Used 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Consumer Reviews
Used Jetta for sale
2...
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
Never go without a warranty
gunz20, 07/14/2009
2005 Volkswagen Jetta New TDI 4dr Sedan (1.9L 4cyl Turbodiesel 5M)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
Our first import car. TDI is great for fuel economy. Problems; we hit 20000 miles & had to replace the fuel filter. Could have been bad diesel fuel, but paid because its suggested to be replaced every 20000 miles. Vehicle now has 64000, no problems since. Trunk lid latch doesn't work in cold weather. Got it replaced under warranty, now it doesn't work again and no warranty to help. Most recent, driver side door electrical harness went out, leaving me with no controls, no way lock car or open up the fuel tank door. VW wants $500 to repair. Dealer said passenger door is going out, another $500. Also, we have replaced several, blown exterior light bulbs, some multiple times.
VW Jetta Wagon TDI, great car
BrendaJGP, 10/23/2004
2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDI 4dr Wagon (1.9L 4cyl Turbodiesel 5A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
My Jetta is a great car to drive and I think it is a very safe car. On the Jetta I was able to get a sun roof and side air curtains, some other cars either did not have the air curtains available or not avail with a sun roof. I have side airbags as well. The milage is great and the ride is peppy when I need it. The heated seats get a lot warmer and warm up faster than my husbands S-10 quad cab.the front seats have good leg room, the back seats are OK, a little more leg room would be nice, but I test drove worse. I like the fact that I have 3 head rests in the back seat and that all the head rests are in a good position for safety.
Jetta GLI
Robert, 03/05/2007
2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 1.8T 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
12 of 14 people found this review helpful
I purchased my car used with 31,000 miles. Kudos to VW for adding the 6-seepd tranny, larger brakes, stiffer springs, body kit and Recaro seats! This Jetta is definitely worthy of the GLI badge. The suspension is on the firm side, but it's great fun to drive. It is very comfortable on my commutes. As a previous reviewer also mentioned, the front lip hangs fairly low, so you need to exercise caution when parking or when going up ramps. I love the car so far.
Good daily commuter car. Not fun.
ajt36, 08/07/2014
updated 08/07/2017
2005 Volkswagen Jetta New 2.5 4dr Sedan (2.5L 5cyl 6A)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
We've owned our 2.5L Jetta since new, but I've been driving it since about 44K miles. Now has 127K. This is a well-built, full-featured, and generally dependable daily commuter. New it was $27K and it has some features missing on my wife's $50K 2011 Audi A4. While it is a good "A to B" car, there is nothing fun or inspiring about this car. If that is not a priority in your car ownership, then no worries, the interior amenities will more than make up for it. But if you want something that's fun on the on/off ramps, and inspires confidence when you go to pass, then the 2.5L 5 cyl. is not your engine. Go with the 2.0 Turbo. Just regular maintenance, but some inconvenient repairs. UPDATE 8/7/2017 (since Edmunds asked for one): I got rid of this car at about 156K last year (maybe, April/May 2016). It was having some form of spark/fuel issue and I ended up donating it to charity. Presumably they figured out what was wrong with it and sold it because they sent me a check for a $1,000. Beside that issue, I had the oil separator valve go bad not to long before that. There is an aftermarket replacement part, but VW has integrated it into the valve cover for some strange reason, so the "dealer" repeater is to replace the valve cover for $300.00. I wasn't playing around with a cheap aftermarket part so (unhappily) paid for the valve cover. The only other two major issues with the car was the one electrical cooling fan for the radiator went bad (which I replaced myself - not terrible difficult). Earlier on its its life (right after warranty expired), the oil pan had been leaking. We kept having it checked and asking dealer to fix it, but they couldn't seem to find the problem until AFTER the warranty expired when it was a $1,000 job. After we complained, they did fix it under warranty "this time." Glad we documented it as a problem with the dealer. Also now that I think about it, the driver's side fender rusted out underneath and a small patch of rust started on the driver's rocker panel. However, even almost 10 years in, VW covered it under the rust protection warranty. But still, the car did start rusting out when it was pretty well taken care of (waxed at least once or twice a year). So, overall, it was a very good, but not great car. I've owned other cars that required more non-routine maintenance and others with less, but if I'm going to have oddball problems in a car, it needs to be a fun driver.
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
Unable to resolve problems
Unhappy, 05/21/2005
2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 1.8T 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6M)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
All new cars may have problems but, it is how the dealership and company handle these problems that show the mark of true concern for the consumer. I own a 2005 Jetta GLI which has been in the shop seven times in less than 7,000 miles and the problem is still unresolved. The Volkswagen of America claims the problem belongs to the dearship and the dealership state the problem belongs to the company. The only communication available to the consumer is a customer representive who regardless of the customer's comments relies strictly on what is stated by the service manager. The service manager is basically in charge of all problems involving Volkwagen products.
2...