Value of a B5 Passat with bad transmission

I am looking at two Passat TDI cars with transmission issues to be converted to manual.

What is a fair price for such car?

I am looking at one car with 260K miles on it for $900
the other car has 155K miles $2000 +. Both have No BSM upgrades.

My gut feeling tell me a 265K mile is not worth upgrading unless you already own the car. Paying more than $2000 for a car with a bad transmission is too much.
Are wagons worth more?

Wagons are worth more yes. In fact, I'd bet the $1300 price premium from MSRP for the wagon will stay with these cars almost indefinitely. Sort of like the 2WD vs. 4WD value on pickup trucks.

As to value, it is obviously up to the seller and buyer to come to an agreement. Let's say you pay $2000, and you pay another $2000 for a manual trans/related bits, and you delete the BSM, and let's allow another $2k for the rest of the neglect the car has suffered (we know it most likely has been neglected, as the trans died, so we can assume if they neglected that, they neglected other things).

So, for $6k and your time, you could end up with a really nice comfortable driving car that can bang off 40+ MPGs and cruise effortlessly at 80+, and will probably STILL be able to do so for ANOTHER 1/4 million miles AND it has no equal anywhere that can be purchased (doubly so if it is a wagon).

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Half the price of the cheapest new car and it is bigger, faster, better looking, and uses less fuel? Sign me up!

To me, both of those cars are worth not much more than their scrap value.

depends on the res of the car. Body and interior etc. in excellent shape,it would easily be worth 2000 to me if it was what I liked. Color of exterior and interior, leather seats, woody interior and so on.
If it is a car you like and you are into doing the manual conversion then go for it.

zzdiesel said:

depends on the res of the car. Body and interior etc. in excellent shape,it would easily be worth 2000 to me if it was what I liked. Color of exterior and interior, leather seats, woody interior and so on.
If it is a car you like and you are into doing the manual conversion then go for it.

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So if I put my '05, already converted to Manual (FHN transmission), up for sale, you would buy it for $3500?

Ive been buying up passats like baseball cards here lately. Ive purchased 3 tdi bhw sedans and one v6 for the tranny.

My first sedan passat needed tires, trunk latch repaired, oil change and tandem pump. Buying it the week before Xmas helps price. I paid 1200 for it and could drive it the next day. Interior was mint and exterior was 8.5 out of 10 if not better. 216k

The second tdi sedan passat i over paid. I wanted the running motor, 170k, new headlights, new pads and rotors all the way around and new tires. Tranny shot. Body was 6 out of ten. Interior seats perfect. I paid 1250. I put all these new parts on my daily driver passat as i planned on selling passat #1 at that time to help fund my BHW boat engine conversion which is where this motor is going. I decided to keep passat #1.

Passat #3 was a v6 with 130k. Electical issues. Paid 650. Parted it out and scrapped body. Im in her 300 bucks now. I wanted a frans imported 5 speed but after the tune, whitbread flyweel/clutch, tune and timing belt kit/bsm delete kit im in her nearly 2k in parts. I drive 3 miles of highway a day in my daily 70 mile commute, i have other vehicles i use for road trips so i can upgrade to a proper tranny when funds/needs allow.

Passar #4 is another TDI sedan. 180k. Paid 500. Exterior is mint, 9 out of 10. Interior is 9.5 out of 10. Engine runs but tranny is dead. I had to provide my own tires, i have plenty of spares. Has brand new borg warner turbo. The little lady likes it more than passat #1 so she MAY get this one when converted. She drives 2 miles round trip to work a day so it would 100% be a v6 tranny swap. I think i will end up parting out the car so i can put twin diesels in my 1978 26 ft Carver Santa Cruz cabin boat.

Im still in the market for a wagon. I have seen several cheap gasser wagons but I'm not sure what it takes to get the wiring swapped between a gasser and diesel or what years would be best. If i get a wagon i will require a frans tranny as i will use it for road trips that don't require a either of my 26ft boats in tow.

imo000 said:

So if I put my '05, already converted to Manual (FHN transmission), up for sale, you would buy it for $3500?

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Id imagine if you had documentation of the bsm delete, a good body and intetor it might bring a little more. Id think 3500 would sell quickly in really good shape, even if its a sedan.

I took a 1.8t wagon and converted it to a TDI, easy swap. Couple of wiring changes at the base of the A-pillar connector block. It stayed automatic.

afarfalla said:

I took a 1.8t wagon and converted it to a TDI, easy swap. Couple of wiring changes at the base of the A-pillar connector block. It stayed automatic.

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What year 1.8t would that be? I know the v6 had some changes engine wise but im not sure if that changes the wiring any.

I usually dont like the pre 01.5 wagons but i saw a clean one i liked recently for a good price. A 5 speed TDI b5 would be different

When I bought my 04 sedan, 126k miles, body 7/10, interior 7/10, sunroof leaked and ruined TCM. I didn't want to mess with figuring out the electrical issues from having the water in the floor on the passenger side, so I opted for a V6 tranny swap. I paid $800 for this car. The donor car was a 1999 v6, ran and drove, but had a bad timing chain tensioner, 198k miles, body 4/10, interior 7/10. I kept the black leather interior and trim panels to put into my 04. I paid $300 and sold the rest for $100. So to answer the questions....I would say that $2000 is too high for one with a bad transmission. If all other maintenance has been done with the one that has 260k miles and it is otherwise in very good shape, that could be a good option. If taken care of, these cars will go a very very long time. As has been said by others here, after the manual conversion and other maintenance is done, it's very difficult, maybe impossible to find another vehicle that would compare in quality, comfort, fuel economy, and reliability for anywhere near that same kind of money.

I could only see 2k being a good deal if it was a wagon, perfect inside and outside with sub 100k. Having a bsm delete and colt (or equal) cam would sweeten the deal. But she had better be the kind of passat that still looks show room worthy. Finding these with a min interior and exterior plus a well kept tdi Engine is difficult. It's much easier to find 2 and make one. Scrap pricing is in the gutter right now. My 99 rolling shell fetched 150 a week ago. If the scrap yard wasnt 10 min away it would have not been worth the drive. When i scrap my next one im going to pull the glass and use it to fill with scrap metal for a few months to get the weight up. A few old engine blocks should fit nicely in the floor boards.

50mpgtdi said:

When I bought my 04 sedan, 126k miles, body 7/10, interior 7/10, sunroof leaked and ruined TCM. I didn't want to mess with figuring out the electrical issues from having the water in the floor on the passenger side, so I opted for a V6 tranny swap. I paid $800 for this car. The donor car was a 1999 v6, ran and drove, but had a bad timing chain tensioner, 198k miles, body 4/10, interior 7/10. I kept the black leather interior and trim panels to put into my 04. I paid $300 and sold the rest for $100. So to answer the questions....I would say that $2000 is too high for one with a bad transmission. If all other maintenance has been done with the one that has 260k miles and it is otherwise in very good shape, that could be a good option. If taken care of, these cars will go a very very long time. As has been said by others here, after the manual conversion and other maintenance is done, it's very difficult, maybe impossible to find another vehicle that would compare in quality, comfort, fuel economy, and reliability for anywhere near that same kind of money.

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I guess I should jump all over my wife's cousin who's up to offering us 6500 for my daughters 05 sedan with 200K on it. B/S delete, new TC and a mint body int but I can't think of anything to replace it for her that compare to the handling, drive and fuel mileage.

I agree with some of the previous posts: if not a wagon then the value of the BHW drops like a rock all the way to scrap value!

Brian's96TDIPASSAT said:

I guess I should jump all over my wife's cousin who's up to offering us 6500 for my daughters 05 sedan with 200K on it. B/S delete, new TC and a mint body int but I can't think of anything to replace it for her that compare to the handling, drive and fuel mileage.

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Not sure 6500, maybe a 6 speed converted wagon on the top end, top end wheels and upgraded suspension.

The auto in these cars are always going to be a liability.

I found a Passat TDI wagon with 133K, bad transmission, interior, from the pictures looks ok not like new but clean. $500 but .... its a rebuilt title. By time i would have shipped it would cost me $1200. I like to do it but not sure if a rebuild title would major negative when reselling. One never know the degree of damage the car had. Probably will pass on it. darn!

Pictures of the damage. Doesn't take much to write off an older car.

Brian's96TDIPASSAT said:

I guess I should jump all over my wife's cousin who's up to offering us 6500 for my daughters 05 sedan with 200K on it. B/S delete, new TC and a mint body int but I can't think of anything to replace it for her that compare to the handling, drive and fuel mileage.

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Be careful selling used cars to family member. It's never a good idea.

PickleRick said:

Id imagine if you had documentation of the bsm delete, a good body and intetor it might bring a little more. Id think 3500 would sell quickly in really good shape, even if its a sedan.

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The BSM delete is not done yet but everything else is. This includes a new camshaft kit with timing belt too.

Depends on the family member.

I sold my brother in law (well, it was before he married my sister) a 2.slo Jetta I resurrected.... and that was four years ago. He loves the car, and takes good care of it.

But I have sold my brother a couple cars over the years, and he just trashed and wrecked them, so no more for him. One was a a cherry '88 Fox. One owner, PERFECT condition, too. Stripper model, but was in amazingly fantastic shape which you almost never see on a Fox.

oilhammer said:

Depends on the family member.
I sold my brother in law (well, it was before he married my sister) a 2.slo Jetta I resurrected.... and that was four years ago. He loves the car, and takes good care of it.
But I have sold my brother a couple cars over the years, and he just trashed and wrecked them, so no more for him. One was a a cherry '88 Fox. One owner, PERFECT condition, too. Stripper model, but was in amazingly fantastic shape which you almost never see on a Fox.

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I agree....a used car is always a gamble.

Never finance anything to family OR rent to family unless it's something you'd give away anyway