Anything MK3 or older is gonna need more than simple fixes. I'm sadly coming to this realization.
Welcome to the wonderful world of owning an older VW
Alot of the issues aside from age are just plain ole poor maintenance.. Since only an enthusiast would buy one of these things we get stuck cleaning up other people's messes... First year with this Rabbit was hell.. After I got darn near everything replaced it's been smooth sailing for the last 70K miles... Hange in there!
Dont worry. The initial snag list on an older car is always a bit on the scary side. Write it all down and stick it up on the wall of your garage and before you know it youll be ticking your way through the list and youll have a car that runs great. She looks the part anyway, and a great colour too! How much did you pay, if you dont mind me asking?
Its a nice car man, take your time when you do work on it, and Never half ass it, because it comes back and hauntes you
, Like Quantum TD said, Alot of this older VW's do need alot of work sometimes. My 98 Jetta has a laundry list worth of work to do on it. You learn as you go and Hopefully it all works out for you.
I have to agree with everyone here... I'm 19 and two years ago I bought my first car, a 1984 Jetta (6 years older than myself lol!) that had a lot of mechanical work that needed doing. I learned how to swap ball joints, rotors, pads, drums, shoes and spring assemblies, struts and springs, and even CV joints
It's all a very fun learning experience. People look at my car and deem it a POS... but hey.. I don't see my 25 y.o POS ever broken down... when i see 3 year old cars gettin towed all over town. Being a noob, a VW is the best car you could ever learn on. READ, READ, and READ.... Here and the Vortex are where I learned to do it all... Don't give up on this beauty after some love it will be a BEAST
Good luck!