Thanks for all the info guys. The wife does not know that I am looking at them for her but it will be a holiday present. She is going to take over DD'ing the new forester and we will sell the JCW so I can go upmarket a little bit. Want here to have something fun.
The list that I have gotten from her that she likes is
Non turbo last gen supra (Never going to happen)
TT 300ZX
Beetle (Manual Only)
S2000 (AP1 in GPW, low miles say under 50K which is hard to find)
All of them?
My biggest gripe about VWs of the "trouble era" are the super-specific and ridiculously under-engineered parts that are only available from VW for insane prices.
Take your typical 2.0L from lets say 2001. The secondary air injection tubing is made from LDPE convoluted tubing. Think of the cheapest split loom wiring harness stuff you can find, but its not split. Submit it to 60k miles of high heat and excessive HC and vibration. It turns to dust. No problem, right? Get yourself some fuel/emission hose and pop it on instead, right? Wrong. The connections are this freaky double o-ring thing that defies customization. Even if you could stab on some rubber hose, the plastic valves and nipples will crumble.
So, off to VW to buy a new hose assembly. Last one I bought was $181 wholesale. For $2 of cheap plastic that will break tomorrow.
Everything under the hood of those years of VW is made of the cheapest possible materials I have ever experienced. I don't think I remember doing a timing belt on one of those that didn't have a cracked timing cover, and I can't recall doing a timing belt on any of them without swearing a few thousand times. Getting that front engine mount off is like fisting a virgin. Its painful.
I think you should go 300ZX TT. It will be free to own aside from whatever maintenance stuff it needs. Insurance should be less than the S2K I would imagine.
curtis73 wrote: Getting that front engine mount off is like fisting a virgin. Its painful.
I see how it would be for the virgin... but not for the fister. Perhaps your roles are reversed?
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:curtis73 wrote: Getting that front engine mount off is like fisting a virgin. Its painful.I see how it would be for the virgin... but not for the fister. Perhaps your roles are reversed?
Perhaps... I can agree the front (passenger side) engine mount bracket on a TDI is a bitch to get out. The mount itself (with the rubber bit) is actually pretty easy: 5 bolts from up top. The belt runs around/through the bracket so you have to at least unbolt it from the engine in order to R&R the belt. And the bolts are recessed... and 16mm... and about 1.3 inches from the body structure... Every time I get ready to do the timing belt, I go looking to see what fancy new 16mm wrenches and sockets are available that might make the job a bit less painful.
wearymicrobe - does she like the JCW? Perhaps a convertible MINI?
I have a coworker with a '12 Beetle. She's had it for two years now. It's never left her stranded, but has been to the shop many times. Faulty speaker, cracked windshield (VW agreed it was a defect, not road hazard), intermittent turn signal malfunction, tachometer failure. It has other intermittent issues, mostly electrical in nature. She plans to get rid of it when the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty is up.
clutchsmoke wrote: I think you should go 300ZX TT. It will be free to own aside from whatever maintenance stuff it needs. Insurance should be less than the S2K I would imagine.
I would never want to work on one of those or a Mitsu 3000gt/stealth TT.....
Buy a z4M......they're pretty reasonable right now. 
yamaha wrote:clutchsmoke wrote: I think you should go 300ZX TT. It will be free to own aside from whatever maintenance stuff it needs. Insurance should be less than the S2K I would imagine.I would never want to work on one of those or a Mitsu 3000gt/stealth TT..... Buy a z4M......they're pretty reasonable right now.
I used to say the exact same thing, but it's really not that bad. Working on the 300ZX would be better than the Beetle (from what I read).
clutchsmoke wrote:yamaha wrote:I used to say the exact same thing, but it's really not that bad. Working on the 300ZX would be better than the Beetle (from what I read).clutchsmoke wrote: I think you should go 300ZX TT. It will be free to own aside from whatever maintenance stuff it needs. Insurance should be less than the S2K I would imagine.I would never want to work on one of those or a Mitsu 3000gt/stealth TT..... Buy a z4M......they're pretty reasonable right now.
Giving yourself a lobotomy is easier than working on a beetle.... but neither is preferable.
Since the first beetle I looked at today, 1 owner car with 50K miles did not make it out of the driveway without a CEL and the top refused to budge. The second one was on a dealer lot and smelled terrible and then the battery was dead.
I think its a sign from G-d.
So looked at a 06 Miata sport for here in Red/Black. 60K miles drove real well but not on her list. First time I have driven a Miata, lots of fun.
Also found a 2003 GPW S2000 but tan interior at 15.5K with 75K miles which might be the smart choice. But someone had put a deposit down. Tried the old lets go to the bank I will pay you now trick but no luck
S2000 was a bust. Have my feelers out for another one but every single one is riced out.
The wife did used to drive my old SSR and she added that to the list.
Going to look at a 2006 in dark blue, 6 speed manual today with 50K miles. LS2 plus tremec should be pretty much unbreakable even for her.
mr2 spyder.
carbon wrote: mr2 spyder.
I wish she would pick something like that or a Miata but...
I had a 1998 jetta with the 2.0 with a 5 speed. Pretty much every electric thing in that car went bad. Except the sunroof. It also couldn't take northern cold, or hitting deep puddles at 40mph repeatedly.
Only the 4-digit ones, and the ones beginning or ending in a number.
Everything else is awesome.
FWIW, I had to replace a coil yesterday on a customer's '02 TT. They were the factory coils with 120k on them.
I'm not saying VW got crappier parts, but evidence of the glazzies has VWs having more problems than Audis chassis-for-chassis. Maybe it's owner habits?
I put the first replacement coil pack on a 1.8t A4 that had 150k on it.
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