What do you think about this '98 VW Jetta?

[mechanicx]

I just saw this car on craiglist http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/2971405899.html. I haven't looked at it in person or anything, and there's not a lot of info eg milage. I wouldn't mind having a cheap manual transmission car that's at least somewhat sporty to play around with. They mentioned overheating and that the car "needs TLC". So I'm thinking it's probably got all kinds of issues and is pure junk. And why does the rear quarters paint look better than the front? Probably been wrecked.

What's are these vintage Jettas like in general from a driving and owning basis? I don't have a lot of experience with older VWs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I think the car worth more than $750 in engine parts and body parts.

 

[mechanicx]

Yeah I figure if it will even start and drive down the road I can probably get my money back selling it. I'm just thinking it probably drives really rough and has a blown headgasket.

 

[antiqueshell]

I own the Golf version of the car, they are exactly the same for the most part except the Jetta has the trunk.

These cars are really durable and can be fun too if maintained REASONABLY. It is also pretty cheap to service these if you find a good independent mechanic. Lots of parts cheap and plenty of small jobs are easily done by a DIYer.

After basic maintenance, the best thing you could do is invest in a good after market set of struts and springs (Sachs or Bilstein, or Eibach..they make the car nearly as fun as a full blown Golf GTI.

 

[dishdude]

Looks like a $300 car to me.

 

[ddean]

Hard telling until you check it out. Over in the Dayton Craigslist the number one problem is that most of the sellers are not clean and sober. The number two problem is that the reminder of them are idiots who think that a totaled out late model Lumina is worth $1000 with a bad engine.

 

[Newreet]

A question to ask yourself is if you enjoy taking on a project such as this, have the time to do it, have the space to do it, have the tools to do things, and are willing to put a small chunk of money into replacing and fixing things.

The description and pictures don't tell us much. Not even the mileage. I can see the paint on the driver's side rear fender/quarterpanel (and maybe the trunk and rear bumper too) looks shinier than the paint on the driver's side doors and the front end of the car. That probably means the car was repaired after being in a collision.

I once bought a used car for next to nothing that was advertised as "needing TLC." In my case this was a car that was bought new and over the years/miles it was minimally maintained, had never once been washed or waxed, the inside never cleaned or vacuumed, the seats and carpet were extremely dirty, the tires were dry rotted, there were lots of scrapes and scratches and a few dents on the outside, etc. I spent months and probably close to $1000 as I cleaned everything up, did lots of maintenance, and repaired/replaced a bunch of things. In the end the car did perform a lot better and look a whole lot better - especially on the inside - but the car still didn't compare to others from the same year/make/model that had been properly cared for. Then I realized the AC didn't work and that was the last straw so I ended up selling it and about breaking even. Most of the time it was a fun project. If I were to do it again then I'd make sure it was a car that was worth doing.

 

[cptbarkey]

from lots of experience buying CL cars, your chances of getting a good deal on someone who doesn't know the value of their selling vehicle is very very slim.

 

[toneydoc]

Looks like a wrecked vehicle. He is asking 750. Probably a piece of junk on its last bit of rubber, so to speak. If you have time and are looking for a project with problems, you have found it. I hope you are a mechanic from your name. Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

 

[Audios]

They can be expensive if youre not a DIY type guy. They are easy cheap relatively simple motors, Im assuming its a 2.0 in this one. The major downfall will be the timing belt/major service, recommended about every 75k. The cars will run forever if you stay on top of them, my friend has 310k on his 2000 2.0, I regularly service 2 of them over 150k. Common issues
Tbelt/service/water pump/belts-1200-1500 (rough guesstimate)
balljoints are a common knocking in front noise. The manual trans have been known to shoot the reverse idler shaft through thr transmissions, a loud rattling will be heard when engaged and moving. 2.0s are also known to knock from cyl 1 ever so slightly until warm. Struts and front strut mounts are also a weak suspension point, they feel sloppy over time, as well as motor and trans mounts. Id almost recommend a Honda civic over it if you were looking for a beater to not take care of.

 

[nitehawk55]

Hmmmmm , it's been overheating ?......beware , it could be simple or an indication of things gone bad...very bad

 

[Rand]

All I have to say is anything over 8 years old and VW will have electrical issues 95% of the time.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: ddean
Hard telling until you check it out. Over in the Dayton Craigslist the number one problem is that most of the sellers are not clean and sober. The number two problem is that the reminder of them are idiots who think that a totaled out late model Lumina is worth $1000 with a bad engine.


Funny you mentioned Dayton as I saw a car there that looked like a good deal, but I'm figuring the car has problems that I'll have to find. I don't really feel like driving 60 mins one way to be dissapointed.

 

[johnachak]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Looks like a $300 car to me.


+1 I wonder how bad the sludge is?

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: Rand
All I have to say is anything over 8 years old and VW will have electrical issues 95% of the time.


+1

My GF's Beetle has quite a collection of electrical issues.

The 2.0 is a pretty tough motor, but if it's been driven overheated, it could be toast.

 

[mechanicx]

Lots of good replies, thanks. I probably won't seriously consider this car or bother looking at it. I don't really want a manual car for a daily driver, but an inexpensive and somewhat sporty driving manual car was something I'd be interested in playing around.

I can fix about anything on a car but this car looks like it would need a lot of work to make it worth driving. And the last thing I want is another car to have to work on. I'd probably have to spend a lot more money to get a car that isn't totally hacked up and is in decent shape and not needing a lot of work.

Trying to find a good used car deal especially from private sellers on craigslist is a big headache. They are spread out all of the state and you have to play detective to figure out what you're dealing with. What you need is a dealer licenses and to go to the dealer auction lol.

 

[mechanicx]

This seller wrote me back this,

"It has approx 186000 miles. It may have a blown headgasket, not sure. It has ran well for me until it began overheating. We got it to stop by removing the thermostat because we thought it needed a new one, but then it had no heat. When the thermostat was replaced it began over heating again. Like I said, it's ran well for me but def needs some TLC to get back in good condition"

So the vehicle is sort of high miles and probably has a blown headgasket or warped head at least. Looks like the owner overheated it and now wants to dump it. Thing car's probably is worth $300.

 

[hypervish]

I think there's better deals out there to be had, for instance my dads beater 97' accord 4 cylinder, I picked it up for only $200. There was nothing wrong with it, it had 165k miles when I bought it 2 & 1/2 years ago. It now has 219k miles (yeah, my dad drive's a lot). The only repair that I've had to do was the radiator, which I did this past winter when it sprung a leak. Best part is, it get's 30 mpg on the highway, not bad for something of that size, and being that old.

 

[mechanicx]

I'm considering going to the auto auction. Everything on craiglist seems high milage and ragged out and not all that good of a deal.

The problem is I don't know much about the auction. I think you have to pay $150 to bid till the end of the year. You can't drive the cars only start them, and the website did not say you could return a car if you find it has a serious defect. The dealer has their own auction days and the public theirs. So those with dealer license probably get the best cars and best deals. the auction is privately owned. Does anyone know if good deals can still be had at auctions nowadays?

 

[nitehawk55]

It's never what you pay for a car , it's what you have to put into it to get and keep it in good condition .

I got lucky a few weeks ago and got a 2006 Hyundai Accent with 53K km (that's about 30K miles) . Original owner and the issue was the transmission had been acting up and would no longer shift (4sp auto)and was in 3rd gear (limp mode) . I checked the transmission fluid and it was clean plus the check engine light was on . These folks indicated that the Hyundia dealer they purchased it from really couldn't tell them what was wrong with it and it could need a rebuild...Hmmmm .

Anyway , I bought it for $2000 and took it to a local transmission guy who knows his stuff . First thing he did was check the trouble code...shift solinoid/module...OK , leave it with him and the next day he calls and says all fixed....bad wire at a connection in the wiring harness going to the transmission , $245 fix .

Car runs great and even smells new it's that clean and it's giving me 37mpg (imp gal)
Deals out there and I was lucky to get this one as it had just been listed 40 minutes before I saw it and got there 1st . When I told them what the trouble was you could tell they were surprised and also dissapointed they had sold it so cheap but they were afraid to take a chance on it and had a dealership that I feel was being less than honest with them .