VW TDI People!!!

[XJGrl]

Give me a shout -- I'm 99.9% sure that I will be signing for an 06 Jetta TDI this coming Saturday (Happy Birthday to me) -- wanted to talk to some TDI owners before I take the plunge. Give me the good and the bad.

My motives for the purchase are -- fuel efficiency, simplicity of the diesel engine vs gas, torquiness and overall package that VW offers --

Thnx.

XJGrl :sunshine:

 

[iBran]

Good choice... there is nothing bad about them!

Best car in its class and you can't beat the diesel's efficiency. If I was in the market for a $25k sedan, I'd get one.

 

[mdl]

German enginuety rocks!

 

[OT]

PM BgCntry72.
His wife drives one.

 

[Trail Xj]

I have a 2000 TDI jetta and my wife has a 2000 TDI golf. love them. 60 mpg

 

[0313]

www.tdiclub.com

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

My wife has a 94 Jetta...

Nice when it runs...

Just replaced it with a SAAB.

Hope they fixed the bugs.

 

[CheapXJ]

'94 ain't a TDI.

basically as long as you periodically have the upper intake manifold cleaned regularly (or do it yourself) you've got nothing to worry about.

with a chip + injectors, you can almost double the torque output.

 

[CanMan]

I have a 2000 TDI jetta and my wife has a 2000 TDI golf. love them. 60 mpg

60mpg? WTF.

 

[XJGrl]

I've been on TDIClub.com -- seems like a BIG, knowledgable group.

Have heard lots of people with 90-something VWs who have been unhappy....seems to be something about the 90s in general for VW. I know that my vehicle has the new "PD" engine -- and the new transmission -- I am getting an auto simply because I live in Northern Virginia and dont want to deal with a manual around here. So, the tranny is the only thing that worries me -- but, apparently the tranny came from the Audi TT -- so, its not like it is brand new and untested. I guess Ill just have to wait and see!!

Glad to see that the good is outweighing the bad so far

 

[YELLAHEEP]

"BLoose" here at has an '03 or '04 TDI Golf and speaks pretty highly of it - he drives long distances to work and he's never mentioned any problems with the car and MPG in the 50's

 

[Trail Xj]

60mpg? WTF.

I am from Canada Your Gallons are smaller than ours. So 50 mpg, still good thoug, and I'll through in an "EH" for ya

 

[Rob Mayercik]

'02 Jetta (Pre-PD) here.

I've been getting 43-44 these days with an automatic, but it's the old 4-spd model. On a fully "vented" tank, I'm going 600-650 miles between fillups.

Couple thoughts for you:

1. Be careful with BioDiesel if you decide to try it - I've heard the PDs don't take to it quite as well as the old distributor-pump engines. Read all about it over on Fred's (TDIClub)

2. Don't try to stretch out the interval on the timing belt - TDIs are interference-type engines. Unless they've upped the ratings again, the 06 Jetta should have a 100K change interval.

3. If you're getting a leather interior, DEFINITELY get the winter package for the heated seats. TDIs warm up slower (and idling won't do it - you have to drive them to heat them up) than gassers. The "bun warmers" are a godsend on cold mornings/nights.

4. Don't expect maximum mpg right off the showroom floor - it's going to take 50-60K to fully break the engine in. Follow the manual's new car break-in procedure, and once you're clear of that, feel free to work the engine hard.

5. Enjoy the heck out of it!

Rob

 

[DrMoab]

I hope you can afford expensive repairs. Know a few people who sold them for the sole reason they couldn't afford parts.

Lift pumps fail and are mega dollars.

Personally if Volkswagon suddenly became the only vehicles on the market...I would buy a bike.

 

[midnightrunxj]

DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE LIE TO YOU! I used to work for VW. Vw's are horrible cars. Everything is plastic, just look. Even the waterpump is. You think that yout 92 xj has brittle plastic hoses and parts, You Vw will be in this condition in 2 years. your trany(auto only) and oil pump will fail around 60k. If you dont do the intake service it Will clog! IF check engine,abs,or airbag lights bother you...They light up like a christmas tree. The interior will fall apart,paint peels of the interior surfaces. Vw's are VERY expensive to own and operate. Just go down to your local vw dealership and price out some common repairs. Our motto at Vw was "They will all find their way home"
The only good thing going for them was that the bodies are solid and the paint is pretty good. You will get a lot of argument from people but installing a new motor at 60k is not acceptible to me!

 

[CheapXJ]

yes, all VWs are garbage, just like all jews are cheap and all black people steal stuff

you're comparing apples to oranges...

compare a new Jeep to a new VW, 'cause everything bad you said about the VW pretty much perfectly describes my WJ except the oil pump lasted to 106k.

it pretty much describes ANY NEW car/truck 'cause they're ALL garbage.

now I'm gonna go swap a 4k tranny into my 87 scirocco that has half a million miles on its JH 1.8L

 

[Rob Mayercik]

DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE LIE TO YOU! I used to work for VW. Vw's are horrible cars. Everything is plastic, just look. Even the waterpump is. You think that yout 92 xj has brittle plastic hoses and parts, You Vw will be in this condition in 2 years. your trany(auto only) and oil pump will fail around 60k. If you dont do the intake service it Will clog! IF check engine,abs,or airbag lights bother you...They light up like a christmas tree. The interior will fall apart,paint peels of the interior surfaces. Vw's are VERY expensive to own and operate. Just go down to your local vw dealership and price out some common repairs. Our motto at Vw was "They will all find their way home"
The only good thing going for them was that the bodies are solid and the paint is pretty good. You will get a lot of argument from people but installing a new motor at 60k is not acceptible to me!

Whoa there - take a breath, calm down, and stop casting aspersions on the honesty of myself and others who have posted with positive VW experiences. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't appreciate being called a liar by you.

You are grossly over-emphasizing the worst case senario here.

I will admit that many VWs have their problems - my instrument cluster died under warranty and left me stranded (immobilizer), and my automatic transmission did die at 68K. I recently had the PCV clog up and blow the valve cover. I've even had the tape deck die.

HOWEVER, the car is still in very good condition at 103,000 miles (it's a 2002 I took delivery on in 2001). Despite your "doom and gloom" attitude, the interior is NOT falling apart, and I am not continuously getting malfunction lights. There's also nothing wrong with my oil pump. Hell, despite having the nylon window regulators and putting thousands of up/down cycles on them, all my windows work fine too.

I will admit that I should have mentioned before that it's wise to replace the water pump when you do the timing belt - it's driven by the TB, after all.

Are they expensive to maintain? Sure. Any new car is expensive to maintain, if you do it at the dealer (admittedly, this is what I do).

JP_in_STL got it about as right as you possibly can: sometimes you get a lemon, sometimes you get a good one. I consider mine to fall somewhat in the middle of the range, but I'd like to think my TDI and I have "broken each other in" at this point and the big problems are in the past now.

That being said, keep an eye on the dealer if you go there for service Em - TDIs are still relatively rare, and finding one that knows what they're doing sometimes takes a while. As long as you're armed with the info over at Fred's, I doubt they'll be able to hoodwink you.

And don't let this guy scare you off - if a TDI is what you want, go for it.

Rob

P.S. If you come to NACFest, bring pics of the new ride!

 

[midnightrunxj]

Im not going to disagree abut the new cars are all junk. There are some that are better than others. A honda for example is much cheaper to maintain and is built much better. And about not getting VW work done at a dealership.. well call around and see how many shops will do major repair on one. I mean its your money i was just stating my past knowledge of owning one and working there also. Also you will ALWAYS have DIE hard VW fans.

 

[XJGrl]

Well, I am not TOOOO worried about repairs -- considering that it will be under some semblance of a warranty for about 60k -- I know a VW mechanic and the "man" owns a parts store. I don't know much about VWs myself other than they are a PITA to work on -- even oil changes and such.

No need to fight or start a war -- this aint a VW board.

Thank you for the info. The costly repair comment does hold true -- esp if you are dealing with parts from a dealer and dealer service. I hope that I would not have to resort to that. The good seems to outweigh the bad so far -- seems like many of the angry VW people that I meet are 90s owners -- or I could just be blinded by the light.

Thnx.

XJGrl

 

[XJGrl]

Whoa there - take a breath, calm down, and stop casting aspersions on the honesty of myself and others who have posted with positive VW experiences. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't appreciate being called a liar by you.

You are grossly over-emphasizing the worst case senario here.

I will admit that many VWs have their problems - my instrument cluster died under warranty and left me stranded (immobilizer), and my automatic transmission did die at 68K. I recently had the PCV clog up and blow the valve cover. I've even had the tape deck die.

HOWEVER, the car is still in very good condition at 103,000 miles (it's a 2002 I took delivery on in 2001). Despite your "doom and gloom" attitude, the interior is NOT falling apart, and I am not continuously getting malfunction lights. There's also nothing wrong with my oil pump. Hell, despite having the nylon window regulators and putting thousands of up/down cycles on them, all my windows work fine too.

I will admit that I should have mentioned before that it's wise to replace the water pump when you do the timing belt - it's driven by the TB, after all.

Are they expensive to maintain? Sure. Any new car is expensive to maintain, if you do it at the dealer (admittedly, this is what I do).

JP_in_STL got it about as right as you possibly can: sometimes you get a lemon, sometimes you get a good one. I consider mine to fall somewhat in the middle of the range, but I'd like to think my TDI and I have "broken each other in" at this point and the big problems are in the past now.

That being said, keep an eye on the dealer if you go there for service Em - TDIs are still relatively rare, and finding one that knows what they're doing sometimes takes a while. As long as you're armed with the info over at Fred's, I doubt they'll be able to hoodwink you.

And don't let this guy scare you off - if a TDI is what you want, go for it.

Rob

P.S. If you come to NACFest, bring pics of the new ride!

Well, thanks.....My experience thus far at the sales end of the VW dealership has been unbelievably positive -- one of the nicest old men I have ever met. A good friend of mine from college manages the service dept at a VW dealer in Charlottesville, so I hope to have a comfy cushion to fall on should I need service. I will be wary of the VW mechanics -- are all of them certified to work on TDIs or just some? I have found some recommendations on the net and will follow them when I need work done.

Nothing is a done deal yet -- having a tough time finding the car right now. Might need to wait a few weeks. Only 1 more hope in PA -- Ill hear about that one tomorrow.

All new cars are exciting and scary at the same time -- the Jeep purchase was terrifying!! and -- I havent had any bad luck with her so far -- even tho I would have gotten the same mixed review had I researched that purchase I am sure.

So, thanks to everyone -- owners and non -- for the input. Much appreciated. I don't think I could drive anything normal like a Honda or a Toyota.....it's just not in my blood :viking:

XJGrl