New Person - Wants an 08 jetta

[carypc]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and kinda new to the area. I moved down from cape cod, mass and have been living here for a year. I am finally at the point in my life now where I can afford a car that I somewhat always wanted.
I am planning on purchasing a 2008 jetta se. The only other cars that have my attention are civic si sedan and accord coupe. If I could afford an ex-l accord couple I might be more incline to this but I could barely afford the the base accord coupe.
I have read a lot about honda and the problems with the civic's like paint issues and transmission issues (3rd gear).
Is there any common problems related with jetta mkv's? Not a problem but things I have read are like loud noises for the first 30 seconds.

This would be the second new car I have ever bought. My first was a 2005 serria 1500 and It needed a new transmission after the first 2 months. I am hoping not to have any more nightmares with new cars again.

Any thoughts or opinions.

Thanks,
John

[zooyork155]

Welcome to the site and the area. Most of the issues I've heard regarding the MKV have all been small things with the exception of the A/C but that should be remedied with the 08 models. I'm sure some of our MKV owners will fill you in proper.

[carypc]

Thanks for the reply, is there any site or link that may have info on the AC? What was the problem?

[LifeAsASuffix]

another problem I've heard of were a thump from the suspension, I don't know what the problem was, or how it was remedied. There are alot of satisfied MkV drivers on here that can probably give better.

[zooyork155]

Seems like this has been addressed already. Here's some good reading for you.
http://www.ncdubs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6481

[carypc]

Thanks I was looking for something just like that, even though that I think most of those problems are related to the 2.0t which is a ashame because I was fumbling around the idea of a the base passat because I like the idea of a longer car with a 6 speed.

I am really hoping to make some sort of decision by the end of the week, I have been looking at cars for 2 months now.

[LifeAsASuffix]

there's a passat with the areo package at leith in cary. I thought it would look like garbage, but it looks really clean and agressive.

[carypc]

i saw that today i didnt know what that was until i went online.
What do people think of lieth vw, service / sales.

[Mitchd1283]

i work at a dealership and i haven't really seen that many major issues with mkv 2.5l's. They seem ok.

Ed; not sure about the thumping noise that you are talking about. i haven't heard anything about that. There have been some airbag issues, just some wiring stuff.

[LifeAsASuffix]

i think it was a problem stefano was having a while back, something with his suspension, or steering. I can't really remember all the details.

[zooyork155]

I'd still take a 2.0t over the 2.5. Boost is addictive.

[kcfoxie]

Hi John,

First off I believe your 08 will have DSG and not the Tiptronic/6-speed Traditional Automatic. The DSG is a "Direct shift automated manual gearbox" meaning its got dual wet clutches, and the car does the clutch work for you. It is not a traditional automatic transmission.

My partner has one of the first 2005.5 2.5L with the Tiptronic 6-speed automatic. Yes, the car is loud upon cold start because of the Secondary Air Injection system. It revs to about 1200-1300 rpm then drops down to 850rpm once it has finished its initial start up cycle (30 seconds or so). It is advised you wait until it drops down to idle before you drive it.

The 2.5L seems to be a pretty stout engine. I'd suggest debadging the whole SE thing, because that is VERY Ford-like in marketing and I'm so not a fan of that. But thats entirely up to you.

I really can't think of anything other than the noise at startup that Butch has complained about. You won't have the rubber coated radio buttons (known to peel), and thats the other big gripe. It should be a pretty well built vehicle for you.

[pinky]

i think it was a problem stefano was having a while back, something with his suspension, or steering. I can't really remember all the details.

some kind of clunk in the steering rack...

[carypc]

Thanks for all the responses. I am going to the dealer in the morning to look at a 08 6sp passat and a 08 auto jetta, I really wish vw had more manuals in stock but from what the dealer is telling me they don't have that many unless I want to wait.

[IN-FLT]

i think it was a problem stefano was having a while back, something with his suspension, or steering. I can't really remember all the details.

some kind of clunk in the steering rack...


iirc ... is was related to some bolts stretching ?? He explained it... u can pm unitedgti and he can better explain it, but i'm pretty sure it will be a non issue with the 08's

Welcome to the forum and the area. Depending on your timeline... there is going to be a decent sized car show on the 4th over in Durham... you can really get an idea of the community and things that can be done with the cars there if you come out and visit. :thumbsup:

-Jason

[UnitedGTI]

the clunk i was having is still an unknown problem, so until 40,000 miles i plan to ignore it, when it hits 40 it will go in for weeks for them to fix it but i have not seen many jetta with that problem, also my parents just bought an o8 jetta se and love it, the only problem has been mentioned that the ac can take a while to cool the car which is not so much of a problem living in NC, i dont think i even used the ac more than twice while up there. i would defiantly recommend this car over the others. if you have any more questions feel free to pm or post back in here and i will check it.

[No_B00st]

i have an 05.5 (launch) with the 2.5 and 5 speed, a few mods, about 42,000 miles. Problems so far have been small and warrantied.

-rear brake pads burned through in 10,000 miles (common problem, warrantied)
-Air bag sensor replaced (recall or TSB on this one, warrantied)
-misfire and CEL caused by car sitting for a month and a half with a full tank of gas. Cleared up after burning through the tank of gas, pulled codes and reset, hasn't recurred. I think the gas was just going skanky.

that's about it. gas mileage could be better and power could be greater... but who DOESN'T say that about their car? It's been pretty reliable thus far... got it in June of 2005.

[carypc]

Well,
I ended up getting a 08 passat 2.0. I couldn't resist the 6 speed. I will post pictures later.

[zooyork155]

Nice choice :upyeah:

[Mr. Chan]

i work at a dealership and i haven't really seen that many major issues with mkv 2.5l's. They seem ok.

Ed; not sure about the thumping noise that you are talking about. i haven't heard anything about that. There have been some airbag issues, just some wiring stuff.

I think there were some issues where the stretch bolts on the sub-frame were over torqued at the factory.

Well,
I ended up getting a 08 passat 2.0. I couldn't resist the 6 speed. I will post pictures later.

Nice choice. You should come out to one of the meets, it would be nice to see another B6. Here's mine; lower now though..

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a334/chadcronin/Passat/29jul07/SWR058.jpg

[Mitchd1283]

yeah, i just got mixed up on what ed was saying. on jtbizzy's car he had one bolt that was bent but i ended up replacing all 20 of the damned bolts.