Well, tdiclub forums saved my a$$ on this one. The mechanics selling the car were these brothers in the Bronx who we've used before, and think highly of. I got the VIN from the guys and ran a car fax, and found out it's actually a 2005 (weird, but ok, I didn't talk to the guy himself, just his brother, maybe he made a mistake).
But I got to thinking, who sells a car to a mechanic? Someone who either breaks down or has a big wreck, right?
So I searched the forums for any mention of a similar car breaking down in the Bronx. And voila:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=341010&highlight=bronx+timing+belt+brother
Turns out the timing belt had already blown and some of the heads are bent. I emailed the guy who posted that and he confirmed that's the same car, same repair shop, same mechanics.
I'm looking for a good deal, but not a car that has serious issues like that. I don't work on cars myself, and I have kids, so I really need something more reliable for the long haul.
To be fair to the guys working on it, they are great mechanics, they might've replaced the whole engine or something (hence the year discrepancy?), but I got spooked and just told them I'm not interested.
And that is how the TDIclub forums saved me $5k.