Hi all,
New guy here, and since I don't really have anything to add to all the technical discussion on this great site, I thought I'd make my first post here.
I have been using a Harley Davidson Wideglide as my only vehicle while my wife drives our F-150. Well, we decided to do a motorcycle trip up the PCH to San Fransisco, over to Sacramento, and down through Yosemite; about 1300 miles. All went well until the final day when my bikes Inner Primary Bearing went out, and we had to tow the bike the last 150 miles home.
We decided on the way home that I needed a car, so the search began. I wanted something that would yield decent utility, but not kill me in fuel usage on my 50 mile/day commute. I wanted something that would get about as good fuel economy as my Harley had been getting, and as a former Engineman in the Navy, I love diesel technology. A Jetta TDI wagon would fit the bill perfectly. Problem is, one was not to be found. Oh sure, there was the two salvage title ones at the local "TDI Specialist" dealer, but I don't do salvage titles. No other Jetta wagon TDIs were for sale in southern California.
My wife laughed as I expanded the search farther and farther from home, and still could not find the car I was looking for. Not on Ebay, not on Carmax, and not on Auto Trader could I find the car I, now, so badly wanted. Finally, out of desperation, I did a nationwide search, and finally, two silver Jetta TDI wagons (plus the two previously mentioned salvage titles) showed up. One in Washington sate, the other in Connecticut.
The one in Washington was listed at $12,500 and had 125,000 miles while the one in Connecticut had 135,000, but the price was only $7,650. I called Connecticut. Owner was very helpful; he sent pictures of everything I asked for, he sent service records, he even sent me the most recent smog cert from his state. I put a deposit down and booked a flight. LAX to BDL (Hartford, CT) for $215. The owner picked me up at the airport, I looked the car over, paid the man, and hit the road. That was last Wednesday, October 26th. 13 states and 3,000 miles later I pulled into my driveway a little before midnight that Saturday. I even got to stop and see my parents in Colorado. The Jetta ran great, and even gave me a 48MPG and 705 miles on a tank at speeds of 70-75, and 45MPG on a tank while driving 75-80 mph. So far I am liking this car a lot. Sure it needs a few things like suspension bushings and shocks, but overall the car is in pretty decent shape. I know a few of my friends thought I was crazy when they found out what I was up to, but my thought was that I wouldn't buy any car anywhere if I thought it would break down in the first 3,000 miles. lol.
Thanks for reading. Great forum you all have here. I lurked for some time before joining.
New guy here, and since I don't really have anything to add to all the technical discussion on this great site, I thought I'd make my first post here.
I have been using a Harley Davidson Wideglide as my only vehicle while my wife drives our F-150. Well, we decided to do a motorcycle trip up the PCH to San Fransisco, over to Sacramento, and down through Yosemite; about 1300 miles. All went well until the final day when my bikes Inner Primary Bearing went out, and we had to tow the bike the last 150 miles home.
We decided on the way home that I needed a car, so the search began. I wanted something that would yield decent utility, but not kill me in fuel usage on my 50 mile/day commute. I wanted something that would get about as good fuel economy as my Harley had been getting, and as a former Engineman in the Navy, I love diesel technology. A Jetta TDI wagon would fit the bill perfectly. Problem is, one was not to be found. Oh sure, there was the two salvage title ones at the local "TDI Specialist" dealer, but I don't do salvage titles. No other Jetta wagon TDIs were for sale in southern California.
My wife laughed as I expanded the search farther and farther from home, and still could not find the car I was looking for. Not on Ebay, not on Carmax, and not on Auto Trader could I find the car I, now, so badly wanted. Finally, out of desperation, I did a nationwide search, and finally, two silver Jetta TDI wagons (plus the two previously mentioned salvage titles) showed up. One in Washington sate, the other in Connecticut.
The one in Washington was listed at $12,500 and had 125,000 miles while the one in Connecticut had 135,000, but the price was only $7,650. I called Connecticut. Owner was very helpful; he sent pictures of everything I asked for, he sent service records, he even sent me the most recent smog cert from his state. I put a deposit down and booked a flight. LAX to BDL (Hartford, CT) for $215. The owner picked me up at the airport, I looked the car over, paid the man, and hit the road. That was last Wednesday, October 26th. 13 states and 3,000 miles later I pulled into my driveway a little before midnight that Saturday. I even got to stop and see my parents in Colorado. The Jetta ran great, and even gave me a 48MPG and 705 miles on a tank at speeds of 70-75, and 45MPG on a tank while driving 75-80 mph. So far I am liking this car a lot. Sure it needs a few things like suspension bushings and shocks, but overall the car is in pretty decent shape. I know a few of my friends thought I was crazy when they found out what I was up to, but my thought was that I wouldn't buy any car anywhere if I thought it would break down in the first 3,000 miles. lol.
Thanks for reading. Great forum you all have here. I lurked for some time before joining.
