Originally Posted By: maxdustington
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
I would buy it assuming the price is right.
I'm a gearhead and like projects I guess.
Sound like it’ll be more than just a project. A project is a Jeep or a domestic pickup you can tinker with, not a car that requires heaps of money and is so complicated the average Joe can’t figure it out.
Originally Posted By: maxdustington
I'll bet 90% of people bashing VWs in this thread have never owned one. The Mk4 2.0 is one of the hardiest and cheap cars currently available. Even here in Toronto, I see TONS of pre 2003 MK4 2.0s still on the road because their only weakness is the auto trans, rear beam bushings (pre 2003) and the inner fender rust.
Most noobs will fear VWs of that era because of the 1.8T which is why you can pick up 2.0s cheap. 2.0s are a simple SOHC 8v design dating back to the 80s. I am biased because my first car was a 2000 golf 2.0 5spd but they are excellent cars and very fuel efficent.
I currently have a 2003 Jetta 1.8T that went 200000km on original auto trans fluid, suck on that VW haters!
Been there, done that, had an MkIV VW. Won’t touch one with a 30 foot pole ever again. It drove and performed great but man, it needed SO much work after a life of being maintained to the T by the same dealer.
I noticed that you left out that it was a TDI or which version of the TDI when this discussion is about gasoline models. The MK4 with a 2.0 mill is about as rock solid as they come. TDI is a different story but you see them with 300+ km for sale here all the time. VWs specifically TDIs are bad for people who don't wrench, or are bad mechanics.
You have to know what you are doing to own them, that's why they are so polarizing.
MK4 v contemporary Toyota or Honda and the interior quality is not even close. The quality MK4 platform helped make VW the biggest automaker in the world. Those early 2000s japanese cars represent the cheapening of those marques.
TDI didn't have anything to do with the interior falling apart, CV boots failing left and right, the a/c compressor failing, the blower motor failing, the radio failing, the sunroof failing, the airbag sensors failing, the seatbelt sensors failing, the alternator failing, eating batteries, melting the fuse box, etc. DSG transmissions are used in some gas models and that failed on me too.
Or my aunt's 2013 Beetle TDI last year that had power window issues, constant a/c issues including compressor replacement which didn't last a year, sway bar bushings replaced, instrument cluster replaced, center console replaced, $200 battery died at 18 months old, alternator pulley replaced, howling steering wheel, etc.Those weren't TDI issues either