I'd stay away from automatics

^ You've mentioned that about 5 times in this thread :p

Zedbra stated that 04/05 automatics *should* be OK till ~300K, I'd get a manual but auto makes it a lot easier for my family since we all share cars :okay:

I didn't notice how low the mileage was when I clicked the ad from my phone. With that low k, if it's well maintained it should be alright.

Price seems high, but it is a low mileage car. That isn't always a good thing per say, as some maintenance items may not have been done due to not hitting kilometres versus age. To be specific, the timing belt should be replaced at 160k kilometres OR at 5 years. Timing belt job can cost between $700-$1400 depending where you take it.

My friend had recently traded in a low mileage 05 just like that, I wonder if it is his old one. Pop the fuel door, have a look inside. There should be a decal inside that tells you what tire pressures the car should run. If there is no decal and it is the same colour as the car, then it is probably his car and it was repainted from a year ender. Look under the bumper and you may see other tell-tale signs of repairs.

If you do get it, I sold my friend an Eibach spring and strut kit that he still has laying around. He'd probably let it go for $200, I can ask.

Thanks for the info, was hoping you'd chime in.

I'll be going first thing in the morning to check it out. The low mileage is the main appeal, and they offer a 2-day no hassle return guarantee (or, they say they do). That gives me enough time to take it to my mechanic and get him to throw it on a lift and check it out, assuming I buy the car. I am a bit surprised too that such an old car has (from the looks of it) nearly perfect paint.


I'll definitely be using the timing belt info to haggle lol, hopefully I can get it for around the $8000 mark.

Any other specifics i should check out? I've never bought or owned a diesel before :concentrate:


useless generic reply from the dealership:

I drive the same car daily - I now have 290k on it and going strong. I get to drive a lot of rental vehicles and I always enjoy hopping into that little VW. Lots of mod options at a relatively cheap price.

If it is my friend's old car, he added a nice aluminum skid plate on the front and did the timing belt the day after he bought the car. Just make sure you get to drive it, especially from cold to warm-up. Diesels will show their issues at start-up and while cold. Make sure you take it out and give it an Italian tune job - aka pin the skinny pedal. Make sure it boosts and pulls well, the turbos are really the only weak link with this car, but with such low km it shouldn't be an issue.

If you do pick it up and decide to mod it, let me know. I can tell you all kinds of goods, I've read and done a bunch to my car. As mentioned, I plan on rolling mine over 500k because I can and because I love it.

So I was just messaging my friend and his car was traded in in November with 80k on it, the dealer gave him $12.5k for it and it did not have leather. So, this is not his car and may or may not be a decent deal 0 it's only a good deal if you think so or need it. ;) I would certainly use the timing belt as leverage, and if they say it was done then demand a receipt, Even then., I would be tempted to take it to a trusted shop so that you know it was done right. If the belts go, so does your motor. Timing belt swap also replaces pulley and the water pump at the same time; hence the cost.

As for 'don't buy an automatic' - as I stated, these 09A trannies are solid. In fact, try to find a trusted VW mechanic that has needed to replace one. <----good luck with that. I have had a tune in my auto now for 180k and I often spin the tires and generally torture my Dub and it keeps on going. I did have to replace the transmission solenoids at 250k, (about the time most cars go to die) and that cost me $400 as I did the work myself.

You have a tune running fine with an auto tranny?
Now you've got me interested haha. I've always wanted to play around with FI and tuning, seeing as I'm almost certainly going to get an Auto that's reassuring.

Yup, I tuned my BEW with an auto. I went with a custom Stage 4 Malone Tuning set-up on my car. The car went from 105hp to 155hp and I now have 260lb-ft. You just need to add a larger turbo, 3 bar map, tune it and drive like a mad man. I opened my exhaust a little as well. Burns cleaner than it did before the tune and will pull solid 25psi of boost. Fun for passing or pulling out of Toyotas in Richmond. ;)

So what happened or didn't happen?

I went to go see it and although it looked pretty good in the pics, there were some minor cosmetic things that bugged me (some interior pieces missing but nothing major). Ran/drove ok from what I could tell, shifted a little rough but went away the more I drove -- overall I thought it was a good buy and was pretty excited (mostly b/c I've never owned a turbo car before) but my dad convinced me to keep looking around

tl;dr ended up buying a 2008 civic coupe w/ 80,000 kms and a clean title -- zero passing power but at least the stereo is half decent :thumbs:

Zedbra, any shops you recommend Between Abby and Van?

Buddy's mk4 hit a bump and just died. Doesn't start at all now.

Thanks.

^ If he didn't have a good aluminum skid plate he probably cracked the oil pan. Not good.

There are a few shops I'd recommend, you bet. PG Performance in Surrey is well known for working on all VWs. I go to a shop on the Langley/Surrey border called VND Motorsports - the owner there, Shawn, can do anything custom to VW's and 4x4s alike. VND's shop rate is only $94 an hour, too and he really knows VWs.

I used to go to JSP in Abby but I got screwed by them and he was too proud to make it right - he did do good work though. There are a few places in North Van that I have heard good things about but I never go to them. I do a lot myself and another friend of mine in town owns a shop that is pretty good with VWs.

I know Van Wonder in NV does good work. I didn't think of PG, just cause it might be a diesel specific problem and prefer to take it somewhere that works on them a lot.

Was going to tow it to Gordon's but they have limited space and he didn't feel comfortable parking it on the street, as there have been vandalism problems in the area in the past.

I'll get him to call VND, Gordon's and PG to see what their availability is like.

He also had a bad experience with JSP before so that's a negatory.

If you want TDI specific - check this out: Trusted TDI Mechanics/Shops in the Vancouver (GVRD) Area - TDIClub Forums