2002 Golf TDI Feeler...

2002 Golf TDI Feeler... SOLD

SOLD
I'm a newbie to the site, but have lurked occasionally over the years. I've had a TDI since 2001 and am looking to sell it (2002 Golf TDI 4-door). KBB.com tells me it's worth about $2500. Edmunds.com tells me it's worth about $1800. CarMax tells me it's worth $750 (written offer good for 7 days). A quick scan of ebay completed listings told me this model has sold in the last few months for as low as $990 (must be towed away) and $4500 (claimed perfect condition). I'm assuming my actual value should probably be somewhere between the two. This post isn't really about trying to post it for sale here as much as trying to decide if it's worth posting for sale here and what the experts on this forum think would be a fair posting price. Of course I'd like to make as much as possible, and if I can make more money putting the car in the hands of an enthusiast who will appreciate it, I'll take that over CarMax any day.
I am the original owner (I'm not a car-guy so give me a break). The car is in the NW suburbs of Chicago and has spent most of its life there. It has about 115K miles, had oil changes and maintenance mostly as recommended (often later than recommended) and I don't have records (done at dealer, done through other shops, done at private mechanics, etc.). No accidents. The intake manifold was cleaned for me by a private mechanic at around 60K miles and (I'm guessing based on current performance but I'm no expert) needs it again. It has the original timing belt. The clutch was replaced about 10K miles ago. Brakes have been replaced a while back but were still in "very good" condition according to Midas about a year ago. The last time I had it in the shop, the plugs and harness were replaced except for one of the plugs was "stuck" and couldn't be removed (You're the experts: was it an idiot mechanic or a serious problem?) The body is in good condition, but the paint job isn't (my son got spray paint on it years ago and some of it was buffed away which took some of the original finish as well). No rust. Normal wear and fading on the interior. It its current condition, acceleration is horrible (presumably because of a clogged intake manifold), but I still get about 40mpg (mostly city driving).
So… Is it worth going through all the details, adding pictures, Q&A, etc. to post it for sale here? Should I just go to CarMax and let them deal with it? If I left out anything critical to making a recommendation of CarMax versus TDIClub, let me know. (And if the recommendation is to sell via TDIClub, any hints for fair pricing would be appreciated as well…)
Thank you.

Seems like you should be able to get 2-3k out of it with that few miles, and with no rust. Although, I have a hard time believing it doesn't have any rust considering your location.

Going this long without a timing belt change is just about the biggest risk you can take with this car. If you want it to be worth zero, nada, nothing-- keep driving it. Otherwise, put it up for sale with pictures and have it towed to its next home.

Andrew

Thanks for the response.

It is not being driven much since I "inherited" a 2013 TDI from my son. A "professional" mechanic told me about 5K miles ago that there was no wear on the timing belt, but I know it is still the most urgent piece of work for someone who wants to continue driving it (followed closely by cleaning out the intake manifold so it can accelerate again).

I'll post it "for sale" later with a lot of pics. I'll double check for rust as I'm taking pics since you doubt that part of the description (perhaps it has rust I never noticed). It got the full undercoat treatment before leaving the dealer lot originally so I'm hopeful that it is not just something I missed...

First, you'd need to provide more info about the car. Stick or auto transmission? Why was the clutch replaced at 105k? GLS model with what options? Can you provide more info on the lack of power? Selling it here means selling it to an educated (and often tough) crowd.

If it were mine, I'd have the proper services done and ask more than any of your estimates, which are all below reasonable market value (if you are willing to wait a bit). It's an ALH with no rust and 115k- that alone helps with the value. I'd put the time and cash into it, get it into good shape for the next owner, and get a better sale price than what you've listed.

That being said, buyers here generally avoid TDIs being sold with improper maintenance and a lack of maint history- or at least avoid them from new members at high prices. The failure to have the TB done at 6 years or 100,000 miles is a red flag, not only b/c your mechanic is letting us all know he doesn't know TDIs, but because it reflects on the general upkeep of the owner. If I was able to get a stuck glow plug out, certainly your mechanic should have been up to the job. The lack of power could be lots of things, and if you've already had the intake cleaned, I'm gonna guess that it's something else. I wouldn't pay a decent price for the car unless it was fixed or diagnosed. What Andrew said above is spot on: Your timing belt may last 13 years, but the rollers and such it rides on are all likely ready to trash the engine, leaving us all with yet another dead TDI. Take it to a TDI guru close to you and give it some love.

I am interested in it. Check your private messages!

I know it needs more info to sell. The primary question is whether it was really below value for the pittance CarMax offered (seemed pathetically close to scrap prices to me) and the answer seems to be yes.

I expect this will be a great car for someone who wants to put the time and effort into it to fix it up. As you said, "get it to a TDI guru". I'm hoping to find one who wants it at a fair price and will give it the love to restore it.

I know the people hear are an educated TDI crowd (much more so than me). That's part of the reason I'm here rather than either CarMax or ebay. Carmax wants to cheat me and I'm sure I could probably oversell it on ebay and cheat someone else (especially if I invested a little up front to fix/hide the current issues), but neither of those options sounds as good as getting it into the hands of an educated person who knows how to fix it up and will appreciate it

BTW: The "professional mechanic(s)" I took it to who said the timing belt showed no wear and who didn't change the glow plug because it was "stuck" were at my local VW dealership.

Its worth more than carmax offered.

Nuff said. Now get it fixed up or post a sale thread with price and pictures.

jhbrooks said:

As you said, "get it to a TDI guru". I'm hoping to find one who wants it at a fair price and will give it the love to restore it.

BTW: The "professional mechanic(s)" I took it to who said the timing belt showed no wear and who didn't change the glow plug because it was "stuck" were at my local VW dealership.

Click to expand...

A Guru here is shorthand for independent mechanics who work on TDIs and have demonstrated expertise. Martin Bergel did the first TB on my 2003, he's up in Fowlerville. Munk's garage is in Waterford; I have never been there.

If you had asked us to guess who the "professional mechanic(s)" were, 90% of watchers would have said the Dealership.

G/L with the sale!

Sorry I didn't get around to posting it "for sale", but I was contacted via PM and already sold it.

You should keep the 02 TDI.... the best engine: ALH.... lots of people have around 1/2 Million km and or even miles!!!