As the title pretty much says, i'm thinking on getting a jetta and wondering what's good/bad...Jetta ??? decent car to start with ??? looking for help or opinons....thx  

the only Jetta worth moding is the turbod GLI.  Other than that you don't have much room for improvement on a Jetta.  I knew a guy that had a sick GLI until he drove it off the canyon he was running and totaled it.  He also fractured his spine and broke both of his legs.  

Yeah the GLI is the only good Jetta. I was going to get one but I decided to go with the xB instead... But the GLI is a great car.  

Older jettas are great cause they can accept a lot of golf gti parts, and many can be found cheap with Vr6's swapped in.

I've got no knowledge on newer jettas (2000+) as I'm fairly certain the Jetta and Golf became very different after mk4.

Overall the golf is where all the aftermarket parts are, most performance Jettas have Gti parts in them, which is very pricey in 2000+ Jettas.  

alright thx...and for the golf is the 4wd platform be a better buy  ?  

Last month euro-tuner took a stock GTI, A Stock R32, and a modified GTI (modified with 10k in mods, to match the price of the R32) These were the results

The AWD platform is fastest on straights and packs the most power. It also has the rear wheels for launching in drag races (during a launch the front tires lift off the ground due to inertia, limiting the drag race potential of front wheel drive cars)

The FWD GTI performed better on the corners (less understeer) It has a 4cyl engine instead of a v6, so it weighs less, also it's front suspension is lighter.

Generally AWD is better than Front wheel drive, and the handling of the AWD golf can be improved. That said, the GTI is 10k cheaper, and 10 grand can make the GTI pack as much power as the R32.

If it's your starting car I'd say go with the FWD golf, the 4cyl is bulletproof while the vr6 can be hard to maintain, the GTI doesn't have to much power for a beginner, and it can be modified to surpass the AWD golf with the money saved.