Vw 2.0

[Stevie-D]

does anybody on here know anything about the VW 2.0 motor? secifically in a 99 jetta 5 speed. the fiance is sick of her cobalt and is looking to get rid of it, and found this thing. i took if for a spin today and it had enough umph to get up hills, but its just a lil 4banger.

the cars got 140k on it, new brakes, exhaust manifold, CPS, timing belt, and a few other little things. it ran fine, good oil pressure, no valve chatter, etc.. nice little ****box car.

what issues did these cars have? the replaced timing belt has me kind of dragging my feet on signing anything on it. everybody ive talked to though says the little things run forever.

any opinions?

[sunco]

we bought an 01' I had the timing belt & the water pump changed at STS for like 550.

the trans doesn't have a dip stick - that needs to be serviced at 90K. we r taking ours to a vw specialist - no ammco........ about 250 bucks.

ours is 2.0 auto. Nice car - Fyi if u need an extra key its gonna cost u 100 bucks

Good luck

[yellowzo3]

The timing belt is a common replacement item that needs to be done on these things so its nothing out of the ordinary.

The worst part about the 2.0 is its lack of power (it's nicknamed the 2.slow). Other than that its a good daily driver, and if you have leather interior and all that jazz they are actually pretty luxurious.

You can do a lot of the work at home on these cars but VW has done their best to prevent you from doing just that. They use special antifreeze, a weird power steering fluid, special VW made tools are needed to take certain things apart, an INSANE amount of bolts are torx head, expensive battery, and a whole bunch of stuff like that. When looking through the manual or even a Haynes manual they tell you to take the car to a dealer to have anything done because the computer might have to be reset after replacing the battery and crap like that. The manual scares you into thinking the car won't work unless a dealer does the work for you. We replaced the battery on our own and it runs perfectly fine. If you're handy and have tools you can work on it. You need to buy A LOT of the parts for this car at a VW dealer or find someone that actually carries their stuff. It's not cheap either. Biggest downfall of the entire car.

BUY 1000 LIGHTBULBS. YES, I SAID 1000 LIGHT BULBS. We have 2 VW's and these things burn through bulbs like they're going out of style. They are famous for this and you have no idea how many bulbs you're going to go through. They're only a couple bucks a pop so its no so bad, its just the principle of always having to change them. It honestly only takes 30 seconds to change the rear bulbs so its no biggie. But just make sure to check them often to avoid a ticket.

That car has somewhat high miles (but all used cars I see nowadays are like 90k+ on the odo) so if you can get it for a good deal it may be worth it.

[CJM]

As a professional mechanic I will only say this: RUN AWAY FROM VW JETTAS! They have electrical issues and generally do not hold up.

I would much rather drive a acura, honda, toyota, lexus-heck a kia or a hyundai than those things.

[yellowzo3]

Originally posted by CJM
As a professional mechanic I will only say this: RUN AWAY FROM VW JETTAS! They have electrical issues and generally do not hold up.

I would much rather drive a acura, honda, toyota, lexus-heck a kia or a hyundai than those things.

They do have electrical gremlins, such as the lights, CEL's sometimes... But they're nothing to run away from imo. As for not holding up? I'd have to disagree. I know a bunch of people with VW's and they're all holding up just fine. Just like with any other car, if you take care of it then it'll last. You take a chance buying any used car though. You could have a problem with any car you buy.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a VW one day. It's not my first choice as I'm more into trucks, but they aren't crappy cars by any means. If they were such crappy cars I don't think they'd have such a gigantic scene and following. There is so much support and enthusiast following for these cars its insane.

[CJM]

Build quality is low, generally they tend to just fall apart-specially the body/interior. Cant tell you how many of them ive work on or seen that the window mount breaks, which is a defect actually.

There is a very distinct reason that they have poor resale value.

Hey, but what do I know since Im a mechanic-right?

ymmv but I wouldnt take one even for free. just my 2 cents tho.

[sunco]

everyone has their opinion. As for me ours is fine.

[yellowzo3]

Well everybody we know as well as ours are doing just fine.

If neglected, any car wont last. Simple as that. We do all the work on our cars and everything is lasting just fine. Nothing falling apart or anything like that. I think the build quality is good, and the cars ride fine.

Every car has defects. Chevy had problems with DRL's burning out on Tahoe's and Suburbans. Dodge Dakotas had bad balljoints. Toyota screwed themselves hardcore with their defects... The list goes on.

Any used car isn't perfect. If you want a near perfect used car you're going to have to shovel out the dough.

But I don't think a used VW is something to run away from if everything checks out ok. A used Honda could break down just as easily as a used VW could. No one will ever know a used cars true history, so there is always a risk involved.

I would own a VW, others wouldn't. I wouldn't own a Range Rover, but others love them. It's all preference I guess.

Stevie, if you want to do your research check out VWvortex. The site just underwent some major updating so the search isn't working well (it never did actually) but there is a ton of info over there on every VW ever made as well as things to look out for, etc... Lots of guys eat and breathe VW's on that site so its the place to be for this kind of stuff.

[CJM]

Yep, just my opinion thats all. Everyones entitled to them and Im no stranger to it :)

[fastredrider44]

I spent a fair amount of time working on my ex's 99.5 2.0 auto. I won't date another girl with a VW for fear of having to work on it. Good car overall, kinda, but like mentioned, lightbulbs don't last, lots of electrical gremlins, and it's a pain to work on. Her dad drives the car to work now, has about 190K on the odo, but he is aware that when it goes down, the car will probably be going to the scrap yard. I got to experience the computer thing with the car. After she left the lights on and killed the battery 100 percent dead, the alarm would screw up at random, the locks would go crazy, and it threw 20 something codes when it did start. Ended up unhooking the battery for a few minutes and hokking it back up. Pretty stupid when the alarm stays on when you insert the key into the door

[Stevie-D]

im crossing my fingers here and havent taken the time to check it out yet, but is the 4 cylinder engine the same in the 99 and the 99 1/2? suspension, tranny, yadda yadda yadda?

my fiances uncle has a 99 ( old body style) 4 banger stick that wont pass inspection. needs struts, brakes, body rust, etc.. that he is giving me for a parts car. im hoping at least some of the stuff is interchangeable.

[ZeroLogic]

Stay away from them. My father has one and what a pile of junk. So many front end problems and electrical problems. My buddy HAD one for a short time and got rid of it for the same reason.

[CJM]

FWIW: I find it almost funny that a used jetta, golf, etc are worth so little.

My pos 96 toyota truck is worth almost as much somehow as 10 year old vw.

[mxquadracer115]

I dont know what year you are looking at... I have a 2003 that I bought used, I have put 70,000 miles on it, never had any issue to speak of no bulb or electric at all... Change the oil and go... I would def buy another one...

[CJM]

Originally posted by mxquadracer115
I dont know what year you are looking at... I have a 2003 that I bought used, I have put 70,000 miles on it, never had any issue to speak of no bulb or electric at all... Change the oil and go... I would def buy another one...

Im not looking at any year, Im talking about repairing them for real at the shop i work for.

Im sorry but it seems based on what I can tell either you get a good one or a pos.

[Stevie-D]

hey CJM,
do you know if the 2.0 motor was changed from 3rd generation to 4th generation? im having a hell of a time trying to find any information on it

[CJM]

Originally posted by Stevie-D
hey CJM,
do you know if the 2.0 motor was changed from 3rd generation to 4th generation? im having a hell of a time trying to find any information on it

Not offhand, sorry.

[300ex mxracer]

If you don end up purchasing it put a new timing belt and water pump on it.