2003 jetta 1.8T
I bought it in July, few weeks after my birthday because a piston had shot in my 92 jetta due to my lack of getting a tune-up (i learned my lesson a bunch of money later).
I was so excited to have my dream car.. you couldnt even imagine, even if it already had 100 miles on it from being driven from another dealership. Two weeks after i purchased my car the engine light went on. I read the manual and it said if the light wasnt flashing, that its not a serious problem. So on my way to an appointment, i stopped at the dealership where i had bought it. The sales guy told me to drive my car the 500 miles, but if i was concerned to bring it in. One day later, the light went off. So i figured it must have just been a little tempromental.
Two weeks later, it went on for a few hours, then went off. It stopped turning on until Oct.
I took it in to the dealership in Oct, where they had told me i had a bad brake fuse and i had a recall on my coils. I never knew it had a recall on it. And no one bothered to fix it when it was sitting on their lot.
Two weeks later, the light appears again. I take it in and they say its an emissions problem. They replaced a hose and that was it.
One week later, light on AGAIN.
I take it in, emissions problem again, and they have called out to vw headquarters to have someone investigate. A week later, im told that i had a pin-hole leak in my purge valve.
About two weeks later im backing out of my driveway and my back tire rubs against a cement slab and my right side airbags deploy. Mind you, the rear passanger tire did not pop, nor was there any body damage. My boyfriend drove it down to the dealership while i followed in another car.
And here, is where all holy hell broke loose.
I spoke with VW safety and told them what had happened, and believe it or not, she told me that even if i went over a pothole, it would do the same thing.
After having a lemon law mechanic come and look at my car, he says that i have some damage to my alignment and suspension.
When my insurance adjuster came out they wouldnt put the car on a rack for him to see the under carriage damage because, and i quote, ‘you cannot see it with the naked eye, it needs to be on an alignment machine.’ Two other people say that my damage can be seen with the naked eye and that you can see it without putting the car up. Its funny when my insurance adjuster says that he took pictures of my airbags deployed and the smudge on my tire from the curb, but there was nothing else to photograph.
My story is unfinished. It leaves me a little over a month without my car, and me going to do the inspection with my insurance adjuster next week when they finally put the car on a rack for us.
Stress? oh you bet. airbags dont deploy when you rub against a curb. especially when your only going in between 10 and 15 mph. Now if VW can prove that my suspension damage is consistant with where the tire hit the curb, my car can no longer be classified as a lemon. I never said i didnt hit the curb. But whos to say my suspension wasnt tweeked a little from someone driving it those 100 miles? Did the engine light go on for that person? If so, why didnt they fix it?
Note to all.. new jetta’s suck. stick with older models. i wish i never got rid of my old one, for this deam car is certainly my worst nightmare. I will never buy another VW, no matter how cute i think they are or how cool they look.
And if your wondering.. VW’s estimate is ballpark $5,000.00
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