Hello List...

I'm about to acquire a 2000 Jetta GLS with the VR6 here in South Carolina. I was planning on buying new... but a friend is selling me his analy<sp> maintained 2000 with 13,000 miles for $19k (He just invested in a 1988 911 Coupe with 30k miles, the bastard). Did I get a good deal? Finding values for 2000 VWs is still a chore... but digging around the net I saw only a handful of 2000 Jetta VR6s around and they were all commanding between $18k to $22k bucks or so. One bank told me the car was a great deal.... another valued it at ~18,500. A guy I spoke to at our local dealership (Greenville, SC) told me I had better take the keys and run... b/c I wouldn't see another used Jetta like that for awhile.

This is my first VW ever... I came to respect the marquee when I got in to Porsches in high school and researched their heritage. In college, a friend of mine had a Corrado that was really a sweet car. My mom had a VW bug in the 60s when she was a student - she later rolled the car down a hill during icy weather. The cops showed up, rocked it over and she drove it home! So I guess it's natural for me to be interested in VWs...

I've been a Porsche nut every since my first car... a good looking 1988 944 which, despite having been wrecked, cracking the flywheel (to the sum of $1300 - how the hell I did this I'll never know), having the electrical system catch fire, a burned out transmission, and bending a rim on a curb (totally my fault) was a fantastic car to own during high school. Recently I've gone through a 1993 Mazda RX7 (I owned it up until two weeks ago... it was a blast... but too expensive, and I knew those turbo's weren't going to last much beyond 60k miles) and I still own my venerable 1988 Grand Wagoneer (bullet proof drive train and great for tailgating). I pick up the Jetta on Tuesday and I'm really excited. I love the VR6... its such a fine power plant and it's put together so well. I was actually considering picking up a used BMW 3 (I was wanting a 95 to 97 or so 328) series when I started checking out the Jetta... the build quality is superb... I think it's the finest car you can buy for the money.

Are there any pressing recall notices or general experiences I should be aware of? Anyone on the list with a 2k VR6 that's been modded? Unfortunately I notice the cut off point for a lot of after market stuff is with the 1999 model. (Same story with my RX7 - 1st and 2nd gen mods out the wahoo... dirt for the 3rd gen.) What is the big difference between the 99 and 2k VR6?!?