Customer Reviews

VW Golf & Jetta 1993 thru 1998 (Haynes Repair Manual)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This manual is almost less useful than the owners manual that comes with the car. I have this and the Bentley manual. This one tells you to take your vehicle to a dealer service department. The Bentley manual tells you how to fix the problem. I chose to fix the problem and throw away this book.

Spend the extra money and buy a Bentley Service Manual. I did not purchase the Haynes Manual because as I looked through it at the local auto parts store I was sorely disappointed as it did not have the data that I needed; it's suitable for someone who wants to learn basics with regard to their vehicle. I bought the Bentley.

Haynes manuals are okay, but not the complete story as in official service manuals (Bentley Publishing). Got this as a temporary information manual until I got the official manual, helped a little bit...didn't really tell me what I wanted to know about the front suspension. The wiring diagrams are terrible.

I disagree with the second reviewer. I own three Volkswagens. I also own both the reasonably-priced 93-97 Haynes manual and the much-more-expensive 93-99 Bentley Service manual. Neither is complete. Neither contains scan code information. Both generally fail to tell me what I want to know. But, given 17 years of DIY maintenance (my '93 Golf has 197,000 miles on it), I'd say that the Haynes has proven much more useful. The problem with both books is that they were written before the fact, not after the fact, so they don't even begin to anticipate all of the weird things that will invariably go wrong with your car. For that information, you need to search the VW forums. Given that real answers can generally be found there (because each and every VW owner experiences the same problems sooner or later), I'd say the Haynes is more than enough reference manual for most people. Save your money. Buy the Haynes. Also recommended: Get a VAG-COM cable for your laptop and learn to use it.

It's a great book for people who know little about cars, as it has pictures and all that. It's not a book for dummies, though. It won't have a picture of every little step you need to do; it mostly gives you guidelines and safety procedure, bolt torque amounts, and etc. The wiring diagrams are very detailed. Some things, like fixing the sunroof, it'll say is beyond the scope of the book and to take the car to a dealer. Other things it'll assume are simple, like finding the oxygen sensor. It won't fit the car exactly (it thinks cars have only one oxygen sensor...), but it assumes some technical know-how and inquiry on your part.

Nice book, and worth the price. It won't baby you, so be prepared to learn...