2002 Beetle GLS Turbo?

[phenixdragon]

I am looking at picking up a 2002 GLS Turbo with about 87K miles on it but I have been told from a couple of people that the turboed motors in the Beetles had issues with them. And a buddy of mine was telling me that normally with 100K miles you want to start looking into having the turbo rebuilt.

Does anyone know if any of this is true? The guy is asking 5K for it and the NADA price is over 8K so I am worried there may be some issues. Seems a bit low on the asking price.

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by phenixdragon

I am looking at picking up a 2002 GLS Turbo with about 87K miles on it but I have been told from a couple of people that the turboed motors in the Beetles had issues with them. And a buddy of mine was telling me that normally with 100K miles you want to start looking into having the turbo rebuilt.

Does anyone know if any of this is true? The guy is asking 5K for it and the NADA price is over 8K so I am worried there may be some issues. Seems a bit low on the asking price.

Well, i have just hit 90K on my 1.8T turbo. Turbos usually last the life of the car and i've never heard of even 1 case of someone rebuilding the 1.8T. Now keep in mind that the 1.8T saw use in the GTI, Passat, Jetta, Golf, Audi A4, Audi TT, Beetle, and a few other models.

The most common issues with the 1.8T seems to be sludge from owners putting in conventional oil when the car REQUIRES synthetic. The conventional stuff cooks up and causes sludge issues. If treated appropriately and promptly, you can avoid this problem.

Also, if you get the 1.8T, get it with the 5 speed manual (or 6Speed Manual if you find a Turbo S model).

Finally, at 87k miles, make sure that the Timing belt and Waterpump have been changed. This is pretty much the most expensive thing you'll have to have done to the car. Its about 8 hours of labor (so i've been told for several mechanics and shops) and costs anywhere from $250 if you do it yourself and $1400 at the dealerships. Make sure if you do change it out, get the ones with the Metal Impellar as the plastic ones begin to start breaking around 60k miles of use. If the timing belt breaks, expect another $1000 added to the repair bill because you will need all new head work. Not sure of the specifics on what happens, but i remember that this is an interference type engine and when the belt snaps, it sends a piston through the heads or something to that effect. Timing belts snapping are a common cause of failure because of the lack of owner information. Change it sooner, less worries later.

Otherwise, good luck and happy motoring

[mloeks76]

maybe he has knocked down some because of the water pump timing belt? and maybe during a test drive go to an autozone and get it checked for codes or something
i wish we would have thought to do that when we got our beetle...my husband made kind of a quick purchase and didn't do research.
we have a turbo S and we were not advised of any problems from a mechanic we consulted with on the maintenance needs for our car. he did advise of the water pump/timing belt almost immediately.

[phenixdragon]

I will have to check with the guy and see if anything was replaced. I know we looked at a non turbo GLS that had them replaced recently. Everything was done exactly what VW recommends.

So whats the deal with the autos then? My wife doesn't want a stick so we have to go with an auto.

[digitalputty]

My sister has 125,000 miles on her 2002 GLS 1.8T (automatic). Her car started leaking oil a few months ago ... took her forever to get it in to figure out what it is/was. Turns out her turbo has a slow leak. So, it is possible for these things to go bad.

[Smileybug]

It is totally possible for the turbos to go. I was at our local shop yesterday to pick up my car. They were working on a 1.8T Jetta with 120k and a bad turbo, and the guy that owns the shop got his hands on a 1.8T Passat with 160k on it and a dead turbo.

They aren't too expensive to replace though considering. The K03 they were putting in the Jetta was only like $200.

[mloeks76]

from what I have read, the auto transmissions go out prematurely. i am sure someone else on here can tell you more on that as I am new to the beetle.

[2004NBTURBOS]

Originally Posted by digitalputty

Turns out her turbo has a slow leak. So, it is possible for these things to go bad.

Most of the time it is not the turbo leaking oil, it is the oil supply lines going to or from the turbo. These supply lines have a gasket that can break down over time. So it could be a $3 gasket instead of a $600 turbo. A turbo should last the lifetime of the car, as long as it was maintained properly.

[phenixdragon]

Ended up buying just a 2000 GLS with all the options they had at the time. Wife liked it and it seemed pretty good condition. Not the best, but fair. And I liked it had 1 owner that the couple was a retired couple so they were pretty old and I doubt they were thrashing the car. This other one we were thinking of looking at that had the turbo, just wasn't too sure about it. Seemed a bit shady. But I mean all in all, buying a used car, you never truly know if a car will crap out on you. I have owned lots of 5.0 Mustangs and they were all solid well beyond 100K miles. Only one died and it was more that the tranny blew up and I sold the car with the bad tranny for about what I had paid for it years before.

[Smileybug]

So I guess that means you picked up a 2.0L? Manual or auto? Pics!

[phenixdragon]

Correct, 2.0 liter. Auto since the wife won't drive a stick. We actually don't pick it up until maybe this evening or next Tuesday after we come back from visiting my mom for the weekend who lives across the country.

[2004NBTURBOS]

Have a safe trip. That's a good son, going all the way across the country to see mom for Easter.

[cwhitjr]

I have 180K on my 2002 Turbo S. Looking to do my secoond timing belt and water pump. No other issues

[2004NBTURBOS]

Man your driving that thing ain't ya. Mine has 77,000 and I am getting ready to do the TBWP.