So you want a nimble, light sports sedan that’s not heavy with power windows and seats, airbags and other safety nonsense, and a good driver 2002 has moved out of range? All is not lost, by far. Twenty years after the 2002 went out of production, you could get quite a few sporty sedans that were relatively light, similarly quick, and fun to drive, with technology that was not available on the 2002 – things like electronic fuel injection and four-valve-per-cylinder heads, plus you might get somewhat better handling in poor conditions. Check out this 1992 Volkswagen Jetta GLI for sale for $3000 in Edmonds, WA.
Most Jettas of this age do have high miles, though this one with its 180,000 miles is on the lower end of that spectrum, which should say something about their reliability and how fun they are to drive. But it’s unusual to find one in stock condition – the norm seems to be a car with a number of aftermarket performance “upgrades”, lowered until it scrapes the ground. So feast your eyes on this car, with its late-model, better integrated bumpers, black fender flares and BBS mesh wheels.
The car has had some subtle upgrades, including a badgeless base Euro Golf grill with single round headlights, roof-mounted whip antenna, G60 fender flares, and a Eurosport muffler. On the downside, someone saw fit to delete the passenger-side mirror – since when is that cool, unless you’re trying to revert to a base-spec Jetta look for your top-spec GLI? It’ll be fun when you’re trying to change lanes and the thick c-pillar blocked out that guy splitting lanes on his bike. But enough of that rant.
Additional pluses include a very good looking interior, with the dash said to be near-perfect, and air conditioning and heat fully functional. On the downside, the windshield is cracked, the shifter is balky going into first (though linkage parts are included), and cold starting is occasionally difficult. Other spare parts include a spare steering column, refurbished intake manifold with gasket (what’s wrong with the current one?), a new dual downpipe gasket, and a set of mounted snow tires.
The oily bits have had some attention recently, including an ignition tune-up, new battery, new/used slotted front discs, new hubs, front wheel lug bolts, and new wheel bearings. The seller was originally planning to use this as a commuter car, so fixes were likely geared towards reliability of the existing car. Given that the seller seems pretty aware of the car’s issues and shares them openly, it’s likely this car is a good deal waiting to be picked up and enjoyed.
Tags: a2, Feature, german, gli, jetta, mark 2, sedan, volkswagen
Rusty But Trusty 
March 10, 2015 at 5:05 am |
These are very nice cars. We had a 1988 GLi 16v, and it was a very good daily driver. Good handling, good room. It was pretty sturdy also. The only real issue it had was a leak around the windshield.