i am looking to put my mom into what will most likely be her last car. she would not be very happy in the 82 300 turbo i have, but...

the guy i bought my prior 300E from that is an indy that sells mostly clean MB dealer trades (and i trust very much) has a VERY nice 99 beetle TDI with 55K that i could probably get for 8.5 to 9K.

her father drove beetles from the late sixties until he was unable to drive in approx 87. it just so happens that she expressed interest when the new beetles arrived in 98. and this car is blue, which is very close to the only color my grandfather ever owned.

i know this car will grab her heart, but; my question is if the TDI car should be expected to grab my checkbook with any major unexpected repairs?

i have gathered some info from some TDI forums, and know the obvious things to look for such as timing belt replacement and the importance of oil/filter maintainence. (sound familiar?)

any thoughts or suggestions from all you diesel heads here?

your input greatly appreciated. - benton in atlanta