Originally Posted by odurandina

for some reason, we've seen a lot of hack jobs come out of the nyc area [who can forget the basket case with the lambo doors].... and the potholes of new england aren't easy on the cars. but, these aren't 911 Turbos or museum pieces. they're meant to be driven--- and i hope mine has 600 k miles before i'm through driving mine...... back in 2008, i saw a cobalt car [here in Massachusetts] that had been driven daily for 16 years and looked like it... and it sold for only 7 k. i would have loved the car for that price. i too am a hack.... i changed the color of my interior from dingy, soiled grey to black... i used SEM and the work came out well, and has held up.... i have to re-dye the carpets every year. and at least until the panels are all done over in black leather, the cabin will be far from perfect.

whether it pleases the owners to accept it or not, some parts of the 968 are made of cheap crap that didn't last long. some of the interior colors don't wear well.... and the dashes have died off quicker than on your average Taurus..... the steering wheel, shift ***** and cassette cases are cheap and fugly. the stereo heads, alarms and cruise control are all crap. the sunroofs also are often a problem area..... the rocker panels are one of the worst designs ever. the bumper covers reach a point where there are thousands of small cracks that can not easily be removed for fresh paint [the oem paint over the flexible bumpers has a limited life span... especially when the cars are driven a lot as the plastic moves and develops thousands of tiny cracks beneath the surface of the paint].... i've not been fond of their choice to use up all the 16" wheels from the parts bin... if limited to things like hoses, spark plug wires, filters, and electrical items, i don't see any harm in a few vw part substitutions where possible, as long as it doesn't affect the car's mechanical function.

and the difference between well-sorted and all beat to hell ? about 30 k miles.