justme
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2000
- Location
- Hanover, NH
I've owned and driven this car since fall 2000, maintained, always good synthetic oil, etc. Drives great. 5 speed manual. I think it was the GLS trim and it has a sunroof, alloy wheels. Monsoon stereo and CD player. 229,xxx miles on it now.
Of course issues:
* 18 years in VT and NH, of course there is some rust. There are a few holes around the wheel wells, some of which I've bodo-ed myself in recent years, usually in a hurry before inspection, one is new this winter and not yet patched. I believe the frame is solid, and we've never run into anything too rusty to repair. The paint shows some rust and scuffs and my non pro touch ups here and there. It has mostly been garage kept.
* The rear hatch is the worst thing. The lock latch is iffy -- sometimes it locks and sometimes not. That trouble is because of water getting into the hatch. Also the rear wiper is not working at the moment. My mechanic suggests a new wiring harness for the hatch, but as the rustiest and leakiest part of the car, ideally that would be with a whole new hatch. My most recent problem with the car was the brake light wires in the hatch were shorting out, so my mechanic rewired that.
* While we're in the back of the car, the rear bumper plastic is cracked from a driveway accident (another car backed into the Golf). At this point I didn't do the repair. That didn't keep it from passing inspection last time.
* Engine: pretty smoky at a cold start. It doesn't particularly burn more crankcase oil than new, or nothing to notice really. I might add a quart between 10k oil changes. Pulls strong. I got a new turbo a few years ago when the waste-gate blew out on the original. The battery is new fall '17. New alternator from about 4 years ago and new serpentine belt and tensioner last fall. I usually get around 650+ miles between fill-ups. A few years ago the fuel pump was leaking and I had my mechanic replace the seals in it with a kit. That stopped the leaking, but there is a smell of diesel fuel in the engine compartment. No leakage onto the ground since that repair, but still a whiff of diesel. I don't know the source of that smell, but I think there is still something seeping around the pump. I'm not sure of the timing belt due milage at this point, but I know we're not hard upon it. I could figure that out.
* Stereo, fan, heat, AC, power windows etc all working great.
*Brakes are good.
* Title clean
*Inspected and driving. I always have it inspected by my mechanic (Northern Motor Sports) who is very thorough and will flag any work that needs to be done: bushings, anything. I drove it three or four hours yesterday. Drives great. Solid steering and road feel, flawless performance from the motor. Northern Motor Sports knows TDIs, and they've worked on this car since I've had it.
It currently has studded winter Hakapalitas on it, and I also have a set of Kumho Solus summer tires, which probably have two quite good tires and maybe two almost gone tires in the set. I'd have to look. No use for the tires here, if you want them with the car.
Oh, and it has a Dieselgeek skidplate!
I think very likely only the rear wiper and one rust hole that needs a patch would keep it from inspection. Last inspection was August '17, due 8/18. I think it could have another good year on the road. Because of the rust it's obviously worth less than blue book so I'm thinking $1100. If this turns out to be too high I'll take offers. I'll post photos one of these days, but I have to clean it off. Like all backroad cars in Vermont in March that haven't been right out of the car wash, it is muddy and not photogenic at the moment.
I bought a used gas Golf Sportwagen, so the TDI Golf is ready to go as soon as I clean it out. But I'm not in a huge hurry, since the new Sportwagen has summer tires, and the TDI has snow tires, and it is very snowy here still. My road will be mud and ice and snow for the next few weeks for sure.
Of course issues:
* 18 years in VT and NH, of course there is some rust. There are a few holes around the wheel wells, some of which I've bodo-ed myself in recent years, usually in a hurry before inspection, one is new this winter and not yet patched. I believe the frame is solid, and we've never run into anything too rusty to repair. The paint shows some rust and scuffs and my non pro touch ups here and there. It has mostly been garage kept.
* The rear hatch is the worst thing. The lock latch is iffy -- sometimes it locks and sometimes not. That trouble is because of water getting into the hatch. Also the rear wiper is not working at the moment. My mechanic suggests a new wiring harness for the hatch, but as the rustiest and leakiest part of the car, ideally that would be with a whole new hatch. My most recent problem with the car was the brake light wires in the hatch were shorting out, so my mechanic rewired that.
* While we're in the back of the car, the rear bumper plastic is cracked from a driveway accident (another car backed into the Golf). At this point I didn't do the repair. That didn't keep it from passing inspection last time.
* Engine: pretty smoky at a cold start. It doesn't particularly burn more crankcase oil than new, or nothing to notice really. I might add a quart between 10k oil changes. Pulls strong. I got a new turbo a few years ago when the waste-gate blew out on the original. The battery is new fall '17. New alternator from about 4 years ago and new serpentine belt and tensioner last fall. I usually get around 650+ miles between fill-ups. A few years ago the fuel pump was leaking and I had my mechanic replace the seals in it with a kit. That stopped the leaking, but there is a smell of diesel fuel in the engine compartment. No leakage onto the ground since that repair, but still a whiff of diesel. I don't know the source of that smell, but I think there is still something seeping around the pump. I'm not sure of the timing belt due milage at this point, but I know we're not hard upon it. I could figure that out.
* Stereo, fan, heat, AC, power windows etc all working great.
*Brakes are good.
* Title clean
*Inspected and driving. I always have it inspected by my mechanic (Northern Motor Sports) who is very thorough and will flag any work that needs to be done: bushings, anything. I drove it three or four hours yesterday. Drives great. Solid steering and road feel, flawless performance from the motor. Northern Motor Sports knows TDIs, and they've worked on this car since I've had it.
It currently has studded winter Hakapalitas on it, and I also have a set of Kumho Solus summer tires, which probably have two quite good tires and maybe two almost gone tires in the set. I'd have to look. No use for the tires here, if you want them with the car.
Oh, and it has a Dieselgeek skidplate!
I think very likely only the rear wiper and one rust hole that needs a patch would keep it from inspection. Last inspection was August '17, due 8/18. I think it could have another good year on the road. Because of the rust it's obviously worth less than blue book so I'm thinking $1100. If this turns out to be too high I'll take offers. I'll post photos one of these days, but I have to clean it off. Like all backroad cars in Vermont in March that haven't been right out of the car wash, it is muddy and not photogenic at the moment.
I bought a used gas Golf Sportwagen, so the TDI Golf is ready to go as soon as I clean it out. But I'm not in a huge hurry, since the new Sportwagen has summer tires, and the TDI has snow tires, and it is very snowy here still. My road will be mud and ice and snow for the next few weeks for sure.