The Vanagon Weekender is a nice alternative to the full-on Westfalia treatment, lacking the fluid, electric, and gas inlets/outlets, but still possessing great campability with a pop-top, table, and folding rear bed. Today’s Weekender has undergone the popular Subaru flat-4 conversion, bringing a little more power and reliability compared the old VW wasserboxer. You could see the Weekender and non-turbo Subaru engine as compromises, or as very capable options that keep costs down. That’s the lens I choose to see this Vanagon through; it’s not a high-powered, fully-optioned and mega-expensive model, but it has the right bits to get the job done.
Tag: silver
It is with a slight bit of envy that I’ve noticed that each Jetta Sportwagen I pass in the Bay Area has the little TDI emblem on the back. It is the mark of the modern young suburban professional family that is environmentally friendly but doesn’t quite have the cash or ostentatiousness to buy a Tesla. When the Sportwagen TDI first came out, there were waitlists here and even today they hold their value remarkably well, with low-mileage examples demanding anywhere from the high teens to the mid-$20ks. To find one for cheaper than that, you’re usually looking at high-mileage commuters or dealing with rebuilt titles, but every once in a while you can find a middle-grounder like today’s 2009 model that won’t break the bank.
With 80k miles, DSG, and a 4-year warranty this silver Sportwagen is a great all-around commuter or roadtripper for a nice price.
Click for details: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Sportwagen on eBay
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We’re hitting an interesting time in which the initial generations of truly tech-laden cars are starting to “mature,” and we will begin to see how these various forms of packing 10 pound of technological crap into a 5 pound bag will age. At my Bimmer shop, they noted how they love working on the older cars because they are “real,” and most things can actually be repaired. The owner pointed to an early E65 745i sitting outside the shop and lamented that “anything breaks on that piece of s*** and you might as well buy a whole new car.” The Touareg V10 is certainly on the overwrought spectrum of things, and maintenance on this generation of VW/Audi luxury cars is notoriously spendy. I choose to ignore this reality when V10 TDIs come up because they are such beasts. Not the best looking, not the best value, but hell yes it’s a VW SUV with ten cylinders of diesel-compressing fury.
Click for more details: 2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI on eBay
2 CommentsThis car really strikes a chord with me. It has a striking period pose with subtle but tasteful upgrades that make me like to think…
1 CommentOur friends at Turner Motorsports have an incredible 2006 Hartge H50 available for sale. Less than 10 worldwide and the ONLY one in the U.S.!…
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