Author Topic: shopping for a 85-92 jetta, what to look for? (Read 4809 times)

6011 · « **on:** May 09, 2007, 02:53:17 am »

Hello, this is my first post. I tried searching but had no luck. I am looking to get a 85-92 turbo jetta, or maybe a golf. There are several in my area and I want to know what to look for as common problems and such. I am not too worried about mileage though some have over 400k kms. I would prefer a newer one, closer to 92 but as long as it is a hydraulic head I will consider it. Even though I can do both mechanical and body work I would rather pay a little more and find a better car that waste a bunch of time fixing junk.

Thanks for any input.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #1 on:** May 09, 2007, 11:44:31 am »

all engines after 86 were hydro

Laurentian · « **Reply #2 on:** May 09, 2007, 06:43:50 pm »

I would say find a car with no rust.
The other stuff can always be fixed easily.
We bought a Jetta 1.6D '92 for my brother and
had nasty rust surprises around the lower back glass and
gas filler / wheel well trunk area.
Other than that it was OK but we decided to have it
repainted. We had too much into it already to call it quits.
Turned out really good but we put too much time into it for sure.
It has 365,000, still good for twice that.
Worst case buy a clean low mileage gasser and put a 1.6D,TD or1.9TD into it.

Vincent Waldon · « **Reply #3 on:** May 09, 2007, 06:52:52 pm »

Yup... rust on the A2's has a few favorite spots that are not always trivial to repair:

- under the rubber trim surrounding the windshield
- in the trunk... lift the floormat, check the carpet for moisture
- around the gas filler nozzle
- under the car... specifically the front part of the suspension frame and the sideboards
- at the shock towers... although not as common in my experience as the other areas.

Walk up to the car in question, poke the rubber trim on the windshield back in a few places, and then open the trunk and lift the carpet... you'll show the seller you mean business !!!

Vince

6011 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 13, 2007, 01:12:55 pm »

Thanks for the information. I used it to buy an 88 jetta TD. It was off a ford lot. I had phoned the salesman asking if it was a turbo or NA. He said NA but I thought I would look at it anyway. Then I saw the turbo sitting behind the engine and was heppy. I had no intention of buying a car that day which made it easy to haggle it down a lot. Since it needs some work (door handles, park brake, cv axle, rad leak) I took it as is for $1950 off the lot. It has 375ks but is verry clean. the motor is not covered in oil. Good tires and aluminum wheels.

I am sure to have more questions, thanks for the help
Jeff

burn_your_money · « **Reply #5 on:** May 13, 2007, 02:17:51 pm »

Do you have any pictures of it?

jtanguay · « **Reply #6 on:** May 13, 2007, 02:18:58 pm »

if the guy said it wasn't turbo, then i hope you didn't tell him it was!!! that jumps the price up...

6011 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 15, 2007, 05:17:19 pm »

Hell no I didn't say it was a turbo, not my fault he didn't know. They did their mechanical check thing on it, I would think a mechanic (even a Ford one) would be able to tell but this was the salesman. Here are some pics: http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/6011/88%20Jetta%20TD/
If I can't fix the rad, is it the same as the gassers or no? lots of gas parts cars around.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #8 on:** May 15, 2007, 05:49:53 pm »

Nice, that is very clean. Does it have a tach? Alot of the gasser parts are interchangable, I'm not sure about the rad, I think the gasser one might be smaller but I'm not sure

jtanguay · « **Reply #9 on:** May 15, 2007, 06:13:38 pm »

yea that looks amazing! was katherine the salesperson???

rallydiesel · « **Reply #10 on:** May 15, 2007, 06:39:12 pm »

You can get a brand new rad for $75 CDN here:

http://catalog.worldpac.com/marks/quote.jsp?header=http://www.bestpricecarparts.com/cdnheader.txt&footer=http://www.bestpricecarparts.com/cdnfooter.txt&partner=marks&year=1991&product=G1000-19410&application=000225543&clientid=canada.bestpricecarparts.com&cookieid=21P0NLS1U21P0NLS1T&baseurl=http://canada.bestpricecarparts.com/

burn_your_money · « **Reply #11 on:** May 15, 2007, 10:16:26 pm »

Ever order from them before rallydiesel?

rallydiesel · « **Reply #12 on:** May 15, 2007, 11:42:07 pm »

Yes, quite a few times. The delivery is very fast, if I order on Monday I will always get it by Friday. The prices are good and everything is new. I haven't yet had any problems with them. Most of the stuff comes from Mark's Bug Barn in Ontario.

6011 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 16, 2007, 03:14:18 am »

Yes it does have a tach. Yes Katherine was the sales person, I dealt over price with the sales manager guy. I think had I had to haggle with her I would have failed miserably :wink: Thanks for the link Rallydiesel, I was looking for a site like that. There used to be some VW parts place called Bow wow In Vancouver but I think they went belly-up.

Jetta Fan · « **Reply #14 on:** May 16, 2007, 07:29:13 am »

Beauty of a car! Saleperson isn't bad either. :wink:

Author Topic: shopping for a 85-92 jetta, what to look for? (Read 4809 times)

6011

Laurentian

6011

6011

6011