---
title: "Bulletproof 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Is a Sleeper Tank"
description: "A Dallas resident is selling his 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI with Level IV armor and teargas nozzles for $28,000."
date: "2022-06-04"
modified: "2022-06-04"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin V. Shaw"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/bulletproof-2013-volkswagen-jetta-is-a-sleeper-tank"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Volkswagen News"
tags:
  - "compact"
  - "jetta"
  - "sedan"
  - "Volkswagen"
---

# Bulletproof 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Is a Sleeper Tank

![white car in front of garage](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/04/Jetta-HERO-2.jpg>)
*\<em\>Eduardo Gou, Jr\</em\>*

The humble 2013 [Volkswagen Jetta TDI](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/42096/2022-volkswagen-jetta-and-gli-vws-best-seller-gets-newish-looks-better-safety>) has a compact body and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine. Relatively inexpensive and zippy, the Jetta TDI gets 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque and it’s an unobtrusive vehicle that blends in wherever you are. With high-level armoring and teargas nozzles in the wheel wells that you can activate from the inside, it’s a tiny tank.

Dallas resident Eduardo Gou, Jr. was doing quite a bit of traveling between Texas and Mexico City for work, and he needed a vehicle to use while he was South of the border. He purchased his new 2013 Jetta TDI in San Antonio and immediately sent it to Blindajes Alemanes in Mexico City [for bulletproofing](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38883/inside-the-bulletproofing-process-of-armored-vehicles>). More than 8.5 million people live in Mexico’s capital city, and like any large city it has its fair share of crime. For Americans, the [U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory](<https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html>) on May 2 to warn of violent crimes like homicide, kidnapping, [carjacking](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/41482/watch-carjackers-run-away-because-they-cant-drive-stick>), and armed robbery.

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/04/4-1.jpg>)

The [Jetta](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38600/buying-a-california-spec-vw-jetta-in-ohio-was-a-huge-mistake>) is fortified with Level IV armoring, which cost Gou $53,000 originally on top of the $26,000 to buy the car. It has a U.S. title and is currently in a Dallas suburb, where Gou lives now. He is [selling the car on Facebook Marketplace](<https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/348409510748998/?ref=search&referral_code=marketplace_search&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A88b95598-c80b-4014-a3f1-6cd6f1f989da>) because he doesn’t have to travel to Mexico City nearly as often anymore; the past two years have shown that many of his meetings can be conducted via Zoom. (He is not, I ascertained, a secret agent even though his car has some cool gadgets on it like the teargas nozzles.)

In a text conversation, Gou told me about one occasion when some would-be carjackers threw some sort of sticky black substance on the Jetta’s windshield while he was driving; the tarry muck made it difficult for him to see and the criminals planned to ambush Gou when he pulled over. He says having a bulletproof car as his daily driver gave him some peace of mind that he could drive himself out of those situations.

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/04/3-1.jpg>)
*Eduardo Gou, Jr*

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/04/2-1.jpg>)
*Eduardo Gou, Jr*

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/04/5-1.jpg>)
*Eduardo Gou, Jr*

While he was never shot at directly, he said “it’s one of those things in which it’s better to have a bulletproof car and never have to use it than to need a bulletproof car and not have it.”

Amen to that.

*Got a tip? Send it to kristin.shaw@thedrive.com.*

## Author
Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream.

### Author social links  
[Facebook](<https://facebook.com/DriveModeShow>)  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/KristinVShaw>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/KristinVShaw>)