97 Jetta VR6 with 160K for $3000? Worth the buy or find another one?

[MK(<)3]

Craigslist post says:

I have a 1997 glx 5 speed Jetta with the vr6 motor
It has just over 160k and still has plenty of life in it
It is pretty quick and still get great mpg
I just had all new struts and springs put in about 1000 dollar job and I still have the after market coil overs with it
It has after market magnaflow exhaust
It has heated leather seats that are in fair condition and power windows and locks and a power moon roof. Typical rust spot on the trunk and few small spots. Nothing wrong, good to go.

[will_t]

i'd pass...but really just depends on how picky you are.

[sk8too]

Have the chains and clutch been replaced? If not knock off at least $1k from the price, and for me rust is always a no go. No telling where else it may be hiding.


Boo ya tapatalk! If you haven't got it yet get it!

[MK(<)3]

thats all ive heard is about changing the chains and clutch. I'll have to ask then and see what the deal is. Thanks guys

[MisterMK3]

Read this! It's a great write up on what to look for when buying an MK3.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...at-to-look-for

[Trevor95VR6]

Read this! It's a great write up on what to look for when buying an MK3.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...at-to-look-for

This, At 160k 3k is retarted high for a VR6. I find 120k-130k VRs here in CO often when I browse CL at like 2500-2800. I would say no to rust, I had to replace the hatch on my VR cause of a huge rust issue that the PO Ghetto repaired. Chains are Huge, I had mine done at 1700 from a family mechanic with parts. Stealership had quoted me 3400 for chains and clutch

Jettas are dime a dozen keep looking youll find something worth your investment GL

[MisterMK3]

I know I'm going to regret posting this and I'll probably get flamed (please, take it easy).

IF you buy a VR and the chains are making their tell-tale noise, you can get by just changing the upper guides and the tensioner bolt. On 12 valve OBD II VRs, the lower guides tend to wear MUCH slower than the upper guides. The guides are what cause the slack in the chains (which causes the noise), not the chains themselves "going bad". Timing chains will last a very, very long time. Unfortunately, Volkswagen used guides that wear prematurely and cause slack in the chains.

SO, if you must, the upper guides and the tensioner bolt can be changed at a much cheaper cost than an entire kit. The beauty of this is that the job is much less labor intensive if you go this route. No tranny removal.

Okay, I'm done. For those of you that have more experience with the VR6 than I do, please don't kill me.

[expated]

Craigslist post says:

I have a 1997 glx 5 speed Jetta with the vr6 motor
It has just over 160k and still has plenty of life in it
It is pretty quick and still get great mpg
I just had all new struts and springs put in about 1000 dollar job and I still have the after market coil overs with it
It has after market magnaflow exhaust
It has heated leather seats that are in fair condition and power windows and locks and a power moon roof. Typical rust spot on the trunk and few small spots. Nothing wrong, good to go.

Some photos would be nice!

[tylerlb]

I know I'm going to regret posting this and I'll probably get flamed (please, take it easy).

IF you buy a VR and the chains are making their tell-tale noise, you can get by just changing the upper guides and the tensioner bolt. On 12 valve OBD II VRs, the lower guides tend to wear MUCH slower than the upper guides. The guides are what cause the slack in the chains (which causes the noise), not the chains themselves "going bad". Timing chains will last a very, very long time. Unfortunately, Volkswagen used guides that wear prematurely and cause slack in the chains.

SO, if you must, the upper guides and the tensioner bolt can be changed at a much cheaper cost than an entire kit. The beauty of this is that the job is much less labor intensive if you go this route. No tranny removal.

Okay, I'm done. For those of you that have more experience with the VR6 than I do, please don't kill me.

After replacing mine at around 130K miles, i'll concurr with this statement. The only worn items were the upper guides. If you can get in there and check with a flashlight before you do the work you can see if in fact you have bad lower guides or not.

[E-RustBox'er]

Simple as it is.. Offer him $2k Or not deal. But before talking about money talk about all the work that it needs to be done. Me I wouldn't pay more than $2k Oh and don't forget if he can put on the pink slip he sold it for you for $500 tha would be better.. Good Luck.

[aphythiate]

Pass.

[germancarnut51]

$3K is too much for a rusty MKIII.

Look elsewhere.

[MisterMK3]

After replacing mine at around 130K miles, i'll concurr with this statement. The only worn items were the upper guides. If you can get in there and check with a flashlight before you do the work you can see if in fact you have bad lower guides or not.

I'm glad someone agrees with me. I was a bit worried about making that opinion public. Haha.

[aphythiate]

I'm glad someone agrees with me. I was a bit worried about making that opinion public. Haha.

I'll agree with you after just having done a set of chains. I probably could have gotten away with not doing the whole thing. But I had all the stuff, and it's easy once you have the trans off. However, I have a couple of sticking points.

-Don't say OBDII chains, just say single row upper. There are OBDII cars with the dual upper out there. Single row started somewhere in 97, serial number 217001 and later.

-Just doing the upper guide rail IS probably ok on the SRU chains. However, you may still get a noise in there from having broken pieces down in the lower cover area. Guess what that means?

If I had a single row upper car, that didn't need a clutch, didn't need a rear main, and I didn't feel like taking all apart, I'd try this method first. Worse case scenario... you end up having to do the full job. It's worth the risk. My tensioner rail had groves in it, but was otherwise ok. I suspect had I thrown a new tensioner in it when I replaced a broken guide rail, it would have shut up. But having minty fresh chains is just something you can't put a price on. With them taken care of, a VR6 is pretty much bulletproof.

[MK(<)3]

thanks guys, very helpful! I'm in Wisconsin so kinda hard to find a NOT rusted car here haha but he couldnt give me a for sure on chains and or clutch so its a no go. I'll keep looking!

[JohnStamos]

Chains are Huge, I had mine done at 1700 from a family mechanic with parts.

You got raped. Hard.

[E-RustBox'er]

This, At 160k 3k is retarted high for a VR6. I find 120k-130k VRs here in CO often when I browse CL at like 2500-2800. I would say no to rust, I had to replace the hatch on my VR cause of a huge rust issue that the PO Ghetto repaired. Chains are Huge, I had mine done at 1700 from a family mechanic with parts. Stealership had quoted me 3400 for chains and clutch

Jettas are dime a dozen keep looking youll find something worth your investment GL

I see you can get cars for less price but I don't understand why to pay that much money for doing the timing chain stuff and thank God "he is a family friend".

[aphythiate]

You got raped. Hard.

Since it was a family mechanic, does that make it incest?

Good choice on passing, OP. Maybe look outside WI. I know VR6 cars can be hand for cheap in CHI, but that's it's own set of problems.

[E-RustBox'er]

Since it was a family mechanic, does that make it incest?

Good choice on passing, OP. Maybe look outside WI. I know VR6 cars can be hand for cheap in CHI, but that's it's own set of problems.

Technically both Raped and Incest.

[Hurt]

Where are you located OP? It it's CT - I have a buddy selling his 97 GLX with 16x k miles on it, with a messed up motor. It has a good 5 speed, 7/10 leather interior, good undercarriage, not any major rust, etc. It comes with a motor with only 80k miles on it with a whole new crackpipe/coolant set up. I think he's looking for 3500. Just lookin' out.

[aphythiate]

Where are you located OP? It it's CT - I have a buddy selling his 97 GLX with 16x k miles on it, with a messed up motor. It has a good 5 speed, 7/10 leather interior, good undercarriage, not any major rust, etc. It comes with a motor with only 80k miles on it with a whole new crackpipe/coolant set up. I think he's looking for 3500. Just lookin' out.

No offense dude, but no one wants to pay 3500 for a car that isn't put together. Try $1500 MAX.


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