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electronjohn

electronjohn

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And feeling a bit snakebit. To recap: Found myself a pickup...98 F-150 reg cab longbox 4X4 w/V6 & 5 speed. Fixed a couple minor issues and replaced the noisy gumball 265s with 2 pair of 245s. (Two pair of used is cheaper than a set of 4...and I am cheap. Rears were spares off wrecks so are essentially new, fronts about 85%. Night & day difference.) Parted ways with my 94 Park Avenue:( 265K on the clock...sold it to a kid who need a work car badly for 200 bucks. Now, my youngest son needs a solid, reliable set of wheels, so my wife & I decided we'd sell him her 03 LeSabre for about 1/2 retail. Believe me...if we could afford it we'd just hand him the keys. So...the hunt for a replacement is on...and that explains the "snakebit" part. Missed a 2011 Buick Regal CXL by a day. Damn. The one I wanted since 11 was the only year they were built in Deutschland. We were bummed. Then, missed a low-mile 08 Lucerne by about 4 hours! So, you can see the "snakebit" part.

The hunt continues. We're going to check out a 2013 Jetta SE w/5cyl, auto and all the stuff my wife likes, Any Jettaphiles out there with input?
 
Maybe stick to RWD + winter tires for ease of repairs, reliability, & safety ( 2012+ have stability control mandated by the US Gov because of FWD )
 
Look for another 2000-2005 LeSabre. They pop up frequently, often low mileage. If they have over 125,000 on them look for one that has had a transmission. But you know that.
 
I hear ya on the LeSabre, Billy. But...my wife's been driving hers for about 10 years now and she's just plain ready for a change. And, it can be difficult to get financing on an older car...even if it has low miles. Big factor for us right now.
 
I know the feeling--we've bought three used cars in the past twelve months. I remember we had to drive down on Veteran's Day last year to pick up my old car at the dealer. This Monday, it will be four weeks we've had the second one. Kind of weird since we have the exact same model and trim level, but in different colors. Like a "his & hers" vibe. :D But, no issues with financing--they were both 2009s and got approved. We were sort of up against a wall though, as we had my better half's Civic get ruined by a faulty Bosch spark plug (I have to replace the cylinder head once the weather warms up...thanks for nothing, effin' Bosch :rolleyes: ). And rather than consider pricier options like having a used or rebuilt engine into it (to get it on the road quickly) on a car that already has 240k miles on it, better to put it towards something newer. Also had to help my daughter get a car for college. I probably could have lived with my older car, but yeah...19 years of driving the same thing does get a little tiring, and rust in this terrible state really tears up a chassis, I'll tell ya!
 
If things are really that tight, maybe your wife should hang on to the Buick for a bit longer and Younger Son may have to fend for himself. I hate like poison the idea of borrowing to buy a car -- auto financing is a big hole too many of us pour money into.
 
It's a hole, but a necessary one. Recent model cars are way too expensive unless I'm sitting on a mountain of cash, which I'm not. And I'm not driving ancient fixer-uppers anymore. Thankfully I can pay mine off quickly and close the loan early. I hate dragging it out for years. I got too used to having no payments since 2003. ;)
 
Do some searching on what it takes to do maintenance on any VW model you're looking at. I had a Passat one time that needed a thermostat. Unlike any other car I've had, the thermostat was behind the timing belt. Labor to get at it was so high, I wound up replacing the timing belt and water pump. And the thermostat. $1800 to replace a $12 part.
 
dcmfan said:
Do some searching on what it takes to do maintenance on any VW model you're looking at. I had a Passat one time that needed a thermostat. Unlike any other car I've had, the thermostat was behind the timing belt. Labor to get at it was so high, I wound up replacing the timing belt and water pump. And the thermostat. $1800 to replace a $12 part.
Click to expand...
Ugh!
And I thought my stat was a bitch cause it was on the bottom of the engine!
 
Well...it's a done deal. Took Friday afternoon to head to the VW store. I had them hold a 10 Passat "Komfort" edition as well as the aforementioned Jetta. She drove the Passat first and was underwhelmed.
Possibly the mocha exterior/tan interior? Needed tires as well, which the dealer was getting ready to install. Then...the Jetta. Done. She fell in love with it IMMEDIATELY. Less than half the miles of the Passat at 43K, and the black over black was the kicker. Certified by VW & we added extra warranty as well. Just a fine piece of machinery, tight as tick, goes right where you point it and goes like spit w/that snarly 5cyl.
 
best thing you did was own large buicks. with any version of the 3800 they run forever. they pop up all the time for cheap and the nice thing is, they are almost always driven by old people who have all the service done at the dealer.

jetta - gas, d - avoid like the plague.

gas engine 5cyl: junk, noisy, inefficient (your park ave got the same mileage), the auto trans - junk and expen$ive to repair and the AC WILL NOT WORK after 4-5 years or so many miles and its $1300 minimum to fix at the dealer - trust me, I know

uh oh, I see you got it. ok, goto forums.vwvortex.com or forums.tdiclub.com and drill in to find the 'trusted vw mechanics list'. I know yours aint a D, but the D was the only part of the car that worked long term, its the rest of the car with 3rd world country manufactured parts, sold at benz prices from dealers who start at $120 an hour that was the problem. if you aint handy and possess a COMPLETELY NEW AND DIFFERENT set of tools, you need the trusted fixers to survive.

please tell us you didnt get the dsg?

I owned a J6 and 2 cleanD sportwagons and racked up half a million miles on them. in the end, the troubles far outweighed all the fun.
 
No, just a Jetta SE. I have two indy shops in my town...both with good wrenches. I used one for my truck & the Buicks...the other is a VW aficionado who's wife drives a Jetta TDI & son an older Passat. He knows VWs.
 
ok, I dont mean to be a stick in the mud on your happy day, but the most annoying problem was the AC. if you ever find that it seems to lag turning on - it uses a semi-duty cycle compressor and will light up when its on and has the clutch signal engaged - but it aint spinning. the reason is the over pressure valve is buried in the head and is not serviceable. vw wants $900 plus for the compressor. Rock auto wants I think 350 for the same, minimal core and you still have the suck, lube, fill issue which anyone can do. they have a 100% failure rate!

other problem is the rear springs, they break at the bottom perches. the 'brown' towing springs for the european versions are a good fix. the remote fuel door (if equipped) has been recalled twice. it corrodes and apparently is not sealed and you cant get fuel in it! does yours still have in wheel tpms or use the ABS sensors? if in wheel, they are buggy and are $189 EACH plus the dealer whack to set it up using vagcom. the rear window defroster relay corrodes in the harness and that option drops off (notice the number of electrical corrosion problems?)
 
Both my Mom and brother had really bad accidents in their Jettas - Mom rolled hers and my brother hit a tree and the engine bounced down the road. Both walked away with just a couple of scratches and bruises. So I will say they are pretty safe cars!
 
Yes maybe because of the Autobaun (designed for faster speeds) the VW/Audi & MB seem to do really well in crashes I've seen over the years with people walking away from really bad ones!

If the gas engine gives trouble one can always swap in the TDI as they should be more available cheap now!
 
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I bet! And you can get 50 MPG us or 60 US.

I wonder if you can still change the driveshafts easily like on a 70's Rabbit in that they had Allen Head Bolts at the Trans end.

A lot of makes don't do that and so the shafts cab be impossible to get out of the trans. in that they become locked in. Maybe it's because of the quality of the replacements now out there or wear in the trans. or both.

Anyway I hate FWD because of issues like that!
 
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Good luck with your new-to-you car--hope it works out well for you. Probably smart to have gotten the additional/extended warranty, since VWs are expensive to repair if you have to shoulder the burden. As others have stated, the A/C systems are notoriously problematic (all VWs--not any specific model), so just be aware of that. Again--good luck!!!
 
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