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1989 VW Jetta = Good Car??

Author	Topic
SpaceBoy Full Member USA 631 Posts	Posted - 09 Feb 2003 : 18:29:35 Howdy, folks! Due to a long string of strange events, I'm now being offered my brother-in-law's last car, a 1989 Volkswagen Jetta (four door), for something in the range of $0-to-$500 bucks. Now, I'm in need of a car (this would be my first, more or less...), and this one seems like a good deal, so I'm soliciting any opinions/tips/warnings, before I get in over my head. I've not been able to drive it because: a) I don't have my licence just yet, and b) It's currently dead- the starter needs replacing. Depending on the cost of getting it repaired (the starter is the only major work it needs- otherwise it's in pretty good shape, for a 10+ year old car), I may get it for next to nothing, which would be swell! Okay, that's about all I know at the moment. I'm gonna call around tomorrow and see how much getting that starter replaced is gonna cost...... :-) SpaceBoy <getting excited at the thought of finally having a car!> Official MLA Raconteur AppleBASIC FOREVER! TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine" PowerMac 6500/275 Performa 6400/180 3x PowerMac 7600/132 SE/30 32/250, "Wang" PB 1400/133 PB 180/33 PMac 7100/G3-266 Quadra 950, "HAL 9000" Newton 120, "PADD"
Kady Mae Junior Member USA 261 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 11:26:27 Space Boy, if you really want to know about the reliablity of the car, get down to Microforms and pull the Consumer Reports microfilm for 1992 and see if it has made their rec'd list and check out its overall reliablity. --- 68K's liberated: 4 68Ks adopted to loving homes: 2 PowerMacs adopted: 1
raWr Junior Member Tuvalu 491 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 12:15:43 $0 to $500? I'd go for $0. -raWr Fleet Covert Ops
SpaceBoy Full Member USA 631 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 12:46:34 quote: $0 to $500? I'd go for $0. Hmmm, sounds like fuzzy math to me..... quote: Space Boy, if you really want to know about the reliablity of the car, get down to Microforms and pull the Consumer Reports microfilm for 1992 and see if it has made their rec'd list and check out its overall reliablity. That's a great tip- I'll check that out after work! I just found this link ( http://cartalk.cars.com/Survey/Results/Demographics/Comments/Volkswagen/Jetta-1989.html ), which has driver surveys, etc. for this car, and most of them seem to just adore the '89 Jetta... that's encouraging! Thanks, guys! SpaceBoy Official MLA Raconteur AppleBASIC FOREVER! TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine" PowerMac 6500/275 Performa 6400/180 3x PowerMac 7600/132 SE/30 32/250, "Wang" PB 1400/133 PB 180/33 PMac 7100/G3-266 Quadra 950, "HAL 9000" Newton 120, "PADD"
cinemafia Guerrilla Recon Leader USA 2965 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 13:14:57 I had a 1989 Volkswagen Cabriolet for a few years that I loved! $500 or less is a pretty good deal for one, too. I'll have to give you some pointers when i get back home...have to run... 666th poster and 666th thread-creator Mod of the Mac II series Forums Total 68K Macs liberated: 7 My Site: http://cine.sytes.net My Hardware Page: http://cineware.sytes.net
catsdorule Senior Member Canada 1627 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 15:01:38 quote: 0-to-500 bucks Bucks eh? I always thought bucks were kicks in the @$$. -danny You! What PLANET is this! -- McCoy, "The City on the Edge of Forever", stardate 3134.0 ------- 68k Macintosh Liberation Army 68k Macs Liberated: 3
Kami Junior Member Canada 132 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 17:43:34 As someone who has owned a 81 VW Scirocco and a 87 Audi Coupe GT (this is/was an awesome car), I can add a few items to think about: - German cars drive very well. Road feel and steering precision is excellent in most VWs - the interiors of VWs tend to be very well done. Quality fabrics - the radios were mounted high on the dash and thus easy to reach so you can focus on the road - no cup holders - parts for VWs are very expensive (compare the price on a good quality Bosch starter with the prices for a Toyota) - older VWs tend to have a lot of minor things go wrong and that adds up. If something big goes bad... ouch HTH
Master of Puppets Starting Member 32 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 19:36:07 Ahhh! VW, the magic word to stop my lurking and get a response out of me :D A starter for that won't be too expensive if you know where to look. I get my vw parts from thepartsbin.com, vwparts.com, and germanautoparts.com. They are almost always cheaper than the dealership or a local parts store, even after shipping, for me at least. The forums of vwvortex.com are also helpful. That 89 would fall under the Golf/Jetta II category. If it was well taken care of, it should last you a while.
cinemafia Guerrilla Recon Leader USA 2965 Posts	Posted - 10 Feb 2003 : 23:22:11 Oh, I just have to mention...my wife has been wanting to trade in her Toyota for a few months now and she finally did. Yesterday she swapped her '01 Corolla S for a '01 VW Beetle GLS! It rocks...it has every option that was avaible; leather, Monsoon stereo, heated seats and mirrors, moonroof...I'm jealous! It's only the infamous 2.0L 8v, but it manages to get out of its own way. Maybe in a couple months I'll talk her into dropping in a Neuspeed supercharger and a performance exhaust, eh? Tonight I bought her some mud flaps for it, they were only $35 but the VW parts people wanted $75 to install them. Ha! I had 'em installed myself...in...just over two hours. Jeez...who would've known you'd had to jack the car up four times and remove both rear wheels just to install some lousy mud flaps?? 666th poster and 666th thread-creator Mod of the Mac II series Forums Total 68K Macs liberated: 7 My Site: http://cine.sytes.net My Hardware Page: http://cineware.sytes.net Edited by - cinemafia on 11 Feb 2003 00:04:19
The Lightning Stalker Full Member USA 747 Posts	Posted - 11 Feb 2003 : 17:30:37 My dad has worked for car dealers for years and has a lot of good things to say about the VW Jetta. He almost got one a few years back. He works around the service department, so you know that when something goes wrong, he's right there to hear about it. It also depends, though, what kind of condition the body is in, but for a free Jetta, I just can't see how you would be going wrong. The Lightning Stalker Performa 631CD, 7.5.5 LC III, FPU, 20/80/enet, 7.5.5, Mail Server 6400/180 40/1.6G/512k L2/enet/video-in/TV 7600/120 '604/233, 80/1.2G & 1G/512k L2, 9.2.2 (Main Mac) Lady Smith Apples: Apple IIc 5.25" 2 Apple IIe
Master of Puppets Starting Member 32 Posts	Posted - 11 Feb 2003 : 19:13:15 VWs are great cars. I'm in the market for VW #3, but I change my mind every week on what I want. :D
SpaceBoy Full Member USA 631 Posts	Posted - 11 Feb 2003 : 20:25:07 Hey guys- Thanks for all the great feedback on the car! It's good to get some opinions from real people... I've always wanted an old Beetle- it's been something of a life-long lust, I guess, second only to my addiction to old Macs/computers! Sure, the Jetta's no SuperBeetle, but it's not a bad start, right? Gotta run, folks- I'll post more info once I get the car, in the next couple of days! SpaceBoy <very very excited!> Official MLA Raconteur AppleBASIC FOREVER! TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine" PowerMac 6500/275 Performa 6400/180 3x PowerMac 7600/132 SE/30 32/250, "Wang" PB 1400/133 PB 180/33 PMac 7100/G3-266 Quadra 950, "HAL 9000" Newton 120, "PADD"
FireWire is fast General, 4 star USA 1559 Posts	Posted - 13 Feb 2003 : 20:25:22 Volkswagens are Nazi cars. That's right, back in the late 30s Hitler wanted a car (wage) for use of the german people (volk) on his new highways, so he sat down with Mr. Porsche (sp?) to help design an the inexepensive aformentioned car...so a bunch of people ordered them, and since Germany is funny, you had to pick the cars up at the dealer (or some big lot or whatnot)...then war came and something came along where nobody got their volkswagen...then we won the war and saved Hitler's pet company... the fastest the original models went was 60 MPH and stayed that way for many years... how do i know? The History Channel told me -------------------- master of the Quadra/Centris Stick of Justice� and figure-head of the Peoples' PDS Republic --------------------
cinemafia Guerrilla Recon Leader USA 2965 Posts	Posted - 13 Feb 2003 : 23:04:37 Yep, Ferdinand Porsche and Adolf Hitler gave life to the VW. Now, the VAG (Volkswagen Auto Group) is the largest automible manufacturer on the planet; owning VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley and Bugatti. 666th poster and 666th thread-creator Mod of the Mac II series Forums Total 68K Macs liberated: 7 My Site: http://cine.sytes.net My Hardware Page: http://cineware.sytes.net
SpaceBoy Full Member USA 631 Posts	Posted - 14 Feb 2003 : 10:20:26 Strangely enough, History Channel was playing a show last night when I got home, about the history of the German Autobahn (sp?), and they showed much footage of the VW's early days under Hitler... Fortunatly, I'm pretty sure that most of the Nazi influence was weeded out by the time my 1989 Jetta rolled off the line.... SpaceBoy Official MLA Raconteur AppleBASIC FOREVER! TiBook G4/500, "Difference Engine" PowerMac 6500/275 Performa 6400/180 3x PowerMac 7600/132 SE/30 32/250, "Wang" PB 1400/133 PB 180/33 PMac 7100/G3-266 Quadra 950, "HAL 9000" Newton 120, "PADD"
FireWire is fast General, 4 star USA 1559 Posts	Posted - 14 Feb 2003 : 18:15:04 quote: Fortunatly, I'm pretty sure that most of the Nazi influence was weeded out by the time my 1989 Jetta rolled off the line.... SpaceBoy lets hope that Israel, natural causes and Montezuma's revenge have killed off the last of 'em... -------------------- master of the Quadra/Centris Stick of Justice� and figure-head of the Peoples' PDS Republic --------------------

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