Hey guys,
I am a car guy, I've loved MB diesels since I got old enough to appreciate good engineering. (No really...I have

I do a lot of my own maintenance, and have tools, but right now I have 4 children and right now, wrenching time is reduced (but not gone.). Wife and I have 2 minivans (both paid off). so we are set with cars, but both those vans are "older" and not sure how much life they have left in them. I sometimes drive big miles for work.

a 2005 VW Jetta TDI arrived in my driveway recently. It runs slightly rough when warm, it 'bups' a litttle bit and at least one of the cam profiles has noticeable scratches (a common problem on these cars). Black/Black in color, higher-end trim (alloys, sunroof, heated seats...)
car has 248k and the AC system is suspect, but it is otherwise an 8 or 9 out of 10 for appearance (effectively no rust, interior is well taken care of, no rips or tears, carpet is great, radio lights up, some dealer receipts for work.)
Cruise is unknown. It will need at least 2 tires sooner than later, and the PO (a good mechanic, DDs a MK4 TDI right now...) says that the brakes need attention - I need to investigate this (they worked fine when driving it on and off the trailer to bring it home)

I used to have a MK4 (ALH) VW Jetta TDI, I sold it before deploying a few years ago...I miss that thing (love driving, love the TDI torque...) Seeing this MK5 Jetta in my driveway makes me happy.

I'm at a crossroads - I ask this here because I think this board is a pretty even mix of "drive what you want" car guys and "Thats a money pit, dont do it" car guys I could ask at TDIclub, but I consider them biased

I'm going to put in a new cam either way (they come in kits with gaskets, bolts and followers), but that is my conundrum, do I:

1) Put a basic factory/aftermarket cam in ($500 for the kit, good for another 100-200k?) and sell it. hoping to make profit.

or

2) Put a Colt (Stage 2?)/Frank06/aftermarket hardened cam ($1100 - supposedly good for life) and just drive the car myself. I'm not into mods and tuning (love the idea, hate spending the $), but stage 2 doesn't require a re-flash and might help fuel economy)

What say you ? oh denizens of Mercedesshop

-John

__________________
2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)