1997 Volkswagen Passat / CC

TDI Sedan

4 - Cyl.

Manual

WVWGG83A9VB005061

Diesel

Up for auction is a rare 1997 VW Passat TDI sedan. It is in very good condition, except that the timing belt jumped off due to a tensioner bearing failure. This was an especially disheartening failure, as the head was rebuilt, timing belt and tensioner replaced just 7,000 mile ago. The car drove well, shifted well, and the engine ran strong up til this failure. It tracks straight and true down the highway. The car recently passed Pennsylvania's state inspection with no problems. The engine could easily be rebuilt or a long block put in it. The chassis has many miles left in it. I just do not have the time to perform the work. I have too many other vehicles that require attention. The good news: The car is in very good condition, no rips or tears in the upholstery. The paint is shiny and there is no body work or dented metal. All of the power windows, power door locks and the sunroof work properly. When the head was off for rebuild, the cross-hatching was still visible on the cylinder walls, and there was very little carbon build up in on the pistons. New rear shocks were fitted approximately 4000 miles ago. A new down pipe was installed about 12 months ago. I have owned the car since it had about 170k miles. In that time the oil has been changed every 5k miles; synthetic oil was used. I have an additional set of 14" steel wheels that will go with the car. The car has VW "Snowflake" wheels mounted; the tires have about 50% of the tread remaining. The not so good: There are two minor surface rust bubbles at the front fender wheel well lips, there is one spot in the middle of the trunk lid where the clear coat is peeling, and the car has some small chips on the hood... nothing unusual for 247k miles. The headliner will need recovered, it has the typical sagging material. I did a cursory check after the timing belt came off and noted that one of the #2 cylinder lifters is broken. With any luck, this is the only piston that hit the valves and the head could be salvaged. Frank06 at the TDIclub.com Forum does good work and could probably rebuild the head for between $300-$800. You would have to send the head to him to know for sure. The car can be picked up locally, I will be glad to work with a shipper if the buyer arranges the shipping and has fully paid for the vehicle. Not sure why the History check is reporting a major title problem. As far as I know, the vehicle was originally titled in NJ as a lease, and then a PA title was issued when I purchased the car. It is a clear PA title. There is no problem with the odometer. For some reason, it is recorded as "exceeds mechanical limit". Thanks for looking!