Looking to Purchase '99 Jetta-need an opinion

[DrunkCanuck]

'99 Jetta TDI, Need an opinion from people that know.
I have been searching for the last month & a half for a VW Jetta TDI (I have another post here for a different jetta I test drove....I walked away after getting advise from here and at www.TDICLUB.com, thx guys), that is in decent shape and a decent deal. I came across one at a dealership (not VW), and to their credit, they were up front about a mileage issue after a cluster was replaced, and have gone above and beyond so far (took it to a VW dealership and paid for an inspection) to make me happy. The salesman actually SENT me the inspection write up. Some of the issues I raised and were reiterated by the inspection. The original posted price of the 1999 VW Jetta GLS TDI was $11950, and they told me they were dropping it to $8500 due to the cluster replacement that apparently dropped the odometer from approx. 216000 km to 150000 km. Anyways, this was a HUGE red flag, but since they were willing to pay for the inspection, I put down a small refundable deposit. ANYWAYS (sorry to be long winded) I wanted to get some opinions on the car and if it is a total lemon, or a great deal if I could work out a significant reduction in price and the work seems rather small for the age.

Here is the list of items right off the written part of the inspection from Southgate Volkswagen in Edmonton;

1) Interior lights not working (usually a door latch from what I have read)
2) Windscreen chipped (it's 8 years old...normal wear & tear)
3) Side mirrors are discolored (Are heated mirrors hard to replace?)
4) Undercarriage is rusting in all areas (again normal wear & tear)
5) Front Bumper Valence has come loose on both sides (Normal W & T)
6) E-Brake cables need to be replaced with applicable clips & fasteners
7) Brake Lines are corroded
8) Air, Brake, & Pollen filters need to be replaced
9) Aftermarket Vacuum hoses through out engine bay (no problem I think)
10) Coolant Res Line has check valve on it, aftermarket/not necessary
11) Shifter is Stubborn, 1rst gear when it works grinds into gear
12) EGR Valve is very dirty
13) Front suspension components are corroded and worn (normal W & T)
14) Front springs have spacers but the vehicle stands at the stock height meaning the front springs are worn out.
15) Serpentine Belt is badly cracked and needs replacing
16) Timing belt is badly cracked and needs replacing
17) Front tires don't match rear or spare tires. (Big deal)
18) Engine cover not attached to the mounting brackets (easy fix)
19) Belly Pan is missing completely.
20) The gauge cluster states 151715, but VW records show a mileage of 210692 as of 12/18/01.

So now, after reviewing all that.....is this car a total lemon that I should not walk, but run from? OR Maybe this is a good deal if I can get the price below $5000.

PLEASE let me know your opinions.....I like the car, I need a car (I have been driving my (to be) written off truck for a month and a half now and the insurance company is getting impatient. I have my heart set on a Jetta TDI with gas prices soaring to over $1.10/liter ($4.16/US gal).

Any response is GREATLY appreciated.....even if it is I am a dumbass for even considering this car.

Thanks,

DC

[veedubmechanic]

I would personally stay away from a 99.5 jetta.
From the sounds of it, the car will need a timing belt/waterpump job - 1500.00
A clutch job with flywheel and slave cylinder and shifter adjustment- 2000.00
Intake cleaning and possible egr vavle replacement - 800.00
e-brake cables 200.00
front bumper cover with paint and guide rails- 250.00 at a junk yard
windshield- 150
mirror glass on both sides- 90.00

THis is all in USD not CND

Car needs LOTS of work, if you get it cheap than its worth it (as long as the turbo is not shot or the injector pump is ok there both about a 1800.00 job EACH)

[DrunkCanuck]

Originally Posted by veedubmechanic

I would personally stay away from a 99.5 jetta.
From the sounds of it, the car will need a timing belt/waterpump job - 1500.00
A clutch job with flywheel and slave cylinder and shifter adjustment- 2000.00
Intake cleaning and possible egr vavle replacement - 800.00
e-brake cables 200.00
front bumper cover with paint and guide rails- 250.00 at a junk yard
windshield- 150
mirror glass on both sides- 90.00

THis is all in USD not CND

Car needs LOTS of work, if you get it cheap than its worth it (as long as the turbo is not shot or the injector pump is ok there both about a 1800.00 job EACH)

Thanks for your response VDM, I appreciate the input.

Any reason you would "personally stay away from a 99.5 jetta" or did you mean this particular '99.5 Jetta?

Yesterday I called an independent VW garage, "Zam Bros Auto" here in Edmonton, to get a quote to change the timing belt & water pump. Darryl @ Zam Bros was amazing when it came to discussing some issues. First of all, he quoted me $90 for TB, $100 for BN water pump, 4.9 hours of labour for $377 for a grand total of $585 CDN (after misc. & tax). THEN, before he let me comment, he asked me about the undercarriage and if it was rusted. I told he yes, apparently there is rust throughout the undercarriage. He told me sometimes, the price of the Timing Belt replacement can skyrocket to $1000 due to rusted bolts & some assembly, they can be pretty nasty to get off. Then Darryl asked if the E-Brake cables have been looked at & if the brake lines are corroded. Of course, with the inspection recently done, these items are listed. Darryl said that the brake line, some cooling lines, and the E-Brake cables can run $2000-$3000 because they are so difficult to replace. They can apparently "patch" the lines where they rust through, but that isn't great. Darryl also nailed that the car was brought out from the East coast (Quebec originally). Darryl has graciously offered to put the car up on a hoist and look it over free of charge, knowing full well that I don't own this car and MAY not be a future customer (I will probably offer to throw a case of beer into the deal). All I can say is UNBELIEVABLE.....maybe I have finally found my good and reliable mechanic that I can trust, either that or just another great VW enthusiast.

When I test drove the car, I didn't notice the grinding of 1rst gear, but I will pay more attention when I drive it to Zam Bros. I just hope the timing belt doesn't snap on the way.

I wonder if the EGR valve on the Jetta is similar to the one on my '95 GMC Jimmy? I was having problems with it sticking due to chunks of carbon. From the GMC section of this forum, I found that some guys used a stainless steel "tea ball" flatened and cut to suit as a screen. Would that be a viable option on keeping the EGR clean & clear?

As far as the mileage, I am wondering about something. I did a Carfax on the Jetta, and it said 172143 miles (then converted to 277038 KMs) was recorded in March of 2004. I also did a Carfax on my Girlfriends car that has about 246k kms on it which had the KMs listed in Miles AND then converted to 396K KMS. I am wondering if this is a flaw with Carfax? Do they not consider that it is a Canadian vehicle and all odometer reading are in KMs to begin with? This leads me to wonder if the Jetta has approximately 225K-250K actual KMs on it. I guess there is no way to REALLY know. I have sent a message to Carfax to ask about a possible problem with their reports when it is a Canadian registered car. Has anyone else experienced this?

Anyways, I will keep you posted if things progress.

Thanks again,

DC

[veedubmechanic]

Here in the us a tdi timing belt change is about 1100.00 with the timing belt, all the 3 rollers and lock nuts, the tensioner, and the water pump. Add another 300.00 for the serpentine belt and tensioner. Rusted nuts/bolts do not effect a timing belt change.. thats bs. And you should not have to be charged for any additional labor to remove them. If the proper tools are used nothing will break or be harder to remove. IF a bolt breaks that all you should have to pay for is the bolt.

[docaudi]

From one tech to another, I cant stand BS either., just a little lost in translation, It was the undercar items that I advised could require servicing earlier on due to rust issues, T-belt and W/P, same old time, every time.
There has been many, many beautifuly undecoated Eastern unis arriving in western Canada, it seems every 2nd car I inspect needs an out of province.

[Franco2112]

You can find something better than this one.

[SC2ner]

Originally Posted by DrunkCanuck

1) Interior lights not working (usually a door latch from what I have read)
2) Windscreen chipped (it's 8 years old...normal wear & tear)
3) Side mirrors are discolored (Are heated mirrors hard to replace?)
4) Undercarriage is rusting in all areas (again normal wear & tear)
5) Front Bumper Valence has come loose on both sides (Normal W & T)
6) E-Brake cables need to be replaced with applicable clips & fasteners
7) Brake Lines are corroded
8) Air, Brake, & Pollen filters need to be replaced
9) Aftermarket Vacuum hoses through out engine bay (no problem I think)
10) Coolant Res Line has check valve on it, aftermarket/not necessary
11) Shifter is Stubborn, 1rst gear when it works grinds into gear
12) EGR Valve is very dirty
13) Front suspension components are corroded and worn (normal W & T)
14) Front springs have spacers but the vehicle stands at the stock height meaning the front springs are worn out.
15) Serpentine Belt is badly cracked and needs replacing
16) Timing belt is badly cracked and needs replacing
17) Front tires don't match rear or spare tires. (Big deal)
18) Engine cover not attached to the mounting brackets (easy fix)
19) Belly Pan is missing completely.
20) The gauge cluster states 151715, but VW records show a mileage of 210692 as of 12/18/01.

Personally I would not buy it. It sounds to me like the owner did a lot of junk yard shopping and does not take car of the vehicle at all. If the cluster mileage is incorrect they probably grabbed one off of a car at the JY. Or they took it to a place that was unable to program the cluster. I doubt it though.

1.) yes it's probably a door latch. A common issue with Jettas.
2.) Pain in the ass to replace and a couple hundred bucks.
3.)Side mirrors are very easy to replace (done it tons of times). They simply snap into a ring that is on the motor. Careful that it's seated properly. They break easy but not that easy.
4.) that will kick you in the ass when removing simple bolts for any repairs. Keep that in mind.
5.) Not normal wear and tear they probably hit a curb. Check and make sure the 3 lower splash shields are still on the car.
6.) E-brake cables are easy to repair. They are about $15 bucks each and you shouldn't need the clips unless you break them. Make sure the bracket isn't bent by the lever itself.
7.) Brake lines are corroded? Couldn't tell you anything about it but it ain't cheap.
8.) Air filter is 15 bucks. Pollen is $29 and front brakes are 340 and rear are 275 (dealer prices)
9.) The original hoses crack all the time. Try to get rubber not braided. It's normal for them to go bad though.
10.) get a regular cap
11.)Check the linkage other wise you may be needing a clutch soon.
12.)Replace it or clean it.
13.)Check strut mounts and bearings along with sway bar links and bushings. Also check control arm bushings.
14.)Springs and struts OEM are not cheap. Might as well lower it if you are going to buy new parts. What a jack ass replace what needs to be fixed.
15.)Belts depend on whether its a 1.8 or 2.0.
16.)T-belt is a pita on a 2.0. On all engines you need a water pump, all tensioners and rollers (if applicable). Possibly t-stat.
17.)Tires not matching can cause swaying, pulsation when braking and pulsation when driving.
19.)Engine cover and mounts are not cheap.
20.)As I said before probably from a junk yard
21.) You did a good job at researching the vehicle before buying. Smart shopping. Now keep shopping because that car is a piece of shit....

[docaudi]

In alberta cars that were written off in the US can be re registered here with an out of provice inspection, so save yourself a headache, the seller usually knows or remembers where he purchased it from and if everything is OK wont have a problem disclosing that to you. We had a 03 Passat that was having some real strange electrical problems, we pulled the seats and carpets and discovered it had been under water, furthur investigation revealed it was in the New Orleans/Kartrina flood. This car looked showroom too, I wouldnt have never suspected that.