hi. i’m vwdrvr, and i have a '00 jetta 1.8 w/ abotu 143K miles on it. you may remember me from such posts as “sudden coolant leak”, “maf/airflow sensor errors”, “check engine light turns on/off depending on outdoor temperature”, and others. behind the scenes, about a month ago, my check engine light came on again and i learned that 1/4th of my cylinders were working (one not at all, two others misfiring) $500. fixed. then two weeks later check engine came on again, some secondary airflow thing. then last thurs (after a very romantic dinner and fun evening, of course) my alternator died. alternator (w/tow) about $500, then we’d get to see what’s behind the airflow issues.
SO - Does anyone on this board have any information on how much one could expect to net by selling a 2000 Jetta for parts? Also, any suggestions on the channels I might find to be the most receptive? i would like to sell it as a unit, so some other kind soul could slowly strip it away.
Thanks.
Congratulations, you had the chance to own one of the most nightmarishly unreliable cars of the past decade. The bright side is that every car you own or buy from this point on will seem more reliable and hassle free (even a Fiat haha).
I’d place an ad asking for Blue Book Trade-in value and be perfectly honest. Put an ad on Craigslist and just say that the car needs some repairs so you’re discounting the price. Just make sure on the bill of sale you specify that the car is being sold “As-is” with mention of any specific major issues. If this is a GLS model with power options maybe try for $3500.
I’d try to sell the car as a whole, not for parts. Parting cars is messy, time consuming and a big space taker. You will always have lingering parts that you won’t know what to do with mad neighbors who get to look at the VW skeleton. I’d take Dave G’s advice. I think you would get more money selling a whole anyway.
HA! – NO KIDDING, Dave G. They should have just recalled the whole year in my opinion. I really should have just sold it at 75K miles and bought a scrappy old civic for whatever I got. Oh well.
But to say that the only “work” the car needs done is the alternator and whatever the secondary air-flow problem is would be disingenuous. I had my eye on doing the brakes soon. But beyond that, the repairs needed to bring it to “pristine” would be mostly cosmetic. Has a moonroof (the “shade” in the car won’t roll back, that’s $85-100), power windows, AC, cruise control, heated seats, traction control, and relatively new tires… so it’s not too bad. KBB says that in fair condition i should be getting $4,460. Interesting suggestion. Worth a shot.
Any other suggestions? Anyone have access to some good general “as-is/no warranty” language?
nye.guys - definitely. I would only sell it as a unit. The only thing I’ll probably take out of the car are the all-weather floormats to wash and stick on ebay.