Thoughs on VolksWagen TDI's?

[Bill in Houston]

Educate us, then.

[jcp123]

You just try finding one for $8500.

I almost bought an '03 TDi with only 43k miles for $11.995 before I would have negotiated it down, but for the minor fact that it was already sold . Honestly, though, I love diesels. Very torquey and low-revving, the way I like my cars, and with phenominal fuel economy to boot. With regular maintenance (and boy, you'd better stay on top of it), diesels last damn near forever, too. As a side bonus, they have great tuning potential. 170hp and 300lb-ft of torque is relatively easy to come by, if a tad bit pricey.

The drawback? Our VW's are assembled in Mexico and are either the most bulletproof, trouble-free car you've ever owned, or a complete POS. There is no in between, and unfortunately, there seem to be more of the latter than the former. Our '00 VW New Beetle was fantastically unreliable, for instance, where my Dad's '00 Passat V6 4motion wagon was positively the most maintenance- and trouble-free car I've ever seen.

[Hockey4mnhs]

if i could find one some day i would go for it. there are plenty of b20 stations around here and i think they are cool because there somwhat rare

[88HF]

Buy an old Porsche or Saab. Unless you can find a German built VW.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

I've heard the german built MK1s tend to rust out much easier than the Westmorelands, but who knows if this is the case... In any event, MK1s seem to be right on the verge of VW's penny pinching antics.

[Erdrick]

I own a 1998 Jetta TDi. I haven't even driven it yet and I already love it. Hearing about a guy making a 400 mile trip, with 700 lbs in gear and passengers, plus a trailer with another 600 some odd pounds, averaging 85 miles per hour and still getting 35 mpg?! If you love FE, then the TDi is the way to go.

Definitely check out www.tdiclub.com Excellent information from diehard diesel fans. So, yeah there is definitely a lot of biased info on there, but I have never seen such a hardcore group of people. TDi owners REALLY love their cars. Any problem you ever face would have TONS of information on how to handle it.

The final nice thing about the TDi is that it, unlike gassers, is easy to get good mileage with. Regardless of how you drive it, you are going to get over 40 mpg. It is really rare to see people getting less than that, unless their car has problems. 50s are average for people who actually try a little, and the 60s are achievable with some effort.

As others have said, the engine will last a LONG time too, so as long as you take care of it, you will have a nice running car. Oh, and the torque is nice too.

[Blackbug1]

I am new to this forum and yes I belong to the TDICLUB.com great site. I have owned my TDI since 8-4-06 and just LUV my BUG. My last tank I averaged 59.437 MPG that was 876.4 mile on 14.745 gals. Right now I have 608.5 mile on it with 7/16s of a tank left, trying to get 1000 miles out of this tank! I owned a new 81 Rabbit with a diesel it back then and I must say the new diesels are nothing like them, the ones now are turbo and have all kinds of power and are fun to drive. Now on the timing belt issue I had mine replaced by a Guru on the forum and I must say these people are the most helpful bunch of people I have ever meet. Since then one of my friends bought a 99 NB TDI with 172000 miles on it and we replaced his timing belt, he is getting somewhere around 55 MPG. To get this kind of mileage you have to drive 55 to 60 MPH. Now finding a TDI is not easy right now, I had looked and looked for a long time before I found mine. A 98 NB with only 31000 miles on it I now have 58000. All I can say is keep looking or if you know a auto dealer let him know you are looking for one. Would I recommend one YES

[stinkindiesel]

I drive a 2000 Jetta TDi 5-speed with 140K on the clock, 104K of which has been on self-brewed biodiesel. The car has been phenomenal; no problems or issues that I didn't see coming- like brakes and rotors, antenna coming loose, my 3-yr-old breaking off the center console door, and the glow plug relay failed (in the summer- do we count that?).
This car has never let me down, runs like a Swiss watch, and has 10K oil change intervals. How often are you gassers changing oil?
The last fill was 8.4 gallons at 410 miles- that's 48.8 MPG. Couple that with fuel that costs me .65 cents a gallon to make, and it's dollar-equivalent to getting 235 MPG.
It's also enviromentally friendlier, biodegradable, better for the fuel pump and injectors and smells better.
And the hippies love me for it, even though I'm definitely not one of them.
Put the TDi's on a pedestal where they belong... gas cars- even the revered Insight- tread heavier on the resources than the TDi. I mean, what's the amortized cost of batteries? The last 104K cost me less than $1600 in fuel, and I didn't dump any lead, acid or plastic into the recycling stream.
By the way, my commute is 40 miles one-way, half in crawling traffic, half near speed limits; my weekends usually see me rolling another 200 miles at 80 MPH+ to San Diego and back (especially when the albacore are running).
I'm trying to change my lead-footed ways and see the magic 60 MPG.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by stinkindiesel

and has 10K oil change intervals. How often are you gassers changing oil?
gas cars- even the revered Insight- tread heavier on the resources than the TDi. I mean, what's the amortized cost of batteries? The last 104K cost me less than $1600 in fuel, and I didn't dump any lead, acid or plastic into the recycling stream.

There's no need to even go down this road, is there? When TDI people sit around and wonder why everyone thinks they are so smug, just show them this post.

Sounds like a fun car. I hope it continues to do well for you, and that you get 60 mpg.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by stinkindiesel

Couple that with fuel that costs me .65 cents a gallon to make, and it's dollar-equivalent to getting 235 MPG.

*cough*roadtax*cough*