Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, and Cabriolet, 1990-98 (Chilton's Total Car Care Repair Manual)

Rating:
Summary: Chilton's Manuals are genrally better than this...
Review: I have bought 3-4 Chilton's manuals for my Hondas over the years and was very impressed with them. This Chilton for our VW Cabrio was VERY poor. Luckily I bought mine used for $7. Manual gives ALOT of general information, little of specific to the Cabrio or Volkswagen. No relay layout and no specific cruise control information at all - two specific points of interest for me right now. This book will walk you through general topics like timing belts, brakes, and oil changes.

Where my Honda Chilton manuals were printed on newspaper thin paper to cram as much information as possible into 1 book, this one is printed on normal paper and is thinner than the Honda manuals. Book fails to address hardly any of the Cabrio specific items such as convertible top care, and top replacement.

Do yourself a favor, gather your courage and money and spend the $50 or so on the Bentley manual. You will be much happier with it. Anybody want a Chilton's manual for cheap?

Chris Mills
[e-mail]
'97 Cabrio Highline
'78 VW Westfalia (Corvair powered)
'99 CR-V EX AWD
'65 VW Beetle (Type-IV powered)

Rating:
Summary: Does Not Cover all 1999 Models
Review: Potential buyers should take note that this book does not really cover most VW's that were produced in 1999. It covers only those on the A3 frame, not the A4. The A3 frame was used briefly in 1999 and replaced in 1999 with the A4. VW refers to them both as 1999 models.

Rating:
Summary: Incomplete and contradictory
Review: This book is not up to the standards of any other Haynes book I've ever owned. It is more like the Chilton manuals-poorly illustrated- that created a market for the Haynes manuals in the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Haynes repair manual
Review: This book is not up to the standards of any other Haynes book I've ever owned. It is more like the Chilton manuals-poorly illustrated- that created a market for the Haynes manuals in the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Incomplete and contradictory
Review: This is a poor manual. In many cases, the instructions given even on basic repairs are incomplete (torque specifications missing, for example). It also contradicts itself - the text will say one thing, and the captions on the pictures say the opposite. For example, the instructions for replacing the air filter say that you don't need to disconnect any hoses or wires from the housing in order to remove the housing, but the pictures show you exactly what hoses and wires to remove. Regardless, I was unable to get the air filter housing open at all with these directions; I'm by no means a mechanic, but I think I should be able to change an air filter with a well-written repair manual. Also, the information about the rear washer system isn't detailed enough - I can't find the rear washer reservoir where this book says it is. Perhaps they left out some Golf-specific details and the description of this system only applies to the more-popular Jetta? Hopefully I'll find out soon, because I've returned this book and ordered the Bentley manual, which costs three times as much but will hopefully be complete and consistent.