Should I buy this?

[koppernicus]

I found a 1990 Golf Coupe Diesel for sale for $2300.

it has 446,000 KMs on the odometer, but the owner says its on its 2nd engine; with only about 150,000 kms on it.

I want to talk him down to $2000, but I'm not sure if its even a good deal or not.

i know nothing about gas-running cars, let alone diesel engines.

[somolovitch3]

Where all is you at?

Body okay, no rust hidding someplace?

Engine starts good, does not smoke?

Auto or manual trany?  4 speed or 5?

Tires got good tread? Wheels look good?

When you drive it, does the car feel "nifty"(very subjective !) to you?

[koppernicus]

we're in vancouver, canada.

its a manual transmission, do not know the number.

body looks great - the seller is an autobody mechanic.

haven't started it yet. tires look great too...

going to give it a test drive today.

[jtanguay]

well if the guy is being truthful with you, the motor probably has the TDI crank fix (depending on when the motor was made)

if the motor really does have around 150'000km it's worth it.

[koppernicus]

its a 5 speed; and i don't think the guy knows anything about the motor, because the motor was in it before he got it himself...

how do i find out more about the motor? i.e. where do i look?

[burn_your_money]

At these temps it should fire up quickly with 1 cycle of the glow plugs. If it doesn't expect a few bad glow plugs and possibly some bad injectors.

When the engine is running open up the oil filler (on the valve cover) if it's puffing white smoke walk away. If it's just blowing out air the engine is probably pretty healthy.

I'm always afraid of buying cars from body shops

[commuter boy]

The silver one on Craigslist?  Seems to be gone from there now.

It's likely a diesel swap into a gas chassis, I don't think there were a lot of diesel coupes imported.

It's an old car.  All the non-engine running gear will be due to fall apart.   Need to find out if the transaxle was swapped with the engine, a lot of people don't bother, and you end up with a diesel that rev's too high.

For a grand more you could get one with 250-300k on it.

[burn_your_money]

I've owned a few NA 2 door golfs

[koppernicus]

it fires up no problem - like a normal gas car; i've never had to wait yet.

no smoke coming from engine - but there is sometimes a puff out the exhaust when i start it up.

its from an old friend of my dad's - he hasn't had contact with him for years though. not on craigslist yet.

its white.

[koppernicus]

I dunno what happened. my brother was driving the car, and when he wanted to switch from 1st to 2nd, the car just didn't switch.

the gears do not respond - the shifter knob has no resistance..

the clutch works, and i've checked the linkage rods - they seem to be in good working order. (anyone have any tests I can run on the linkage rods?)

i pushed and pulled the linkage rod where it goes into the transmission and it moves the shifter in car.....

am i looking at a serious transmission problem here?

[bigblockchev]

If you move the linkage under the hood at the tranny itself does it go into gear? if so it is a linkage problem. bit of a pain but fixable.  Get someone to shift while you watch & see if everything moves or something just flops around. If it happened suddenly it is likely a linkage issue, something just fell off something else. I know a guy who works on VWs in East Van if you are interested. Cheers Dan

[Patrick]

Sounds like shifter linkage unhooked, but you say you checked. You sure? Look under the hood while someone else runs the shifter. Forward/back (eg 3-4 shift) is one movement/set of rods while changing gates (1/2 as opposed to 3/4) is another set of rods. If both sets are there/hooked up then you've got bigger problems, probably in the transaxle but maybe the clutch........

[koppernicus]

If you move the linkage under the hood at the tranny itself does it go into gear? if so it is a linkage problem. bit of a pain but fixable.  Get someone to shift while you watch & see if everything moves or something just flops around. If it happened suddenly it is likely a linkage issue, something just fell off something else. I know a guy who works on VWs in East Van if you are interested. Cheers Dan

i move the linkage and the bar that goes in and out of the tranny moves, but nothing goes into gear....

when someone shifts from the car everything moves but it doesnt go into gear...

i hope to god its a linkage issue, because i can't afford a tranny.

[bigblockchev]

Doesn't sound too good. Give Virgil a call at Dubs Garage 778 865-3827 he might be able to give you some better info, he is in Poco. Or you could try Alan at Al's Rabbits 604 254 9936 in East Van . both these guys work on nothing but VWs. Good luck

[koppernicus]

Doesn't sound too good. Give Virgil a call at Dubs Garage 778 865-3827 he might be able to give you some better info, he is in Poco. Or you could try Alan at Al's Rabbits 604 254 9936 in East Van . both these guys work on nothing but VWs. Good luck

alright, i've called a few diff shops, and Al's and they seem to all say the same thing. "must be the clutch" or something to do in the shifting linkage... the gearshift/linkage rods, clutch "arm" etc.

anyone know anything about transmissions? is there a universal piece inside the transmission that can go and cause all the gears to stop working like this?

thanks!