Used 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Consumer Reviews
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NO PROBLEMS AT ALL
Dana Ostrom, 02/29/2016
updated 12/16/2024
2013 Volkswagen Jetta SE 4dr Sedan w/Convenience, Prod. End 4/13 (2.5L 5cyl 5M)
30 of 32 people found this review helpful
Our beautiful blue Jetta has 31000 miles on it. The whole time we have owned it, we've had only one recall, and it was fixed promptly. We had the light switch in the trunk go out and Fowler VW fixed it within 2 hours. This car rides so smooth on the freeway with no engine noise coming into the cab. As a matter of fact, we were going up Raton pass to Denver last year and didn't even realize we were doing 125 mph. Still no engine or road noise inside. The one thing in this car that sold the car was the lumbar support. The car was for my wife so she had to be satisfied. We drove the Jetta, a Corrolla, a Sonata and a Mini. The only requirement I had was 4 doors. The only thing I would say that needs to be changed on the VW's made in Mexico is the turn signals in back. This is supposed to be a world-class car. The turn signals should be amber as they are when made in Germany. Mexican VW's have red turn signals. As of Sept., 2016, there are STILL no problems with our Jetta. I have never been more pleased with a car that I have purchased new. When I go to buy another car, I may try to find another 2013 Jetta because I like the 5-cylinder engine. UPDATE--Sept 2017 Still enjoy the car and now had a small problem. The horn system went out so no horn at any time. Was fixed within 2 hours by Fowler VW and only cost $100.00 since we had the extended warranty. Still want to keep the car. I HAVE driven the new Jetta's but don't like the 4-cylinder, no matter gas mileage it gets. My next Jetta WILL be a used one that has the 5-cylinder! UPDATE 3/7/2018 Still have the car and will drive it into the ground. I'll retire with this one. Volkswagen has so much going for it. I wish more Americans thought so. UPDATE 9/2018 The original battery died last month and had to replace. Still have 2 of the 4 original tires. Does my Jetta have a blessed life? Will I still keep it? Our second car has 225,000 on it and nothing more than scheduled maintainence (2001 Sentra) I am now actively looking for another 2012-2013 Jetta. Update 3/11/19 Not many miles my wife hasn't been using it much. One odd problem has come up. The daytime driving lights keep going out. I've had to replace both of them twice at different times. I can't get to them to replace them from in the engine compartment. The dealer must put it on the rack and get them from below. Next time one goes out, it stays out! No more money to the dealer for something that SHOULD be easy to replace! Update 9/12/2019 One small thing went bad in the interim. The actuator for the gas tank cover went out. That means no matter what you do, it won't open. We had to go to the dealer and have a new one installed. We have 3 Volkswagen dealers in metro Oklahoma City. Normally this actuator is NOT an in-stock item at any dealers that Fowler VW knows of. Luckily, someone ordered one and never showed up to get it. You better hope that IF this goes bad, you have a full tank of gas. Other than that, no problems. This is STILL the car my wife loves. Update3/14/20 RECALLS! Recall letter for a micro switch, but we don't have the part so we are just letting you know. We'll send you a letter when we actually have the part in stock! How stupid is that! Oh, and it took 6 months from the first letter to the second! Other than this problem, the car seems flawless. The only thing that has gone wrong is the automatic part on the drivers window. Sometimes it goes down with one touch, sometimes it doesn't. But hell, it's a 2013. Something has to go wrong. Oh yeah! One other thing! As you can tell, we love this car. I spent $1200.00 recently to fix all the door dings and scratches on the driver's door and rear panel. My wife was happy since she drives it!3/21 69,500 miles Fixed the window problem. Blown circuit. Now, the windshield sprayer doesn't work. Wipers do but not the sprayer. What do you expect in an 8 year old car. Something bound to go wrong. Still positive about the car. Back to Fowler VW to fix it. No one else can fix it so quickly. I COULD shop prices for repair between the 3 Volkswagen dealers in metro OKC, but will stay with who we bought it. 10/1/21 4/7/22 $5343.37 That's what I just spent on my Jetta, my 9 year old Jetta. Wouldn't start one day, although fine the day before. Ended up after trial and error with replacing a control module and ABS control module, and a battery. Of course, parts weren't at the dealer. Of course, it took 3 weeks to be completed. They let me use a 2021 new GLI for a courtesy car. Short critique on that car. Don't like the 4-cyl sound compared to my 5-cyl. Cheesey imprint on the plastic below the radio where the CD player should be. If you're playing the radio loud, and turn the engine off, when you restart the volume is still up. Unlike my 2013, where the volume is automatically low when you start the engine. 10/11/22 mileage 77,350. After the big expenditure earlier in the year, the car is STILL running well. Won't give it up. 10/14/23 81580 Started looking for new Jetta. I'll keep our current one as a work car. Don't know what color it will be because the blue they have now is just UGLY! Will buy an SE because it has the lumbar support. Will have the engine cut-off permanantly disabled. Can't stand that feature! Between OKC and the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I have plenty of dealers to choose from. Wish me luck!!4/25/24 87,000 miles Finally talked my wife into a new car. Looked at the new Jetta. The rear seat seems to be smaller in the new ones. So that was out! Looked at many brands but ended up with a 2024 Taos. Good rear seat room. The added bonus was the front of the driver's seat could be tilted down to relieve the pain in my wife's legs. So it's now in the garage while the Jetta is my "hand-me-down"
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8 Month, 25,000 Mile Review
bailey08, 04/30/2014
2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 4dr Sedan w/Premium, Navigation (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
19 of 21 people found this review helpful
I traded my 2004 Infiniti for a new Jetta TDI 8 months ago and currently have 25k miles on it. I bought it because of the gas mileage since I commute/travel 3k miles a month. With that said, I average between 38-40 mpg on my commute to and from work. Volkswagen advertises that you can get 609 miles to one tank and that is an understatement. I made it home from NC to the NJ on one tank of gas: 625 miles. (avg speed 70 mph). The DSG transmission is a lot of fun to drive. It offers every-day "Drive" mode or the more exciting "S" mode or for maximum power, you can switch to manual mode. If you are looking for a daily driver/commuter car that offers much more, you should definitely consider.
2013 Volkswagen Jetta for sale near you
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- TDI Diesel SedanMSRP: $5,30092 mi away
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JETTA TDI is the best car i have ever owned.
rp4042, 03/20/2015
2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
I bought my jetta tdi on July 30 2013 and have loved it ever since. i have 27904 miles on it and have not had a single problem with it. i consistently get over 50mpg driving to work in the morning. the return trip home is stop and go about half the way and I average 40-42mpg.to obtain the best mpg try to keep rpm at 2000 rpm or less. when i have the car loaded with hundreds of lbs of gear and an additional person and driving 75-80 mph i still get between 45-47mpg. with the extra cost of diesel over gas i still saved $1500.00 over what it cost to run my old 2 liter gas trade in for 20,000 miles.
Fuel Efficiency Without Sacrificing Torque
Marcelo Murillo, 09/08/2015
updated 03/10/2021
2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 4dr Sedan w/Premium, Prod. End 4/13 (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
15 of 17 people found this review helpful
I've own this Jetta since December 2013 when I bought it "used" with about 10K on the odometer, it now has close to 130k miles on the odometer. Here's what I think so far. Pros: -Handling -Lots of torque, low end torque, the useful type. -Fuel economy -#dieselgate (yes may be a con as well but this is more of a fault on VW than the car design and I received a juicy settlement from VW and Bosch) -Build quality, It has no squeaks or rattles, paint is chipped from road debris but not faded, no rust (I live in Florida, car is garaged 90% of the time) -DSG Transmission makes driving a pleasure and not boring (see cons as well) -Still have the original brakes, rotors and shocks, no replacement needed yet. -Cabin noise levels are very quiet for this segment -Sound system (I have the Fender edition one) -Interior design, it has aged very well and does not look outdated, simple German design nothing gimmicky about it. -interior materials seem to be holding up well to use, interior is tan colored and it does not look worn out, I do take care of my cars and clean them regularly. -Trunk space is decent for this segment, we've taken long road trips and fit everything we needed. -stable at high speeds, makes you feel safe on the highway. Cons: -Proper maintenance is expensive compared to my wife's Toyota Scion iM for example -Diesel Maintenance is more expensive than the regular gas version -DSG transmission can be jerky at low speeds -VW dealership maintenance departments are awful in my area, stay away. Find a trusted euro car shop instead. -Ride quality may be uncomfortable to some that are used to softer tuned cars, this car is tuned the German way which is fine with me. -lacks tech such as a backup camera and apple car play (this was 2013 after all) -OEM headlights are awful, not very bright. Upgrade yours ASAP -back seat space may be limited if you have more than 1 kid, specially with rear facing car seats -my wife complains the rear seat is too low and may give you a backache if you are taller. Scheduled Maintenance, problems and replaced parts: -AC compressor went out at 100K miles, replaced for $1200 -Alternator went out at around 115K miles, replaced for $600 -Tensioner pully and service belts replaced at around 100K miles -2 battery replacements, one under warranty early on and one at around 100K miles -Horn replaced at around 20k miles, under warranty at no cost -ignition switch replaced at around 80k miles, a recall and under warranty no cost to me. -Scheduled maintenance replacement of timing belt and water pump at 110K miles. $1200 - As of 115k miles the front passenger lock seems to be sticking, sometimes it will not unlock. Per shop the motor may be going bad, recommended replacement about 2 years ago but still working on and off, have not replaced yet. Shop quoted me $250 -wipers motor making noise when in use, shop recommended replacement 2 years ago, not done yet, still working so far. -regular maintenance is every 10k miles or 1 year. lowest $100 for a regular oil change and up to $300 if full service needed (DSG service+oil change+fuel filter) Conclusion: Overall it has been a pleasant experience owning this car, at near 130K miles it is still rides and drives like new, maintenance is not cheap but if you do it properly you can drive this car for a long time. I plan on keeping mine for at least another 100K miles if possible maybe more, not having a car payment and excellent fuel economy outweighs the maintenance costs. I will recommend this car to anyone that is willing to follow the scheduled maintenance for this car but if you are used to cars that require little maintenance or you just want to put gas in it and go I would suggest getting a boring but less expensive to maintain Toyota Corollas or Honda Civics.
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- Performance
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- Comfort
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Great so far
kristin124, 08/07/2013
2013 Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4dr Sedan w/Navigation (2.5L 5cyl 5M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I've only had my 2013 Jetta SEL for two months, but it's been pretty great so far. I like that it's got a sporty look inside and out, and I like the leather interior. The acceleration is pretty good for 170HP and the ride is smooth overall. My main complaints are some cheap aspects of the interior - for the price I paid and having the premium trim line, I can't believe it doesn't have power seat adjustment. Also, to tilt the chair back, you have to pump this plastic pedal up and down (tacky). Also, even when you move the front seats all the way back, there isn't enough leg room for tall people over 6 feet. Not much head room for tall people either. Could have designed that better!