Help me make a hard descision

[sir_talk_alot]

guys, im in a really bad spot. so today was my last day of Aviation College, so i drove the old 70 to school, then work. well one of the flight instructors at my work saw her sitting there, circled it, walked in and asked me to sell it to him. i told him nah, i like the truck to much. well, his spare/backup vehicle he brought up to work and leaves it and drives it for alittle bit each week. its a 2000 Vw jetta vr6 which is the big v6, 5spd performance car. 4 door, nice looking car, leather interior. very slick looking car, 28 mpg. my dd is a 2001 beat up dodge ram 318 that gets 8mpg, and no a/c, not to mention all the problems it has. he offered this car in trade for my truck. he said, dude i want that truck just as it is to drive. ill trade you. my paycheck every 2 weeks is $350. $250 for gas, $50 for insurance, $20 for phone, and a grand total of nothing to do much. and this is every 2 weeks. should i trade? i really love this truck, but i just dont know if i should part, i could afford another soon with the money ill save. opinions?

[bubba353z]

I'd stay away from the VW - they are notoriously troublesome, your 70 is probably more reliable

My buddy had 4 of them before he finally learned his lesson - smart guy, but a slow learner.....

If he really wants it and you really want to sell it, get him to give you cash.

[Andy4639]

Look at it this way.

If the car is all that then why the heck is he willing to trade you for a old 70 model Chevy Truck!

Oh wait a minute I know that answer!

Cool factor of having a 70 Chevy Truck!

No way would I trade.

[Coley]

I get the financial numbers in your situation here....but I fully agree with Bubba...that Jetta is not a good car. It will give you VERY expensive repairs headaches (probably electrically related...famous shortcoming) and you will blow your gas mileage difference for 1-2 years in 1 repair cycle.
If he had a better trader...say a 2000 Chev 1/2 ton or a Toyota or equivalent...I'd say maybe go for it.
However, a Jetta....no way....but its you're call just first find yourself some consumer reports on that year/series of Jetta and you'll see what we mean.
good luck
Coley

[Cole Trickle]

Does the jetta come with a 10 year warranty....lol

Your not gonna want to maintain a german car if things go bad. Electrical issues will be your biggest issue.

keep the chevy and sell the dodge for a POS daily driver

[Jeffs70]

Originally Posted by bubba353z

I'd stay away from the VW - they are notoriously troublesome, your 70 is probably more reliable

My buddy had 4 of them before he finally learned his lesson - smart guy, but a slow learner.....

If he really wants it and you really want to sell it, get him to give you cash.

I do agree, My neighbor has had a few and each one has major problems

also I would be worried about payments like that, usually causes problems and confusion. also your truck if you like it that much why get rid of it. if it was me I would sale the dodge lol. just my opinion

[Sicklajoie]

You can do waaay better than a Volkswagen

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Sicklajoie

You can do waaay better than a Volkswagen

I agree, like a Chevy truck maybe, for instance!

Your truck is nice Sir T, don't do it! DON'T DO IT!!!!!

I've felt the temptation before, and quite frankly, caved once (ONCE!) due to financial restraints in younger days. Never again. Probably just about everyone on here misses one they let get away. That's a pretty darn nice truck, I'd do what you need to do to make it reliable enough, and run with it.

[Dingfodgy]

I definately would not trade the C10 for the Jetta! However, it does sound like you need a commuter ride. I buy a "beater with a heater" every 2-3 years just for this purpose. I always pay cash ($2500-$3000) and drive 'em till the wheels fall off (100+ miles per day). I've owned a Pontiac, a Honda, a Ford, an Audi, a couple BMW's, and a few Vee-dubs. I've had the best luck with the "Kraut-Cans" with Beemers being the overall best value for money. Both the American and Asian cars were less than reliable and tragically boring to look at and/or drive. My advise is to find a way to outright buy a good commuter, ditch that MOPAR (Mostly Old Paint And Rust) and keep that sweet little SWB for the weekends.

[sir_talk_alot]

yea, i just dont know that i can part with her, today was my first day to drive her, it turned heads, and got compliments. and jettas dont do that. and i feel almost like its betrayal to get rid of a classic for german engineering.

[Coley]

Originally Posted by sir_talk_alot

yea, i just dont know that i can part with her, today was my first day to drive her, it turned heads, and got compliments. and jettas dont do that. and i feel almost like its betrayal to get rid of a classic for german engineering.

Post a quick pic of your truck...and we can take this further for you.
German engineering (so called) is a bit misrepresented in modern automotive engineering and collects a lot of marketing victims along the way.
Great roadability, suspensions systems, some nice motors and a few good looking cars...but huge reliability problems and they have been WAAYYY behind the curve on electronic automotive technology. Hence the purchase and stripmining of Chrysler by Daimler...mostly for the electronic technology.
Anyhow....a Jetta is definitely a 'ho-hum' vehicle and I'm pretty sure you will be disappointed in that trade within a year.
My two bits.
Coley

[DesertCat]

Trades almost always end up badly... if he wants it so much he can find a way to buy with cash. Not a good trade unless you can turn the car for more cash than your truck is worth... and I mean dump the car for that amount (like an hour on CL).

Otherwise, I'd politely say "cash only"

[sir_talk_alot]

another thing, a fellow board member has offered me a couple of wide ratio m20s to use in my truck and hopefully future trucks/gasser/ratrod project. and hopefully with some help of craigslist, im selling an extra hood, ramhorns, and 416 heads, i may have the money to find a bigblock needing built and hopefully do a light build and stuff it in with an m20 and have the truck chevy should have produced in '70.

[cleszkie]

You need to consider the increase in your auto insurance and vehicle registration fees you will be paying if you go with the Jetta. That alone may offset the potential savings due to better gas mileage over the truck.

[71swb4x4]

Why do you need a beat up Dodge with no AC, and the 1970? Seems like you have two vehicles that serve teh same purpose. I would sell the Dodge truck, and buy a beater car as a DD if you need a DD.
Otherwise just sell the Dodge, you could put a lot of gas through the 1970 on what you would get for the Dodge, plus what you would save every year with insurance and licensing.

[sir_talk_alot]

here is a pic of her.

[LEX]

There's no way I'd trade that truck for a Jetta. How about offering him the '68 in your sig?
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[bollybib]

That's a nice truck. If it were mine, I'd figure out a way to keep it.

[MAK191]

As a long time Chevy AND watercooled VW enthusiast, I can say VW's are NOT difficult to work on you just can't think it is like a 40+ year old chevy. Apples and oranges. They can be expensive to maintain and repair IF you can't fix it yourself.

BUT.... I would never do the trade.
That jetta will never be more than a 3-4k car on a good day. Your truck can and probably will go up in value, it's a solid looking SWB.
-mike

[midniteblues]

I bet you could make the other guy really happy

[71swb4x4]

Now that I see a picture of the truck I change my answer from no to NO!!!

[bigdogboxers]

I have owned a couple old chevy trucks and a few Vw cars they all have there bad apples. But I tell you what I would own a Vw car before I owned any small so called American made cars... Currently own a 62 swb gmc a 67 c10 lwb and a 2007 Audi and a 2008 f250 all the new stuff is very nice but expensive to repair. Looks like your swb is pretty clean and that is hard to come by. To hard to replace your old truck might find a few to buy after yours is gone but probably will need plenty of work themselves. You can find these Vw all day...


keep the classic... My 2 cents
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[sir_talk_alot]

yea i really didnt want to get rid of it in the first place, but the MPG savings was a big +. ive spent almost 2 yrs to find this truck, i looked at more than a dozen. its a nice truck and i plan on having it awhile.

[old Chevy guy]

Sad enough to lose an old friend but don't trade her for that dime a dozen VW,you will regret it every time you see that guy driving her. It's like the ultimate betrayal.

[LEX]

I think you knew the answer all along..