WTB: MK4 Jetta Wagon GLS Manual (MPLS/St.Paul, St. Louis, Madison or Kansas City)

Cb33

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Saint Paul, MN
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon 5M
I fell in love with TDI's when I got a Golf TDI as a rental car on a work trip to Scotland a couple years ago, but haven't been in the market for a car until now. I've been hunting for a couple months, but haven't had much luck.

I live in St. Paul, MN and would love to buy a Mk4 Jetta Wagon GLS in a manual transmission. I also have siblings in Iowa City, Kansas City, Madison and St. Louis who could make the transaction for me and then I could get the vehicle next time my brothers get together. I would like it to have fewer than about 150,000 miles and be in overall good condition with no rust. I much prefer heated leather seats and would also like but don't have to have ASP/ESP. My wife has vetoed white, but any other color is fine.

In general, I'm looking for a car that doesn't need anything done beyond regular maintenance for the foreseeable future. My wife and I just had our second child, a sweet baby girl, and I don't have tons of extra time for tinkering or modding. I do need a nice road-tripping car for my family of four to go visit the rest of our family that is spread out around the midwest (plus some on the west coast).

I'm ready to buy right now, but don't have a desperate need. I just know the right TDI wagon can be hard to find, so I'm starting my search early. I need it by next August at the very very latest, but I want it now. :)
I feel a little jerky having this be my first post, but this will be my first TDI so I haven't had much to add yet. Just been lurking and learning.
Thanks for your time.
 

Cb33

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Saint Paul, MN
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon 5M
Found one. Buying from Leonard Harvieux at Wild Rose Motors which happens to be near my Mother who could go check it out for me.

Now I just need to decide how to ship it out here. Is going with the cheapest option on U-ship a terrible idea?
 

Wankel7

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Location
Indiana
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon
Found one. Buying from Leonard Harvieux at Wild Rose Motors which happens to be near my Mother who could go check it out for me.

Now I just need to decide how to ship it out here. Is going with the cheapest option on U-ship a terrible idea?
If you have the time I would say flying out could be cheaper....or take a train !
 

drewkeen

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
TDI
Jetta
Is going with the cheapest option on U-ship a terrible idea?

Just make sure that they have insurance and a DOT number. You can easily look up their insurance status using the MC number. Also, I would recommend finding a provider with a least a few positive feedbacks on there.

I would also have your mom take good pictures before it left and have the driver sign something noting all current damage on the car.
 

Cb33

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Saint Paul, MN
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon 5M
I would also have your mom take good pictures before it left and have the driver sign something noting all current damage on the car.
Good call on getting some documentation on current vehicle damage.
I wish I had the time to go get it myself. Cheapest option, by far is to fly out and drive back. Plus, I would get to see my mother.
 

ottoman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Location
Minnesota
TDI
2003 Jetta wagon ALH
You are extremely lucky to find this car so quickly. I live in Minneapolis, own the exact car you describe in black and just turned 180k miles. I've owned it for almost 9 years and have no plans of selling it anytime soon. It's my baby!

In my opinion, $9k is a wonderful price for this car. I'd ask more if I was knocked on the head and decided to sell mine.

I suggest you have the car shipped. As nice as it is to inspect the car before signing any paperwork, CA law requires dealers to collect tax if the vehicle is picked up in-state, even if you do not register the vehicle there. If you ship it, you'll only need to pay tax in MN. I know because I purchased a motorcycle from CA a few years back and decided to have it shipped for this reason.
 

Cb33

Active member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Saint Paul, MN
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon 5M
You are extremely lucky to find this car so quickly. I live in Minneapolis, own the exact car you describe in black and just turned 180k miles. I've owned it for almost 9 years and have no plans of selling it anytime soon. It's my baby!
In my opinion, $9k is a wonderful price for this car. I'd ask more if I was knocked on the head and decided to sell mine.
I suggest you have the car shipped. As nice as it is to inspect the car before signing any paperwork, CA law requires dealers to collect tax if the vehicle is picked up in-state, even if you do not register the vehicle there. If you ship it, you'll only need to pay tax in MN. I know because I purchased a motorcycle from CA a few years back and decided to have it shipped for this reason.
It was two months of obsessively looking, but that is certainly faster than it could have been.

I'm absolutely thrilled to have found this car for this very fair price.

I'm still working out the details of all of my options for getting the car. My understanding was that I would have to pay CA tax if it was being picked up, but that that would be deducted from any taxes I might owe in MN. I'll definitely look into it further before I make any decisions.
 

ottoman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Location
Minnesota
TDI
2003 Jetta wagon ALH
My understanding was that I would have to pay CA tax if it was being picked up, but that that would be deducted from any taxes I might owe in MN. I'll definitely look into it further before I make any decisions.
I'm almost certain all counties/cities in CA have higher sales tax than us. You'll certainly want to check on that.
 
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