Recent content by Baldeagle

My daughter has a 2010 2.5-liter Jetta 5MT with about 68,000 miles. She’s currently at school, about four hours from home. The car sits most of the time. Just this week she mentioned that when she drives the car, it is getting hard to engage 5th gear – like it is stiff. It goes into gear but...

Hi All. Well, I sold my 2010 GTI 6MT. I went in a slightly different direction than others in the forum. I bought a 2012 Accord EX-L Coupe w/Nav with the 3.5-liter engine and 6-speed manual transmission. I found an absolutely pristine one with only 9,500 miles. I wanted a little larger car...

What do you think it did?

This is not like a loan from a 401(k) plan in which retirement assets are used as collateral. This is an actual withdrawal. Once it is out, it’s out. All future contributions are subject to regular contribution limits ($5,500 max for the 2013 tax year plus $1,000 catch-up if over age 50...

You are right. IRA only. http://www.section72.com/html/72_t_.html Section 72t of the IRC provides for 16 exemptions from the early withdrawal penalty from an IRA. One of those exemptions is for the first time purchase of a house. Section 72(t)(8)(B) describes that specific section of the...

As a general rule, a mortgage broker has a fiduciary duty to the borrower. A lender does not. If you seek financial advice on this subject, talk to a mortgage broker. A lender can screw you. http://lawreview.wustl.edu/inprint/75-4/754-9.html

Yeah. The basis to determine how much house you can afford is NOT a function of salary to home value. It is a function of salary to mortgage amount. The financial planning rule of thumb is that your annualized mortgage payment, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and any association fees...

Grambles, you seem to have a good perspective on things. Here are my thoughts. • NEVER sacrifice your emergency fund to buy the house. A “proper” emergency fund is typically ¼ to ½ of your annual expenses, but it can more. • Here’s another happy statistic. When people buy a new home, most...

Sorry if this question was already asked. (I did a search and found no threads.) My question is does our GTI turbo compensate for altitude? If I recall, a stock GTI’s boost will peak around 15 psi and hold about 11 psi. At high altitude, does the turbo spin faster to maintain that same...

For those who change their own oil, is the drain plug normally difficult to screw and unscrew? As a background, I bought buy car used with 4,000 miles. For whatever reason the dealership performed it's first oil change at that time. At 10,000 miles I changed only the oil. I recalled...

Any thoughts on how VW selects the “optimum” 6MT gear ratios for their different models that use the same engine - almost the same engine for the Golf R? Look at the Turbo Beetle. It has the GLI transmission with the GTI Final Drives. Compared to the GTI it has a quicker first gear, identical...

SOLD I’m selling 16” Sedona Wheels (not Portos as stated in the title) with TPMS Sensors • 16 X 6.5 • ET50 • 57.1 hub center • ≈20lbs each • Tires are 205/55-16. • Audi Centercaps • All four TPMS sensors included. The wheels came off a 2010 Jetta. Each wheel has a minor blemish or two...

(Did a search - found no answer.) I just purchase used 17” OEM Le Mans wheels with TPMS sensors to replace the 16” wheels on my daughter’s 2010 Jetta. (I was told they came off a Passat.) I changed the first wheel and drove the car down my street. My dashboard had no TPMS sensor light. I then...

I just bought a 2010 Jetta Limited 5MT for my daughter. Spectacular car for the money. (Obligatory picture included.) I have a question for anyone who cares to comment. It is not a big deal, but this car seems to crank about 2,520 rpm at 60 mph and should be around 2,350. According to...

A. This video is old but still a testament to marketing, very bad marketing. B. As you mentioned the application of lateral forces is at the top of the car. Check out how the car almost lifted one wheel off the ground at 1 min 8 sec. into the clip. And that was at 4 mph. Imagine what could...