dzcad90
Rolex & gin
FS - 03 Jetta TDI 161K + Mods and maint items, $5750 Chicago Area
Well, I always said I'd drive this car until I can't but here I am thinking about putting her up for sale.
'03 Jetta GLS TDI, Silver exterior with Black Leather interior. 5 speed manual.
The car has some highs and some lows, so in the interest of being up front I'll get the lows out of the way first.
The car has some damage to the drivers side side skirt and door. I was in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and ran into some type of mega construction pothole and it put this damage into the sideskirt. It's pushed in and caused the door to bend a little immediatley after opening. Fortunately, the damage is all cosmetic and the car drives and rides fine.
Second - Scratch on the trunk and bumper - The car was in my garage right after I bought my new place. I thought I had pulled far enough up, however the garage door put a nice scratch on the rear of the trunk lid and the bumper. Again, only cosmetic damage and a little wax will seal it right up.
Third - Recently had morning drivability issue. Dealer says it's nothing and they can't reproduce, however when it's first morning it seems to have low power for the first mile or so. After that it picks right back up to normal. My gut says it might be a sticky VNT auctuator, which is $99 from TDIParts.com. It has a brand new MAF and Coolant Temp Sensor.
Fourth - Typical interior wear for 161K miles. The car also needs a glow plug harness. All the glow plugs were replaced last summer and test out to be the same resistance between all four. The CEL is on and indicates an issue with plugs three and four. $60 and this will clear.
Ok.. Now for the good points on the car.
I bought this car new in November of 2003. It was hard to find as the '04's had already started saturating dealers and I wasn't a fan of getting the PD engine with it being so new in the US. It was my first ever new car.
Since that time, it's lived on a steady diet of pre ULSD Ammoco diesel and then ULSD once it was everywhere, and Mobil Delvac-1 at 15K intervals.
Most of the miles are highway miles. For the first couple of years I lived about 60 miles one way from work and the TDI got me there and back every day without issue. I later moved about 60 miles closer to Chicago and took a job in the suburbs that required I drive within Chicago and the Burbs a lot, still accounting for a lot of highway miles.
Here's a list of maintenance items peformend:
I hate to see my Jetta go, but here's my situation. I just got married and my wife and I will be adding a child to our family in the next year or two. The A4 Jetta, especially with all my audio equipment in the trunk really isn't the car to have with a baby. Carseats don't fit too well in the rear of an A4. There's good incentives on new Jetta TDIs and the newer Jettas are a little bigger. The part that scares me the most about this is becoming a father. The fact that I'm going to be responsible for another human life is just astounding.
When I was young and single, I had the time and the place to do a lot of my own repairs and maintenance. My one car garage at my Condo just doesn't allow me much room to do a lot of maintenance myself these days. Luckily my Dad has a new garage that I can do maintenance at, but driving 60 miles one way to do maintenance items is becoming a chore. New Jettas are including maintenance for the first 36K, which is attractive. By the time that is over, I should be in position to buy a house with a two car garage in a place with no homeowners association rule against working on your own car. (Never buy a condo.. PM me for more details on this one..)
This is my second TDI. I had a '97 Jetta I totalled, and then I bought this. The TDI truly is a great machine. That's why I'm considering a third.
I'm feeling this out by asking $5750 with the damage. KBB puts this car at $7.4K+ in fair condition. The car is located in Joliet, IL. I will include an offical Bentley Service Manual for the A4 chassis as well as a VCDS (VAG-COM) scan of all systems. The title for this car is in hand and clean. Carfax will be provided on request.
More pics to be found at: http://tinyurl.com/TDIFS
Pics aren't the best, I didn't have time to clean her up before the rain hit. I'll try and get better pictures this weekend.
PM with questions, details.
I should be able to post a pic or two this weekend.
Edits: I keep thinking of mods / maintenance items to add to the list.
Well, I always said I'd drive this car until I can't but here I am thinking about putting her up for sale.
'03 Jetta GLS TDI, Silver exterior with Black Leather interior. 5 speed manual.
The car has some highs and some lows, so in the interest of being up front I'll get the lows out of the way first.
The car has some damage to the drivers side side skirt and door. I was in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and ran into some type of mega construction pothole and it put this damage into the sideskirt. It's pushed in and caused the door to bend a little immediatley after opening. Fortunately, the damage is all cosmetic and the car drives and rides fine.
Second - Scratch on the trunk and bumper - The car was in my garage right after I bought my new place. I thought I had pulled far enough up, however the garage door put a nice scratch on the rear of the trunk lid and the bumper. Again, only cosmetic damage and a little wax will seal it right up.
Third - Recently had morning drivability issue. Dealer says it's nothing and they can't reproduce, however when it's first morning it seems to have low power for the first mile or so. After that it picks right back up to normal. My gut says it might be a sticky VNT auctuator, which is $99 from TDIParts.com. It has a brand new MAF and Coolant Temp Sensor.
Fourth - Typical interior wear for 161K miles. The car also needs a glow plug harness. All the glow plugs were replaced last summer and test out to be the same resistance between all four. The CEL is on and indicates an issue with plugs three and four. $60 and this will clear.
Ok.. Now for the good points on the car.
I bought this car new in November of 2003. It was hard to find as the '04's had already started saturating dealers and I wasn't a fan of getting the PD engine with it being so new in the US. It was my first ever new car.
Since that time, it's lived on a steady diet of pre ULSD Ammoco diesel and then ULSD once it was everywhere, and Mobil Delvac-1 at 15K intervals.
Most of the miles are highway miles. For the first couple of years I lived about 60 miles one way from work and the TDI got me there and back every day without issue. I later moved about 60 miles closer to Chicago and took a job in the suburbs that required I drive within Chicago and the Burbs a lot, still accounting for a lot of highway miles.
Here's a list of maintenance items peformend:
- The car had the timing belt changed at about 95K.
- New Monroe struts around 125-130K with lifetime warranty.
- New battery last winter.
- Brand new Michelin Hydro-Edge tires about 6K miles ago.
- New front brakes about 6K miles ago, and new rear brakes about 3K miles ago.
- The alternator was rebuilt with new brushes, bearings, and a new clutch pulley at 145K miles. It bench tested at over 127 amps, at that point the rebulder's test motor could not turn it anymore.
- The windshield was replaced about 10K miles ago due to various rock chips.
- I will include two litres of VW GL-4 transmission fluid and a hose/funnel combo. I was going to do the tranny fluid at the last oil change, however I didn't have a 17MM hex key. It literally takes about 20 minutes to change.
- The driver's door power window switch was replaced about two weeks ago. This is a common wear item on A4 chassis cars and runs about $65 from the dealer. Good as new!
- Hella E-Code headlamps with Fog/Driving lights
- Euroswitch
- Rear Fog Light
- Half MFA Sport (1J5) cluster with correct mileage programmed, outside air temperature, illuminated needles, and distance to empty enabled. MFA Stalk. Rear fog indicator wired as well.
- AlienTech Window Controller. Roll up, down, or vent the power windows with the remote.
. - I'll even leave in the hardwire for a Valentine One radar detector. Just get your detector and plug in! It's wired to switched ignition and the wire hangs just below the rear view mirror. Otherwise, it can be easily tucked away for storage above the headliner.
- Alpine CDA-9835
- Alpine KCA-420i iPod Adaptor
- TUA-020XM XM Satellite Radio Tuner
- XM Radio Satellite Antenna on the rear hat shelf (Interior mounted)
- JL Audio 12W7 Subwoofer in a custom sealed enclosure.
- Alpine MRD-M1000 (1000W RMS @ 2 Ohm)
- Alpine CHA-S634 6 disck MP3 CD Changer (Only the changer or the iPod adaptor can be hooked up. Right now it's the iPod adaptor.)
- 0/1 gauge Stinger Pro Hexagonal wiring running from the battery all the way to the trunk with 150A fusable link.
- 1 Farad (I believe) capacator for the amplifier link.
- Custom built enclosure to fit the Jetta trunk to hold the amplifiers. It's carpeted and basically looks like the floor of the trunk has been raised about 4 inches. It currently holds only the MRD-M1000, however I left room to mount amplifiers for front and rear component sets.
I hate to see my Jetta go, but here's my situation. I just got married and my wife and I will be adding a child to our family in the next year or two. The A4 Jetta, especially with all my audio equipment in the trunk really isn't the car to have with a baby. Carseats don't fit too well in the rear of an A4. There's good incentives on new Jetta TDIs and the newer Jettas are a little bigger. The part that scares me the most about this is becoming a father. The fact that I'm going to be responsible for another human life is just astounding.
When I was young and single, I had the time and the place to do a lot of my own repairs and maintenance. My one car garage at my Condo just doesn't allow me much room to do a lot of maintenance myself these days. Luckily my Dad has a new garage that I can do maintenance at, but driving 60 miles one way to do maintenance items is becoming a chore. New Jettas are including maintenance for the first 36K, which is attractive. By the time that is over, I should be in position to buy a house with a two car garage in a place with no homeowners association rule against working on your own car. (Never buy a condo.. PM me for more details on this one..)
This is my second TDI. I had a '97 Jetta I totalled, and then I bought this. The TDI truly is a great machine. That's why I'm considering a third.
I'm feeling this out by asking $5750 with the damage. KBB puts this car at $7.4K+ in fair condition. The car is located in Joliet, IL. I will include an offical Bentley Service Manual for the A4 chassis as well as a VCDS (VAG-COM) scan of all systems. The title for this car is in hand and clean. Carfax will be provided on request.
More pics to be found at: http://tinyurl.com/TDIFS
Pics aren't the best, I didn't have time to clean her up before the rain hit. I'll try and get better pictures this weekend.
PM with questions, details.
I should be able to post a pic or two this weekend.
Edits: I keep thinking of mods / maintenance items to add to the list.
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