Initially car would cranksmoothly but not start. I cahnged plugs and wires and it started right up. Three days later i am driving along and it spits and sputters, backfires and stalled.

The first thing I would want to know is where the fluid is going.
If the transmission has an electrical problem with a sensor or solenoid, you should have a check engine light with a trouble code.

if there is a brain box on firewall there is a white ballast resistor next to it that has quit working replace ballast resistor.

Hi Keith, my collegs are being right but now you have to change tappet cover gasket.That will stop the oil consumption.Change the spark plugs as well.Please.

there shouldn't be gas out of the tailpipe, a bad catalyst,bad spark plugs,,wires ,modules.

Probably a loose or corroded wire. Tell the mechanic to check the main wiring harness. Simply disconnecting and reconnnecting all the plugs might fix it.

Somewhere along the the line you may have a fuel blockage or a good dose of water in your fuel tank.Check the water in tank 1st.Add 1 litre of metholated spirits to every 20 litres of fuel.This will allow the water to break down and be burnt through the motor over time.Do this twice.If this does not work,there may be a glob of **** in the fuel tank that blocks the pickup.If this is the problem,the tank needs to be taken out and cleaned.I hope this is a start to get you back on the road.

I recently had a similar problem. I got my car scanned and needed a new catalytic converter. If its already starting to spit and sputter, you probably have 3-6 months to get this done. Mine plugged up one day, and just flat out would not drive anymore. This cost of this repair was about (i recommend changing the spark plugs and wires also) $675....pretty costly. could get a lot more expensive the longer u let it go. Does your jetta run cold, in cold temp? (between 25-40 degrees) if so the thermostat probably took out the converter.

We had an intermittent dieing problem. Worse when the weather was worse. The coil was cracked and shorting itself out intermittently on a rivet.

I experienced the same this last week to find out it was the coil pack. My technician replaced the coil, and told me that this was a common problem withe the 96 jetta.

sounds like a starter promblem smack the starter with a hammer a few times then try it if it starts you have a short in the arnuture replace the starter