2001 Jetta... buy or not?

J.J. · 03-30-06, 07:34

Anyone know anything about 2001 Jettas. I like the 1.8T alot, and I found one for a reasonable price. The timing belt and tensioners were just replaced. Honestly, it's probably time for new plugs and water pump. Anything else I should look out for with this model year?

JJ

DETAILKING · 03-30-06, 08:42

Check out JD powers survey on edmunds for that yr. Lots of problems from what I remember because it was an early yr for the new model change, just make sure you are aware of all this before you buy. Used car market blows right now, you can score good deals in a lot of places. How many miles does it have?

RTexasF · 03-30-06, 11:30

Very problematic from what I've read. The 1.8T is prone to oil sludge so inspect very carefully.

J.J. · 03-30-06, 12:19

The car has 80K on it right now. I haven't gone to inspect it yet, but the price is pretty sweet at $8K. TO be honest I really don't want a problematic vehicle and VWs are notoious for problems if not well maintained. Besides looking at the dipstick, what other things will I see with oil sludging.

As for the model yr, I was under the impression the 02's were more problematic b/c they changed the engine that yr. I could be wrong though and I surely don't want to buy a POS.
JJ

RTexasF · 03-30-06, 02:01

Short of pulling the valve cover off about all you can do is look down the oil fill and inspect service records. I'm not positive of this but I think synthetic oil is required.

Knockwurst · 03-30-06, 02:23

No, no . . . the 1.8T is bullet proof. The problem with the MK4 is everything else, namely electronics, MAF, window regulators, etc. The same components go bad time and time again. Without warranty, it’s bloody expensive. Though it pains me to say, I recommend anything other than 99.5 to 03 Jettas – Golf and GTI included.

lagomorph · 03-30-06, 02:37

If I were looking for a high mileage mk4, it would have to be a TDI or 2.0.
The only real problems in addition to the ones above are the coilpacks on 1.8t motors.

They are easy to change, but can be problematic.

My 2.0 has 172k on it. runs great.
it's slow, but I got a real sweet deal on it with 163k on the clock.
It's getting a full TDI swap this summer, that has 9500 miles on it.
Have it checked out fully before you buy, just like anything else.

The water pump is under the timingbelt/tensioner assembly, IIRC. You'll have to replace them(again) to get to the WP. It should have been done at the same time, due to a plastic WP impeller.

hadboosttroy · 03-30-06, 03:46

i'd pass, it's a made in mexico electrical nightmare.

Knockwurst · 03-30-06, 04:54

. . . just to be objective, I had a 2000 GTI GLX (made in Germany). It was leaps and bounds more problematic than the Brazilian-made GTIs.

J.J. · 03-30-06, 06:23

HaHa! I knew they were made in Mexico and, I tell ya, that doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies! I actually asked about water pump replacement and they had no records indicating such service was performed. I really hate it when something I really like and really want is a POS... damn! I guess I look out for an Audi A4 1.8 quattro!

JJ