Should I buy this TDI? 03 5sp wagon

03 Jetta wagon, 5sp, silver w/ cloth interior. 302k miles. Motor rebuilt by VW at 105k when the timing belt broke (new head and a couple of pistons).

I did the timing belt for the owner at ~185 and again at ~270k (he got scared after the breakage). Car had some issues throughout that whole time (worn suspension, chipped paint, dirty interior), but ran great.

Now - his father (my coworker) has it and was going to have me go through everything, but has decided to sell it instead. They can't get it into 1st or reverse and it has a horrible vibration that is most likely a bad DMF.

It does have a new battery and rear brakes. Still needs complete suspension freshening and a good cleaning - then a respray on at least the hood.

He's looking to get $1500. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it for me to buy, fix and sell or if I would have made more money just doing the labor. Of course I already have 3 MKIVs (and the NMS, 57 Oval, Nissan Frontier...) so I need this like a hole in the head... But it's tempting

Id offer him $1,200, budget wise say about $2,200 worst case to get it fixed and on the road.

1500 sounds reasonable for a car that you are that familiar with.

I might let him sit on it for a little bit - just letting him know I'm thinking it over... It'll give me a chance to sell off some of the other stuff I have sitting. I could always pretend that I'm fixing it for someone But $1200 is closer to what I was thinking - I'd jump on it at 1k. About $1000 in parts for the clutch kit/DMF and suspension refresh (I have some stuff on the shelf already). I could even paint it myself if I wanted to really freshen it up. The problem is that I tend to be a perfectionist when fixing everything and tend to get a little carried away.

If you have the time, money and space I'd say jump on it. Worst case you can sell it for the same amount or for a profit when repaired.

Buy it and put it on the shelf, if you don't need it now you will!

dmoonen said:

If you have the time, money and space I'd say jump on it. Worst case you can sell it for the same amount or for a profit when repaired.

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I have the money - I can find the space (I can actually leave it where it is for now) - I guess I would have made the time to fix it for him anyway. I have no need to keep it - it would definitely be to sell when done.

Gibby said:

Buy it and put it on the shelf, if you don't need it now you will!

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I had finally got down to 'only' 4 cars/trucks (had 13 at one point). Back up to 6 now.
My girlfriend will not follow your logic at all! But - I am getting rid of 2 cars now so it would still be going in the right direction, sorta. I have another 03 silver TDI wagon that I work on regularly - maybe she won't know the difference

Either buy it or advise your coworker to fix the clutch/flywheel and sell it for more.
I've read where it can be a struggle to get those DMFs off if they separate.

gforce1108 said:

I have the money - I can find the space (I can actually leave it where it is for now) - I guess I would have made the time to fix it for him anyway. I have no need to keep it - it would definitely be to sell when done.

I had finally got down to 'only' 4 cars/trucks (had 13 at one point). Back up to 6 now.
My girlfriend will not follow your logic at all! But - I am getting rid of 2 cars now so it would still be going in the right direction, sorta. I have another 03 silver TDI wagon that I work on regularly - maybe she won't know the difference

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get rid of the GF! jk.
i also would get, fix, sell.

Gforce1108,

You've only got three MKIVs..............I started with one TDI, the 2005 Jetta wagon. Now I've got nine (well eight, one is gas). I look for good deals on Craigslist that are priced right but can be fixed. Somehow once I go through and fix them up, I don't want to sell them. Fortunately we have a farm so I keep a couple up at the cabin, a couple in the driveway, one in the barn, one here, one there. That way it doesn't "look like a used car lot". And I've got a couple back up cars, if needed.

I'd say for $1500 it would be worth the risk, even if you kept it for parts.

Eric

Shenandoah said:

Gforce1108,
You've only got three MKIVs..............I started with one TDI, the 2005 Jetta wagon. Now I've got nine (well eight, one is gas). I look for good deals on Craigslist that are priced right but can be fixed. Somehow once I go through and fix them up, I don't want to sell them. Fortunately we have a farm so I keep a couple up at the cabin, a couple in the driveway, one in the barn, one here, one there. That way it doesn't "look like a used car lot". And I've got a couple back up cars, if needed.
I'd say for $1500 it would be worth the risk, even if you kept it for parts.
Eric

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!! !!

Personally with the issues and the time that you had to put into it i wouldn't offer more than $500 bux

Reading your guys posts I dont feel so bad about my situation. I have 5 cars.
MK# jetta TDI daily (soon to be sold),
MK4 wagon TDI (just picked up with plan to flip, but going to keep it)
1990 Corrado with a AHU swapped in that needs electrical still for conversion. On back burner
1997 Suzuki sidekic, off road rig. need front end work. on back burner
1997 honda civic oval track race car. sitting in a barn on back burner.
At least I have variety. Lol
Wife still hates it.

I bought an 03 wagon 5 speed with a blown motor for $1k.
It was well used by the PO and somewhat rusty but with 3 other MKIV's, a parts car is a small goldmine when one needs a switch, caliper, IP etc.

fruitcakesa said:

I bought an 03 wagon 5 speed with a blown motor for $1k.
It was well used by the PO and somewhat rusty but with 3 other MKIV's, a parts car is a small goldmine when one needs a switch, caliper, IP etc.

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Exactly! I have one parts car, one of the 2002 Golfs. The motor was run without oil until it seized. So far it has donated numerous parts to the other cars.

Eric

Shenandoah said:

Somehow once I go through and fix them up, I don't want to sell them.
Eric

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That's how I ended up with a max of 13 cars once... plus 8 riding lawnmowers and at least a dozen motorcycles/quads, etc...
I kid around using one of Tim the toolman's (Tim Allen) quotes - "I need help. I'm thinkin of checkin into the Henry Ford clinic."
I did have one more MKIV - A beetle TDI that I bought blown up and rebuild for the wife (ex now). The 00 Golf 2.0 I had given to my son but it's been sitting since he passed away - just can't get myself to work on it. Just left the title today with the ex to let her sell it for me.
I'll hit him up with a lower offer - in the 1k range if he'll let me keep it at his house until I'm ready for it. I think they want the money more right now to put into another car.

Wagon's always fetch more, I would pay $1500 because I can do the work but always offer less, that way, they can only say no,

I dug back through my list of 'to do' items that I made for him about 2 years ago when I did the timing belt. I suspected the DMF at that point. Nothing else I had forgotten about - really just the worn out suspension and an upper clutch pedal switch (RPMs flare when shifting). I did forget one good point on this car... It was the first VW that I scanned with VCDS that had no errors at all.. Not one intermittant door switch/speaker anything!

So - since the my girlfriend started to encourage me to buy it (told me I have to buy her a new washer/drier if do) - I offered him $1000. Time to start ordering parts...

I finally have the catalytic convertor for the GTI so I can sell it - stupid NYS emissions laws (non Ca emissions on this car). Had to have a coworker in Pennsylvania order it for me since nobody will ship one to NY.

Picked it up today finally (owner needed to get replacement title). Drove it onto the dolly and then up and down the road once I got it home. Runs very well. Shifter is really screwed up. Lots of resistance side to side and can't get it into reverse. Almost done with the GTI to get it sold and start on this one.
One fender is rusty - hood and roof has some rust from stone chips. Probably paint the whole nose when it's ready...

gforce1108 said:

Picked it up today finally (owner needed to get replacement title). Drove it onto the dolly and then up and down the road once I got it home. Runs very well. Shifter is really screwed up. Lots of resistance side to side and can't get it into reverse. Almost done with the GTI to get it sold and start on this one.
One fender is rusty - hood and roof has some rust from stone chips. Probably paint the whole nose when it's ready...

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Check the shifter bushings. There's a post about not being able to get into reverse and it turned out to be the bushings were gone. Check desielgeeks web site he has some YouTube videos on the bushing issues

Hyde7278 said:

Check the shifter bushings. There's a post about not being able to get into reverse and it turned out to be the bushings were gone. Check desielgeeks web site he has some YouTube videos on the bushing issues

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I have a set of bushings and a shift tower rebuild kit on the shelf, just in case. I'm going to disconnect the cables from the shifter to isolate which is the cause and go from there. Who needs reverse anyway?

I've never had to do a shifter alignment somehow (I work on 8 MKIVs with manuals) but I'm sure I will here. Thanks for the tips.

Looks like two problems with the shifter... The pin was seized into the housing and spinning at the 'arm' instead of within the teflon bushings. Tore it apart, cleaned it good and installed two new bushings (greased up). 1st through 5th are a breeze now, but still can't get it into reverse. Even manually moving the shift tower won't let me do it so I'll tear it open too. Still a big improvement.

I guess I should change the name of the thread since I bought it But - more progress today. Pulled the shift tower apart. For some reason, I couldn't find a procedure - but I figured it out. Upper seal and bearing were both shot. I have no idea how you are supposed to get that bearing out but I had to get seriously creative. I needed to use a dremmel wheel that was slightly smaller to cut a groove in a circle partially up the bearing race. The first attempt separated it into two pieces. The second attempt let me get just enough bite to drive the bearing out. Even after reassembly, it took a little wiggling to get it in reverse the first time (car not running). After that it shifts in/out of reverse and through all the gears perfectly.

Looked like water was getting into the shift tower (muddy looking residue). I have to pull the trans to change the DMF so I'll change the fluid at the same time.

Just realized that the new battery installed is a AGM one. Very nice.... Relatively new tires and a spare VNT 15 from a low mileage beetle that has no shaft play.

Little more time to spend on the car yesterday in-between other people's cars that need work. Owner's father (my coworker) mentioned 2 things - he thought the engine had bad blow-by because the fill cap bounced around and that he thought there was a leak in the car somewhere because it was musty.

I replaced all the vaccuum lines since a leak seems to be the biggest cause of false blow-by. Cap just dances around slightly now (didn't bother checking before). I'll still check the connection at the pump because it spins free (and try to seal it up).

As far as the leak:


Didn't get him in the picture, but the mouse was still in the cowl area when I started cleaning the nest out. I'm sure it was clogging the drains in that area. Cabin filter was ancient too:



Sprayed out the whole HVAC system with a deodorizer and the car smells much better now!

Changed fuel filter (I believe I was the last to replace it about 120k miles ago) and pulled the air filter to replace, but it was relatively new so I just cleaned the MAF.

Car still seems a little underpowered but I'm used to my highly modified BEW I do not believe the intake has been cleaned. I know I inspected it at 180k and again at 270k and the car felt decent then. I'm sure it's due...

Once I have a block of time to spend on it, I'll do the clutch and suspension work.

Replaced the upper clutch switch yesterday. 6 years ago when I did the second timing (one after dealer rebuild) I noticed an odd throttle hang when shifting. I posted about it (http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=245115), but sometime later found the answer. The switch cuts fueling as soon as you start to hit the clutch. When the switch is bad, the throttle stays 'reved' for a second or so.

Also the brake lights weren't working. VCDS showed a brake switch problem so I replaced that as well, but only had the center light working. Broken bulb on one side and a damaged holder on the other. Repaired everything and all lights work now.

Drives easier with the new clutch switch.

plan on keeping or selling?

gforce1108 said:

Owner's father (my coworker) mentioned 2 things - he thought the engine had bad blow-by because the fill cap bounced around and that he thought there was a leak in the car somewhere because it was musty.

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and he is a mechanic?

deejaaa said:

plan on keeping or selling?

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Going to sell it when I'm done. I have way too many cars and they keep following me home. Time to thin out some more!

mrrhtuner said:

and he is a mechanic?

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no - not at all. He does metal work. Machining - custom gun building/restorations mostly (hobby). Does nice work, but definitely not a mechanic.

More 'small' work before I move it in to jump on the clutch/suspension. Still gotta finish the GTI...
Found the sunroof drain disconnected behind the driver's door jam. Guessing when it had the 'recall' (clipping the ends off of the drains), they dislodged it. Instead of pulling the headliner, I pulled the fender (rusty - being replaced any way).

I knew there would be a bunch of junk behind the liner from the moss growing out of the body gap:

And there was:

I honestly think this was still easier than dealing with the headliner

I replaced the passenger side fender while I was in there - not as rusty, but not great. Cleaned up the rust on the rocker and fender well and painted with a 'hammered' look silver. Blends pretty decently.

Been spending time on the other cars... But did locate a decent reflex silver hood relatively local at a great price. Swapped it out today while the weather was nice:
Before:


After:


Still looking for driver's side fender