Advice needed - Do I junk my 88 Jetta?

My 1988 may have problems that seem too extensive/expensive to fix. With over 250k on it, it need major tranny work . My mech says around $1,100 with a salvage transmission (manual) and new clutch (original), etc. The engine runs well but the body is pretty beat up, no AC, stereo about shot, other interior cosmetic stuff.

I have been getting gently "prodded" by my wife for several years about getting a new car, so maybe the time has come. I'm still not convinced that she hasn't paid my mechanic to over inflate the estimate just to move me toward a new car.

Do I just sell it to the junkyard for probably next to nothing or is there some value in advertising it for parts? As mentioned the engine sound and runs well; just redid starter/ignition/battery within the last year and new oil pump recently also.

Anyone got an opinion on junk vs trying to sell/eBay for parts?

Thanks for any thoughts

Reply to
Jaime
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Which engine? Diesel?

Reply to
Dave Cobb

I wish it was diesel, but no, it's the gas Digi 8v.

On the bright side, if we do get a new car, we'll probably get a another TDI (our newer car is 02 Jetta TDI). So we'll be all diesel and I can set up the biodiesel tank in the garage and start visiting the KFC's for fuel.

Reply to
Jaime

Depends on your threshold of pain. Or perhaps more importantly, your wife's. Parting out a car is often a pain in the ass. Babysitting kids that have no idea how to disassemble anything (let alone without ruining other stuff), dealing with no-shows, and having your neighbors give you dirty looks for having a car that looks like a gang stipped it sitting on your property (not to mention local ordinances against it).

From your description there doesn't seem to be much on the car worth the hassles. Perhaps a local VW club has some folks looking for parts. It's not uncommon to have someone that needs some major part of it buy the whole thing for just that part's cost. Perhaps someone else that has the time/patience will take the whole car off your hands just to get some part of it. Be prepared to haggle.

Bear in mind that most junkyards will charge YOU to come pickup a car that's been stripped. Make sure whatever you make off the stripped parts is more than the junk pickup fees!

I once sold a whole '80 Scirocco for just its transmission. It had a cracked unibody (bad front-end clip job) and the guy had a trailer. We haggled a bit and he came and took the whole thing off my hands. He only 'needed' the trans but figured for the extra $100 I wanted it'd be worth getting the rims, tires and various other bits. I could have parted it out but it would have taken weeks and I probably wouldn't have made all that much more profit once I'd had it towed.

-Bill Kearney

Reply to
wkearney99

Parting a car is a major pain in the ass, and it doesn't sound like your car has any "big money" items on it.

When the trans went in my '86 Jetta, I was able to find a good replacment for $75 on vwvortex.com. A couple of evenings of work and I was back on the road. If you can do it yourself, I wouldn't let a bad trans be the end of the car if I enjoyed driving it. If you're paying to have it done, it (as you know) can be expensive.

OTOH, if you don't like driving the car, now's your chance to get out. ;-)

You probably won't get much of anything for the car, but there may be someone local to you who won't mind putting a trans in it and getting cheap reliable transportation. Maybe it's worth a couple of bucks to that person?

I would bet that the best you'll get from a junkyard is to have them come pick it up for free.

Good luck, Craig

Reply to
Craig Faison

I got a hold of the local VW club and they thought I could probably find someone interested in buying it for the engine. Even if I only do a little better than junking it, at least I know some of it is getting used. Better than having it just rust at the junkyard.

Reply to
Jaime

I agree with Craig, Either you find a used trans at a good price and let your mechanic install, or you might want to try the install. If you don't feel handy enough to do it, let the pro do it. The install should cost about the same as the labor for doing the clutch. So you could purchase the clutch components also. Labor should be around 4-5 hours IIRC.

Or sell it as is to someone who might need parts for their VW or might even want to fix yours! Ebay the engine and give the buyer the whole vehicle! later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

Reply to
dave

Jaime,

Which part of the country/world are you in? I have a friend who is looking for something in this range, and would have the resources to fix it up. Thanks!

Vik

Reply to
Vikram Dighe

I'm conviently located in Central Florida (Mickey says Hi!)

Reply to
Jaime

there's always E-BAy....$48 to list it, ask $250 to get it drug awa : From VWsport.com NNTP Gateway

Reply to
OhioBenz

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