Dear BHPians,
Happy to announce that my dad's Jetta turned 9 today. It has been a very exciting and trouble-free ownership experience. Yes, there have been some hiccups, but those are something which have been faced by other owners too.
Why Volkswagen JETTA ?
In 2003, My Dad purchased Maruti Baleno which was a very rare car at that time. It was one of the few sedans available under 10 lakhs. One look and dad was hell bent on it. Few things which made this car standout were
1. Engine - It had a 1.6 NA Petrol Engine which was silky smooth and loved to rev. Performance was actually better due to light weight.
2. Ride Quality - A rare car budget car that offered exemplary ride. Potholes and expansion joints were not felt inside and suspension was very silent in operation.
3. AC - It simply had the best AC in any car at that time, even after owning many cars, my dad still praises AC of the Baleno. Only car that has come close to it is the Ford Ecosport which we had from 2013 to 2018.
Baleno was sold in 2008, had covered 39k kms.
Fast forward to 2011, he wanted something similar but of a higher segment.
We had decided on Skoda Laura until Volkswagen announced launch of new MK6 Jetta.
Volkswagen India launched the 6th Gen Jetta on August 14th 2011.
On September 14th, 2011 We booked Jetta, chose the Comfortline Diesel as the variant (There was no petrol option that time). Toffee Brown, Deep Black Pearl, Platinum Grey were the choice of colors. After 3 weeks, dealer called saying that the chosen colors cannot be had before November due to shortage of kits. Dealer offered Candy White, also this unit was from Germany, post October the kits would start arriving from Mexico. Dad decided to look at this. Car was physically inspected at stockyard and there were some surprises in store.
This car was a Comfortline Variant but had few additional features which were not mentioned in Official Brochure. They were, Chrome finish on front air dam and Cruise Control. All said and done, the payment was made after 2 days and the car was ready for delivery. Finally on 12th October 2011, car was bought home.
Just 10 days after purchase, the car stopped abruptly . Immediately called the Service Center and a Flat bed truck came and car was taken to Workshop. Post Diagnosis, A wiring harness inside the steering wheel column was the culprit and it was replaced free of cost.
Car was handed back to us within 2 days of the incident.
Till 2018, the car was running on original battery and one fine day, it gave up. Replaced the OEM battery with one from Exide.
Same year, the Roof Headliner sagged and it is same till today. Have decided to live with it.
In 2019, Low coolant warning popped up, checked the coolant reservoir and found it empty. Again called the Service Center and the RSA guys called me and the car was yet again taken back to workshop for 2nd time. Next day, car was checked thoroughly and this time it was the Water Pump that had corroded inside. It was replaced and 75k kms Service was done.
In between these hiccups, VW had this campaign of Diesel Software Update which was done free of cost to all Diesel affected cars. I was very strict about this and had decided not to get it done after reading the posts here. I knew Volkswagen will not offer Jetta anymore so i didn't want them to mess with our car. During 60k and 75k service, i had threatened the Service Department of unforgettable consequences if they messed with our car. During both service, i was there beside the car full day, yes that's how i was particular about our car.
Thankfully, the service guys were prompt and followed my orders and they made sure i wouldn't make it difficult for them to live their life.
Post these incidents, the car has been a great companion.
It is One Simply Outstanding piece of Engineering.
More than looks and features, its the Engine Refinement, Performance, Dynamics and the Comfort that the Jetta does exceptionally well. Anyone who has driven one will want one, anyone who has owned one doesn't want to sell one.
Original tires were Goodyear which were grippy but were on noisier side. At 33k kms, changed the tires to Michelin Primacy 3ST which are as good as new even today after being run for 60k kms.
Now for the surprising part, Believe it or not, the car is running on
Original Clutch & Brake Pads
Let me see how long will these last.
Lastly, if we decide to sell this car, there aren't suitable replacements for it. Sure, there are very good options upwards of 60 lakhs, but i am not sure if dad will spend that much on car which happens to be consumable. Therefore, Have decided to keep it.
Cheers