I've got a 96 wagon prospect. but it's black.

****** edit, i found a wagon and check the bottom for the story. *********



Black 190k miles. ABS, moonroof. It's got maintenance records (dealer records) 190k miles, TB done at 170k but no waterpump records... wow!

It's got rust, I'll show you some pictures. I'm probably being hard headed and shouldn't go for this. Anything you guys can see that I should be concerned about? Highlight it for me. Any red herrings? The guy wants 7500. He's been good with responding, seems he's just flipping it. the time it took to make the post and get the pictures organized, my desire is already fleeting.eh. just give me some advice.



-original suspension
-no cels
-injection pump replace 40k
-original turbo
-original motor
-new injectors 40k
-new ecu 40k
-ac leak at compressor
-windshield replaced

http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll169/kooyajerms/96 passat/
i don't think you need to login for photobucket right? never used it till now

07/30/96 Original Purchase
08/06/96 LOF
08/30/96 Floor Mats Purchased
09/20/96 LOF Mileage = 4417
10/15/96 LOF Mileage =5650
10/15/96 Purchased extra oil filter
11/11/96 7500 mile service LOF Mileage = 7888
03/21/97 15,000 mile service LOF Mileage = 15,251
10/22/97 22,500 mile service LOF Mileage = 22,272 air filter, brake flush, install brake damper kit
05/26/98 30K service all filters, LOF mileage = 29,831
01/20/99 Antenna replaced, LOF mileage = 35,711
04/26/99 LOF, replaced ECU & injectors mileage = 40,724
06/22/99 Replaced injector pump mileage = 41,073
10/30/99 45K service replaced several bulbs, LOF mileage = 46,682
12/09/99 exhaust repair Mileage = 49,587
12/23/99 Replaced complete exhaust, LOF. Mileage = 50,136
05/10/00 Ck. Leaky A/C, LOF. Mileage = 52,607
07/30/00 Replaced A/C Condensor, rec. dryer. LOF. Mileage = 54,947
08/14/00 Adjusted bolt for 5th gear inop problem. Mileage = 57,050
09/01/00 LOF. Mileage = 57,298
10/31/01 LOF, replaced glow plugs. Mileage = 71,690
11/06/00 60K service, LOF. Mileage = 60,987
04/16/01 Timing Belt replaced, all accessory belts, LOF, steering wheel adj. Mileage = 65,847
11/20/01 Replaced injector return lines. Mileage = 71,982
06/20/02 LOF, adjusted fuel pump timing, ignition switch replaced. Mileage = 82,072
06/24/02 Replaced windshield, paint work. Mileage = ?
08/28/03 LOF. Mileage = 100,988
10/27/03 Replaced glow plug control unit, oil pan gasket,LOF. Mileage = 104,170
11/11/03 Replaced breather seal and seal below oil filter housing. Mileage = 104,619
04/01/04 Replaced front and rear brakes and discs, battery, LOF. Mileage = 110,879
05/14/04 Replaced timing belt, tensioner, roller. Mileage = 113,437
06/29/04 LOF. Mileage = 114,483
03/01/05 LOF. Mileage = 128,134
03/07/05 Air filter, fuel filter. Mileage = 129,506
03/10/05 Replaced 700c Lock, 700c Gasfilst. Mileage = ?
11/07/05 Replaced axle shaft, sway links. Mileage unknown ~165K?
04/13/06 Replaced 2 tires. Mileage = 160,350
01/09/07 Replaced timing belt, tensioner, roller, gasket, fuel filter. Mileage = 171,635
06/11/07 Replaced Starter. Mileage unknown ~170K?
09/28/07 Replaced left inner taillight. Mileage unknown. ~170K

She looks decent. how bad is the rust? How far away?

it's in michigan. i wish it was the grey one in boston. but they seem sketchy. Green Cafe, heard of em dieseldorf? They've got a 250k mile $8500 storm grey b4v. two of them actually. but they aren't speaking up much about records or direct questions. They just say. it runs well good stuff good this. I've tried to prod em. No rust on the storm greys though =(. I wish they would just answer my questions like this seller.

The black's rust is what i've shown. the doors seem to be the issue. he said no cancer, but some of that metal sure does look like it's flaking on the bottom. I wonder what it would cost to redo the doors... does the undercarriage look like an issue, or is that just gonna be fine.

i got some responses from the members. I'm running, far far away. Thanks guys. This wagon search is sure a hit to the morale. Every night I'm either yes b4v or no subaru wagon. yes b4v, no subaru wagon. I wonder if I'm just postponing the inevitable. My girlfriend says I am obsessed. Yes I am. With having a vehicle to drive. thank you.

Jeremy

Oh, I was so obsessed with finding a B4V back in 2001. I looked night and day, at work and at home. I had found a nice pristine black one with like 50K miles on it on carmax.com and had gave them a deposit to ship the car to my local carmax shop. They took my money that morning and that evening, the called me and said that they just sold the car to someone else. I felt like someone stole a part of me. I was so upset for a long time, but that made my obsession/passion even stronger. I was surfing at work and happened to find a storm grey one at a VW dealership in Colorado (I was in Norfolk, VA). It had 49K on it and they were asking for $13K. I called and said, what about $12K and they said ok. I went home, bought an airline ticket for myself and the misses and picked up the car, took a vacation and drove home. That was back when diesel could be found for under $1.

We've lived happily ever after.... until someone backed into my car in a parking lot (my car was parked) and dented the hood and grill surround trim.

sounds like a fair deal for what it is. I would feel like a criminal selling mine for that price I paid 11000 for it 6 years ago. I gave up looking for another b4 wagon and got the a4 wagon. I considered a forester to fit the dog better but once on the sooty side its hard to go back to gas.
p.s. I have 2 here with original waterpumps one with original ip only had to change starters & axles &wheelbearings &window motors

i've lost out on a couple now. i should probably find some type of means of transportation till the b4v comes. Anyone want to fix a 240 wagon? I hate turbobricks.

Have you searched Crazedlist.org for your B4V?

After I found my 96 Charcoal Gray B4V - the hard way by going through all the web based auto sites. I then discovered www.Crazedlist.org A free site that surfs all the Craigslists around the world if you want.

They have the lowest prices as well.

To make Crazedlist work you need Mozilla Firefox browser - also free and very fine for anti spam and viruses.

I find B4V Passats usually every week when I do a search.

I am searching for an allusive white B4V WITH NO SUN OR MOON Roof.
Find me that and I will sell you my rust riddled Storm Gray 96 wagon.

Where in MI is it? I could take a lookey loo at it. And I didn't think you could get ABS until 1997 on the TDI?

-Jason

compu_85 said:

Where in MI is it? I could take a lookey loo at it. And I didn't think you could get ABS until 1997 on the TDI?

Click to expand...

Mine 96 has ABS.

kooyajerms said:

-190K

-It's got rust .....

-original suspension

-ac leak at compressor
-windshield replaced

http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll169/kooyajerms/96%20passat/

Click to expand...

After viewing all of the pictures in the album...
No, no, no, no, and no. It would likely be a reliable car but IMO, that's big money for the laundry list of expensive issues that need to be addressed.

It's OK, others of us have already mentioned the issues with the MI offering. He's (O.P.) chosen to let it go.

Yeah Tom Tom and Jon have given me big fat no's. We'll see what happens with that DC one. The one day I'm not on every waking hour. The wagon pops up. I'm sure I've not got a good place in line. Till then, I've got someone maybe willing to do a conversion with me (great possibility) but i gotta find a donor and a glx, get that to him and then work can commense. Oh otherside of the country why must you be so far.

Thanks for the replies guys, my WTB ad feels so lonely. All this communication is great! Way more appreciated than these socalled Clubs.

kooyajerms said:

All this communication is great! Way more appreciated than these socalled Clubs.

Click to expand...

That's "SoCal Clubs"...
Monrovia isn't in SoCal, though, is it?

lol Jon. Monrovia is a hop skip and a jumpa way from Pasadena . Yes it's SoCal. Maybe I meant Social clubs.

kooyajerms said:

Every night I'm either yes b4v or no subaru wagon. yes b4v, no subaru wagon.

Click to expand...

I have both a '90 Subaru Legacy wagon and B4V. All but a few of the interior and exterior dimensions are nearly identical, and now even the ground clearance and tire size are nearly identical since upgraded the B4 tires to 195-65/15. The Subaru is a great car--it's reliable, practical, surefooted, less weight and better handling than the B4V--but since I got my B4V it's been neglected. This is mostly because for longer trips the Subaru costs me 40% more per mile in fuel, last I checked. Other expenses such as maintenance and insurance are about equal.

Mike out west said:

I have both a '90 Subaru Legacy wagon and B4V. ..... The Subaru is a great car--it's reliable, practical, surefooted, less weight and better handling than the B4V.....

Click to expand...

I think you need some suspension work on the B4. I can't imagine the B4V being that much worse than my B4 sedan, and I know it handles a whole lot better than any subaru wagon.

tannoy said:

Mine 96 has ABS.

Click to expand...

Same here. Our 1996 wagon had ABS.

rdkern said:

I think you need some suspension work on the B4. I can't imagine the B4V being that much worse than my B4 sedan, and I know it handles a whole lot better than any subaru wagon.

Click to expand...

I'm sure I could use suspension work on my B4V since it's never been replaced in its 234000 miles, but I hesitate at the expense since I really don't have much complaint with the way it handles now. Perhaps I just don't know any better as the only cars I've only spent much with besides my own are a Miata, brand new Chevy Aveo and Dodge Caliber rental cars, and my brother's A4 sedan. My old Subaru's struts and shocks are shot, but it sure can put a smile on my face to slide around corners on dirt roads at 60 MPH. The B4V makes me nervous in fast cornering because I can't feel its limits, something like paddling a flat-bottomed kayak that's very stable until pushed over a threshold. My Subaru gives me a lot more feedback, more like a V-hull kayak.

There is sufficient notice of the approach of the absolute limts in the B4 too. You might be ready to reach that far some day.

Thanks to Lug_nut, Ninedee_golf, dieseldorf, VWWV, tomo, for all the advice. It's been a harrowing trip. Literally!

I got my wagon. Its a 1997 passat wagon tdi candy white. 200k miles, clean title. couple bumps and a bit of rust but it's a steal! Here's the story, or you can just look at the pics at the bottom.

So Paul VWWV from Florida contacted me. Told me about a wagon in florida owned by a couple in Florida. Original owners. 200k miles. So I emailed them. Waited a couple days and got an email. Told me a bit more about the car and I bit. Called Doug and Judy from Daytona Beach the next morning (tuesday). I spoke to them for a good hour and a half about everything. The passat itself, tdi's, previous diesels, traveling, food, just really sociable. Talked to Judy to see if she approved of me as a buyer. I felt like I was asking their daughter for marriage! It was great though. They were going to leave for a trip that weekend. He didn't want to sell to me sight unseen, but I wanted to buy. He did a verbal walkthrough and he sounded more than trustworthy.
I told him I would set up everything to ease his mind since he was so busy with packing the Sprinter Winnie (18mpg). I got the DMV papers, the cashiers check, the insurance for the car, flight and told him how the procedure would work. We were a go.
Thursday red eye to orlando. Friend was late, like an idiot and we missed it. Was I pissed. I was ready to throw in the towel. There was a flgiht in the morning but I had to make sure that Doug was ok with doing it a day late. So we slept at the airport and called Doug, he was great about it. We even caught the first flight STANDBY to orlando. My friend lives, and I get to Florida.
Friday we arrive in orlando and drive over to Daytona. We miss the bank but we go meet Doug and Judy at their place anyways. Get there and I see it. It's white. It's a passat tdi, and a winne right next to it. Meet Doug and we chat for a bit and we do a walk around. A couple dents on the bumper and trunk, rust on a wheel well and rust on one of the driver door sills. Really insignificant. 200k mile originally owned by the two. 49mpg with mainly hwy. From Connecticut where Judy drove it for a good 120k miles, lots of hwy. She was driving in the snow in their MB 240 coupe diesel 5 speed, Rare from what he says, and saw the wagon at the dealership. She test drove it and bought it immediately. They moved to Florida, and now that they travel so much they don't use it much. So instead they decided to selll her.
Saturday we get back to their place in the morning and deposit the check. Find a place to get a temp registration for the ride home (totally forgot about driving with no plates), and we are off. It was a sad and joyous day. They were letting go of a car they really loved. They took care of, and have had with them for 11 years! Always garaged. Tuning box, tie rods done, alternator done, windshield replaced, 9k left on the belt. Had ALL the maintenance records, extra filters, bentley manuals, cargo cover, all of it. Great couple. Spent the morning with them, friends and all. We chatted and just had a blast. My friends loved talking with them. We plan on meeting with them in California to show them the passat as full-circle way of selling the car. off to New Orleans. Nice drive, with a bit of rain. Had dinner at Coop's Place, and a couple beers before going to sleep. Abita!
Sunday New Orleans, not as crappy as I thought it would be. I really liked the French quarters minus bourbon st. there was even an art festival at the time. Just a really nice downtown for us. Off to Houston. Drive over the river was great, I love the green. But before we get there, we ran out of fuel. Yes, I ran out at 951.7 miles. The gauge wasn't even bottomed out, I had two more lines left!!! Where was my warning light?????? WHAT!!! We coasted for more than a quarter mile =) and the southern hospitatlity came. Lady in her old Ford truck towed us with a chain to the Chevron down the ways. That was a great way to enter the state. Filled up 24.5 gallons and couldn't get it started. WOO bleeding, glad I brought the mityvac. too bad it wasn't working. So we tried the injectors and nothing again.. I must have tried cranking for 15 minutes on and off. I rememberd I had an extra set of mityvac gaskets and we pulled the fuel through the return line. Before cranking again, AAA was talking to my friend and reminded us that we should cycle the key 5 times to get the solenoid or pump pushing some through. Even used the laptop and wireless mobile broadband to look for answers on TDIclub. My friends know nothing about TDI's but they helped with the bleeding and removing of air from the fuel , it was fun to see them get involved. Engine started up and we were gone. Ahhh what it's like to remember all my a3 jetta days. Meet with a friend in Houston, and head to Austin.
Monday Austin was great. Ate at the ironworks bbq and had some nice shiner beer, great meal. Went a bit around town and drove to Anuthee to get the AC checked out. Nice shop, bunch of TDI's around and met with a member, rx fire, Bob! We talked tdi and had a great time just chatting hanging out for a bit while we recharged the AC. Great to have a good guy like Anut, Austin will miss him I'm sure. Even caught my squeeky serp roller, but said we were good. COLD AC woo, texas and arizona will be A O K. Was gonna get Bio at ecowise, but they were out, hope Bio works out after their new legislations. Drive on to Carlsbad, 8 hours straight all me. No friends involved other than some great jokin and yappin. Oh yeah before we get there, I got pulled over. going 75 on the 290 before hitting the 10. Sigh. night time driving was 65 mph. Told him the story, but he wasn't interested in this long conquest. Oh well, my fault right.
Tuesday Carlsbad was great! First time ever in those caverns and it's a sight to see. It's just amazing that someone found that, explored it, and set it up for the rest of us to see. First people to ever see the caverns, I salute you. That would be scary without the modern lighting. Drove to Las Cruces and ate at La Posta for lunch. desert not the greatest. Looks like we won't try for 1k, the gauge is acting funny and I don't know where the fuel level is hehe. Just basing it off of miles and we also let the battery die up at Carlsbad so we lost our measurement lol. Oh well I'll compromise, they don't want to run out of fuel again. We also are a day late on this trip as it is. and we need to be in Los Angeles by 6 am.
97 wagon

Luke loading the trunk

Open hood

Me and the sellers.

Doug Judy and friends


1997 passat tdi wagon. 200k (well I rolled it to 200k). original owners, all maintenance records (lots).
-ac recharge, run otu of fuel, bad passenger window, speeding ticket, friends getting used to manual, being a day late, paying taxes,

So-
Do you want to tell us how much??? Always a curiosity.

oh geeze I forgot.

$6k.

Nice trip, nice car, well done! What a bargain! I just missed a B4V in Seattle, was asking $4k for a rust bucket with about $2k of broken drivetrain parts, sold it for $6k in about 2 hours.

If I ever get one of these, I'll have to convince my wife to make an adveture vacation out of it.

What a surprise after all the B4s to discover the A3 has a low fuel light.

oh! and one touch up windows that the B4 didn't offer either!

Jon, I've been telling you for years: A3s are the best of them all.

Good find on the wagon. Funny how these cars are often like a member of the family! How many Toyota buyers spend hours with the people they buy their appliance from? We're still friends with the guy we bought Krappy from--if you can believe that! In fact, Scott owes him a case of beer over a certain sorespot football game.

made it home. did not break down as I entered driveway like I expected.

into california, friend got a ticket for leaving the highbeams on as we passed a highway patrol. Funny thing is, we wre the ones complaining about others not using their driving etiquette with the lights. Then he goes and forgets as he's PASSING the highway patrol. Oh well hope its not as much as my 10 mph over the speed limit ticket.............



yes, give me a low fuel warning light please. darn deceptive lines on the gauge. I think it's calibrated again, but we will see.

Oh yeah, the power windows on the passenger is working again.

Yeah with Doug and Judy, I can see myself meeting with them on a regular basis as they go travelling. So many stories to tell, and at 70, Doug's fit! I bet he juices and lifts weight like Jack Lallaine, without the wide body frame.

Watch the wagons when there are hills around. I learned a LONG time ago that the last stripe on a VW fuel gauge means you are empty. However, the wagons may run out on a hill even with a stripe or two left.

Krappy stalled while I was coasting down a hill that ends 2 minutes from my house. Of course, it had to be raining sideways.

Now, I never let the wagons get below the last couple stripes. Especially not the GLX! It's amazing how fast the gas gauge spins on that car!

I'm glad for you and Doug/Judy. I knew you'd like them. Nice couple. Your line about "asking for daughter's hand in marriage" was classic. Judy had told me that she was dreading seeing the car go, eventually. I really knew nothing about the mechanical condition of the car and that is why I didn't tout it. A local friend wanted it after his '97 sedan (white) was totaled but he just couldn't swing it. Wish we could have met up while you were in Fl. Maybe on your next cross-country trip? VWWV

Very nice ride-glad you found the car you were looking for.