looking at a high milage 2003 jetta gls tdi

Hey everyone brand new to the fourm, I am currently in the process of buying new used car it's a 2003 jetta tdi gls it has a 167k miles on the clock. I am curious if this is too high for this vechile amd how much life would I get out of it. I am familiar with diesel engines in tucks cummins, powerstoke ect and I know they get very long life out of them, but is the vw differnt, also what problems are they prone to having.

167k miles is nothing for an ALH (99.5-03 engine code). Autotragic or manual? If you can't get a RECEIPT stating timing belt, water pump, tensioner etc have been done I suggest doing it as quick as possible. Welcome to the forum!!

We have here on this Forum lots of ALH cars with over 500,000 km and even miles. You are on the safe side sofar. Hope the previous owner did all the Service and Maintenance?

It is a 5 speed, and it is currently at a used dealer ship so I am hoping it has service records, the car from the pictures seems to be very clean for an 03 and to have been driven in maine

jakehaze12 said:

It is a 5 speed, and it is currently at a used dealer ship so I am hoping it has service records, the car from the pictures seems to be very clean for an 03 and to have been driven in maine

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I have an 02 and the car looks great and is very clean.... Service is the most important side of a car. Every Service was done on my car. VW and now from one GURU all the time and on time. From a USED CAR DEALER you might not get records at all.

Ive owned 2 wrx's, and I know service comes first. I'm going to look at it this weekend hopefully its all there, besides recipets for the TB what elese should I keep an eye out for?

I bought just a few used cars and that was always on a spur of the moment. I'm not the guy to ask, so - hopefully some Experts will answer here. In the meantime have a look at Utube and under "used Car Tips" or so.

Replaced suspension components, difference in color shades between panels, body gaps should all be even, rust on front fender arches (there's a TSB for free replacement for rust thru), even wear on all 4 tires, pull the engine cover and look for leaks, look to see if there's still a plastic lower belly pan, smoothness of shifting, brake rotors (grooving), pull the e brake (before test drive) to see if it releases like it should (then feel for excessive heat from rear wheels after drive), coolant color (should be bright pink), at around 55 on a smooth road take both hands off the wheel and see how the car tracks, brake hard from 55 to 30 to see if the car lurches one way or stops straight (and no brake shimmy), and pull the top timing belt cover back and have a little looky loo... Good luck!!

I'm no expert, just a car guy who's got an eye for detail and relatives ask me to look at used cars for them...

JDSwan87 said:

Replaced suspension components, difference in color shades between panels, rust on front fender arches (there's a TSB for free replacement for rust thru), even wear on all 4 tires, pull the engine cover and look for leaks, look to see if there's still a plastic lower belly pan, smoothness of shifting, brake rotors (grooving), pull the e brake (before test drive) to see if it releases like it should (then feel for excessive heat from rear wheels after drive), coolant color (should be bright pink), at around 55 on a smooth road take both hands off the wheel and see how the car tracks, brake hard from 55 to 30 to see if the car lurches one way or stops straight (and no brake shimmy), and pull the top timing belt cover back and have a little looky loo... Good luck!!

I'm no expert, just a car guy who's nit-picky and relatives ask me to look at used cars for them...

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Thank you I really appreciate the tips and advice, much better than the subaru fourms I was part of

Generally echo the above.
I have read several instances over the years, wherein people have removed cylinder heads from these engines (for various reasons, don't let that scare you)... and found the crosshatch still visible in the cylinder bores at 170K+ miles.

5-speed is the one you want, in this vintage.

Very Very important to have maintenance traceability, as mentioned above, especially for the timing belt and all associated components (and it's a long list, containing a few items you might not guess). Important enough that if the car doesn't have traceability, don't let that stop you from buying it if it's a clean car, but plan on electively doing a complete timing belt job yourself, asap- that way you have a known starting point.

Wish you all the best !

How much does a timing belt job cost if done by yourself?

On an ALH it will be about $300 more or less depending on how much you want to add to a basic job. You will need special tools another $60-100, and step by step instructions.

http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=449

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/a...nt-vw-jetta-tdi-golf-beetle-1998-2003-part-1/

Not much to add to the advice already provided, except to say that you would be hard pressed to find a 2003 TDI with LESS than 167k. If you did, it would be because it had sat for a long time, which creates problems in and of itself.

Buying from a used car dealership you can bet that you'll get ZERO service records. Plenty of promises and assurances, but no paperwork unless it's work that they have done while they owned the car at that dealership.
They are never going to sell you a car with a glove box full of documents giving the name, address, and phone number of the prior owners. Again, don't let that scare you, just know that you can't take any prior work on faith so you will need to do some stuff just for the sake of safety (mainly the timing belt, but brake fluid flush is a 2yr interval that is often never done so I would do that as well since it can present a safety issue).

I bought my TDI (03 wagon auto) with 244k miles on it, it is over 310k now and I haven't even owned it 2 years yet. I put about 36k on it the first year alone.

You are buying a baby engine, just barely broken in.

Not high at all

jakehaze12 said:

Hey everyone brand new to the fourm, I am currently in the process of buying new used car it's a 2003 jetta tdi gls it has a 167k miles on the clock. I am curious if this is too high for this vechile amd how much life would I get out of it. I am familiar with diesel engines in tucks cummins, powerstoke ect and I know they get very long life out of them, but is the vw differnt, also what problems are they prone to having.

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I bought my 2000 Jetta Tdi with 263,000 already on it and it runs great. 167,000 is nothing.

we have two 03s, got the sedan with 40k and the wagon with 141k on it...The wagon is from germany, the sedan mexico... guess which one stays together better. We simply got them up to speed on all the TB & other maintenace and never looked back. They were both clean and ran well. They were dealership maintained, no guarantees on proper maintenance, but at least the POs tried to timely maintain them. There were records too! In fact all the big stuff was fine, but the little VWisms keep you busy for sure....but i like working on the cars so they fit well for us and all car models have their minor demons. AND with the club members here you can pretty much DIY most of the time. You guys are GREAT! This club has saved me so much time, anxiety and money.... No to mention a great education!

Geordi said:

I bought my TDI (03 wagon auto) with 244k miles on it, it is over 310k now and I haven't even owned it 2 years yet. I put about 36k on it the first year alone.

You are buying a baby engine, just barely broken in.

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...but you are buying a car that is almost 12 years old (2015 models are just about to come out) therefore while the engine may last, the rest of the car is going to be an issue. Stuff gets old in the sun. Interior pieces get brittle and worn, suspension items needs changing, etc. I am not saying it's not worth whatever you are paying for it, but keep that in mind when you decide the value of it.

He's in Maine. Sun is not a problem. . Seriously, it does matter whether or not the car was garaged. And odds are it's outside the rust warranty, so check for rust and negotiate accordingly.

Still, a 5-speed '03 in good shape with 167K on it is a find. Plan on spending a few $$ getting it into top shape, but it's got lots and lots of miles left.