2003 Volkswagen GTI ad (Good deal??)

[xaeniac]

selling my gti to get a family vehicle.it has the 1.8t motor it was replaced about 2 yrs ago. motor has roughly 60k. tranny replaced last year only 50k on it. timing belt replaced last year. chassis has just over 88k. tires were replaced last year. it has mild upgrades. Megan lowering springs,upgraded dogbone tranny mount, eurp spec clutch, front mount intercooler, custom inatake turbo up, Forge diverter valve. also have another turbo manifold but never installed. 3" downpipe, 2.5" exhaust. short shifter, boost gauge, it does have a cracked windshield. you can either email me or prefered call any questions feel free to ask.

$6500

BTW this is not mine

 

[Gibson486]

I usually stay away from cars that are no longer stock.....

 

[BassBomb]

no price checks

 

[xaeniac]

why not prices are talked about on here all the time....

 

[coxmaster]

That seems like its pretty close on price.

Checkout the classifieds section on Vortex. Specifically, the MKIV Cars section

 

[CurseTheSky]

Chassis has 88k, but the motor has 60k and the transmission has 50k?

I wouldn't do it.

 

[DeviousTrap]

Pass.

Only reason that car would have a new engine would be because it was neglected. The 1.8t had sludge issues if you didn't keep up with the oil changes. I'd bet that someone didn't change the oil for the first 20k miles.

 

[T2urtle]

Pass.

Only reason that car would have a new engine would be because it was neglected. The 1.8t had sludge issues if you didn't keep up with the oil changes. I'd bet that someone didn't change the oil for the first 20k miles.

normally i would agree if it was more of less of a common car. You people are going to attack me placing the GTI in a little higher class but from what i've seen, GTI owners are similar to m3, vette, cobra owners to the point where a fair amount of them are enthusiast and they bought the car with a reason. But since the GTi is still a common car that are bought as DD. It might be true that 20k oil change statement.

When people mod their cars and sell it, most likely they hit a wall with the car, like they realize its not going to go faster without boatload of money, they scarficed too much daily comfort or the problems are too much for it ( little things add up). And yea the "my family is growing and i'm going to a faster sedan/suv.

$6500 to me at a GTI seems to in the ballpark. Me personally if i was going to get one it will be a 337/20th edition one.

I would talk to the guy about common things to see how he responds, get a feel for his knowledge of the car. I will not buy a modded car from someone who has no clue wtf he has or he has paid a shop to do everything.

This combo of mods will make me most likely pass. I would not want FMIC paired with a stock turbo. He didn't mention he was chipped nor if the turbo was replaced with the engine. Look at the mods people do and you can see some people who just want to go all show or people who mod and to take care of issues in the long run.

 

[xaeniac]

What type of questions do I ask???

 

[boomhower]

88k with a replaced engine and tranny screams that the car is was beat on.

 

[xaeniac]

Im going to pass. Thanks guys for the advice.

 

[basslover1]

Pass.

Only reason that car would have a new engine would be because it was neglected. The 1.8t had sludge issues if you didn't keep up with the oil changes. I'd bet that someone didn't change the oil for the first 20k miles.

I haven't heard of sludge issues with the 1.8T in Vdub's other than in the Passat.

The Passat has a longitudinally mounted motor. Because of this, the subframe runs right under the oil pan. Unfortunately with the factory sized oil filter this means a < 4 quart oil capacity. Pair that with a turbo oil return line that runs directly above the turbo and exhaust manifold and below the factory heat shield and you end up with sludge. Yes, the return line is sandwiched between the exhaust and heat shield, it's almost like they wanted there to be issues.

The 1.8T in other Vdub's is closer to 5 quarts, so it shouldn't be an issue.


Anywho, back to the OP. On a car where the chassis only has 88k miles but both the engine and tranny have been replaced, I'd walk away very quickly.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Sludge issue on a 1.8T? Never heard of that... The sludge problem is on the 2.0T with direct injection, mostly caused by bad PCV systems and because the gas isn't cleaning the valves.

I have a 1.8T and it never burned a drop of oil in the 4 years I've had it.

 

[Painman]

Basslover1 is correct, but it's more precisely an oil coking issue in most cases. There's not enough oil capacity in the longitudinal engines, plus poor routing, causing the oil cooling system to be insufficient... so it gets way too hot, the lighter hydrocarbons boil out, leaving you with globs of coke blocking the oil pickup, etc. VW/Audi actually issued a recall notice because the problem was so widespread.

I specially avoided the 1.8t when I made my recent Passat purchase. There are plenty of non-sludged, well maintained ones out there, but it's also the predominant engine. There's also the coil pack issue... Much longer process of weeding out compared to the V6 models, which didn't have a sludge/coke or coil issue - they typically just spew oil if the PCV system hasn't been maintained.

Back to the OP car, though - good call on avoiding it. It's been rode hard.