Cheap, high mileage ALH

So I bought an 01 Jetta ALH a few months ago and have been daily driving it and it's great. But my problem is that I only paid $1500 for it and it has 300k miles and I'm not sure whether it's worth it to get the timing belt changed. I am unsure of when the last belt was done, previous owner said at 260k, but he didn't have any receipts so I can't know for sure. My question is, is it worth it to get the timing belt done or should i just drive the car until it fails? I have another vehicle to drive btw

If you enjoy the car, I would strongly suggest having the timing belt, idlers, tensioner and water pump replaced soonest.

Waiting until it fails negates any savings, as you're looking at replacing or rebuilding an engine once the timing belt lets go.

You should get anther 100K out of it,so I think it would be worth it.

How about you just light your $1500 on fire and watch it burn? Pretty stupid to spend $1500 on a vehicle then penny pinch the $300 for a really nice high mileage timing belt kit to do it yourself. Or $600 if you paid someone to do it.

Furthermore, wouldn't it be cheaper to preventative maintenance your vehicle rather than let it blow up and have to buy, yet another, $1500 wonder car??

I will never ever understand the mentality of "I only paid XXX for a car, and therefor have a low ceiling for spending anything to keep it running".

So, if some relative who had a nice cherry two year old vehicle suddenly passed away, and you got the car for free, you'd forbid yourself from doing ANYTHING to it?

I paid $1500 for my daily driver, not running, in the summer of 2009. I spent twice that getting it fixed back up. I still drive it today, over 150k miles later, and will still be driving it (assuming no major crash or something like that) 150k miles from now. All told, total, I have about $6k in a car that is: A: paid for, B: reliable, C: fun, and D: frugal. All for less than half of the cheapest new garbage penalty box entry level turd like a Versa or Mirage. And it is faster and bigger and uses less fuel to boot!

The car is worth what it is worth to you, no more, no less. Don't let the purchase price make the car become a piece of junk when it isn't right now. They are not making any more of these cars, and quite frankly there isn't much of anything newer that can do what these can. Sell it to someone who cares, you may find that $1500 is a steal to someone else, and they'll happily grab it and bestow upon it whatever is necessary to keep it working as it should.

oilhammer said:

I will never ever understand the mentality of "I only paid XXX for a car, and therefor have a low ceiling for spending anything to keep it running".

So, if some relative who had a nice cherry two year old vehicle suddenly passed away, and you got the car for free, you'd forbid yourself from doing ANYTHING to it?

I paid $1500 for my daily driver, not running, in the summer of 2009. I spent twice that getting it fixed back up. I still drive it today, over 150k miles later, and will still be driving it (assuming no major crash or something like that) 150k miles from now. All told, total, I have about $6k in a car that is: A: paid for, B: reliable, C: fun, and D: frugal. All for less than half of the cheapest new garbage penalty box entry level turd like a Versa or Mirage. And it is faster and bigger and uses less fuel to boot!

The car is worth what it is worth to you, no more, no less. Don't let the purchase price make the car become a piece of junk when it isn't right now. They are not making any more of these cars, and quite frankly there isn't much of anything newer that can do what these can. Sell it to someone who cares, you may find that $1500 is a steal to someone else, and they'll happily grab it and bestow upon it whatever is necessary to keep it working as it should.

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Well said!
My thoughts exactly!
.....hence our family has 5 of these things on the road.

, change your belts, all of them, timing parts, water pump with upgrade, new seals when you do the belt, flush the steering fluid, do an oil change and filter with a mobile one filter and synth oil to spec, flush brake fluid, change all your coolant hoses and trans fluid. Do a general update on parts that if they fail, the car fails big time, like a radiator hose, or a timing belt, or engine oil.

I hate to see people buy a used car thinking that they can just drive it until it done go no more. If that’s the case, go buy a $300 beat up civic or corolla from the 80's, put historic tags on it and thrash it with $20 tires from craigslist ok.

When you buy a used car, you are buying its maintenance plan with it, cheap cars = cheap parts, high miles, mean lots of parts. Those tdi's can get 400K if you take care of the basic needs like I listed. Otherwise you need to scrap it now, drive it till it goes boom and keep waiting our time, your money and so on. I bet your going to be driving on the dry rotted tires that are still on it?

Fix all the stuff that is important like I listed, put new tires and eventually a new suspension, you’re at 60-70% of its life if you care for it, they don’t cost that much of not abused with crap mods done poorly and can be quite reliable with little effort.

I'm not trying to say that I'm not willing to spend money to maintain my car. I'm just trying to figure out the best economical path to take. I'm a firm believer in maintaining vehicles, but I just don't wanna spend nearly the price of the car on maintaining the engine if it is going to go soon. I usually do my own maintenance, but the tb job scares me a bit. If the engine is fine, which I think it is seeing as there is no blow by and it runs great, then yes, I will do the tb. I really just wanted have some opinions and conversation about it. Thanks for the replies everyone

The #1 thing that kills these engines is neglect.

The engine itself will last indefinitely. 300k, 400k, 500k miles, piece of cake. If it sounds and runs good, it is not likely to have anything different at 300k miles than one at 100k miles. The ALH is a good sturdy simple engine.

I would, however, do a more comprehensive job if you want the engine to continue to last. Oil pump chain/tensioner, possibly the accessory belt tensioner and idler, etc.

oilhammer said:

I will never ever understand the mentality of "I only paid XXX for a car, and therefor have a low ceiling for spending anything to keep it running".

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It's like paying the insurance copay for a heart transplant and then not wanting to buy the anti-rejection drugs to stay alive. Same concept.

My son bought an '02 Golf for $1,000 with 265K on it. We repaired a door hinge, replaced the timing belt, installed rear calipers, and replaced the turbo actuator. Since then (3 years ago) we've also refreshed the suspension and replaced the clutch, A/C compressor, and injector nozzles. Car now has over 350K on it and is going strong. Everything works. Seems like a bargain to me.

Squirrelllll said:

I'm not trying to say that I'm not willing to spend money to maintain my car. I'm just trying to figure out the best economical path to take. I'm a firm believer in maintaining vehicles, but I just don't wanna spend nearly the price of the car on maintaining the engine if it is going to go soon. I usually do my own maintenance, but the tb job scares me a bit. If the engine is fine, which I think it is seeing as there is no blow by and it runs great, then yes, I will do the tb. I really just wanted have some opinions and conversation about it. Thanks for the replies everyone

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Good, just go over all fluids and wear parts as i described and you wil have a car that costs you on average $200 a year in parts to keep running,

in the long run, i always look at budget cars to cost me $4,000 for every 100K miles i get if its well kept up with the original purchase price. your on the right track with a TDI in that age, the ALH is a bit more costly a tiny bit on some parts like a timing belt vs the AHU but its a solid platform.

spend $1,000 in parts and tires and do all the work yourself and drive it and do oil changes every 8K miles with filter and enjoy the next 5 years of low cost parts like brakes or some other parts. Dont exceed $2,500 every year in parts. remember you can buy a new car, or a low milage, or a used high and as long as your ahead of your own financial curve your fine.

I think a lot of it has to do with one's tolerance for having perhaps an unexpected need pop up, and having a contingency plan in place. I have several cars. If my Golf decided it no longer wanted its 5th gear on the way home from work tonight, I'd simply drive another car until I could get the parts in hand and the car fixed again. But to that end, I try not to let anything like that happen in the first place (hence my gearbox is kept full of clean proper lubricant, for instance).

I know that is not an ideal situation for someone, but it works for me. And our shop gets stuff towed in all the time that has stuff that broke and it is in no way the fault of the driver, nor is it necessarily something that should be expected.

My cousin's 2010 Kia Forte is ready for another engine... at only 91k miles. Its first engine was replaced under warranty at 45k miles. Car is not abused, never neglected, never run low on oil. It is just a known hunk of crap, and she should not have to worry about something like this happening (it is her only car) but unfortunately it has. She's driving one of my extra cars now... a 220k mile Volkswagen that I am 100% certain will NOT need an engine anytime soon. And yesterday I resurrected my aunt/uncle's 1999 Caravan for her to drive semi-permanently until she can afford a new engine or a new (hopefully not another Hyundai/Kia product) car. My uncle is pushing her towards a Jetta S, like he has, but his is the bulletproof 2.slo and I am not sure the long term durability of the 1.4L turbo engine yet. Of course, it cannot possibly be as bad as her Forte.

I think the fear of doing a proper timing belt job is a good thing. However, it's the same thing as fearing a snake might bite. You just don't allow the fear to keep you from handling the job at hand. I think it's more like 'respect'.

We have helped so many people to 'get the job done right', while warning where the 'land mines' are. The right tools, the right knowledge and the right parts and the job goes together.

We just loaned a 400k car to a family member that is on furlough from their missionary trips. That vehicle keeps going down the road, just like it has for 16 years. It's been taken care of and will continue to be taken care of. We have done 'strange things' like change the brake fluid and replace body grommets. It still runs and feels like a new car...or you can drop $20-$40...whatever...into car payments. I've never been one who thinks a car is a status symbol. It's transportation between A and B.

When a vehicle becomes fiscally irresponsible to maintain, then it's time to go. Yours is not there. As a matter of fact, we bought a $200 Golf that will take $800 to fix. Not a problem.

It's worth it...do it.

You need tools, parts and support? We do that all the time.

Oh my car is a status symbol. The status is I am getting from A to B for the least amount of $, because I want to spend my money somewhere else.

Wasn't there a Volkswagen ad that said "Live below your means"?

I'm definitely proud of driving my older TDIs. I live in a town full of high-dollar SUVs (Suburbans or Tahoes are considered low rent) and at this point people simply don't know what that funny sounding little wagon is. But I know what I haven't spent on it over the years.

I posted this pic in another thread last week: I was in Manhattan visiting a client and parked at a garage adjacent to the Sloan Kettering medical center. It amused me to see my '99.5 TDI among the X5s, E300s, and Panameras. I like my car better. This one has "only" 257K on it.

Tornado Red is such a great color, too. Stands out in a sea of hueless blah. That picture sums that up nicely.

My bone stock daily driver with 383K is due for a belt service and needs new axles soon. I will not hesitate in treating my car with Raxles which parts alone probably cost half the market value of the car. It is running the original injectors, and injection pump. I suspect it would be on the original clutch, but I had it converted to a 5-speed at 250K. My wife’s 02 Jetta, and our 03 Golf have 321K and 312K respectively and are all original and literally drive near new. All our cars still have original floor mats and headliners. Although my wife’s is sagging a bit (wife’s headliner that is). It will be a sad day when I am faced with choosing another car besides an ALH VW. Our experience is these are the cheapest cars per mile to drive and at the same having fun experiencing the torque of even an un-modified engine.

Actually that's Flash Red. '99.5s were Flash. But it's also new paint so it looks darker.

BTW, I paid $1,000 for that car. I haven't added up what I'm into it for, don't want to know. But it's less than most any new car, and it'll probably last longer, even starting with 250K on it.

I agree with all of the above posters: please don't let your ALH die instead of replacing the timing belt. Even if you have to have it done by a trusted guru, the $600.00 it will cost will become a negligible amount over the next 100K miles at $0.006 per mile. If you don't want to fix it, advertise it here for sale and there is a high likelihood the car will sell quickly.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Actually that's Flash Red. '99.5s were Flash. But it's also new paint so it looks darker.

.

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Ah, yes, forgot about Flash. Still, looks great, a standout for sure.

Speaking of hueless blah, here is just a random sample of what is behind our shop right now:



A boring line of white, black, silver, and various stages of gray and puece. Which is why I wanted a red Sprinter, and ended up with a boring silver one. At least I scored a Jazz Blue Golf!

Oilhammer... you could always get your Sprinter vinyl wrapped

-J

compu_85 said:

Oilhammer... you could always get your Sprinter vinyl wrapped

-J

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Haha, no thanks. You know what that costs??? Just found out recently. It is nuts more expensive than I thought.

I've learned to like the silver, even if it is bland. It is better paint, too, a $1000 option. Still would have rather had a red one with cruise control.

What's funny is, about a week after I got mine, they got a Jupiter Red one in... and I was like "What the.....?" thinking that maybe suddenly mine I ordered was there, but it was a 4x4, so it wasn't. Nice looking beast, though. The red contrasts nicely with the black trim and silver wheels.

There are those people that buy a $500 car and drive it till it drops and then buy another. It helps if you always have two on hand though. With a watchful eye it actually works. Some never even get it registered in their name, just drive the existing registration till it expires. Maintenance consists of topping off the oil and water. No registration, no insurance and maybe $5 for the cheapest oil you can find. There are a number of these people here in Texas. I sold a car to one one time and after paying the money I ripped the window sticker and tags off. Man were they not happy.

I got burned by a buyer like that. I trusted that they'd do their part of the deal, and a few months later was getting contacted by a tow lot saying that I owed them for towing and storage fees.
The new owner broke something, and just abandoned it in an apartment complex's parking lot.

Also status cars for me. My status: debt-free, low insurance costs, low operational costs (now that I've got them up to full maintenance spec after previous owners opted to go with the deferred maintenance plan). I smile every time I drive one of my cars: very rare than an economy car can be fun to drive (with my performance mods I'm still pushing 50mpg- and with nice suspension they almost feel sporty).

Life is all about maintenance. That or you can be a perpetual consumer of new things, and THAT is VERY expensive. Nothing lasts forever. Entropy rules. While these cars are not exempt from entropy's forces they ARE fairly predictable in how they hold up in the battle; further, something really bad has to happen to stop one of these cars from getting you to Point B.

So, $1,500 + $800 = $2,300. If one were to have a car payment, let's say a very modest one of $300/mo, then that would work out to about 8 months of payments. Go one year and the [$2,300] cost is less than $200/month; go two years and you're looking at $100/mo. This is how I look at these things. I recently dumped in about $1k into the daughter's (2003 TDI) wagon to try and keep its automatic transmission going for a while longer; if it makes it two years then that's a cost of less than $42/mo. A 5spd swap wasn't/isn't an option, so it's either this car or she'd have to find something else (and who knows what issues would be lurking there- a used Kia). Note, however, that I'd put in a few thousand dollars into this wagon- again, I figured it was worth doing so (TB done right away; all new brakes; full suspension refresh; ALL higher quality parts).

There is one catch to this here; doing a timing belt on this car is more than just spending $300 on the kit. You've got tool rental, and you should probably also get a VCDS to make sure fuel timing and quantity are right. And frankly: depending on where you live, you can "borrow" these things, or laying your hands on them could be kind of a pain, and you're better off buying them; that's about $100, and $300, respectively; assuming you have a computer to run VCDS on. And if you're planning on taking on other projects on this car - get the Bentley manual; you'll thank me later. That's about $100.

And there's the risk of hitting a stripped motor mount bolt. That happens. Plus, the coolant you have to replace is not cheap. (must use G12 or equivalent). Taking this stuff apart can trigger other necessary repairs like replacing vacuum hoses and intake hoses that are old and cracked, and didn't survive removal.

Overall - I think it's worth the effort, and I sent mine out to get done because I didn't want to have to deal with all that (though I've done quite a bit of other work on mine). (and then: I ended up re-doing the last job anyway because I had to replace the head gasket).

How much you spend on a car that is at it's end of life is a calculated risk. It *IS* important to put money into necessary periodic maintenance. And Timing Belt is NOT optional on this engine.

I have; not too long ago - spent $1500 rebuilding a transmission on a $2000 car, that got wrecked by a FedEx truck, 3 weeks later. That was kind of a disaster. Bad luck for me, for sure. (and that was just the latest after about $500 in other miscellaneous work I had done on that car). But if that car was still going today; had it not been hit, I'm certain it would be; 3 years later, only oil-changes, I think that was money well spent.

On the Jetta, the one thing I have trouble spending money on is the suspension refresh. It just kills me how pricey that stuff is. Cars this old there's that long laundry list of little things; sticky switches, broken latches, chipped windshields, paint chips, saggy bumpers, missing trim strips, bad antenna. Those are hard to spend money on.

But do the timing belt.

Coolant is expensive? A 1.5L bottle of concentrate is plenty for a timing belt swap, we charge $12.95 for it. i don't think that's going to break the bank.

A few years ago I had a new transmission, clutch, axle, and timing belt installed in my son's car. And new snow tires. He totaled it two weeks later. I wasn't very happy. But his Golf saved him from injury, so I really didn't mind. That can happen with any car.