Cha-Ching$$$ CAR WIZARD finds lots of costly repairs in this '02 VW Beetle $800 auction buy

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

The moment I'd get suspicious is when the fifth wheel bearing also needs replacing.

[@rickc303]

Ya know, kinda like when the spare tire is flat 🤣

[@fidoliedo]

I hear ya, I had a mechanic tell me my clutch master cylinder on my 'automatic' was in need of replacement.

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

@@fidoliedo That's a good one! Just like "you need new spark plugs in your diesel engine" ;-)

[@cvvv6166]

🤣😂

[@GIGABACHI]

👌🏻🤣

[@fredsimmons6188]

In 1991 I was in need of a cheap car. I found a 1982 Dodge Aries station wagon in a random guys back yard. He told me it needed front brakes and the engine knocked. I jumped it and it started right up. The engine knocked for a second and then ran ok. I paid him $100.00 for it and drove it 35 miles home. He was definitely right about the front brakes as they crunched all the way home. The nice thing about those 2.2 liter Chrysler K-cars, is that you can pull the oil pans off without pulling the engine. I put in a new high volume oil pump and pick up tube. I also replaced the front pads and rotors, timing belt, and rebuilt the carburetor. Total spent on parts, $200.00. I put another 30,000 miles on that car with no issues. I sold it to a guy who lived down the street from me for $750.00 and he was still driving it when I moved away four years later.

[@wizbang16]

I have a 2000 TDI Beetle since new with 482000 miles on it. It's an old friend now. I love you bringing him back to life! Thank you! Liked and subscribed!

[@geoben1810]

You realize that with everything that was as badly neglected as it was and that it kept going without the wheels either seizing or falling off, that it's testimony to how well made that VW Beetle is made! Seriously! And I'm thinking they hit a curb with the left front wheel for that knuckle to be bent like that.

[@donohoeirl]

The Wizard is the Bob Ross of motor mechanics.

[@kaiokendo]

Too many happy accidents

[@mooredann69]

"We need to paint Squirtle some friends."

[@stephenmorrissey1254]

I just gave a nod of agreement

[@xanderlander8989]

"happy little car"

[@richb5478]

Couldnt have said it any better

[@biometal770]

When I was a mechanic (am a scientist now), 3 makes of cars kept us in business, Jeep, Volkswagen, and Dodge. BMW is a runner up, though.

[@harveyweinstein8937]

Even jeep wranglers? They have pretty good resale to be heaps.

[@Josh-bu4zx]

@@harveyweinstein8937 Jeep wranglers too, the resale is only high because they're trendy. The last good wranglers were the ones with the 4.0l, before the fiat parts.

[@dw4940]

You forgot Chevy! Jeep is Chrysler so that figures

[@unclefart5527]

Ran a Jetta 2 almost 25 years. Bought it new in university. Best car I ever had, sorry I sold it. VW became a disgrace after the 2. Replaced it with a Ford E250. Absolute trash, suicide machine. Can't count the ways production should have been banned by government. $3,000 to fix a wire. Whole family considers Fords to be total shit after owning one. You're right on Dodge and BMW though.

[@SketchyEggs]

There is a handy trick when identifying bad wheel bearings. I used it before and it works surprisingly well. 1. jack the car off the ground 2. Put the car in neutral and spin the wheel by hand 3. Put your hand on the spring and keep spinning the wheel 4. On the bad wheel bearing you should feel a lot of vibration coming from the spring. It should be very noticeable. In the case of my wheel bearing there was zero play and it was difficult to try and identify where the sound was coming from. This method helped identify the bad one. I would have wasted time and money by replacing the wrong side if it weren’t for this method.

[@SummonerArthur]

Nice tip

[@storejoshuprite]

You can also check by taking the tires off and placing a flat head screw driver on the spindle. You just listen for a "hey! There's sand in boots" sound. This method works great when trying to catch the bearings before they go seriously bad.

[@doughay9742]

are you trying to give tips to the car wizard?? 🤣🤣

[@man_on_wheelz]

Noted!

[@2491kridge]

Bailey Hatfield I always put the car in the air and use a stethoscope on the back of the bearing and have someone spin the wheel, super obvious to hear when their bad, but yeh I’ve used the hand on spring a bunch as well and that works pretty well

[@kws1957]

Finally I see you working on 1.9 tdi engines which I drove for a very long time...had an Audi A4 with 546,000 kilometres 1.9 tdi, an Audi A3 with 704,655km, have an Audi A4 tdi with over 200,000 miles, an A3 tdi with 317.000km and had a Golf 1.6 diesel whom I crashed with 501.000km...

[@glennsmith6108]

I had the same car. Constantly overheated, several dealerships could not fix it. Turned out the water pump has a plastic pump rotor when it got hot enough it would slip on the metal drive shaft and stop pumping coolant. I would recommend replacing the water pump with a all metal pump and save yourself some aggravation.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

I wonder how many cents in total they saved by using plastic.

[@SB68SS]

was it a 1.8T 20 valve, they have that problem with the plastic pump rotor

[@a13xp52]

sounds like a bmw. germans have an affinity for plastic water pumps.

[@alphatrion100]

@@a13xp52 germans look expensive but are built cheap. Asian cars look cheap and are cheap but run forever without drama

[@mmdhemphill]

Replacing the water pump with one with a metal impeller is normal maintenance when you do the timing belt. Some VW dealerships are better than others. I have a 2000 Jetta and I have not taken it to the dealership since the free maintenance was over.

[@southpawacquisitions6667]

So glad you did this one. It shows this is really normal on a neglected car. My boy couldn't believe how parts add up. So now he is looking deeper into potential projects with the idea of recognizing future repairs. Welcome to the real world of fixer uppers. Thanks brother!

[@kniferaffe]

I appreciate the woman off-camera asking follow-up questions

[@sonofyasharahla1164]

Mrs. Wizards voice is sooo sooothing. Clearly you're high!

[@jrpeet]

Mrs Wizard is the real draw here!

[@archygrey9093]

Its his wife, she's pretty good at knowing what questions to ask

[@mrgarrison3516]

😬🔫

[@Pfsif]

Just begging for Man-splaining.

[@bmuns6445]

If you haven't already you should walnut blast the intake and replace the fuel injectors with mileage over 120k. VW dealer wanted $157 per injector. Matched the Bosch part on Rockauto.com for $40/ea. My mechanic walnut blasted the engine for $375. Got 45 mpg on way home.

[@trentwilliamson4509]

I like how Mrs. Wizard seems to catch you off guard with some of her questions, as if they were asked spontaneously and not scripted. Just something I noticed, nice touch, very genuine.

[@williambrandt9254]

Having bought several used cars and being a bit dismayed they weren't maintained in the manner I would I've come to the conclusion that as far as the public is concerned I overly maintain my cars. But I like to think that any car I have no matter how old I could drive across the country with very little expectation of drama. And what that Volkswagen owner didn't realize is that it's far cheaper to maintain it then to drive it into the ground Amazing that people think like that

[@185chargers]

Kuhmo makes good tires. Dude really hooked u up wizard

[@simple_networks]

“I don’t know what they hit, a pothole or...ran over a Beluga Whale” 😂

[@riffraff2770]

I know huh. Beluga whale. Totally random but cool!

[@slamcrank]

10:26 ... I just about died laughing.

[@kjadfhgioaudbfvilaeu]

Yeah, that got me too... Pot hole to beluga whale. Quite a jump XD

[@hestonpfheffer1299]

How about simple wear and tear?

[@terryturner4116]

@@hestonpfheffer1299 the knuckle is solid cast metal it's strong, they don't just bend over time in fact I've never imagined one bending they're strong.

[@bte320]

I like that you do these videos with Mrs. Wizard, she always asks the questions I would!

The Wizards shop looks like a real life Midtown Madness collection.

[@sakumisan]

Deep reference

[@99Vood99]

Love this comment!

[@lobsturf7797]

I'd love to see the Panoz sometime xD

[@qlus]

I miss that game

[@nou8257]

Ayyyyyyy I remember that game.

[@Sennin265]

Hey wizard, first of all great job! Second I'm sorry but most of the parts you replaced were a regular maintenance parts that you must count as bad when buying any old car, expecially an auction hooptie for 800 bucks. Everytime I'm buying an old car I do the math and prepare extra money for all the parts that could go bad beforehand and count it as already lost. Then it's a pleasant surprise if some of those parts are actually good I "save" money lol. Greetings from Europe!

[@CoreMaster111]

That's how any reasonable person buys a used car... sadly most people spend all their money on a used car and then find out they can't afford to fix it so it sits for months.

[@mmdhemphill]

I agree with Sennin265, I have a 2000 Jetta with the 2.0 engine.most people just do not stay on top of replacing the regular maintenance items when they begin to wear out. Probably because of bad experiences with repair shops doing bad work or charging too much. I have had a few Non-VW mechanics charge a lot more because they said the car was German and the parts were expensive. I have always purchased my own parts and only take my car to a good German car mechanic whom charges 60 to 90 an hour

[@anthonymancini5344]

I came to the Car Wizard’s channel because of Hoovie but stayed because of his professional and calm demeanor and Mrs. Wizard’s great questions which I’ve thought of before she asked them! Love this channel, definitely helped teach me more about car maintenance

[@canadianmarauder1923]

I bought an 04 marquis Nov 6 with no forward gears for $500. $250 for parts for the forward clutch and oil. Really want to learn everything I can about the 4r70w. Swapped over old air compressor, battery and rear shocks off my 03 marauder too. Picked ma up in it for Christmas supper yesterday.

[@TheBrokenLife]

Beater cars are the best cars. I've told people a bazillion times that the best way to learn cars is to buy one that's broken and just jump in. Well done on your purchase and repairs!

[@rickycollins4633]

Man I love Those Crownvics and Marquis. I had a first gen Crownvic Got almost 400,000 on it.

[@lustfulvengance]

The 4R70W is a great transmission! There are a lot of mods that cost almost nothing that can make them shift much better and last alot longer! That trans was set up to shift super smooth in those cars and the downside to that is a shorter lifespan!

[@michaelporter3555]

That's a common problem on 04, 05, 06, 07s. You should do a video on how to replace the forward clutch on that transmission.

[@volvotwoseries3384]

I put a deep B&M aluminum pan on mine after I had the forward clutches replaced. I got mine for free with no forward gears. Great car, great transmission when not owned by idiots. Last guy burned it out trying to get out of a ditch.

[@6torino9]

This man is so genuine...

[@brianandrews7099]

When I change out my own wheel bearings, I always just do all four. My logic is that they are all the same age with the same mileage on them, so if one has already failed then the rest are on borrowed time. That said, my only cost is bearings but I hate doing wheel bearings.

[@pospc2]

I got a auction car. Started cheap but i am only about 2k bellow retail now after repairs. That includes me doing the work. Also got a junkyard car that started at $550 and is now a little over $2k but with a clean title is work $6k. Be careful out there when hunting for cheap cars.

[@tz612712]

Theme of Hoovie's Garage: "Every car deserves to be loved and enjoyed for what it is." Theme of the Car Wizard: "Fine but do you have any idea what it costs to think that way?"

[@veulmet]

Bingo if you are a mechanic and had the time and tools at home you might end up with a good used car.

[@LVLouisCyphre]

I can hear the ghost of Billy Mays yelling from the grave, "But wait, there's more!"

[@hangonsnoop]

"A happy little car..." You really are the Bob Ross of car repair.

[@SonOfTamriel]

when these mk4 bugs are sorted, they are super good cars.

[@johnjenkins8782]

I see nothing out of the ordinary for an 800 dollar car. All of the parts were typical wear items I'm surprised that the rack and tie rod ends weren't worn out too. In my youth I did the same work to cars and still came out ahead over purchasing a several thousand $ used car from a dealer. ( not counting my labor)

[@THEGAMINGHELP101]

These cars really are not worth this much money with the amount of things wrong with the car. For $500 its a good deal assuming the engine and trans is good, but $800 is a bit much for all the labor involved.

[@dennisphoenix1]

I would always buy cheap cars or non runners , fix them up add new parts then you know it's good for a few years cheap motoring , I bought a 2003 X5 for 1200 , as a non runner, cost me 30 for a new electric fuel pump. Cars now running and driving . Needs new pads and shoes but nothing expensive.

[@MrDuncl]

I think the biggest problem is the paintwork. No matter how many new parts The Wizard fits it still looks like a $500 car.

[@anddtayl1]

Exactly

[@Thomas63r2]

Having Mrs. Car Wizard asking questions just like a regular person would is a great feature. These low dollar auction cars are only worthwhile for the car wizards out there - its a crap shoot for everyone really, a gamble that may or may not pay off. I bought a Lincoln for $1,350 earlier this year from a junk dealer - then spent another $1,100 on parts while sorting out a variety of issues that individually were nothing too major - but added up together made the car almost undriveable. Since the sorting I have driven the car almost 40,000 trouble free miles and it is a bullet, you can set the cruise control at 100 mph and it will do it for as long as you are comfortable. A lot of the cheap auction cars were previously owned by budget strained drivers - for them it is cheaper just to drive it till it dies because they can't afford the shop bills.

[@heartwoodfarms9982]

Those ALH TDI's are the best diesels ever put in any passenger car, IMO. They last forever, but MUST be run on FULL synthetic oil, Shell Rotella T6 works well in these. Also the timing belt,water pump and all the idlers MUST be replaced every 100,000 miles by someone that knows these engines. If the timing belt breaks or slips time the pistons will trash the valves and often the head.

[@pauls1572]

60,000 to 100,000, depending on the year. I have had 2, and have one atm. Fantastic cars.

[@sukmadik2319]

My 2013 cr tdi is every 120k miles

[@b13nissan]

Im build ALH hybrid. Bhw block and ALH head

[@mdoyle1981]

That TDi engine is awesome, great economy and lots of torque. We had one in a Jetta with a 5 speed and it would get close to 50 mpg.

[@agm5276]

1.9 ALH worth fixing parts are cheap and they run forever. So for the smartest purchase on this channel.

[@JeremyBlant]

agm I have the 2.0 gas engine BEV in a 04 Jetta and it’s been fairly reliable considering everything. Mostly maintenance stuff. Wish I could have gotten the alh but I’d probably hold out for a old Volvo 244 now

[@es-qf2gw]

@agm The AlH Motor is great when it works, but its one of the worst design Diesel VW ever did!!! Had two of them nothing but maintenance hogs.

[@user-dn6qy1ou1f]

@@es-qf2gw that doesn’t sound right. I have 3 of them. Buy quality parts and it will be fantastic. I’m not talking from auto zone or the like. These cars last well over 400k miles when maintained properly.

[@districtofcolumbia8659]

@@es-qf2gw never heard of a thing. I currently have two all Jetta’s 5 speed. One is 215k and owned it for 6 years , never broke down and never even turned a light on the dash. I get 47 mpg on both.

[@davidcaprio8919]

Absolutely! My ALH just turned 300k last night!

[@chestnut01111]

I was "given" a 2001 VW Golf 1.6 in October 2018. 104000 miles. Using oil and smoking. Oil separator replaced - smoking gone and oil consumption drastically reduced. Its just passed its second UK annual MoT Test since then and all its had so far is the flexible part of the exhaust and the anti-roll (sway) bar links. Sometimes you're lucky I guess.

[@TheColosiss]

13:00 A moment you can tell that Wizard is a man of principle and integrity. He is genuinely upset by the neglect of poor Squirtle. A real mechanic cares. Wizard is gentleman and a scholar.

[@notxarb21]

"Ran over a Beluga whale"... I'm still chuckling from that nugget! Thanks for the graphic explanation of why a cheap car usually isn't... I've counseled people over the years when they came to me with tales of some "cheap" car they were thinking about buying... or actually bought! Most of the time, there were strong regrets later... especially when they didn't have the car checked out before buying it. My son and I bought a '95 Saturn SL2 for $500 and towed it home. The lady who was selling it told us that a "mechanic" advised her to get rid of it: the "quad" valve was about to give way and strand her on the highway! She was too scared to drive it anymore, and it had been sitting for months when we bought it from her. After a tune-up, front brake pads, a new headliner (which we did ourselves) and a used set of rims that came with decent tires on them (and a good cleaning!), we turned around and sold it for $2500 and it gave good service for years afterward. Daddy always said, "Some people don't learn any lessons but the hard way..."

[@agoogleuser8219]

Wizard, Kuhmo Solus is a decent tire to start out with. They tend to get pretty noisy when worn, and they don't tend to last as long as their warranty claims. But on the flip side, they do tend to be cheaper than Goodyear, Firestone, Pirelli, and other standard tires. For $20/tire they're a good deal.

[@n9wox]

16:57 It's turning into a happy little car. Thank you Bob Ross.

[@britton6062]

other than the control arm damage which isn't normal, the rest was regular maintenance repairs that were never done. That blueberry will go another 150k easy now.

[@rjonzun5828]

Brakes, yeah. But all 4 wheel bearings? That's a little disappointing.

[@britton6062]

@@rjonzun5828 for 800 bux? you know something was up

[@rjonzun5828]

@@britton6062 True

[@chefjefe68]

Thanks for the real look at auction cars, Wizard. So many people don't take care of their vehicles, so you truly don't know what you are getting. Plus, how many of us could do all of that work correctly ourselves? Truly, when at an auction, there is more to consider than just the price of the car.

[@joannaatkins822]

Bearings are a consumable, they all need replacing eventually. In my experience you have to set aside a reasonable amount of money every paycheck to ensure that you can fix or replace what needs doing on your car in a timely fashion. General maintainance on a cheap car can save you thousands in buying a new vehicle, which will inevitably have something wrong with it anyway. Nobody sells a perfect car for reasonable money, unless the previous owner just had their licence revoked or they died.

[@CarlosRodriguez-hb3vq]

Phil Atkins I taught a personal finance class and every car repair for participants was an unexpected emergency. But it turns out that if you put aside $100 or $200 a month, you can cover most maintenance and repairs in the long run.

[@Da.Onus.Burger.618]

Wizard, I LOVE your videos and your genuine “take” on a lot of things! I look forward to your continued success on KZbin and wish you, your family, and muh fellow fans a Happy New Year!

[@nickdebone6744]

I had a 2001 Jetta 1.8t, and I too replaced all four wheel bearings, around 145k. Another common high mileage suspension failure point on these cars is in the front end lower control arms, the rear most bushing on these cars is not solid and actually flexes with the suspension. If worn you’ll notice the car diving left or right under brake application. The r32 golf of the same generation used a solid rubber rear lower control arm bushing which can be used as a direct replacement

[@TheJohn8765]

As someone who is detail-oriented and someone that "sweats the details", I genuinely appreciate how aggravated David gets when people neglect their cars. It's nice to see other people give a shit!

[@rickjohnson1632]

You can’t turn back now Wizard , don’t give up on the little car now 👍

[@patrickm3534]

Job well done Wizard. I'm not a mechanic but have taught myself to do just about anything to a car or truck. I have bought cars like that many times. The last one a GMC Sierra 2500 for $500, and put $2000 into it. It is now a damn nice truck. My dad was a Millwright and I've heard him say many times, " if it was built once it can be rebuilt again ".

[@MrWoodyBalto]

Dave, you should do a Parody of Hoovie sitting in your office and he can tell you everything the Beatle needs and he give you the price quote. A little role reversal. Or get creative in the editing and go back and forth from the customer chair to your chair and give yourself the quote. 🤣

[@aaronhanifen8823]

And instead of a super expensive thing hoovie is looking at another hooptie to buy

[@OffGridInvestor]

First one sounds best. But we got to get hoovie in the blue and black shirt and black work pants.

[@MrWoodyBalto]

@@OffGridInvestor Indeed. This alternate universe needs to be accurate. 👍

[@juerbert1]

@@OffGridInvestor , Ha ha ha ha ha ha, hoovie in overalls !🎅🦄🌩️🌧️🐐😀👍😁

[@fabriziojuliancaldara3950]

And Hoovie needs to be googleing some yacht or house in a fancy place.

[@ItsTimePictures]

Soooo many people drive their cars into the ground. I helped a lovely friend of mine find a very nice Subaru Outback that was in terrific shape. Perfect for her and her daughter (unwed mother). I told her to change the oil every 3k miles and NEVER get lazy and skip. Have her brakes inspected every year. I showed her how to check all the fluid levels and tried my best to make her understand that if she listens and does as I advise the car will last her a decade EASY! Well 3 years later and... the car is SHOT!! She never changed the oil. Never checked fluids. Never had her brakes looked at, even when they were scraping and pulsing and barely even working. You cannot fix stupid.

[@Fransais]

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Happy New Year 2020!

[@heincarpenter]

The water pump is also fragile on this VW. The windows will fall down one day. And the ABS unit will go. But you are giving this car a second life. Respect!

[@johnmichaelkarma]

You have a great little car now. NO army green,please. The original color is great and ya won't have to paint the door jambs for a a good look. Tint the windows and your good.

[@JamesAllmond]

yeah, field gray would be more appropriate...

[@typxxilps]

@@JamesAllmond Feldgrau of cause ... but that does no longer exist.

[@1XSTEALTHTWINTURBOX1]

Yes Squirtle or Pikachu is best. No ugly colors.

[@johnp556]

Agreed, fix the clear coat, tinted windows, boom, good car.

[@Fee.1]

John P how do you fix a clear coat

[@yeliab67]

Thank you Wizard, i love working on my cars (only my cars & kids). You gave me the confidence to take on larger projects (recently torque convertor on 2005 Mercury Sable with the DOHC motor, saved a bundle. Maintaining your vehicles are one of the most rewarding things you can do whether you do it yourself or have someone else do it.

[@egardner5978]

A lot of people need to hear this rather than buying a POS thinking they got a deal versus a massive money pit.

[@richb5478]

Exactly I can't count how many times I hear people say I'm getting a car at the auction you can get some good cars for really cheap and I always tell him is cars are pieces of shit their endless money pits but you can't fix stupid some people just have no fucking clue

[@vw5056]

Idk. I bought an old turd from a Boomer once for $350,put double that into it, and drove for it nearly two years. I've spent more on high end bicycles.

[@Johnathan_Waters]

SO glad you rescued this little car. It definitely deserved a second chance, and fortunately it seems that it was meant to be. Great job, and keep up the good work Car Wizard!

[@larrykay6606]

Maybe the previous owner had no money to fix any of the issues but needed to keep using the car to get to work. Lots of people these days are in that situation.

[@jy5960]

you had to drive like a complete dickhole to inflict that kind of damage to the bearings

[@josephskorich621]

@@jy5960 not necessarily true

[@thetruth7633]

16:20 True! Tires : go to tire specialist - Aircon : go to aircon specialist - Alignment : go to alignment specialist 17:20 Kumho is good tire, Korean brand but no junk like China 19:25 Having owned several VAG cars and worked on hundreds, even if you put in 1000-1500 $ in for initial repairs, you will keep calling a mechanic, life > 5 years or 100K miles, trouble starts

[@user_name_took]

I put 2800$ into a 700$ Miata just because it had good paint, and I love miatas. Engine replacement, full go through of it, manual swap, and a load of small stuff. I'm not even done, wheels tires and brakes are next

[@leonardnose5695]

usernametook hardtop im hoping?

[@user_name_took]

@@leonardnose5695 no lol. Id like one but the top is down every chance I get. I also need to replace the top

[@VolkerHett]

When done right, what you'll probably do, you'll have a nice little Miata for many years! And one you know who to blame when it fails :D

[@scottouimet2865]

I just bought an 01 Nissan Quest for $500. Ran crudy but and had an 02 sensor code and misfire code. Had a few rotting coolant hoses that were leaky, needed a motor mount but over all seemed ok, I drove for about 30 minutes shifted ok, didn't overheat, didn't run great but now $800 in parts later I've replaced plug wires, distributor, hoses, motor mount intake and throddle body gaskets injectors and once it was all good I took it for a good little test drive and it blew the head gasket so now I am down for another $350 of parts plus oil and coolant change... Thank the Lord I can fix my own cars other wise I would be at a total lose for this van. But after it all repaired I'll have a decent vehicle to drive till it falls apart...

[@25Wineman]

Happy new year to you and your family Car Wizard. I always learn something from every video you do!

[@GroundhogzGarage]

I bought a $500 2001 Tahoe. Project Frankenstein! I’ve put about $400 in parts on it....so far. It went from barely drive-able, to something that I will drive through the winter to save my regular truck from the ravages of winter salt. I’ll sell it in the spring. No motor or transmission issues. Brakes, door locks, ignition key tumbler, window regulator problems. As you say Wizard. Great if you can fix it yourself, but painful if you have to pay someone to do it.

[@JoseSilva-ep2ww]

It's a 2002 Beetle, bought at an auction for 800 dollars... If you take that into account, that's not that bad... Those 1.9 TDI's are usually very reliable and sturdy engines (one of the last good VW engines), and so far, it does seem that way... Frankly, I thought it would be much worse. I've seen those engines run 400+ thousand miles no sweat. Like all engines, you have to maintain them properly. Interior plastics and related things are something else, though.

[@seanthomas2906]

Great job mate. I have a 1.8t 20 valve. I love it. But...... It takes loving and care... And from that you get great driving pleasure.

[@nigel.w]

Kuhmo are a mid-grade brand of performance tyres, ie, very good. Compound is arguably a little soft, which means they wear a little faster than normal. Anyway, they are a known brand, not some 'no-name' brand. Should be a good safe tyre for that car.

[@CoreMaster111]

I recently saw some Kumho winter tyres and most of the people said they were absolute shit. And I have seen bad reviews for other Kumho tyres.

[@akkual]

Kumho is quality tire company from South Korea. Not a bad choice, not the best choice, not the most expensive choice, not the cheapest choice.

[@weedmastersr]

@@CoreMaster111 People are morons. 99% of them aren't even able to reach the limits of mechanical grip on their tires without crashing, so they don't know anything how how good tires are. Kumho tires are far from shit, they are decent but nothing special. For a VW Beetle, which is just a cute looking Golf, you don't need performance tires. This isn't a track car, it doesn't need special tires, especially just to drive in a straight line most of the time being in Kansas.

[@digitalrailroader]

Kumho and Hankook are very good tires for the price; I have a set of Optimo H724s on my Aveo and they are decent tires. The ones to actively avoid are your no name brand Chinese tires, and the Goodyear Viva3 sold at every Walmart in the country. (A fun fact: the Douglas brand of tires sold at Walmart are actually manufactured by Goodyear)

[@NWCI]

@@digitalrailroader I use kumho for light cars as the rubber is softer than other tires. And also prefer doglus tires over Goodyear, I know it's the same manufacturer, but I had better experience with them over Goodyear.

[@midlifecrisis.2409]

You never know what problems are lurking! I bought a 2001 Volvo V70 D5 diesel fairly cheaply as a winter project about two years ago. If I listed all the bodges it would take all day,some of the faults were a new clutch and flywheel not fitted properly.The o-rings on the heater matrix were leaking coolant into the car so someone had pulled the carpets up and put about an inch of sawdust down to soak it up. A new outer driveshaft boot replaced but with no grease at all! From bumper to bumper pretty much everything needed fixing, it's finished now,financially not worth it but satisfying to get it done.Like you say if you couldn't do it yourself not really viable. Happy New Year to you and Mrs Wizard from Cambridgeshire in the UK!

[@brunocrespo]

The Khumo tyres are very good, you will see. At least here in Europe they are excellent. And the khumo ecsta are really awesome.

[@EMichaelBall]

Kumho's not quite on Continental/Michelin/Bridgestone level, but it's OK for $20/tire.

[@LinkZ10]

I've got the Ecsta on my personal vehicle, and they're not the best in the midwest snow, but they pretty well most of the time

[@brunocrespo]

I live in moderate climate. We only use summer tyres.

[@cobbler40]

It was nice to actually see Mrs Wizard in another video. She seems very knowledgeable.

[@callumduncan6728]

you are not finished yet with all the service neglect the timing belt is probably well overdue a change , you cant ignore it if it breaks its end of life for the engine .I have seen shops quotes as high as 1500 bucks DIY is probably 400 after buying the special tools and it is a fiddly pain in the ass BUT in reality for a young guy to pay for the parts and fix it himself is easy with all the help videos around way better than going 40 grand in debt for a new car plus astronomical insurance

[@gary1705]

A totally deaf friend of mine bought a car and it had so many squeaks scraping sound knocking sound it was completely unroadworthy and I wouldn't let him drive it one mile further he had no idea 😂🙏

[@ZanicL3]

@@gary1705 how did you let your friend buy it in the first place tho

[@gary1705]

Zanic L3 He bought it before I got to see it and he also bought it off another deaf person which made it even worse 😩

[@lustfulvengance]

@@gary1705 The deaf leading the deaf 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@huntermarsh7576]

@@gary1705 we had a deaf guy come into our shop the other day complaining that there was a squeaking noise and then he admitted to the guy that did a test drive with him that he was deaf... oh boy he was very happy lol

[@Lasertrac]

Appreciate your unvarnished candor. We live in a throwaway society.. People don't like to spend the money even for a simple oil change. It's sad. Vehicles could last a lot longer if people realized there is no such thing as no maintenance or low maintenance. Vehicles bought from older owners usually but not always have been cared for. The best advice is before you buy have a trusted, reputable mechanic look it. Sure you'll pay to have it done but it's less likely you'll regret the buying decision. Great video.

[@wtcb7892]

Wow, a chick car that hasn't had any maintenance?

[@AscendedBeyond]

I wish this stereotype wasnt true But it usually is

[@CARNELIANTURQUOISE]

My '08 Beetle had 7,436 miles when I bought it, it had 55,325 when someone ignored a stop sign, drove out in front of me and totaled it. I am a "chick" who took excellent care of that "chick car", it was paid for when I got it 10 yrs ago...I planned on driving it til we both wore out. I now have a 2013 Beetle and a car payment.....but this one will be taken care of also!

[@wtcb7892]

@@CARNELIANTURQUOISE 100k then you can talk.....JS

[@RoyalDogmeat]

Nigel Cam She might be a chick But you sure are a prick :D

[@jamesweaver7755]

@Nigel Cam, read again! The other driver ran a stop sign .

[@michaeld4879]

Great video, this happened on my mk3 focus the left side bearing was so bad, we changed it and the noise was still there. It ended up also being my right side! That was challenging not having the right tools to do properly.!

[@ChopStickZero]

Now all you need to do is remap it to gain 30, 40 bhp,these engines are perfect for that and it will be one fun little thing :)

[@Janetplanet62]

My sister had a old VW bug, much older! It had a rear engine where a pen, fell between the seats! You know what happened next! R.I.P! I was in grade school! But I remember it! BYTW, love you and your Video's! Much love for you and your channel in 2020!

[@elsletten]

My daughter's 2004 Grand Prix (just a shell to carry around the best engine ever - 3800), had all 4 bearings go bad at once but it was after it sat in a street that flooded up to the door sills. It already had 200k on it. I assume they were close until they got wet and that pushed them over the edge. Something to consider, maybe it got "wet"

[@scotthershall]

The alternator pulley may have been what killed that serpentine belt tensioner. It's a clutched pulley on the TDIs. If it's worn out and no longer working, or the alternator was replaced with a one for a gas engine, it will cause vibration in the belt and kill the tensioner piston.

[@gepwxaqdfsidsesg1548]

You just have to accept that most people won't get rid a car if it doesn't have problems, so most used cars have problems. When I look at used cars the question in my head is always; why is the previous owner getting rid of this? One just has to budget fixing the issues as part of the cost of buying used.

[@worldhello1234]

"You just have to accept that most people won't get rid a car if it doesn't have problems, so most used cars have problems." Nope, it is just you projecting. ;) The used car market is not a giant salvage auction as you make it out to be. There are several reasons to sell a car. Driving a turd is only one of them. You just need common sense and look for issues beforehand or take a gamble and budget for repairs. :)

[@alphatrion100]

You are right in alot of cases. Not always but it is common an logical not to spend a couple of thousand bucks on an older car you have owned for years. So you get rid of it.

[@paulyarlett1238]

I run a peugeot 2.0 hdi 1998 year with 160,000 miles i paid 1100 pounds 6 years ago every year it goes through its m o t with no fuss ,in that time i have fitted one wishbone and two anti roll links and tyres so sorry mate i dont agree with your principles on used cars ,i would never buy new as the depreciation on a new car i can own and run a car for years with minimal problems.

[@gepwxaqdfsidsesg1548]

@@paulyarlett1238 I don't buy new cars either. The last three daily cars that I bought were an 11 year old Jag XJ, an 8 year old Peugeot 607 and a six year old 806. They all had problems which I fixed and then ran for many years and miles. I look for cars older cars with perfect bodywork and mechanical issues which I know I can fix. My point is that you have to budget time and money for these things. Sometimes you get lucky as you did and sometimes you have to fix things. I think that the 607 was the one that caused the least amount of initial problems with messed up heater controls. The Jag blew a turbo in the first year and has needed new suspension bushes every single year. I just keep fixing it and enjoying it.

[@El_Chompo]

@@worldhello1234 I can tell you a tip I found out to work well for figuring out if a used car is a good one or not pretty easily. All you do is when you see the listing look at everything around the car in the pictures. If they have fresh cut grass, a neat driveway, a clean and presentable looking house, chances are they take care of their car too. If the place looks run down and not maintained, their car is also probably not maintained. It's not a 100% sure bet but its one more thing to look out for and it makes sorting through listings go quicker because its a quick easy first stage screening you can perform. And of course you always ask why they are selling the car.

[@Bizija123]

Thanks for this video and fixing up squirtle! My first car was a new beetle, 1.8t engine. It was so fun to drive and took good care of it. Waxed it like every week and did fun mods. Thanks wizard!

[@vinniecorleone62]

I have owned a total of 90 vehicles, most of them used & no matter what you have paid for them you can plan with few exceptions of sinking at least a couple thousand dollars into them right away. It's tragic how bad people treat their cars & trucks, I just can't understand the mentality.

[@imkirbo3094]

You must be terrible at buying used cars if you've spent $180,000 on making them drivable...

[@vinniecorleone62]

@@imkirbo3094 I did well on most of them within reason but got stuck with some poor ones, you can't apply that exact kind of math to the situation, I was generalizing obviously. I might add that I typically fix everything wrong or not working on a vehicle as well not just badly broken items because I like clean well operating cars & trucks, not piles.

[@vinniecorleone62]

@James Kresnik Sadly true.

[@vinniecorleone62]

@@cigartime5384 Good one, they are tools.

[@1XSTEALTHTWINTURBOX1]

Yeah. I have W124 Diesel at 370K. Fking fantastic. But previous owners never took care of the quarter panels. Wheel wells are rusty. I mainly just change fluids. I did injector nozzles. I just got to reseal them. Some leak a a bit. Because nobody ever service the injectors and you can tell.

[@MPMeterman]

I purchased a PT Cruiser to drive to work...badly engineered car...but I couldn’t help but love it. I had to replace all the bushings in the suspension, the Watts link, and the cooling fan (all weak points). Other than normal wear items and the bad paint it never did let me down.

[@charlescos]

Hi Wizard. At 6:01 u say u put 15w40 oil. At least in europe these vw diesel engines commonly use 5w40 if not 5w30 and it has to be 505.01 VW approved oil . 15w40 seems too thick especially in your cold climate and I don't know of a 15w40 vw 505.01 or even 501 oil. The consequences may be expensive or am I wrong?

[@drgjs]

Cha cos A thinner oil is too thin for a worn out engine, and will likely leak or burn off too quickly. 15w40 is fine, especially for warmer climates.

[@tonyeff4447]

@@drgjs it will be smokey on a cold start up

[@OffGridInvestor]

15W40 is STANDARD for diesels in warm climates. In my country people would think you're nuts and you'd void the warranty putting 5W40 in.

[@sukmadik2319]

Use Full Synthetic 5W30 or 5W40 or oil that meets or exceeds VW standard 505.00

[@lrosengreen]

Great video, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I also really like the clarifying questions from Mrs. Wizard. Fix the paint, and you will have one cool little car. Nice!

[@Fixmy59bug]

If you dont mind, I would like to point out a couple errors. The serpentine belt tensioner - the hydraulic shock is not what applies tension to the belt. The tensioner is spring loaded. The shock just absorbs vibrations and movements caused by the ignition impulses of the TDI engine. 15W40 is too thick of an oil in cold weather. Vw spec calls for 5W40. I know it is the same once it is warmed up, but the cold flow point is CRITICAL on cold starts. You WILL smoke your engine and turbo on a cold morning. Please put the correct oil in there. And technically those tires are the wrong size. If you check the door label, they should be 205/55-16. Not THAT big of a deal, but the speedo will read slow compared to actual speed of vehicle.

[@OffGridInvestor]

Here in Australia all diesels run on 15W40. It's what they use in warmer climates.

[@Fixmy59bug]

Link Knight that’s nice. But the creator of this video is not in Australia. I googled the shop location before commenting just to make sure. They are in Newton Kansas where it does get cold. Snow even. And the fact that YOU are in a warmer climate just reinforces my comment that 15W40 is fine when it is warmer. But it’s the “15W” cold pour point that is the problem. Not a problem that YOU may experience, but certainly the customers of Omega Auto Clinic would.

[@84gssteve]

Same thing happened with my daughter's 04 Civic's front knuckle. After a light,5 mph side hit from another car to the front corner, the right wheel was angled in quite a few degrees. I replaced the spindly and delicate looking parts like the strut, tierods and control arm bushings.....nothing fixed it. To my amazement, the stubby cast iron knuckle was bent somewhere. The wheel bearing was fine, everything was fine, but somehow the toughest looking part got bent in what was a very mild accident.

[@TechTimeWithEric]

A good rule of thumb is, A cheap German car is NEVER a cheap German car

[@vw5056]

@Mike ok boomer

[@trackrunner11]

You know what? You are very pleasant to listen to. Both you and Hoovie are fun to watch.

[@typxxilps]

The result is caused by missing, wrong or partly maintenance by unprofessiinals for a longer time.. Or: the engineering was so good that it was even able to survive such treatment If a non pro had made this experience it could have ended in: typical complicated german (over-) engineering Result depends on the judge and his way to sort things out. Most parts are cheap so after first basic maintenance in manufacturers style he hopefully gets a great car back for the next 200.000 miles. No grease, just sand and every bearing suffers and dies. But now let's keep finger crossed that he will be happy for a long time especially with this automatic transmission.

[@sbcentralcitytattzstudio3541]

You’re absolutely right -I bought a 03 Toyota Corolla which is an excellent car at auction payed $1200 should’ve paid like $800. Ended up needing lower control arm bushings, struts, belt tensioner, tires, all four brakes, rotors, Drums. Luckily I did all the labor myself and saved probably $1000. And also be aware of the back fees those are not deleted at auction ...at least in California they aren’t.

[@ab-cd456]

I know you didn't buy this, but your first inspection of this car didn't find all of these problems. The "noise" was described as turbo wear. The reason I bring this up was your recommendation in many previous videos to have a trusted mechanic to inspect used car buys. I'm calling BS. The truth of the matter is that any and all used car buys are are a crapshoot. Major failures Might be caught, but any wear items, or rubber parts are NOT going to be found. By anyone, no matter how much I pay someone to "take a look" I'm saying this as a person who ONLY buys older used cars.

[@kelvindavid722]

Happened to me, bought a very cheap car from someone on Facebook,he said it was just a bad muffler and needs replacement , when i replaced it, found out all four bearings added to the loud exhaust noise. That car made me learned a lot about cars and how to fix them. Now i just watch various DIY's videos for entertainment.

[@gokeyinspections8552]

its super common on audi vw of that era 95-2002ish where you do 1 wheel bearing in the front or rear then the other size is toast a week later, but I have owned several Audi S4 Quattros 2000-2002 models and i had 2 of them that were in prior wrecks/salvage titles and i had to replace all 4 bearings on them. And they have to be pressed in and out like those ones so I feel your pain!

[@JohnGotts]

That era of Audi/VW has weak wheel bearings. My 2000 A4 had 10+ bearings replaced over 19 years and 350,000 miles.

[@gokeyinspections8552]

@@JohnGotts there ya go, more proof lol

[@coolfrost6]

It's really the main annoyance of 2000's VAG, and you need a 5+ ton press and then the inner bering race gets stuck to the hub.

[@nomebear]

You can find film that matches that paint so well that you'd sweat is painted. I've had good results with it and continue to use it on "everything" we drive. That tension pulley gizmo made my Mercedes sound like the engine sound like a diesel. The A/C, alternator, and water pump were all acting up. On mine there was a missing rubber grommet in the tension pulley. It was a cheap fix and solved a lot of problems.

[@darens440]

Proper oil for this engine is supposed to be a 5W40 synthetic diesel rated oil, VW 505.00 spec. 15w40 is probably fine but not recommended.

[@SuperFIFTHGEAR]

A lot of US people that own these cars always use engine oil that thick, they didn't the same engines in the US that we got in Europe, I believe they got the ALH (which we got on pre-2002 models as the 90hp engine) and later on the BEW (which I believe was the 110hp type). I think they're still using the wrong engine oil, but they don't get Quantum (which used to be made by Castrol, made by another company now) oil in the US.

[@darens440]

@@SuperFIFTHGEAR 5w40 is just as "thick" as 15w40 at temperature. Its advantage is in cooling the turbo. Theres no water cooling on this model, only oil. The synthetic handles the higher heat better. a 10,000 mile OCI on a good 5w40 synthetic has these ALH motors living forever. I owned two of these back in the day, stock and modded, quite possibly the most reliable engines ever. If you use the right oil. I was about to make an offer on one when it literally seized up in the owners driveway while it was running. They used 10w30 non diesel rated oil all the time. Luckily it broke before i started negotiating price. ALH is the US spec engine but the euro models are nearly identical, one has slightly bigger injectors but the same turbo/oil needs.

[@spoonman73]

daren s1 The main advantage is also that the 5w40 flows better at startup, thus reducing engine wear.

[@pauls1572]

I use the 5w40 every 5,000 in my 1998 tdi Jetta, but she has 296,000. Gotta be nice to the old girl

[@EMichaelBall]

15W-40 would be fine in Miami (or perhaps Kansas summers), but not Kansas winters. That stuff's too thick to lubricate everything properly upon start-up = long-term engine damage. I wonder if 0W-40 that meets VW 505.00 would damage the engine?

[@CommodoreFan64]

You got a hell of a deal on the tires, my late father use to put Kumho tires on his Corvettes back in the 90's, and never had an issue with them beyond normal wear, and catching a nail once.

[@vferdman]

Lesson: Do not buy cars if you are not able to fix them yourself. Especially from auction. Cars will make you poor if the owner does not know how to fix them. I learned this lesson in early 80's when I was first becoming a car owner. I bought a Craftsman tool set instead of taking my POS '73 Audi Fox to a mechanic and started learning how to fix it myself. 40 years on I still work on my own cars and buy them used. I have saved a LOT for my family over the years of working on my own cars and doing and understanding car maintenance.

[@laserleftfootttt7683]

Hot chicks will seek out guys that drove old POS's. For some reason, they are turned on by a guy that can do his own auto maintenance.

[@joakimquensel597]

If it got tits or wheels... it will give you problems!

[@acemobile9806]

@@laserleftfootttt7683 professional mechanic here.... where might I find females such as you describe? Only girls that ever seem to want my attention have no money, a hard luck story, a gaggle of yard apes & a PT Cruiser that needs a timing belt service!!!

[@laserleftfootttt7683]

@@acemobile9806 I found them at work, a semiconductor wafer fab, and the apartment parking lot. But this was in L A. In northern alabama where I'm at right now, every broad looks like a descendant of big foot.

[@acemobile9806]

@@laserleftfootttt7683 Gulf Coast of Florida here, same thing. Must be a southern thing. I miss the West 😣 I made a wrong turn at Albuquerque when I decided to come to this shithole!!!

[@EarlFaulk]

10:31 I did something like that in winter. Bent my rim on a curb because I hit a patch of black ice at 30mph. Strangely enough, I bought a used Accord where the previous owner let the front suspension get that bad. Both control arms, ball joints, and stabilizer pins had to be replaced.

[@nickduplooy8845]

Why no give it a Maaco paint job? Should add a lot of value

[@iamtheoffenderofall]

Its a $2000 car in good condition.

[@JBsC6]

If its just the hood either sand and paint flat black for $10. Or buy a used blue hood.

[@Big31sky]

Patina adds value.

[@jonfklein]

It's great when you can fix something and get it to work properly. Especially if you can do it yourself. I find it very satisfying. The other comment I have is that VW is not a high quality brand. I have a VW GTI and comparing it to my previous car which was a Honda, there is a noticeable difference in quality. I would say my rate of problems over time with my GTI is about twice that of my Honda.

[@jose66valiant]

Car wizard the Bob Ross of the automotive side “happy little car”

[@Janetplanet62]

Sorry for another comment! My brother is 7 years older then me and my twin! He used to tell us, you too just turn the radio up! So true! Engine light on put a piece a paper over it!

[@stugotswins]

Here is an old school tip wizard grab ahold of the shock and spin the wheel if the bearings are bad you will feel it in the vibration of the shock

[@PaulBachant]

The brake and bearing issues (and the knuckle, too) are common here in Montreal. We have some of the worse roads in North America, some streets and highways look like they came straight out of Beirut. Bent knucles galore. And the winter takes a heavy toll on the brakes. You mentioned the ones you showed us are heavily pitted, and they are, but you should see the rotors I change on cars here every month. So bad you wonder how the car stops. And it's par for the course here, very common. Nobody here bothers with resurfacing. We have a machine in the shop, but it's just gathering dust. Like I've said before, I'm jealous of your weather...