Used VW Jettas Bringing Big $$$

[johnnymk]

So I went to my chiropractor yesterday. One of the women there has a 2000 VW Jetta with a diesel engine and stick shift. Their family also has a new BMW.

Her husband recently lost his job and is now travelling about 30 miles away for something or other using the Jetta. He is totally impressed with the 50 MPG he is getting.

So I was thinking..maybe I could find a used one on Craigslist for about $4000-5000. It would pay for itself in 4 or 5 years. Guess what? Most of them are near $10,000 and that's with a lot of miles. There was one for approx. $4000, but it had nearly 200,000 miles.

Oh well, I will drop that idea.

[Prngr44]

Wasn't the same thing happening with all those Geo Metros that got mid 40 mpg?

[Napoleon54]

Resale value on the Jetta is amazing, even the gas ones. I was looking at them over the summer. Used ones 2-3yrs old with 20-40k miles were ~$18k, versus ~$21k for the same thing but brand new. I dunno who in their right mind would buy a used one when for an extra $2k you could have new.

[InfiniteNothing]

50 mpg! That sounds like BS. Do you have an EPA est on that?

[Daedalus]

EPA ratings for 2000 Jetta (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/bymodel/2000_Volkswagen_Jetta.shtml)

EPA numbers are typically optimistic, especially before the new rating system was implemented. I've never seen claims above estimates that were backed by hard, meticulous data collection over time. Some guessing is almost always involved.

"Lessee, I've gone 100 miles and used up an eighth of a tank, and the car holds 16 gallons...so I'm getting 50mpg!!!"

EDIT: Just noticed the EPA numbers have been adjusted to better match current testing standards.

[DarkFury]

50 mpg! That sounds like BS. Do you have an EPA est on that?
My coworker has a diesel Jetta TDI and says he gets 46 MPG.

[attgig]

i need to sell my 97 2.0 jetta. manual. 60k miles. hrm...