400Km's alot for our cars?

[89VWdieselGolf]

Hey,

As most of you know (if you browse the for sale section) i'm looking for another diesel again...desprately,
I found a 92 2 door golf, but it has 393Km's on it.
I know vw diesels can go for a while but is that past it's limit?
And how do the body/chassis hold up after 400Km's?

thanks,
Jeff

[jtanguay]

I bought a '92 jetta 1.6TD with 372'000k on it.   The valves seem to make a lot of noise so I'm guessing I need a head rebuild soon.  It starts alright in winter with the cold start, but bucks without it (which is normal).

The exhaust bowl gasket is gone, as there is exhaust that comes out of the front grill on my car (not good...).  I had to replace a motor mount, AND the rad fan (which ruined my air conditioning system btw) and soon I will need to replace my heater blower .   The car doesn't seem to have as much power as my old one did when the boost comes on, and does seem to have crappy mileage (winter is now around 600km/tank and summer was 700km/tank).   I just purchased a new suspension consisting of struts and shocks, strut bars upper and lower, and stiffer springs which will help make the ride feel not so 'bouncy'.

Those are the main problems I can think of, unless there is damage to your turbo (which is one thing on my car that spools perfectly when warm)
oh and tires.   If the PO didn't put new tires on, change those too and/or get an alignment done which helps!

[89VWdieselGolf]

ewww that doesnt sound like a good list

thanks,
Jeff

[vwmike]

Well, my Jetta has just over 360k km on it so I guess it's close enough to have a say. The body isn't too bad but I had to replace everything in the suspension and braking system. The ball joints were worn out, the tierods were worn out. Shocks and struts were shot. Steering rack was broken. The master cylinder was bad and the softlines were done. It all made for a terrible driving experience. After I replaced it all and did the maintenance items on the engine as well as a new clutch, wheels, tires, etc it was good again. If these things haven't been kept up with, the car isn't cheap, and you don't plan to do the work yourself then it's probably not a good investment. Another thing to keep in mind is the engine. Someone has replaced the cylinder head once upon a time. I had the head off to swap on an AAZ gasket about a week ago and i can tell you the cylinders definitely aren't straight anymore. They're not wavy, but over time they become more cone shaped with the bottom being larger so if it is to be rebuilt it will require new pistons. It still starts fine when it's cold out (relative - cold means freezing temperature).

[MacGyver]

Generally VW diesels are capable of significantly more than that, but with that age of car, it's something now best evaluated on a case by case basis.
My first diesel, 87 Jetta, engine was very tired @370k km. I bought it with 170k km. Body/chassis was still decent till the end. I sold it to a guy I think used it for parts.
My dad's had a couple MKII's exceed 600k km.
I fully expect my current 97 to go much further due to my more knowledgeable care & maintenance (ie synthetic oil etc), and the fact I got it with 54k km so I know what it's received for treatment & care for most of its life.

Talk to QuickTD in a few yrs, he's >260k km now...I expect his car will last forever

[89VWdieselGolf]

this car i was looking at is a car at a dealer for 1G, trade-in special, i don't think i'll be taking my chances with it, although the motor apparently runs great, who knows about suspension, brakes etc.

thanks for your help,
Jeff

[jtanguay]

this car i was looking at is a car at a dealer for 1G, trade-in special, i don't think i'll be taking my chances with it, although the motor apparently runs great, who knows about suspension, brakes etc.

thanks for your help,
Jeff

ask to go for a test drive, and drive over some pot holes with it.   Its pretty easy to tell whether or not the suspension is gone (mount, shock, spring)  when you go over a bump.   A bad spring can make sort of a  clunking noise.  Bad strut/shock and the car will feel pretty bouncy.  Replacing ball joints are almost mandatory as the wheel will fall off if they are bad  if you are buying it from a dealership though, they should have to fix that if its bad when they do the safety inspection.

1g for a '92 diesel is pretty good actually.  I spent $2800 for mine and feel I got a little bit ripped, but the body has no rust whatsoever and brake lines are pristine which makes it worth it.   Even if you have to spend around 1500 on repairs for this car (never take it to any garage) then it is definitely worth it.  Cheap insurance and cheap on fuel if driven properly.

[89VWdieselGolf]

ask to go for a test drive, and drive over some pot holes with it.

Well if it wasn't shot before the test drive it sure is now  j/k

thats a good idea though

thanks,
Jeff

[detour1999]

Generally VW diesels are capable of significantly more than that, but with that age of car, it's something now best evaluated on a case by case basis.

Couldn't agree more...
my daily NA has about 420K km on it.  The body is close to perfect (NO rust...  which is odd for Chicago).  Engine is in fine condition (some difficulty starting under 20F) I redid all the brakes and suspension, since I had them lying around.  Been driving it for over a year and have loved every second of it.
the ecoDiesel I picked up, on the other hand had about 230K km when I got it.  Brakes, suspension, body, transmission and clutch were all shot.  Engine purrs like a kitten, though. (Well, a loud kitten )

Suspension, brakes, etc are all pretty easy to replace yourself.  If the body and engine seem to be good, I'd go for it.
-d.

[zyewdall]

Like a few people have said, it's a case by case evaluation of whether it's worth it.  But $1,000 sounds like a pretty good deal for any running diesel, considering it's a turbo too.  Around here, old 1.6NA rabbits are selling for over $1k if they run and the seller knows what the market is like.  Older TDI's are selling at 50% or more over blue book.

[Op-Ivy]

I just hit 430k last weekend

Ill get a picture when I get hold of a camera!

[vwmike]

I just hit 430k last weekend

Ill get a picture when I get hold of a camera!

That's a lot of miles.... so take warning.

(I think I should reply to all of your posts with an Operation Ivy reference).

[Op-Ivy]

I just hit 430k last weekend

Ill get a picture when I get hold of a camera!

That's a lot of miles.... so take warning.

(I think I should reply to all of your posts with an Operation Ivy reference).

Caution is a word that I can't understand

[mortskeg]

My 81 pickup has just over 310,000 miles on it (about 500,000km?).  I went though last year and replaced the ball joints, a-arm bushings, strut bearings and bushing insert thing; some of these parts were original.  Needless to say it is not the original engine, but the rest of the truck has held up to the miles very well.  IIRC it had a bit over 400,000km on it when I bought it nearly 7 years ago.  So personally, I wouldn't shy away from a vehicle with high milage, provided that the maintenance has been properly kept up with.

Hope this helps.

[1985JettaTD]

my 1985 Jetta with a 1.6TD just hit 510 000 last weekend. only major work has been headgasket, alternator, waterpump, mastercylander, and rear shocks. it still has the vw original muffler and transmission. it still drives great with lots of power and getting great milage (about 1300km a tank) i am in love with the car and would never buy anything eles. go for it they are not that hard to fix if anything goes wrong and they last forever and not to mention how hard you car drive them and it loves it.