Fix it or scrap it? The age old question!

[yorketransport]

I have an '04 Jetta 1.8T  that seems to have lost reverse in the tranny. The general consensus is that the tranny is shot and it's not just fluid or the shift solenoids. So now comes the decision, fix it or dump it. The car is in excellent condition and runs great but has 155K miles on it. I figure it's worth about $3500 in the local market (contrary to what KBB would say ). A tranny swap will cost about the same amount.

I was going to sell it a few months ago, before the problems started, just because I was bored and wanted something different. My wife (who doesn't drive!) has an unexplained fondness for the car though so it's still here. The only reason I can think of to fix it is that I'm having a heck of a time finding a car that's as much fun to drive. The only ones that come close are the Audi S4 and the new Volvo S60 Drive-E. Everything else just feels heavy and sluggish. If I want to drive a sloppy, sluggish, clumsy vehicle I'll just drive my Duramax Silverado!

So what is everyone's walk away point? Is it when the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle?

[Boss .300 winmag]

I put a used tyranny in my 1998 civic last year and it had 250. Miles on it, of course a friend of mine did the work for $35.00 an hour.

Payments suck, $3500 and the car is a know entity as you know what you have. Go buy a used car and it's a carp shoot. 

[Mark Brenckle]

I put a rebuilt tranny in my '00 Accent a few years ago at 112k, drove great until last month when it started slipping and finally gave out all together at 225k. Mine was only $1200, the car was worth a little more than that then. Pick-n-pull is giving us $250 for it now. I don't regret spending the money, but if the engine had smoked I'd have been kicking myself. So, I guess if you've got the cash and think you'll get another 150k out of it, its nice not having car payments! You should check out repair costs of the Audi and Volvo! 

[raydog]

I have an '04 Jetta 1.8T  that seems to have lost reverse in the tranny. The general consensus is that the tranny is shot and it's not just fluid or the shift solenoids. So now comes the decision, fix it or dump it. The car is in excellent condition and runs great but has 155K miles on it. I figure it's worth about $3500 in the local market (contrary to what KBB would say ). A tranny swap will cost about the same amount.

I was going to sell it a few months ago, before the problems started, just because I was bored and wanted something different. My wife (who doesn't drive!) has an unexplained fondness for the car though so it's still here. The only reason I can think of to fix it is that I'm having a heck of a time finding a car that's as much fun to drive. The only ones that come close are the Audi S4 and the new Volvo S60 Drive-E. Everything else just feels heavy and sluggish. If I want to drive a sloppy, sluggish, clumsy vehicle I'll just drive my Duramax Silverado!

So what is everyone's walk away point? Is it when the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle?

How often do you hear of Allison transmissions going out??

[coachcw]

With the 1.8t your most likely getting close to more major work. We have seen them loose the turbo and bearings . I would say time to send it down the road . maybe there's a vw buff that will give you a grand or so .

[Dhoey07]

Sell it as is for 1k and buy yourself the S4 

[brokenvet]

I would put the used tranny from Pick & pull as suggested. 

1.8 Engines are tough engines and easy to work on.   You may need a 12 point bit to remove the CV axles.

[Buzz2401]

VW and Audi's are expensive to work on and one of the reasons I don't buy them.  If you can't do the work yourself I would sell it the way it is and move on.

[baker5150]

DO NOT BUY AN AUDI

Unless you like paying really large amounts of money to fix annoying issues that will plague you for the life of the car.

They don't seam to hold their value anymore either.

I would get a newer Jetta TDI,  my wife loves hers and it's a blast to drive.

[Badhabit]

Have you looked here?

http://www.car-part.com/

[Woodchuck]

With the 1.8t your most likely getting close to more major work. We have seen them loose the turbo and bearings . I would say time to send it down the road . maybe there's a vw buff that will give you a grand or so .

Best advice on here. My customers that hang on to them past 150k get reserved parking spaces.

[elkoholic1]

id say scrap it before you start dumping money into and get to deep to stop especially if you don't really need it or use it every day!! 

[BULLBLASTER]

You know what vw stands for right? Virtually worthless   
 

[coachcw]

You know what vw stands for right? Virtually worthless   
 

I like them like a tooth ache

[yorketransport]

Everybody told me that it was a dumb idea to buy a VW, but I've had amazing luck with it. The only work I've had done to it is regular maintenance and recommended services. The cost of repairs doesn't seem that bad on the VW, but I'm used to paying $100 per hour for a diesel mechanic. You can't do anything to an International T444E for less than $1000, and I have 3 of them!

I considered trying to do the work myself but I've accepted the fact that I know just enough to know when I don't know enough to do a job right. Plus I just don't have the time or space to get into a job like that. I found a few used transmissions for about $1800 and the quotes I'm getting for the complete job including parts and labor are all around $3200. That's not terrible, but it's still a 10 year old car with over 150K on it. I typically get rid of vehicles when they hit about 100K, this one was just an exception because I actually enjoy driving it.

I probably won't actually buy another car; it'a more likely that I'd lease one. If the vehicle is under lease then repair costs really don't matter for the most part. Plus there are plenty of other financial benefits to leasing instead of buying. What I really wanted was a Tesla Model S, but I'm having a hard time rationalizing that one! I'm just stuck because I don't like any of the domestic cars out there right now. If Ford or Chevy could come out with something that can compete with the European cars I'd be all over that!

[Special T]

I have a 05 wagon iT seems the turbos and the Auto transmissions are weak points. There is a bunch of good info on this forum. There are LOTS of people putting TDI's with your kind of milage on them in all manner of rides. Cherokees, Samuri ect because of thier bad automatics. Im fortunate that mine is a stick.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/

[FC]

VW and AUDI are both junk, the only vw I would ever own is a TDI. However I don't want to discourage anyone from owning either of these cars! I do prefer to work on the VW over AUDI and work in a shop that specializes in European auto repair (BMW in particular). There are some very good reasons that these cars have such poor resale value, even Hyundai resale is better relatively speaking.

[yorketransport]

VW and AUDI are both junk, the only vw I would ever own is a TDI. However I don't want to discourage anyone from owning either of these cars! I do prefer to work on the VW over AUDI and work in a shop that specializes in European auto repair (BMW in particular). There are some very good reasons that these cars have such poor resale value, even Hyundai resale is better relatively speaking.

After digging around and talking to a few different shops, we figured out that the tranny is actually fine. It's just the transmission control module that's bad. The reverse gear in the transmission still works and the mechanic was able to put the car in "limp" mode and get the reverse to work. So, cheap and easy repair, kind of. The control module is supposed to be installed and programmed by a dealership. The problem is that the 3 dealerships I've talked to all said that the tranny is gone. None of them believe that running the car in limp mode would allow the reverse gear to work, but none of them will even try it!

I managed to find a transmission shop that's willing to track down a programmer and try installing and coding the part for me. He's never done it before but he said that the Matco tool guy was in a week earlier telling him that they now sell the programmers. Once the shop gets their hands on the tool I'll bring the car up there.

VW and AUDI are both junk, the only vw I would ever own is a TDI. However I don't want to discourage anyone from owning either of these cars! I do prefer to work on the VW over AUDI and work in a shop that specializes in European auto repair (BMW in particular). There are some very good reasons that these cars have such poor resale value, even Hyundai resale is better relatively speaking.

I have to say that for as often as I hear this, it hasn't been the case for me. My 2000 Durango ate 2 transmissions by the time it hit 100K; My 98 F150 lost the transfer case at about 125K and was burning 1 quart of oil a month by 140K; the little  06 Chevy Aveo I bought my wife new in 06 only made it 45K before it started burning oil. All of these vehicle were properly maintained and serviced (I have 5 trucks that I run for work, so I'm really big on proper preventative maintenance!). The only issue with the VW is availability of parts/technicians to work on them. Plus, the local resale market for VW is actually very good.Just try and find a used Mk4 Jetta with around 150K in good condition for less than $3500. You'll find some that have been absolutely trashed that people still want (and get!) $5000 for.

[Special T]

Up here in hippy country there are some pretty good independent shops that LOVE working on Euro Cars. They seem to fill a gap in service that is not available at dealerships.

[FC]

After digging around and talking to a few different shops, we figured out that the tranny is actually fine. It's just the transmission control module that's bad. The reverse gear in the transmission still works and the mechanic was able to put the car in "limp" mode and get the reverse to work.

I have to say that for as often as I hear this, it hasn't been the case for me. My 2000 Durango ate 2 transmissions by the time it hit 100K; My 98 F150 lost the transfer case at about 125K and was burning 1 quart of oil a month by 140K; the little  06 Chevy Aveo I bought my wife new in 06 only made it 45K before it started burning oil. All of these vehicle were properly maintained and serviced (I have 5 trucks that I run for work, so I'm really big on proper preventative maintenance!). The only issue with the VW is availability of parts/technicians to work on them. Plus, the local resale market for VW is actually very good.Just try and find a used Mk4 Jetta with around 150K in good condition for less than $3500. You'll find some that have been absolutely trashed that people still want (and get!) $5000 for.

Is the trans only working in reverse? If so that isn't limp mode, you should have forward gears as well, I would expect it to take off in 2nd or 3rd gear but it should go forward and backwards. You don't actually put the car in limp mode, it puts itself there when the trans controller flags a problem or the controller itself stops working.

From what I see of vehicle problems you have listed I would suspect hard use of the Durango which isn't built to take it (Chrysler transmissions suck though), the F150 is a bit of a surprise on the transfer case but not the motor assuming it was a 4.6 or 5.4l. With recurring oil burning in multiple vehicles though I would suggest you revisit your oil change schedule and oil that is being used as that isn't normal.

If you are going to buy a replacement I would suggest toyota/lexus, honda/acura or a manual trans TDI VW.

[wildmanoutdoors]

Im surprised yours has done so well. Most are junk along with the Audi counterparts.

But ya, Id dump it while your ahead.

[yorketransport]

Is the trans only working in reverse? If so that isn't limp mode, you should have forward gears as well, I would expect it to take off in 2nd or 3rd gear but it should go forward and backwards. You don't actually put the car in limp mode, it puts itself there when the trans controller flags a problem or the controller itself stops working.

All of the forward gears work correctly, it's the reverse that doesn't work. The tech is able to put the car in "limp" mode using the VCDS tool.  When in limp mode, all of the gears work correctly 100% of the time. That's how they were able to move the car around the shop.

It's kind of funny, I always told my wife that you never buy a European care, you always lease them. That way it's somebody else's problem when they break. I should have taken my own advice. It's just a shame that domestic car makers don't make a decent sport sedan!

[Bean Counter]

You should sell a car when the cost to repair it is more than its worth. If its a $4,000 repair and the car is worth $1,000, you're better off selling the car for $1,000 and buying a $5,000 car. 

[FC]

That isn't limp mode, your mechanic is just manually actuating reverse. I suspect that after you put a controller in this car you will find that the valve-body has problems.