Long time subscriber of the magazine, but little experience on the forums. Don't know how many VW guys are in here but I have for sale my 2003 VW Jetta GLI with a 24v VR6 and a 6 speed manual transmission.
BASICS
Year: 2003
Model: Jetta GLI
Engine: 2.8 liter 24 valve VR6 (code: BDF)
Trans: 6 speed manual (code: 02M)
Color: Tornado Red
Interior: Black Leather
Mileage: 158,9xxx
Title: Clean PA title in my name
History: One owner through July 2018. I purchased November 2018.
INTRO
I spent the last 6 months, since purchasing the car, going completely through the car with painstaking detail, looking to make a nearly showroom example of one of these great GLIs. It was off the road, in my garage, during this time. Mileage really won't go up, I rarely drive it.
MAINTENANCE (all in the last 200 miles)
I systematically and painstakingly went through each area of the car to repair and replace anything that wasn't excellent. The interior was almost fully removed, mostly just for cleaning purposes. Headliner was removed and professionally recovered with a fabric that is nearly a dead match to the original. All pillar trim was out and cleaned. All 4 door panels were out for cleaning and also to repair or replace all 4 door lock modules. Seats were partially disassembled for cleaning and to fix helper spring for lift mechanism. Trunk interior was fully removed for cleaning and to repair storage basket. Front of the car was removed (bumper, support, rad support, radiator etc...) to facilitate cleaning and engine work. Engine bay was thoroughly cleaned while apart (had been victim of a leaking valve cover gasket for many years). The following parts were replaced (along with many smaller odds and ends from the JY or my parts stash that are numerous but not worth noting for brevity's sake):
-Elring valve cover gasket
-Elring ignition coil gaskets
-Vemo OE oil cooler
-Elring oil cap gasket
-URO expansion tank cap
-URO expansion tank
-Mann fuel filter
-Meyle cabin air filter
-URO hood strut
-Bosch Ultimate wiper blades
-Genuine VW/Audi G13 coolant (full system flush)
-3.5mm Contitech cloth braided rubber vacuum lines (ALL REPLACED)
-OE thermostat housing kit (housing, seals, clips, plugs, w/ OEM hardware)
-Vaico 80*C thermostat
-Meyle left tie rod end
-Meyle right tie rod end
-OEM R32 control arm bushings
-ECS poly control arm bushings
-Hella/Behr A/C reciever/dryer (new o-rings on ALL front end A/C connections)
-42 Draft Designs stainless steel coolant crossover pipe
-Meyle parking brake cables
-OEM VW driver's door lock module (notorious issue for these cars and these new replacements have an improved design to fix the weak points
-OEM Bosch mass air flow meter (used from my stash)
-OE crank position sensor (almost new from my stash)
-A/C system evacuated, leak tested, recharged
Again, I want to emphasize that I went through the car with a fine toothed comb, replacing clips, connectors, screws, trim pieces... etc everywhere, the small details that most people never notice but that make for a really complete, nice car. There are no service records before my ownership. However, I have every part receipt for all the work I performed, chronologically organized in a three ring binder that will be included in the sale. Obviously, there are no labor or installation receipts as I did all the work.
I want to draw attention to the fact that I was told by the previous owner that the clutch and timing chains were done around the 120k mile mark but I don't have supporting paperwork. That said, the chains are silent and the clutch feels excellent, lending credibility to the fact they were done. Serpentine belts/tensioner look good, four matching Cooper tires have ~80% tread left and a 2017 date code. Brakes on all four corners look great, must have been done not long ago. Windshield seems to have been replaced not long ago judging by aftermarket tag and is nearly free of road rash.
BODY REPAIRS (in the last 200 miles)
Both mirror caps were replaced and repainted because they were cracked. Paint match is excellent, although I wet sanded through to primer in one small section on passenger mirror. Original driver's side front fender was dented and had rust at the bottom behind the wheel, so I replaced it with a fender from a car being parted out. New fender looked excellent until I remounted the front bumper and realized the front corner of the fender was slightly bent inward (no paint damage, believe from previous repair on other car) so there is a slight misalignment between the front of the fender and top of bumper (pictured). Very disappointing as I paid a premium for the fender. There was also some rust starting at the front of the driver's rocker panel directly under the bottom of the fender. This rust and the original fender rust were a result of debris building up behind plastic fender liner and never being cleaned out. I fixed the rocker panel rust and touched up the paint, came out nicely. Original passenger front fender had a baseball sized dent above the wheel arch that I had professionally repaired and then the fender was repainted and blended into the bumper and door. Repair came out very nice with the exception of a run in the paint on the corner of the bumper where it meets the fender. Paint match is excellent. I retouched 3 scuffs on the corners of the front bumper that came out nicely.... rest of the front bumper paint is original.
MODIFICATIONS
Impressively original. If you're looking for an unabused, unadulterated GLI, this is your car. The only modifications are a 42 Draft Designs stainless steel coolant crossover pipe (factory was plastic), OEM R32 control arm (rear position) bushings, ECS polyurethane control arm (front position) bushings, an OEM 3 spoke Sport package steering wheel, and OEM Hella '04.5 - '05 GLI tinted taillights.
PROS
Anything NOT listed in the CONS section below, assume to be excellent and functioning.
CONS
Mechanical: NONE
Electrical: Original optional Monsoon stereo w/ CD player works and sounds great except there is no radio reception because of a bad roof mount amplified antenna base (I determined this AFTER I had replaced the headliner and just couldn't bring myself to pull the back of the headliner down again...).
Interior: Very minor wear to carpet against tunnel were driver's right foot might rub. Normal wear to driver's seat, but honestly is excellent for its age. No rips or notable fading.
Exterior: Normal wear and tear for a 16 year old, 155k mile car. That said, car was obviously garaged and well cared for all its life. Road rash on leading faces of the car, but less than expected. Besides previously mentioned front corner of LF fender and small paint run on RF corner of bumper, the body has a small assortment of other dings/dents/scuffs. The following are most noteworthy: passenger door has a vertical crease in the sheetmetal just below the handle about 3 inches long. Right rear quarter has a soft dent just in front of the gas door. Rear bumper has a convex (reverse) quarter sized dent in the middle at the very bottom. It also has a small nick into the plastic below the trunk loading area. Probably the most unsightly flaw on the car is a scuff on the left rear corner. There are also two small dings (penny sized) in the roof and two larger soft dents in the hood. These can be missed unless you catch the light correctly... there is zero paint damage and like most of the dents on the car, would probably be easily fixed by paintless dent repair. Front bumper has a crack in the corner of the passenger side lower grille about two inches long. Likely wouldn't notice until pointed out. Each rocker panel/pinch weld has a dent on the underside, more than likely due to a careless lift arm placement. Wheels are in nice condition, no bends, but do have some light curb damage. Headlight lenses are in nice condition, but should note slight haziness inside the driver's light.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I currently own 6 VW/Audi vehicles besides this car and have owned many others in the past. I know these cars very well and perform 100% of my own work, (sometimes farming out paintwork if the weather is not favorable). I tend to be a perfectionist with strong attention to detail and enjoy getting a car right. I say all that to support my assertion that this is one of, if not THE nicest, example I have seen of a fairly rare 24v GLI. The engine sounds wonderful, even with a stock exhaust and the car is fast enough to be good fun. The big, square bolster sport seats are comfortable and supportive, yet not too tight for wider folks. I would not hesitate to leave tomorrow morning and drive this car across the country.
PRICE
I am asking $6500 OBO.
Thank you. 
YouTube links: (excuse the sounds of my 2 year old son in the backseat!)
Cold Start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDZ16GURR84
Drive 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ror0P0v03q8
Drive 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg7abFNlFa4
