MATT
01-20-2004, 12:34 PM
Well, new to me, anyway. As I suggested in the video card thread (on yet another tangent at NFSC) I might be getting my dad's old 1998 VW Jetta TDI (5 speed was the only thing TDIs were offered with that year...)
While I was sleeping the morning away on my day off (today) my mom left a note on my door saying my dad would drop off the car and title today while she was calling the insurance. State Farm faxed her a copy of the new insurance and she brought it to me during her lunch break.
It's nice to have everything done for you! lol. I wrote my dad a check, a small downpayment of $250. Eventually reaching the price of $2000.
It now has a little over 192,300 miles on it... that's quite a lot for a 1998 model car! That's more than my S10, but it has had relatively few problems over the years and absolutely awesome gas mileage. The 1.9 liter 4 cylinder turbo direct-injection diesel engine will give me more than 40 miles per gallon :D
The downside? It doesn't rev anywhere, horsepower number is pitiful. But decent torque, especially in the low to mid range. Nothing up top, though. I rarely go beyond 3500 RPM (redline is 4700... there's not much power beyond 4000 RPM). It'll get up and go for city driving, but once you hit fifth and go for the freeway it'll take a bit to get up to speed, especially when there's an extra person or three ;) You can floor it and the car just won't go fast.
By myself it's acceptable, though. Since the engine doesn't rev very high, it takes very little gas to get the car going. The gears aren't terribly tall in order to keep the engine in it's optimum operating range. This makes it one of the easier cars to start moving smoothly from a standstill, considering it's a manual transmission and all...
Went to the Secretary of State once I got everything together this afternoon and got the title in my name, a new license plate and I was on my way after handing over $61.00 to the State of Michigan.
Not sure what I'm going to do with the old S10 yet. The insurance has been cancelled on it but I'm not willing to part with it yet. It's always handy to have a truck around.
For a daily driver and a vehicle for long trips, the VW will be exellent. Not only will I pay less for insurance (strange, I know.. it's a newer car) but I'll get much better mileage than the old 4.3L OHV V6 ever could dream of.
At the very least, the Jetta looks better too. No rust, not missing as many pieces of trimming as the S10 (or at least not as noticeable ;)). Although it is missing a hubcap. It's a no-frills vehicle for certain. No power windows, no moon roof, no premium sound, no leather seating... So in that respect it's not much different than the S10 ;) At the very least, the sound is a step up from the truck.. All the speakers work, for one! lol
All in all, I'm satisfied with my purchase. It's a nice change of pace.
While I was sleeping the morning away on my day off (today) my mom left a note on my door saying my dad would drop off the car and title today while she was calling the insurance. State Farm faxed her a copy of the new insurance and she brought it to me during her lunch break.
It's nice to have everything done for you! lol. I wrote my dad a check, a small downpayment of $250. Eventually reaching the price of $2000.
It now has a little over 192,300 miles on it... that's quite a lot for a 1998 model car! That's more than my S10, but it has had relatively few problems over the years and absolutely awesome gas mileage. The 1.9 liter 4 cylinder turbo direct-injection diesel engine will give me more than 40 miles per gallon :D
The downside? It doesn't rev anywhere, horsepower number is pitiful. But decent torque, especially in the low to mid range. Nothing up top, though. I rarely go beyond 3500 RPM (redline is 4700... there's not much power beyond 4000 RPM). It'll get up and go for city driving, but once you hit fifth and go for the freeway it'll take a bit to get up to speed, especially when there's an extra person or three ;) You can floor it and the car just won't go fast.
By myself it's acceptable, though. Since the engine doesn't rev very high, it takes very little gas to get the car going. The gears aren't terribly tall in order to keep the engine in it's optimum operating range. This makes it one of the easier cars to start moving smoothly from a standstill, considering it's a manual transmission and all...
Went to the Secretary of State once I got everything together this afternoon and got the title in my name, a new license plate and I was on my way after handing over $61.00 to the State of Michigan.
Not sure what I'm going to do with the old S10 yet. The insurance has been cancelled on it but I'm not willing to part with it yet. It's always handy to have a truck around.
For a daily driver and a vehicle for long trips, the VW will be exellent. Not only will I pay less for insurance (strange, I know.. it's a newer car) but I'll get much better mileage than the old 4.3L OHV V6 ever could dream of.
At the very least, the Jetta looks better too. No rust, not missing as many pieces of trimming as the S10 (or at least not as noticeable ;)). Although it is missing a hubcap. It's a no-frills vehicle for certain. No power windows, no moon roof, no premium sound, no leather seating... So in that respect it's not much different than the S10 ;) At the very least, the sound is a step up from the truck.. All the speakers work, for one! lol
All in all, I'm satisfied with my purchase. It's a nice change of pace.