Sorry Roger, I'm not personally familiar with the VW product these days. My dad however was a big fan until he bought a newer Bug, about that same year. Now he's a Toyota fan. Nothing but problems with the VW. Good luck on the search. Don't rush it, if you can help it. The more time you spend looking, the greater your chance of peace after the buy.

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Jimmy B.
Just can't wait to get on the road again.

 
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Jimmy, thanks that is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for.   I wanted for my son to see someone else say the same thing that I was saying.  Just like every teenager, he thinks his parents don't know anything.  I thought I was pretty smart back then too.  Thank goodness we all grow up sometime.

When our daughter got her license she had the use of our '89 Camry wagon.  At first she didn't think it was too cool driving around in it but it was the only vehicle in the family fleet that she felt comfortable driving.  That was the most important thing to me - that she felt comfortable driving it.  When she was off to college the tranny dropped out of it (at 245k) and when she came home for Christmas break was disappointed to find it had been replaced with a '94 Honda Prelude.  It's been 9+ years and she's still driving that car.  Hondas and Toyotas are pretty bullit-proof IMO.  Repair and maintenance may be a little higher than others but dollars well spent in the long run.

If I were to do it again I would have originally put her in a car with a manual transmission.  Working the gears forces them to be more engaged with what is going on while driving.  Too many other things these days to take their attention away from the road and what is going on around them.  Plus if later in life they are ever in a situation where they have no option but to drive a manual they can do so safely and without hesitation. Norsky2009-04-21 22:14:51

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Jim Olson 

"The Toys"...!!!  Save the Wave!

Where I've been in a Corvette...!!!

I can only speak from experience...but the VW trannys are quite pricey to repair once they do take a doo-doo...
A well maintained VW will last a good long while, but finding one that has been really taken care of might be tough. I can only say to take your time looking, and get the best one in your price range.
The waxy stuff on the doors is prolly the corrosion protection sprayed on by either the factory, or the dealer. It can melt over time, especially here in chilly Texas(), and find it's way to the door bottoms. I would be concerned that this would stop up the water drain holes down there, and keep rain/car wash water from draining, which could lead to rust...might be worth a closer look on that.
Good luck with the search! As Norsky said, Toyotas and Hondas are quality cars, but just about ANY car these days is gonna be costly to repair.

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Norsky, great idea on the manual tranny.  Didn't think about the fact that having to operate a manual woul result in him having to focus even more on driving than he would with an auto.

Joel, after my last post, I spoke to the VW dealer in Irving and he said the same thing you did, i.e., the substance was called cosmoline and it was sprayed on the inside of the doors to prevent corrosion.  Dumb idea. Also, my brother has a friend who owns a '98 Jetta.  Says he is a real gearhead and he recommends not to buy one newer than '98.  He says they had alot of quality and maintenance issues after '98.  The one we looked at looked amazingly nice for it's age and number of miles. The inside looked almost like new.  Had a very light colored carpet with no stains and very little wear.  Wonder if it was in a flood somewhere and they recently replaced the interior?

Ya know I have always been a fan of cavaliers. I have personally owned 3 and had nothing but good luck with them. I bought my firts beater cavalier for 500 bucks when I started driving. Eventually drove it to the junk yard. Some of them are sporty and you could get a used one easily under 5 k and they last agood long while. I just sold my 02 to my dad. bought it brand new and has over 135k miles and never an issue(mechanically) It was struck by lightning a couple of years back but only cosmetic damage. still drives and handles great. good luck with the search

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"Drive it like you stole it"

Thanks William, will keep that in mind.  So far the search has been harder than I thought.