Was this your car? ('02 GLX 4mo Tip Wagon, Chicago area)

[Darter]

I'm considering buying it. Carfax says it was purchased at Autobarn and owned for 9 years. Looks like a good service history... My only concern is that the A/C was recharged twice and some A/C lines replaced, along with the front bumper cover. Not sure if there's a recurring leak or a minor accident...? The last two owners had it for 9 months each. Hopefully the A/C works in this car. Going to see it tomorrow and have it inspected.


2002_GLX_4mo.jpg

[Darter]

Inspection turned out pretty good. The two highlights were that the CA's were in nice shape and tight, and the cats and O2 sensors were replaced. A few negatives, like a blown speaker, a little wrinkle on the rear passenger wheel arch, and needing a couple of new tires. No known history on the timing belt. Nothing I can't handle or live with (in the case of said wrinkle). The interior is quite nice for its age. Drives like a new passat, save for the slight flutter at idle... might just need a throttle body cleaning.

It turns out that the a/c did need some attention. There was a bad o-ring and the pressure switch needed replacing. Glad I didn't have to foot the bill. Sound like they had to take the bumper off and remove the compressor(?) and possibly some other stuff to get to it. I also made sure to have them check out the PCV system for me. There's slight seepage one of the valve covers, so I wanted to be sure it wasn't going to get worse on account of a clogged line or valve. A little seepage from near the oil cooler, so I'll have to check into the o-ring on that too.

I've never driven a 4mo car before. Even with two bad tires, it just would not slip in the snow and slush. I won't even need winter tires with this thing! I need to read up more on the rear diff. There's a little seepage from a flange or something. Is that normal?

[Steve in Chicago]

If you do get it, your best bet with the 4Motion drive system is to replace all four tires and not just the two worst. You want them all to be the same diameter. Are the two good tires really good, as in newish?

[Mozzy]

4Motion would be cool to have.

As for AC, ecs was selling them pretty cheap and its overall not too bad of a purchase if thats the only thing you needed to replace.

Tires are a regular wear item.. If you drive alot, you'll replace them every other year or so. if your like me, you'll replace them every 5 years.

Good luck with the purchase. Are you getting a good deal? 2002 with unknown kms, I'd assume approx 4300?

[Darter]

Looks like I have 2 nearly new tires: a michelin mxv4 and a contiprocontact that matches the two old tires. I'll move the mxv4 up front so I have two good tires up there for steering, then in the fall I'll have to either get one of each so I at least have match pairs, or pick one. I'm not super excited about either tire though. I forgot to see what the spare is. Maybe it'll be another conti that I can swap with the mxv4. Then I'll just get two contis and have a full set.

I'm bummed that the car has smoke odor in it. The salesmen were smoking like chimneys while they were jockeying cars, so I assumed it was just a lingering odor when I test drove it. Seems to be lingering a bit too long. I've got a couple days to exercise buyer's remorse clause to decide. Not sure yet if I want to deal with eliminating it.

[Darter]

Ack. No heat.

I test drove the car with the seat heater on and didn't even notice that the heater was blowing cold air. All the flaps seem to direct the air correctly in all of the various settings. Though the passenger side foot vent seems about half as strong as the driver side. I don't remember from my b5... is this normal?

I don't know if the core is clogged or if there's air in the line, but I don't care... it's going back for the dealer to take care of. The coolant is nice and pink... hopefully it just needs to be bled.

[B5.5Wagon]

Yeah my 4-Motion has a pretty bad smoke sent as well. I'm going to be doing some sound dampening and stuff in it before long and plan to really clean the carpets and stuff to try and get rid of the smell while all the pieces are out.

[Darter]

Well good news on the smoke front: after simply spraying Febreeze on all the carpeted surfaces and mats, the smoke odor is gone. That was too easy...? Either that was enough chemicals to hide the smell temporarily, or perhaps the smoke was just from the salesmen being in the car. I didn't even spray the headliner or pillars. I'm thinking that if an owner had smoked in it regularly, it would be a lot harder to get rid of, right?

[Darter]

Good news on several fronts. Got the car back from the selling dealer. They took care of the heat and it now works. Still not as strong as I remember on my b5 with manual controls, but maybe I just need to get used to the temp settings on the climatronic. Haven't had a chance to see how long it takes to turn the cabin into an oven when it's 25 deg F out.

The other relatively good news... it smelled smokier again when I got it back. It must just be from the guys at the shop. Today it's already better without me doing anything. Good thing I won't be going back there for anything else.

I'm really loving this car. The 4mo is amazing. With having 3 cars temporarily, I've been having to park in an iced over, un-shoveled parking pad and this thing gets in and out with no trouble. Handled quite well in last weeks snow storm, right in the thick of the unplowed roads. I had winter tires on my front drive b5, but even with two worn tires, the 4mo is even better.

I got the weathertech mat in (seems to be a hair long, or maybe better suited to the b5 waggie?), replaced the hood strut, and now need to figure out if the front speaker is blown or just corroded wiring. I think it might be the latter, as the sound is sometimes ok. Also tried resetting the window auto up/down, but haven't had any luck yet after 4-5 up-down cycles.

[Darter]

The one thing I DON'T like... the remote range is horrible. I have to hold the remote right up to the windows practically. With my b5, I could unlock my doors from so far away that I couldn't walk to the car before the doors re-locked themselves. Going to see if there's anything I can do to help the antenna. Probably won't do the second antenna mod, but maybe I can help the stock one a bit.

And if anyone has a spare remote they can part with, let me know... I only have one, and the panic button and logo are gone.

[B5.5Wagon]

Yeah I notice the range on mine is pretty bad as well. I have to be within probably 10ft or less of the car to have it work. Granted I can't remember how it was with my B5 before I put in the Alarm/Remote start which had a range of almost a mile. I was quite happy that my car actually came with 2 switch blade keys this time. Last time around all I got was the banjo remote lol.

[vbora01]

For the auto up and down feature, the CCM first has to learn the closed and full open position of the window. This will take a few cycles, and can be sped up if you cycle it all the way up, and all the way down. Only the front's do it.

The remote range is probably a weak battery, as it usually works pretty far away. A replacement battery is probably in store for it, go to Walmart and buy a replacement at the Watch and Jewelry counter (pretty cheap, 5-6 bucks.)

The smoke smell could probably be warded off by leaving a Febreze smell good device (gel beads, etc.) in the car for a little while. I usually get some velcro strips and tape it to the bottom and leave it on the carpet hump in the back seats.

You will love the 4Motion system, it's identical to Audi's Quattro system, is purely mechanical and is extremely reliable (completely mechanical.)

[Darter]

For the auto up and down feature, the CCM first has to learn the closed and full open position of the window. This will take a few cycles, and can be sped up if you cycle it all the way up, and all the way down. Only the front's do it.

I've lowered and raised the windows multiple times on several occasions, both using the key in the door and by using the inside door switches. No luck yet. Even tried to hold the switch at the end of each direction for a few seconds.

The remote range is probably a weak battery, as it usually works pretty far away. A replacement battery is probably in store for it, go to Walmart and buy a replacement at the Watch and Jewelry counter (pretty cheap, 5-6 bucks.)

I replaced the battery this weekend an only got a couple more feet out of it. I still need to be within 15 of the front, and about 15 inches of the back. Definitely not the 50+ yards I used to get on my b5.

[Darter]

Looks like it's dirty switches. I pulled out the switch assembly and sprayed air in and around while operating them. Got some intermittent auto up/down response on the driver's side and full operation on the passenger's. Might need to try the contact cleaner next.

Ordered a set of Michlin Pilot Exaltos A/S 205/55-16s from Sam's Club yesterday. Was going to get ContiExtremeContact DWSs, but sam's had a $70 off deal on Michelin expiring yesterday. Can't wait to try them out.

In the process of cobbling together two spare switchblade remotes. Have the shells now and innards on their way.

Need to start looking for the driver's window switch trim and wood for the other doors. The cracked and peeling stuff I have doesn't look too pretty.