1991 Volkswagen Jetta

GL Sedan

1.6 Diesel

Manual

WVWRG21G6MW495463

Clear

Diesel

This little Jetta was driving across the country from West Palm Beach Fl to San Francisco. Fate had other plans. She was carrying three people and loads of stuff and was getting 43 miles to the gallon the whole way ( I keep the needle on the efficiency dot, so I don't drive faster than 63 mph). It was climbing up the mountains in New Mexico when, unbeknownst to me, the cooling fan caught on its housing. The engine overheated. As soon as the idiot light came on I pulled over. The temperature gauge did not go very far off to the side, so it is possible that it was just hot enough to only have injured the gasket. It is very possible, though, that the head may need to be machined or even replaced. The car is outside a wonderful new friend's house in Albuquerque. I got a bunch of quotes on it, the head needs to come to replace the gasket. The head should be magnafluxed to check it's condition. It may need to be machined, and in a worst case scenario - replaced which could cost another 500-1200 dollars (I've got a lot of different quotes). If the head is in good condition it should cost 500 - 800 dollars to have a mechanic take the head off and replace the gasket. The plan was to travel the west coast this summer with the car, go to an alternative education conference in August and then drive it to Vermont to continue school. Now I have I've landed in a wonderful place, through couchsurfing, in Fairfax California. My new friends here have given me an old bike, which I have been fixing up and gearing up to ride up the coast (sticking to the adventure) to Orcas Island in the San Juans. I'm stoked. This awesome guys at a wonderful little non-profit bike shop have been teaching me about bikes; so the next time something goes wrong with my vehicle, I will be able to fix it myself. When I got this car I did it for a number of reasons, if you're looking at this auction you are probably interested for the same ones. This Jetta can run on a mix of veggie (filtered, of course) and diesel in its tank without a conversion (the ratio depends on the climate). It can easily be converted to run a two tank veggie system. It can be converted to run on biodiesel. It gets great, great mileage. It is not too complicated, and parts are interchangeable with all jettas and golfs from 1984-1991, so there are plenty of parts for it. It will run if a solar flare knocks all the gas and modern diesels out. It looks good with a surfboard strapped to it. I bought her a few months ago in February in North Carolina. The guy that I bought her from seemed to have taken meticulous care of her. The original owner lived in New York, so she has some rust, not terrible, definitely no cancer. The original owner did take meticulous care of her. There is a folder of records that he kept (including the original sticker), and a book of all the service and a bunch of records of fuel that the guy took - keeping track of the mpg's. That's what made me fall for it. The cooling fan was jury-rigged with a direct line, with a fuse to a switch on the console in New Mexico, before I realized there was an issue with the head gasket. The a coolant line is disconnected from the engine. I was in the process of flushing the system before using a bottle of blue devil liquid gasket sealant, when I turned her over and some white smoke came from the exahaust. It has not been turned over since. It is entirely possible to get this thing fixed up and to get as much mileage again out of her. If my bank account would allow it, I would. As it is, I am happy to not own a car and to finally have a vehicle that I will be able to fix myself. Basics- The interior is in good condition for its age. The rear driver's side seatbelt does not work. There is no jack. The trunk light does not work. The cd player is a Blaupunkt with a very stupid technology with a little card that you insert to make it work - you can take it with you when you leave, so that if a thief steals your stereo, the joke is on them because it won't work. Whoever thought it up must have been in a weird state of mind. The cruise control does not work. The A/C does not work. The guy I bought it from assured me that it only needed a charge. I'm not sure if I believe him. I didn't try because I am mpg crazy and don't care for A/C anyway. The car was not smoked in. The ashtray smells like pine trees because I kept pine resin in it. Nature-y. It has the seat-belts that attach to the door, so you only plug in the one at your waist; quirky. You will have to explain this to the people you give a ride. The shifter works, but is a little finicky going into first. You get used to it and then it's fine. It may just need a new bushing. I only put Rotella full synthetic in it, which after a great deal of research (I wanted it to last), was the best. It has the original owners manual and a service manual which is listed at 45 buck on ebay. It has a plug in heater installed so you can plug it in on cold mornings, if you live in Alaska. There is a clock in the dash instead of a tachometer. Ask Questions Please! I will post more information soon! On Jul-02-12 at 10:29:09 PDT, seller added the following information: The car was not stolen. I bought it in Raleigh, NC and then drove it up to New York city on my way to a nine day residency for school at Goddard College in Vermont. I slept at a friends house in Astoria, the next morning I picked up another friend at the train station, drove us to a parking spot and then we walked to breakfast. When we left the diner we forgot where I parked it! My friends and I spent the whole day looking in the rain. I do not drink or smoke or anything, but had not gotten enough sleep for the few days preceding. The next day I decided to go to school and assumed the car was stolen. I dealt with it while I was in Vermont, hitchhiked back to the city and filed the car as stolen. Then I flew back to Fl and was sorting out the legal stuff there, when a day and a half later the NYPD called and told me I had a ticket! I told them the story. They laughed. They sent a patrol to check it at the ticketed location and, yes, it was there. I slapped my forehead, flew back up, hopped on the subway, and a quick walk later I was back where I had left the car. I had searched the wrong area entirely. If you would like to fact check this, contact the front desk at Goddard College and ask them about Eric from the February residency who's car was stolen. They will also laugh.