2005 Volkswagen

Jetta TDI Sedan

4 Cylinder 1.9 Liter Diesel

Manual

3vwsr69mx5m030504

Diesel

Air Conditioning

Hard to part with - but time to sell the extra car. This reliable car has been back and forth on I-95 in all sorts of weather, but I no longer need it. (I recently completed an electric conversion that I drive locally.) This car has a clean CARFAX and I have the title in my possession ready for an efficient transfer of ownership to the winning bidder. Although the CARFAX reports 3 owners, there are only two - as I moved from New York to Maryland and reregistered the car. The car is fun to drive with a nice, tight, German engineered feeling. And it is comfortable too, with leather seats that include lumbar support. In the summer, open the roof for some fresh air or blast the cold AC. In the winter, use the heat alone or really get comfortable with the seat warmers. I used to think badly of diesels, with knocking engines and sluggish performance. This car does have some diesel knock, but with the fuel injection system and manual transmission, it has plenty of pep. It also handles well in bad weather, courtesy of its traction control system. I used to live in a New York City (NYC) suburb with lots of hills and it handled the snow fine. One of the hidden gems about this car is the storage space. The trunk is huge, and coupled with roof mounted storage, I've moved a teenage girl in and out of college dorm and off campus apartments - and do it in one trip. Any of you with a teenage daughter know that is a lot of stuff. I'll include the roof racks but not the storage container. The roof racks are VW - not a third party. The most aggravation I've had relates to my use of biodiesel. The first couple of winters, I did not shift from pure biodiesel to a mix with regular diesel soon enough. That meant that when the temperature outside dropped to the 20's with the first cold wave, I was in trouble. The biodiesel hardened and thickened. The good news is that I learned my lesson after getting stuck a few times and having to change the fuel lines and filters. (Any folks interested in using this car for biodiesel should send me a note so I can share more specific information.) When looking at the pictures, you'll see a wire coming from the center console. It is connected to a small LCD monitor that provides information from the OBD-II connection. You can get MPG, engine performance data etc. This is included with the car. I've calibrated it and the instantaneous MPG is about 15% below what you'd calculate from the odometer when you fill the tank. The car has it's share of dings, mostly on the bumpers. But what would you expect from a car that spent half its life with NYC as its home base? I bought the car used (1 year old with ~35,000 miles on it). It has a clean CARFAX but there have been two minor incidents. One shows as a slight dent and rust spot below the rear passenger side door. The alignment on the door was not affected. This was from a NY City taxicab. I still can't figure out how he did it, but the idea of facing a NY City taxi driver and the NYC taxi commission for such a small issue did not make sense to me. Also I had the experience of another driver scraping against the front panel of the passenger side (in front of the wheel). It was an ugly scrape so I had the panel fixed. As long as I'm telling you everything you want to know about the car, here's the rest, and hopefully it doesn't scare you away. But after all, for a car with 100,000+ miles it's not surprising that there would be such a list. Then I'll share the good stuff! - There is a dent below the right rear passenger door - you can see the rust in the picture - and this is the only significant rust on the car. The door alignment is fine.- Center console/armrest does not have a working latch so it does not lock closed.- There is a scuff in the paint above the gas flap - you can see it faintly in the picture - I have not tried to compound it so I'm not certain it is permanent, but think it is.- The bumpers are quite scuffed. This is evident in the pictures.- The air conditioning vent on the passenger side near the door can be used to turn on/off flow but not change direction. There is a picture showing this problem.- Close inspection of the car will show several dings and chips in the paint.- The headliner in front of driver is discolored. I bought it that way and it looks like a water stain, which was the salesman's explanation, likely from the prior owner not completely closing the roof when it was raining (I've never had a leak from the sun roof, and I park it outside).- The original floor mats (see the picture of the trunk) are worn but still protect the underlying carpeting. Good Stuff: - Leather seats are comfortable, normal wear but no rips, with electric heaters.- The AC blows cold, heat hot. These are quite nice performers.- Good mileage. On a trip from DC to NYC, I used "hypermiling" techniques and managed 62 mpg! That's not what you should expect. When I tool around (and I like to accelerate quickly), I get high 30's to low 40's depending on ratio of city to highway driving.- It's perfect for diesel or biodiesel use. In either case, diesel engines are known to outlast by far their gasoline counterparts.- ABS and disc brakes x4- Driver, Passenger and Side Air bags- Power windows, including one-touch in front for tolls- Daytime running lights- Cruise control works reliably and easily - great for highway driving.- Stock stereo works great. In addition to radio and CD, it has a cassette player. I'll include the cassette player adapter that I use to plug in my MP3 player.- Has two 12V outlets, one up front and one in the trunk. That rear one is perfect to run a cable to the back seat where the kids can watch a video player.- Electric sunroof - good airflow, not too noisy and does not leak.- Full size spare with hardware included in unfortunate event of a flat.- Owned by non-smoker without any pets driven in this car. What's included:- Original owner's manuals- 2 keyfobs (one needs a new battery) that control trunk besides lock/unlock doors and the valet key- OBD-II monitor- VW roof racks (with keys to lock on)- Original floor mats- Cassette adapter for MP3 player Happy to schedule time for on site viewing or a third party inspection, though will need to be based on my work schedule. Test drive available for any licensed and insured drivers with experience driving a manual transmission. Sorry for that last point, but I'd hate to have someone abuse the car as I'm trying to sell it. According to Kelly Blue Book, here are the values for a private party transaction: Condition ValueExcellent$9,795Good$9,045Fair$7,770According to Kelley Blue Book definition, this car is in "good" condition. If you are obsessed about the condition of a paint job, perhaps that would take it down a bit, but certainly not to "fair". This car will be listed locally. I reserve the right to end the bidding early.