Jetta buying question

[ScottK]

I am going to look at a 96 Jetta (GL, 4cyl 5 spd) tomorrow morning. I've got to get a better gas mileage car for service calls. Question(s) are: Is there anything in particular/known issues with these that I need to look at before I buy?

Oh, 130,000 miles and in pretty good shape inside and out. They're asking $2000.

Thanks,

Scott
( I searched before I asked! I have never owned a watercooled VW before)

[glutamodo]

I'm not too surprised there's not any "A3" (or mk3 as some call them) model info from a search. There's not a lot of late-model watercooled info here on theSamba. You might be better off at the VW watercooled site http://forums.vwvortex.com/

Issues with the A3? Nothing terribly specific that I can think of, mostly stuff I'd want to check with any car - leaks on and under the engine and power steering system, do a compression test (you have to have a proper tool to pull the spark plug wires off on these, or else you're likely to mess them up, by the way) drive it and check for wheel bearing noise and brake function. Take a look at the brake pad thickness up front. The Check Engine Light likes to come on on these vehicles for trivial and for sometimes non-existant reasons. The little plastic "funnel" that the oil dipstick fits into, these break easily but are cheap and easy to buy and replace. Make sure the A/C works and the dash vent options all function. When driving it, goose the gas pedal in every gear to check that it won't pop out of gear and that the clutch is holding good. Speaking of clutch, at 130k, ask them if the clutch has ever been done, if not, that's something you'll probably need to plan on doing in the future.

-Andy

[ScottK]

Thanks Andy.

[weinerwagen]

Automatics are weak

make sure the heater core has not been bypassed, they leak

[glutamodo]

At least his is a 5 speed. Better for gas milage too.

[toyvergnugen]

I had a 96 Jetta I bought new and it was a great car as long as it was in warranty. When it reached about 130000 miles it began to develop numerous and expensive problems.
There is a plastic trim piece at the botom of the windshield that is suppose to protect the electronic brain from getting wet. If it is cracked or missing beware. Whenever my car got wet in a hard rain it was out of commission for at least a day. Brain is expensive . I replaced mine 3 times (twice under warranty) but the problem persisted. Same goes for the coil packs. If these get wet the car is dead for a while. Weak automatic trans. If you must buy this car ask the owner if you can take it to a car wash and soak the motor. My bet is that you won't make it out of the bay. Water will aslo arc the plug wires and activate the check engine light. Finally the AC compressor failed and the car wjust wasn't worth fixing it. Rebuilt compressors were about 500 dollars. BTW The car looked rode and drove great. It was just a huge money pit and a hassle to keep it running in wet weather.

[ScottK]

Wow. I left to look at the car before you posted this morning.

I went ahead and bought it for $1900. Checked most things mentioned here before buying, and it ran and drove great on the way home (in some heavy rain, even). Hope it holds up!

Now off to the classifieds to try and find a Bentley manual for it.

Thanks for the info folks!

Scott

[glutamodo]

The 98 Jetta I bought for a friend of mine last winter has been good for her so far. It had 159K on when we got it, and she'd put probably 20K on it since then. I never saw the maintenance records for the previous owner so I don't know what all had been done before. But I started out by doing the timing belt and all the other belts, valve cover gasket, oil change, tune up, etc. Needed one rear wheel bearing replaced (so just did them all) But nothing serious beyond that. The CEL is on all the time, (says bad distributor, but it's not) Yeah the engine car wash thing is certainly true enough, happened to me too, but I think you can do that to most any modern car if you soak the plug wires.

Just don't try to pull off those spark plug wires without a proper tool to grip the metal bases down next to the head. If you pull them from the wires you'll mess them up. Here's what that tool looks like

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Spark-Plug-Boot-Too...enameZWDVW

[ScottK]

Well, it's got a few minor issues (CV joints and exhaust), but I'm very happy with it after driving it for several days. 34mpg and runs/drives great! It's gonna pay for itsself, compared to the F150 4WD I was using for service calls before.

[glutamodo]

Glad it's going good for you!!

[crukab]

My wife bought a '97 3 years ago, does great on gas, the coil quit on us on new years day,'05, but beyond that its been a great car, basic up-keep & very little down time while putting 65k miles on it.
_________________
Tom

My Pops:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604100&highlight=
I know you will always be with me, rest in peace with no more pain. 8/13/14.....

In the yard right now:
'51 Dodge 5 window truck
'65 Bug
'66 Singlecab
'82 Rabbit Truck Diesel from CALI
'86 Doublecab W/T
'91 Vanagon carat/wolfsbrg.Tiico
'88 Dodge Ram pickup
'11 Jetta Wagon

[HeidelbergJohn4.0]