Should I buy this 1999 Jetta TDI?

[theik]

Looking for someone to give me a reality check.

Car Info
I found a running 1999 Jetta TDI with 145k miles for $2200 cash. The yearly inspection has 9 months left on it. Timing belt and water pump was done at 135k miles. New calipers, brakes, rotors in the last year. Owner says CEL is on for glow plug wiring harness but doesn't effect inspection. Needs new front tires soon. Owner said it's been his daily for four years but is selling because he got a company car.

I ran a CarFax report and it's had 3 owners. 99-04, 04-18, 18-current. Clean title and only one accident reported in 2003 to the left front. 33 service history records all in the rust belt.

Pictures -

http://imgur.com/a/N2P4Q1a

Me Info
I've been WFH since March 2020. My 05 Altima engine died May 2020 at 196k miles and I bought a new Civic SI. Then my girlfriend moved in with me and I completely stopped needing to drive places and it was just sitting in the driveway. So I sold it to CarMax a few months ago for more than what I bought it for. I've been carless for 2 months and only have had a handful of times when I could have used a car but it wasn't a severe inconvenience.

I'm interested in this car as a grocery getter and occasional errand runner a few times a week. Also as a winter beater. 2-3 times I year I do a 600 mile round trip to visit family. I'd also like to learn more about working on cars and I feel like this is a good opportunity for that. I know how to change tires, oil, and brakes but that's about it.

My worst case scenario is the car splits in half or doesn't pass inspection in 6 months and my cost of ownership is $366 a month. If it goes a year $183. Anything longer than that without major repairs would be a good payout on the gamble.

Am I in over my head?

 

[Mozambiquer]

I'd say that's a good price, it's got rust, but in the rust belt it's hard to find one that doesn't. That's very low miles for the car. Take care of it and it'll take care of you. You don't mention whether it's an auto or 5 speed. The auto of that period was not a very tough transmission, so I would be more wary if it's an auto.

 

[theik]

I'd say that's a good price, it's got rust, but in the rust belt it's hard to find one that doesn't. That's very low miles for the car. Take care of it and it'll take care of you. You don't mention whether it's an auto or 5 speed. The auto of that period was not a very tough transmission, so I would be more wary if it's an auto.

It's a manual transmission. My main concern is the whole body of the car is rusting out but the owner says it's only cosmetic. My other concern is with the glow plug harness the car might not start once it gets colder and I got less than a month to figure out how to replace it.

 

[hskrdu]

Thoughts:
Although 145k is low miles for an ALH with 5M, the rust greatly devalues the car, and honestly, I think it's pricing is fair at best. It all depends on the rust.

If you are looking for a winter beater and grocery getter, other cars will serve you better. Although the MkIV handles well in the snow, the ALH won't warm up until you are almost home with the groceries, and short cold trips will see the worst fuel economy. Heated seats? If not, it may be a cold grocery trip. 600 miles is the ALH wheelhouse, but 2-3 times a month is more in line with traditional use.

That being said, if you are looking for a car to learn on, the MkIV TDI is a great option, partially because of it's ease of maintenance, but mostly due to this forum and our great archive of old MkIV threads and how-to's.

As for buying advice, see our thread on it. Most of the usual stuff applies. The "rust is cosmetic" aspect is not too hard to check yourself, except in a few spots that hide it. If you are new to VWs and don't have VCDS, ask someone nearby to help out and scan the car for you. I wouldn't buy an unknown TDI without it. Who did the TB service? Where did the parts come from? What was replaced? (A TB and water pump won't cut it). CEL could be on for lots of reasons. GPs and harness aren't hard, but troubleshooting the issue can be a pain sometimes. As for the remaining inspection, doesn't NYS require a new inspection after each sale, and then yearly? This is where rust, CEL, or other issues would be an immediate concern.

Not enough information (or pictures/history) about the car itself to say if you're in over your head. It's a great car to learn on, see if a member here will check it out for you.

Buying a used TDI FAQ -- please add

Here is a start at an FAQ for buying a used car with a TDI engine. Please add and comment. What to find out before going to see the car (e.g. from the VIN, you can check warranty and recall history, and title history). Find out if the seller is a private party or a dealer (and if a dealer...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[drucifer]

You're in New York. Are you going to work on this in the driveway or or do you have a garage? It sucks to work on cars in the cold/wet/wind/dark. Consider it a hobby and not a necessity.

 

[Zak99b5]

My impression (living in NYS) is that if the CEL is on, it won't pass emissions inspection.

Scan it and see if indeed it's "only" a glow plug issue. 99 has the two-wire GP harness, so I believe it's easier than the later 4-wire.

Of course you're supposed to get a car inspected after registering it, but if a car has a good inspection sticker on it when I buy it, I leave it on. If anything, it gives me time to fix any issues.

 

[Mongler98]

Imo. Never trust a seller on anything done unless recipts are shown. Rust wont pass inspection and neither will a glow plug light. That stuff is scanned. Scan it.
Good car.... just a bit much on $ for its condition. $1500 is better.

 

[theik]

Thanks for the advice guys.

If you are looking for a winter beater and grocery getter, other cars will serve you better. Although the MkIV handles well in the snow, the ALH won't warm up until you are almost home with the groceries, and short cold trips will see the worst fuel economy. Heated seats? If not, it may be a cold grocery trip. 600 miles is the ALH wheelhouse, but 2-3 times a month is more in line with traditional use.

That being said, if you are looking for a car to learn on, the MkIV TDI is a great option, partially because of it's ease of maintenance, but mostly due to this forum and our great archive of old MkIV threads and how-to's.

As long as the car is fine, I'm fine. I love the cold, I drive on the highway windows down in January. The mileage and reliability going to visit family is really attractive, especially since it would cost 20k+ on a newer hybrid right now for the same mpg.

That being said, if you are looking for a car to learn on, the MkIV TDI is a great option, partially because of it's ease of maintenance, but mostly due to this forum and our great archive of old MkIV threads and how-to's.

This forum seems fantastic. Just the responses on this post have gone above and beyond. I think it would be a great opportunity to learn for not much money invested. Just as long as the car isn't so rusted out that I spend hours removing rusted on bolts.

As for the remaining inspection, doesn't NYS require a new inspection after each sale, and then yearly? This is where rust, CEL, or other issues would be an immediate concern.

My impression (living in NYS) is that if the CEL is on, it won't pass emissions inspection.

Scan it and see if indeed it's "only" a glow plug issue. 99 has the two-wire GP harness, so I believe it's easier than the later 4-wire.

Of course you're supposed to get a car inspected after registering it, but if a car has a good inspection sticker on it when I buy it, I leave it on. If anything, it gives me time to fix any issues.

NYS is an awful state for this kind of thing. NYS is so backwards they make you inspect brand new vehicles, coming from Connecticut that was a shock to me. CT at least gives a 3 year pass on new cars off the lot. So it's cheaper and makes more sense to leave the existing sticker on. It looks current to cops on the side of the road so they probably won't pull you over for it. If they do you get a small fine and have to prove you got it inspected after being ticketed. Since it just passed inspection 2 months ago it would make more sense to leave it until Sep 2022 and chance a $50-100 fine than pay the $25 inspection fee + whatever repairs.

The seller contacted me this morning asking me how soon I could buy it because he got somebody else who has been hammering him daily for it. With the awesome feedback I have got here I think I'll tell him to try the other guy. If the sale falls through maybe I can get into the $1500 range people have suggested. If that's the case I'll get somebody with a VCDS scanner and who knows more to take a look at it. If I buy it it'll be a nice hobby car to learn on and get me around town.

 

[Tdijarhead]

NY will allow a lot of rust to pass inspection. I live on the border of NY/PA south of Corning and PA has much tighter restrictions on rust. NY to my knowledge will not allow a car to pass inspection with a CEL on. A glow plug CEL on a 99 is either a plug or the harness both of which are easy fixes. As has been pointed out a rust free vehicle is hard to find up north here and I've seen far worse. It is cosmetic to a point. Fenders, outer rockers, etc are cosmetic, once it gets to the inner part of the rockers and vertical part behind the front fenders and over the rear wheel wells it's a loosing battle.

I agree that this is a great car to learn about maintenance on, nearly every thing that can go wrong has been covered on these forums and there are a number of knowledgeable people that frequent and contribute here. The engine and transmission by themselves should be worth between $1-2K.

Glow plugs 101 ***Ver. 2.0***

Well, its been over a year since my original glow plugs 101 thread. I just got the code back so I had to do the testing procedure again and thought I would redo my How to with new pics & info. So here goes. The glow plug codes are a popular code to be thrown on our cars. Several versions of...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[Curious Chris]

Is it an ALH? 1999 was a crossover year

 

[Mozambiquer]

Is it an ALH? 1999 was a crossover year

The photo is an Mk4, so it's an ALH.

 

[tdidieselbobny]

Rust isn't a big deal for inspection in NY. CEL will not pass. You can have 2 not ready monitors for a 99 to pass after cel goes out. More than likely a gp harness and 4 new plugs, but you could always test plugs in car to see if any have different resistance. I'm guessing they may be original, so they may be a bugger to get out. Wherabouts in NY is the car? You're also technically supposed to get it inspected when getting it registered, as inspection sticker on car is tied to a plate #. I'm surprised the cops haven't got a scanner for inspection sticker yet when they do their roadside spot checks...

 

[Zak99b5]

I've yet to meet a cop who would take the time to "inspect" an inspection sticker. The results of your inspection are transmitted to DMV, so I guess technically they could cite you for having an old sticker issued to the PO. But if the car has a current, non-expired inspection sticker on it, no one is going to start asking questions.