1997 Volkswagen Passat

Sedan

1.9L 1896CC 116Cu. In. l4 DIESEL SOHC Turbocharged

Manual

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Clear

Diesel

If you're reading this, you probably appreciate the uniqueness (eccentricities?) of this vehicle. This silver 97 VW Passat has 232,000 miles. I have owned it for 2 years. I purchased it sight-unseen with no vehicle history information. So if you require more background than I have, you should look elsewhere. I was a little star-struck/obsessed with the idea of scoring a 96/97 passat. I'm selling it now because I'm getting ready to apply for grad school and need my leisure time for other things. It is a fun, scrappy car, but requires more TLC than I have to give. Here is the history I can tell you, and I won't sugar coat. This is not a perfect specimen. I purchased the car (2 years ago) in Holland, MI, for $2,750. I had it trucked to a trusted tdi mechanic. He did a timing belt job, oil change, replaced brake pads, brake fluid flush, radiator flush, new power steering pump, and performed a couple of other adjustments. Several obvious issues emerged at that time: 1. oil on the underside of the engine (Some leaking was resolved. Some continues.) 2. a lot of questionable shade-tree mechanic remedies. (There were rubber bands around the brake calipers, to name one!) A previous owner did some creative wiring. I removed a jumble of fog light wires. Some of the wiring around the 109 relay box are kind of hanging free. If I find the time I may try to organize and anchor them together properly. 3. an intermittent engine "slap." It sounds like a lifter issue, but I've had 3 good tdi mechanics look at it and each has been unable to determine the issue. They agree that one would have to tear deep into the engine (overhaul) to find and fix the problem. It has not seemed to effect performance in the 2 years and 10,000 miles I've put on the car. The slap is audible maybe 80% of the time. Sometimes it is faint. Sometimes (20% of the time?) completely imperceptible. After the initial repairs, I drove the car home to Kansas. In the intervening years, I have replaced the tires, one of the drive axles, and the radiator. I recently (6 weeks ago) had the a/c charged with dye added because it has slowly leaked in the past. It is 104 degrees as I write this and the A/C continues to work well. I also replaced the ignition switch some time back. Additional issues include some rusty fenders (it was a Michigan car) and one of the rear power windows doesn't work. Has original radio/cassette player, but one of the speakers (drivers door) is shot. Needs new headliner. Needs new rear struts. Missing the factory cup holder and one of those rectangular dash inserts (see photo). The airbag light is on, so I assume they do not function. This car fires right up every time--it can't wait to start. I have driven it daily for the last 7 months. Very reliable. I have over $5,000 invested in the vehicle. It is ready for restoration or just ongoing TLC. Last weekend I took it on a 400 mile trip and it performed very well. Sold as-is, where is (however, if the auction reaches an acceptable figure, I would consider meeting you north or east of here. Heading to Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, soon. No refunds. I will gladly cooperate with your plans to truck it somewhere, but buyer must arrange.