135,000 Miles and $15,000 Jetta

Broken window...

Last week the Jetta window went off track... and I popped it back in and I thought it was fine. Well Sunday night late the window popped off track again and as I tried to put it back... thump... it fell all the way down in the door. No way to pull it back up, it was getting dark... and so I threw a tarp over the car and did some online research on how to fix it...

We own a 2003 VW Jetta GLS. It was a big step for D, she bought the car on her own, financed it, shopped for it, and negotiated the deal. We got it certified VW, with less than 30,000 miles on it.

Well... tonight I spent some time getting close and personal with the Jetta. I had torn apart the door panel to try and fix the window. I had called our local VW dealer and they couldn't get it in until Friday... WHOA... plus it was $120 just to tell me what is wrong. My research told me it was probably the clips. I couldn't find that part online though was my worry... So I left work early and pulled out the tools. It took a while, door panels are tricky, but with some youtube vids and online forum help I got it apart and started to trouble shoot. Once apart, I saw that the clips looked fine, I just had to pull the window (harder than it sounds) and then reset it in place and tighten the clips. With Ds help we got it done...

Torn apart door

Then I worked on the AC for a bit... its been broken for years, and last year I charged the freon but it stopped soon after so I figured it wasn't freon. Well tonight I trouble shooted and caught a blown fuse, which didn't fix it... but then recharging the freon got it going! So it was two things... but lets see how slow the leak is and I hope it keeps running.

So why did I work so hard to fix the Jetta? It has been in the family for nearly 10 years... and paid off now for a long time. I did some quick math and I would guess it saved us about $15,000 in car payments. WOW! So I don't mind dealing with AC that doesn't always work, or a window that gets stuck... or spending some time in the heat fixing the window. Worth it.

So I also hope that I get to teach Novali how to drive in it... this could be her first car. Lets see how it goes... Go Jetta Go!