I'm checking out an 87 Jetta and it has a problem with starting out in lower gears. You really have to get into the pedal and it still acts cranky. Once moving along it runs pretty well. Any suggestions?

We have a philosophy of starting with the "small stuff"...have you checked/changed the fuel filter? When was the last time the plugs, wires, cap & rotor were changed? Without proper testing equipment it's sometimes hard to tell if the problem is related to spark or insuffient fuel, but these are some of the things we change when we have problems like that-the parts are relatively cheap and sometimes you just luck out.

I'm checking out an 87 Jetta and it has a problem with starting out in lower gears. You really have to get into the pedal and it still acts cranky. Once moving along it runs pretty well. Any suggestions?
My 86 is doing the same thing. I replaced all of trhe minor stuff but it has gotten so bad it is practically undrivable.

Check for an air intake leak. I replaced the clutch on my 87 trying to fix similar problem, and it wound up being a leaking $10 boot between the the air intake and the fuel injection system. My 87 had the CIS fuel injection.