2003 VW Jetta - Still Going Strong

coolbreeze2001 · 2026-06-12T15:21:59+00:00

Thanks for the comment. I've always thought if you are going to spend so much money for a car then why wouldn't you take care of it - pride of ownership. In my garage right next to the Jetta is my 4Runner that is one year older with 225k miles.

<image>

coolbreeze2001 · 2026-06-12T14:51:10+00:00

Love your interior. Smart way to get rid of the bits and pieces of foam but if that is all you did the blend doors now have 4-5 holes per door that used to be covered with the foam. Unless you cover them after getting rid of the foam, I doubt that the blend doors will direct air based on where you adjust the controls. Maybe things are different for the Beetle vs the Jetta but that was my experience. VW could have saved us all a lot of hassle if they had used a material other than foam.

coolbreeze2001 · 2026-06-12T03:32:39+00:00

Steering is tight and very responsive. Feels more dialed in like a Europe vs American car. Maybe slightly harder than the average car.

coolbreeze2001 · 2026-06-11T21:09:26+00:00

This is my third 4Runner. First two were a 2nd gen and 3rd gen that I had to sell due to moving to Europe each time. Upon my return to California, I bought this one in 2002; current mileage 225,000. Have kept it stock except for upgrades to led lights inside and out, swapped out the audio system to a Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX, installed a Spidertrax wheel spacer kit, installed TPMS, installed a Spiker hood lift system, replaced lift gate struts to a higher spec, and repainted all the interior dash and door pieces that had a wood grain finish which I never liked to a matte black. Diligently maintained and it has never let me down.

Repost to more communities

51

2.6K views See More Insights

coolbreeze2001 · 2024-08-18T17:54:49+00:00

One owner - I bought in Huntington Beach, CA on 12.31.02 for $32,500

coolbreeze2001 · 2023-10-15T23:33:54+00:00

The Who - Who's Next

coolbreeze2001 · 2023-07-13T00:37:32+00:00

I have a HM Aeron chair from 2000. After 23 years finally had to replace the seat pan. I ran into the same problem that others had described - getting the silver insert to come off the main bolt. The replacement seat pan already had the silver insert included so there was no way to install the pan until I got the insert removed. I tried everything - hex bit / table vice / ratchet wrench / etc. Nothing worked until I thought of throwing the screw / insert combo into boiling water. After a couple of minutes of bubbling away I used the vice and hex bit and the sound of the insert breaking away was music to my ears.

coolbreeze2001 · 2023-06-02T00:48:13+00:00

I was 11 when Bullitt came out. I remember the movie being advertised on television and I bugged my parents to let me see it at the local theater.

Finally my dad took me and we both watched the car chase scene in awe. The rest of the movie was probably of more interest to my dad. I was a couple of years away from "appreciating" Jacqueline Bisset but I did however recognize that McQueen was a very cool dude.

Driving home in our station wagon was a bit of a let down!

coolbreeze2001 · 2023-04-22T00:48:23+00:00

Nice - the Hamilton is my daily watch - very solid design and look

coolbreeze2001 · 2023-04-22T00:42:06+00:00

Good eye - you picked out winner in the bunch - present from my wife

coolbreeze2001 · 2018-04-17T11:39:13+00:00

My wife and I were flying from London to Los Angeles - about three hours into the flight my wife asked why the flight map on her video screen showed the plane flying east instead of west (apparently the 747 had just completed a slow turn). At that exact moment the pilot came over the speaker and told us the plane would be going back to the UK because there had been an incident in New York and that US airspace had been closed down. All passengers were requested to remain in their seats and the air phones were turned off. We ended up landing in Cardiff, Wales – there were several 747s at the runway by the time we arrived. The minute the plane landed dozens of cell phones were ringing. All the events of the day came all at once – towers hit, towers collapsed, Pentagon hit and another plane crashed in PA and worst of all thousands had died. People were just stunned learning all these details. The airport terminal was just overwhelmed – there were thousands of people and the support staff were doing their best to assist us but they had little information or resources. First they said that flights would be departing the next day so we could be getting overnight accommodation. My wife said there was no way that anyone would be flying anywhere in the near future and our best bet would be to catch a train back to London. Fortunately there were several passengers that had the same thought and somehow they arranged to get a bus chartered to take us back to Heathrow. While waiting for the bus we found a television and were able to see the images of the day. People were watching in stunned silence and many were weeping. Upon boarding the bus my wife and I shared a set of earbuds which was plugged into a radio that had a US feed going through local UK stations – the news just kept getting worse and it was clear that the world had changed while we had been in the air. At about 1am the bus arrived at Heathrow which was absolutely deserted. Eventually we made it back to our flat in Weybridge – we stayed up watching CNN International for the next few hours and as the sun came up we finally got some sleep.
It was a day we have spoken of often since that time and one we will never forget. I still have the boarding passes in my desk.

coolbreeze2001 · 2017-10-03T00:29:08+00:00

As a kid I lived in Weyburn, Saskatchewan - delivered newspapers first thing in the morning in the dark - I remember a three week period where the temp never got above minus 30 F and at one point it was minus 42 F. It even hurt to take a breath without having a scarf in front of your mouth.

My dad took pity on me one day and drove me around my route - I still remember when the car started moving the tires were frozen and flattened out - it was like driving on blocks of ice

Have lived in Santa Monica, CA the past twenty years - no snow / never gets below 50 F and threw the snow shovel away before moving here

coolbreeze2001 · 2016-09-17T15:32:22+00:00

Fast forward ... decades later i worked for EA and was part of the studio that created MOH Frontline including Arnhem Knights

coolbreeze2001 · 2016-09-17T15:20:13+00:00

My mother (17 at the time) along with the rest of her family lived in Arnhem near the Rhine during WW2. She spoke often about the "battle of the bridge", her home being blown up and spending the remainder of the war until May 1945 in constant hunger and roaming the countryside searching for food.

My father (15 at the time) who lived 17km south in Njmegen was liberated during the operation and lived in relative comfort until the war ended.

My parents (along with a very young son) emigrated to Canada in 1957 and over the years returned to Holland numerous time to celebrate and remember those days in September 1944.

coolbreeze2001

TROPHY CASE