2004 Volkswagen Jetta

I purchased my vehicle brand new in 2004. It had 11 miles on it when I bought it and today has nearly 90,000. Overall, I have had no problems with my vehicle, some minor repairs needed along the way, which anyone should expect. This vehicle gets great gas mileage, but like many cars, the longer you have your vehicle the more mileage seems to decrease. It seems Volkswagens, even the "new" ones seem to run a little bit louder than other cars. I've noticed also in the last couple of years that the interior of the vehicle rattles with normal driving. When my vehicle was only a few months new, I brought it on a road trip up the coast trailing Hurricane Charley. When we arrived at the beach town we were to be staying, we found a pretty scary situation for the owner of a compact (and brand new) car. The roads were flooded and very few were passable. We ended up at an intersection at which I needed to pass. The cars on the other side of the road were getting through in what looked like a few inches of standing water. I went through and as soon as I passed the stop sign I realized that there must have been a pothole or chunk taken out of the road underneath me. I watched as my headlight dipped slightly underneath the water and I felt my car stall the tiniest bit. I made it through the intersection and thankfully had no problems related to that incident, but I was so thankful for my car's willingness to keep going! As I said I have had no need for major repairs. Within the first few months of owning my car I started to notice that the molding on the back rear bumper had popped out a little bit. Upon my inspection, it appeared as though the plastic "latch" which hooks inside the bumpers plastic "hook" had broken. The dealership wanted a lot of money for a repair and refused to fix it under a warranty. Nothing a little superglue didn't fix. I have also had warranty work performed for an errant EPC light. Turned out it was a faulty sensor. Recently the check engine light came on, I took it to the auto part store and pulled the code which indicated a temperature system failure and was charged for a thermostat sensor replacement. Within a week, the light came on again and enlisted family to help rather than pay the same service shop. Replaced the thermostat itself this time and also unhooked the battery to reset the error light and all is fixed. I plan on keeping my car until it doesn't run anymore. Which unfortunately will probably be awhile. Unfortunately because my next car will hopefully be another VW- maybe a Touraeg. Pros- Economical, long-lasting, sturdy, roomy inside, large trunk Cons- Maintenance can be expensive if performed at VW or German-specialty shops Recommended for - parents, college kids, high school kids