cruising normally, air seems to come through the vents even when i have the A/Cturned off. Im assuming its sucking in air from outside and blowing it into the cabin...

is this normal? because it seems like the only way I can completely shut out the very faint wind coming in from my air vents is to turn the scroll dial to "0". And the button for the recycle air only seems to work when I have the a/c on, but as soon as i turn the a/c off, there is still air coming thru....

[blutopless2]

I had a look at the tyre pressure label on the inside of the fuel flap but it only has numbers for KPa. What is the equivalent (correct) tyre pressure for the 17" tyre on the TFSI in PSI measurement?


conversion between psi and kpa is

1 PSI is 6.895kPa
so if you use 7 as the conversion its pretty close.
30 PSI is 206kPa