ah HA!!!! something i can finally contribute to
I personally own a 2000 Jetta GL TDI, and worked as both a VW salesman and a Service advisor.
first things first, if you want some serious homework, and if you want to get info from a great group of guys, check out
www.tdiclub.com. I own a 2000 TDI jetta, and absolutely love it. It has the same ALH motor that youre talking about in that year range of beetle. Its 90hp rating may be a bit of a turn off, but the 155ftlbs of torque makes it actually a fun car to drive.
I dont know what your wife's preferences are, but i would strongly recomend the manual transmission. The automatics work ok, but are known for having their issues. They are a non-serviceable units, so when they go bad, most people just replace them. The manual trans however is known for being rock solid.
The engines are awesome. just be sure to test drive any one you look at. i drove a few jettas before finding mine, and drove one or two with blown turbochargers. this is normally from using the wrong oil. the turbochargers demand full synthetic, 5w-30.
As for fuel economy, the jettas get better mileage than the beetles, but ive driven my jetta 931 miles before the fuel light came on, 62mpg, and still had 2 gallons left in the tank. I routinely get 60mpg on the road, and 40-44 mpg commuting to and from work. And thats running 20% biodiesel and a power service fuel additive in the tank. Pure petro diesel gets slightly better mileage.
If youre looking at a sunroof equipped model check for signs of water leaks. They are notorious for the sunroof water drains plugging and backing up into the roof, then the water leaks into the cabin. cutting off the "nipple" at the end of the hose in the door jam fixes this.
lets see, check the brakes, VW has an odd habit of wearing out rear brakes before the fronts. Also check the front strut mounts, they tend to wear out 80-100k miles. check to see when the timing belt was last changed, should be done every 80k. also, check the oil pan. this year VW (pretty much all models) were known to have a very fragile, and exposed oil pan. look for leaks around the drain plug (steel plug, aluminum pan) and impact damage to the pan itself. If it has been replaced it will have whats called a "hybrid" pan, aluminum sides, steel bottom. this would be a plus.
also, dont be afraid of "high mileage" cars. I bought mine at 126k miles, now have 150k miles on it, and have never had so much as a check engine light. despite its light weight its also a german autobahn car, and will cruise quite happily at 100mph and handles like a dream. (yup, 100mph cruising with 90hp)
anything else you wanna know, feel free to ask.
