Re: Jetta Advice Equested for first time VW purchase


"Jim Behning" <jimbehning@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:14ss43hlbnr1jis6eo4inn9l861ckspegq@xxxxxxxxxx
On 17 May 2007 06:30:28 -0700, "pfjw@xxxxxxx" <pfjw@xxxxxxx> wrote:

On May 16, 11:40 pm, Jim Behning
<jimbehn...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 16 May 2007 17:50:31 -0700, "p...@xxxxxxx" <p...@xxxxxxx> wrote:





On May 16, 7:43 am, "TCottom" <tcot...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I am looking at a 1987 Jetta Deluxe Diesel 2 door that a guy down
the
street is considering selling. Runs good, looks fair, 1.8L 5 speed,
210,000
miles. A/C does not work, windows won't roll up or down, and fan
switch
isn't working. Also, for some reason the wipers run constantly??
However, he tells me this car gets over 40mpg. That beats the heack
out of
my current 12mpg truck! Could someone advse me what this Jetta may be
worth?
He thinks he'd like to get around $1,000.00 for it. And anything I
should be
watching for? I assume the windows cranks and fan are minor repairs,
not all
that worried about the A/C if it would be a huge expense. This would
be my
first diesel vehicle. Is the 210,000 miles too high to consider? Or
is it OK
on a well maintained diesel engine?
Any advice will be appreciated!

Thanks!
Tim

--
Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com

OK... at present prices, $1000 will buy you about 300 gallons of gas
which will take you 3600 miles in reasonable safety. And if your
present vehicle is relatively trouble-free, has working windows and
working AC, the first repair will make that equation 500 gallons and
6000 miles. Then fixing the windows...

Unless all you want is a beater-car to drive until it drops, have no
"state inspection" system such as Pennsylvania that requires at least
basic safety stuff to be checked once a year, the math just doesn't
make sense for a 20 year old vehicle that has no other virtue than
decent mileage at the immediate moment.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

Well if he drives 36,000 miles a year at 3,000 gallons x $3.00 gallon
vs a car that would use 1,000 gallons or less. Not everyone drives
3,600 or 6,000 miles a year. But yes, buying an economy car to save
money sometimes does not work out. Yes fixing the car will cost
something.

My father in law has one car they bought new 4 years ago that has
6,000 miles on it. A toy car (Boxster), another grocery getter and an
airplane. It has three wheels so does it count as a vehicle?

Now if he sold the 12 mpg truck and bought a newer TDI then maybe you
could have even more fun justifying or discounting.

My wife says "Why don't you get a motorcycle?" Can't carry work stuff
on a motorcycle. The mileage woudl be less than the car. No time to
exercise if I was riding a motorcyle on the weekends.- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

Jim:

Cars, like appliances, water heaters, furnaces, boilers and many
similar large-ticekt items should be measured in life-time cost vs.
First and Operating cost in a vacuum. But you know this. So, if I
spend $1000 on a .80 Energy Factor gas-fired instant water heater vs.
$200 for one that is rated at .61 (typical tank-type), and gas is
running at (around here) at $1.09/100 c.f., that $800 difference will
buy me 33% more hot water for each dollar I spend in fuel, not to
mention that I will not pay for a standing pilot or storage. For an
average family of four, the pay-back is well within the service life
of the unit (arbitrary 10 years).

If I purchase a Brandy-New Prius vs. a Golf/Jetta TDI at about the
same initial cost, do scrupulous maintenance on both, it will be a
close-run thing as to total cost-to-operate *until* (if ever) I need
to replace the storage battery system (and dispose of the old one).

If I buy a 20 year old car and drive the average 12,000 miles per
year, and assuming NO other issues, that = 300 gallons of fuel. Make,
for round figures, operating costs at $1000 including oil changes.

The truck, OTOH, will require 1000 gallons of fuel. Add the same $100
for oil changes, comes to $3100 during the year. Assume that the Truck
is NEVER driven. So it appears to be a no-brainer. Until the State
Safety Inspection requires $1000 worth of work and/or the truck still
gets used 40% of the time because of need.

It's a balance. And one that should be analyzed carefully before
sinking into a committment. Look at it another way. Take $3000 as a
budget number. Take the value of the truck as a base-line. Take the
first-costs & repair costs to the 20YO car and add them to the base-
line. Will the base-line + 1/12th of $3000 purchase a much newer fuel-
efficient vehicle that will last a much longer time? Maybe even a
Hyundai or Kia with a 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty (remember, this
person was willing to accept a cheese-box with inoperable windows and
no AC)? That would be the better choice.

We keep two VWs, and have had several in the past including five
diesels. For a good 10 year period, they were our primary vehicles.
Now, both our vehicles are campers (Westie & Winnie) and our primary
vehicles are station-wagons (Volvo & Saab) based on our immediate
daily requirements. They get reasonably good mileage (20s mixed, 30s
highway) and are extremely safe, haul by the ton (and do), and we
would put the grand-kids in them. If past performance is any
indication, we expect to get 200K+ miles out of either/both of them
without trouble. Put another way, we will be very tired of them far
before they wear out. As they are both paid-for, replacement options
for fuel economy only would be uneconomical at present fuel prices.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

I want solar shingles. My wife says no. I say no because the payback
is 40 years. That is crazy as I am on the grid. If I was off the grid
it would make sense. I have a geothermal heat pump with no booster
heat. It also has a waste heat hot water heater. I paid extra for the
geothermal. I got some EMC subsidies. I think I save money every
month. No one has lower HVAC bills than I have. Part of that could be
better insulation than what all my friends have in their house. The
geothermal is like the diesel VW. I save money every month in spite of
the higher initial cost. I think I am past the break even on the
geothermal. I know I am past the break even on the TDI.

I want to replace my 20 year old pickup. I don't drive but maybe 5,000
miles a year on the truck. I want a diesel pickup but all they make
are big monster engines in the trucks. Also the diesels only come in
3/4 ton or larger. The specs of a 1/2 ton V8 equipped pickup meet my
needs. I rarely want to carry more than a ton in the bed and a 1/2 ton
will do that. At least my 1 Ton Toyota is properly labeled as to what
it can do. Cost benefit says I should fix a few things on the Toyota
and save $6-10,000. Forget the diesel as even a used one will never
have a payback. Two batteries and other maintenance items may make a
diesel pickup even less attractive.

Now that we have the rest of the story from the guy. His decision is
not based just on less truck driving but also includes two other
drivers. Based on the initial information you are totally correct
except for one thing. Maybe geting the car fixed is just a few hours
of work. Maybe not.

I want my cars to be correct. I bought the Toyota and the TDI new.
They have been "properly" maintained. There would be no maintenance
repairs found on the VW if we had a state inspection. Well I am due
for new tires. The Toyota is due for some new rear wheel cylinders. It
does have a small star in the windshield that might not pass. On the
other hand the windshield is 20 years old and is about due for
replacement due to pitting. I try not to drive roached out cars. They
might look rough but nothing a squirt gun would not fix.

The last not new VW I bought was from a junk yard. No hood, no gas cap
and most of the interior missing. I did brakes, clutch, struts, tires,
hood, interior, fixed the ac, replace all engine seals, replaced all
transmission seals, replaced drive shafts, new injectors, new
windshield. I later did ball joints and steering rack. Wheel bearings
front and rear. Paint. 2L Audi short block. I probably spent 3 times
more fixing the car than I paid for it. I sold it road worthy and it
would have passed your state's inspection. Of course if I were not a
tinkerer and shade tree mechanic I would have paid 8 times more in
repairs than the 3 times I paid. My labor is cheap sometimes at no
dollars an hour. I do not make enought to consider my free time to be
worth $30 an hour like some people do. No pro mechanic touched that
car in the time I owned it unless you consider a tire jockey a pro.
There is a reason why perfectly solid cars are crushed in the south.
It costs a bit to maintain a vehicle. Sometimes a lot if you do not
have good luck, mechanical skills or time.

I brought a 66 Beetle back to life in high school. It would not have
passed a good state inspection as Cleveland Ohio is as rough on cars
as most of Pa. The 67 Beetle I revived was a good bit better as it
suffered only 2 years of Ohio winters. I did engines, clutches,
brakes, brake lines, paint, transmission swap, carpet, seats and other
stuff on that car. 1966 Squareback brought back to life after a rear
end collision. That one was not such a great car but it was in the
family for a few years. I guess all I am rambling about is some folks
fix cars as a hobby and do not mind it. Replacing a car every 5 years
or 10 years can be rather expensive. Replacing a vehicle every 30
years might not be so expensive. Even if it is not worn out yet. The
joys of not living in a rust belt. On the other hand I have seen
vehicles in Ohio that suffered a car wash every week that it was warm
enough to wash it. Our school had 4 Dodge vans. The one that was
washed looked so much better after three years than the never washed
vans. End of ramblings. Yes there is a cost benefit to be considered.
>>> $1000 is too much .The timing belt is $400. If it breaks the
engine is junk. The door windows will be cables. Easily fixed. THE AC will
need a condenser and dryer. Take the front of the car off. if you do that,
you may as well do the radiator. $350. switches, wires, fans, wipers, all
that could suck. If it don't start his winter. Glow plugs, battery ,fuel
pump timing,
ching.... switches, wires, fans, wipers, all that could suck.you could end
up trying to find corroded wires and connectors. Id tell him, you fix
everything, I will give you the thousand. you don't $500 is my tops. and
you are still paying too much.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Global Warming >
    ... The new engines are far more fuel efficient than out current aircraft ... We've gone to a Hybrid car that is currently averaging about 46 MPG. ... my route/stops to minimize the miles driven. ... I calculated the cost of flying Vs driving to the Denver ...
    (rec.aviation.piloting)
  • Re: Now I Want this Cute Little Smart Hybrid Car Coming to US in 2007
    ... choose a vehicle based more on economy or on comfort and performance. ... So does having ONE vehicle still make better cost ... Total to drive 15,000 miles not incl. ... car cost: $3,600 ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: The Drive-a-Toyota Act
    ... take into consideration the total cost of acquiring a vehicle, insuring, ... replacement cost for another new vehicle. ... Assume two buyers buy exactly the same $25,000 car. ... old Toyotas are worth about half their original purchase price). ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: US gasoline: ridiculously cheap
    ... Using a car was NEVER as fast as taking the Tube. ... Because of the cost of fuel no doubt. ... What is a fuel efficient vehicle? ...
    (sci.energy)
  • Re: US gasoline: ridiculously cheap
    ... Using a car was NEVER as fast as taking the Tube. ... Imagine the vehicle has ... there are 120 MJ in a gallon of gas - and 3.6 MJ in a kWh. ... Say each of these vehicles cost ...
    (sci.energy)