There are a couple cars that I'm looking at, and in the next month or so I expect to put my 96 Jetta up for sale. I am going to post a painfully accurate description, and maybe youze can help me land on a fair price.
The car passed its safety inspection a month ago. I don't let my cars "sneak through" either, I ask them to be rigorous because my wife drives this car A LOT, ie 4-500 kms/wk.
BASICS:
-96 Jetta
-3rd owner
~420k (odometer was changed and shows 240k)
-cruise
-no air, no sunroof
-summer tires, on rims (aluminum 8 spokes) = fair
-winter tires, on rims (snowflakes) = great, 2 studded
-converted to run canola oil (two tank, clean install)
THE GOOD
-Good looking car, "Suede Silver" with blacked out trim + tinted rear windows + roof rack
-Great highway car, with do 140km/hr all day long.
-Recent brakes (pads, rotors, front rubber lines)
-Gas struts all the way around within the past year
-all front bushings within the past year
-front bearings within the past year
-2.25" exhaust from cat (made with "crinkle bend" sections, so not pretty)
-brand new starter, brand new glow plugs, 1 year old 850 CCA battery. This car starts WITHOUT HESITATION, even at -25*C
-glow plugs individually wired, so easy to test
-T3 turbo
-GTD injectors
-EGT Guage
-0.71 5th... 120km/hr =3k rpms
-Very reliable, clean vegoil conversion: Vegtherm, hose on hose, 58 liter steel tank. Has 100+ k of summer + winter driving on vegetable oil, including many trips to Montreal
The Bad-Cosmetically, getting a bit tatty. Some touch up done, not a perfect match. Minor scrapes & dings. Rear seat bottom doesn't match top. (long story...)
-Using oil. About 1 liter/1500k. Not severe but you have to keep an eye on it. A bit of smoke on startup, I suspect it's the valve seals, and the turbo is a bit oily so I think it's getting sucked through there too. Dribbles some oil past the rear main seal, but no significant oil leaks. It starts like a champ in -25*, so it's not a worn out, wheezy engine.
-Some underbody rust, although it just coasted through its yearly inspection. Expect to do a bit of welding around the rockers for its next safety inspections.
-Transmission shifts rough, noticeably 1st & 2nd. It definately needs a shift bushing kit & adjustment, but I wouldn't want to guarantee that would clear up the problem. Reverse idler was already replaced due to "clicky" reverse issues, and taller 5th was installed.
Some pics:
this isn't a great picture, but it shows the trim, wheels etc. Rood rack included
before trim was blacked out (shows winter rims)
Pics of the veggie conversion here:
http://www.jakepalmeristheman.com/2005/02/feb-12th.htmlAm I off my rocker to think it's worth ~3500?
Now, here's a possibility: A couple of the cars I'm considering are in the Toronto area, a couple are in Quebec. Dpending on where I buy a car, I COULD deliver this one when I go to pick up the new one.