found a 1999 vw golf tdi, manual need some advice

i located a 1999 vw golf,
with a tdi and a 5spd

it aint no jetta wagon but it'll do.

car has 150,000km on it, 5spd manual

now i dont know much about the golfs... im more of a jetta guy myself, but everybody i know speaks about a 2001 and 2003 are the years to go for, 2002 had the camshaft issues and the newer BEW engines are a time bomb for the camshaft replacement to get done

does anybody have any INSIGHT OR KNOWLEDGE on what was done in the 1999 alh motor and what is different compared to newer years, is this a good car to buy ? price is between 2500-3500 for it depending on if saftied and etested

99 model year cars (also known as 99.5) have older ECU from the MKIII generation cars. They can have hot start issues that can be fixed with software upgrade (ie: chip tuning). And since it is an older ECU, I don't think it can be flash tuned. The ECU has to be opened and the chip removed to be bench flashed.

The shifter mechanism is also from the MKIII models, so might not be as crisp when shifting. Can be easily rectified by swapping the shift tower from a newer car. Other than that, the engines and bodies are identical right up to the 2003 models.

As far as cam issues in 2002, I have never heard that. The PD engines were prone to early cam failure, but the ALH engines are pretty much bullet proof.

so you think for 2500 bucks its worth pulling the trigger??

it is a manual not a auto so when you say shift mechanism you referring to a manual or auto?? because isnt the shift mechanism in the manual my right hand and left foot lol

is this hot start thing the major issue with these cars, or once in a blue moon one will have a issue? i just want something for the next year or so while i still search for a jetta wagon that is better than my 2.0L on gas, and more fun.

He means the parts between your right and and the shift forks inside the transmission.

So, the shifter, shifter box, cables, levers, housing... is all essentially carryover from the A3 cars, and is much much worse for durability and shift feel. The '99s also have a few different electrical bits, no CAN bus, older slower ECU, and a handful of other relatively minor things. If the car is nice and the price is right, none of that would deter me. I have a '99.5 Golf.

Other than the body, there is no real difference between a Golf and a Jetta. They are pretty much the same car. I had a 99.5, the shifter was loose from wearing out but that didn't really bother me. Sold it with 610K kms.

My '99's shifter at 202k miles feels 11ty times worse than my 2000 with 543k miles. The '99 is difficult to drive, actually, and my wife cannot drive it at all.

It is getting swapped with newer parts very soon though.

oilhammer said:

My '99's shifter at 202k miles feels 11ty times worse than my 2000 with 543k miles. The '99 is difficult to drive, actually, and my wife cannot drive it at all.
It is getting swapped with newer parts very soon though.

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In the meantime, take a pair of locking pliers and squeezed the worn out shifter cable ends together a little. Should improve the sloppiness.... a little. Did for me.

2500 for a 99.5 is robbery imo. I got a high mileage 2003 golf with a good body that needed a clutch and TB for $500.

Since there is a MKIII ECU in there, is there a chance the odometer rolls over at 300k on these as well or is that a cluster thing? 150k seems low to me for a car of that age (I'm no expert though).

ya i was wondering why the price was a bit much, ill wait on it i think i dont want to deal with hot start issues or shifting problems.

Peytron said:

Since there is a MKIII ECU in there, is there a chance the odometer rolls over at 300k on these as well or is that a cluster thing? 150k seems low to me for a car of that age (I'm no expert though).

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No, the cluster will show all the KMs. My '99.5 showed 610K kms when I sold it.

The good thing about the 99s (correct me if I'm wrong) but they all have far superior clutches (far more holding power) than the 2001+ cars so you can go as far as stage 3 without having to replace the clutch (depending on clutch condition etc of course)

ss04vv said:

The good thing about the 99s (correct me if I'm wrong) but they all have far superior clutches (far more holding power) than the 2001+ cars so you can go as far as stage 3 without having to replace the clutch (depending on clutch condition etc of course)

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They also had weaker DMFs, seen FAR more of those actually blow to pieces than the later ones.

Besides, by now, most all that stuff would have been replaced anyway. My '99.5 didn't even make it to 150k before its DMF blew up.