Newbie needing on purchasing a 2002 Golf TDI

Hey guys I need advice on a 2002 Golf TDI I want to purchase.

So I have been been looking for almost a month Specifically for the older model Golf TDI and yesterday I found from what to me looks like a great deal. I found a 2002 Golf TDI 5 speed manual, with 104,000 miles for $5,500. The owner less than a month ago had the timing belt and water pump replaced. He also got a professional paint job done as he mentioned that the old paint was fading he has all the receipts of the things he got done to the vehicle. I checked the vin number on Carfax and auto check and the car came back good over 40 maintenance service records found and only 1 owner, no accidents and a clean title. Is the vehicle worth buying? The other issue is that I currently live in Florida and the vehicle is in California. I am willing to drive it here but only like I said if it’s really worth purchasing. What do you guys think?

Price seems high, especially with the travel cost, but that's your decision.
Timing belt replacement is critical job. Almost all VWs (especially TDIs) for sale have had "recent" TB service. Stellar documentation on the source of the parts replaced, what exact parts were replaced, and who did the work and their competence are all important (to me).
Why all the recent maintainence just before putting it up for sale would be a nagging question on my mind.

If I read you correctly, the car has been owned by the same person for close to 18 years? That could explain all the work before selling it, they simply love the car. Price reflects that also. Check your basics you would on any car. Clutch is probably your most likely next large point of failure. Last brake job, tires, ever had suspension bushings, Intake cleaned? Have any wheel bearings been replaced? Oil leaks? Shocks or struts been replaced?For that price the car should be spotless with most possible fail or wear points recently addressed, but it is possible.

The car is old regardless the mileage. Therefore, there are going to be several things that will be problematic due to age.

1) Check the AC vents for foam spitting out. Turn up the AC to full blast and turn the flow direction back and forth through the full motion. A lot of times the foam will come out when those doors change directions. It's a big job to correct.

2) Check axle boots for damage. Again, age affects their life. If he has been on top of the maintenance then it will be working.

3) If the paint was bad, i would imagine the interior is under some wear. That would affect his top dollar price.

4) If this is a 5 speed, check the shifter and make sure it does not have slop in it. Take it through its range of motion to be sure it's smooth.

5) Check under the hood to make sure there isn't any non-stock modifications, especially the air filter. The battery should have a cover and be mounted well.

6) Was the suspension refreshed(struts, sway bar bushings, etc)? Again, the car is old so some things will wear on age. You should hear no clunking noises, especially over speed bumps.

There are more things, but those come to my mind beyond how the engine runs. If you have vcds run a scan on it. I would not accept a car with any check engine light, especially at that price.

Yes, check all that stuff out and buy it. Always make a lower offer. The drive back could be an adventure.

The next real question is can you do your own work or do you have a trusted tdi mechanic near you? Are you willing to learn and do the work yourself? Getting good work done can be a hassle and expensive if you aren't doing it yourself. I would steer clear of these if you aren't willing to learn to DIY properly or have a trusted mechanic on hand. They can be great cars but they also have to be taken care of. The dealer isn't usually a good choice for an old car either. Interior parts are getting to be no longer available as well. Good door panels were hard to find when I was redoing my Beetle and I bought new at considerable cost. I think they are no longer available now.

One thing about carfax is to compare mileage notes to ensure they all match up and there's a steady progression. I.e. nobody's turned the odo back. With a VCDS, you can see if the ECU's mileage matches that you see in the IP which comes from the cluster itself. I suppose a good computer guy could fudge the mileage in the ECU if they're good enough to reset the cluster, but they might not think about it. There is usually a small difference, but a difference nevertheless. If they were exactly the same, I'd think there's a problem. If the mileage matches the carfax numbers, then you're golden.

As the above advice goes, it is all good. The miles are unusually low for this age on the car. That somewhat justifies the price, but still, urethane foams start turning to dust long before this. As mentioned above, that goes for the HVAC as most annoying and hard to correct. The headliner and fabric surface of the door cards are also susceptible, and cause an aged and droopy appearance as the foam layer turns to dust. Interestingly, the seat foam doesn't have nearly as much aging trouble except for compression. Mostly.

Do you have anyone local that can go check the car for you?

Good luck!

PH

You might want to look at this one: https://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/d/fallon-2000-volkswagen-golf-tdi-diesel/6992472243.html

Powder Hound said:

One thing about carfax is to compare mileage notes to ensure they all match up and there's a steady progression. I.e. nobody's turned the odo back. With a VCDS, you can see if the ECU's mileage matches that you see in the IP which comes from the cluster itself. I suppose a good computer guy could fudge the mileage in the ECU if they're good enough to reset the cluster, but they might not think about it. There is usually a small difference, but a difference nevertheless. If they were exactly the same, I'd think there's a problem. If the mileage matches the carfax numbers, then you're golden.

As the above advice goes, it is all good. The miles are unusually low for this age on the car. That somewhat justifies the price, but still, urethane foams start turning to dust long before this. As mentioned above, that goes for the HVAC as most annoying and hard to correct. The headliner and fabric surface of the door cards are also susceptible, and cause an aged and droopy appearance as the foam layer turns to dust. Interestingly, the seat foam doesn't have nearly as much aging trouble except for compression. Mostly.

Do you have anyone local that can go check the car for you?

Good luck!

PH

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I have to comment that I don't think mileage much matters at this point. It could have a replaced engine, etc.

And legally, after 10 years, odometer rollbacks don't matter. That's the way it is in Texas so I am going to assume all states have some threshold.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

You might want to look at this one: https://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/d/fallon-2000-volkswagen-golf-tdi-diesel/6992472243.html

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Both cars have 104K miles. What a coincidence.

I'm a big fan of the Golf, a mini wagon if you will. No price on the Missouri
offering, but coming from a dealer, I'd be a bit suspicious of its condition.
Looks good, but with no maintenance records, I'd say the CA offering,
depending on price of the one in MO, could be the better buy.

I paid a premium 3 yrs ago for mine, $4k for an auto with 123k. Thousands later I have the vehicle I want, but I've got a lot more in it than is "economic".

Good luck with whichever way you go. At the other end of the scale;
https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/d/newburgh-2003-vw-tdi-golf/6994306961.html

I'd also wonder if the car has always been a CA car. Maybe it spent time in the rust belt and moved with the owner to CA recently. That would be a big deal.

I bought my 2003 Jetta Wagon for $2000 with 180,000 miles on it.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I'd also wonder if the car has always been a CA car. Maybe it spent time in the rust belt and moved with the owner to CA recently. That would be a big deal.

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Agreed. My sister always had mechanics questioning where her Jeep came from (Ohio) while in Los Angeles.

I had a low mileage example show up locally but missed out. It showed up for sale again (about 2yrs later) and it had the lower front fender rotted through.

Sometimes those coastal cars can be subjected to corrosion getting sandblasted by the beach, although it may have been just baked in the sun it’s whole life.....which also tells me that the condition of components already mentioned above may need some replacing.

Personally I’d keep looking. One will pop up in your area before you know it. I periodically checked for about two years and finally found what I wanted locally.


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I have found almost without fail, as soon as you buy, something will pop up.

I would really investigate a mileage that low on a car this old.

Lightflyer1 said:

I have found almost without fail, as soon as you buy, something will pop up.

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That's Murphy's way of inducing buyer's remorse, if you didn't have it already.

Cheers,

PH

intro said:

I would really investigate a mileage that low on a car this old.

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I would think CarFax would show a history of mileage as I believe they get that from the yearly state inspections or registration ownership changes.

CarFax can show anything from nothing at all to a complete history.

I think Carfax is pretty useless in a car that old.