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| Thinking about buying one for fuel mileage just wondering what anyone has good or bad to say about them. |
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| The con would be, it's a volkswagon. From my days of working on cars, I'd rather have a ford tempo thana volkswagon, and that's really saying somethig. |
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SE MN | I have a 2004 Jetta TDI with 130,000 miles on it. On Highway I average around 48mpg and mostly town driving I am down around 40mpg, on the highway I have gotten 700 miles to one tank of fuel! I had the timing belt replaced at 100K, which is important on these because if it breaks it can ruin the cylinder head. The only other expense I have had besides maintenance was the serpentine belt tensioner went bad. I have had a couple of other minor problems but they have always been covered under a recall or an extended service program. Just got a letter this week saying the glow plug system warranty was extended through Oct 2012. The car runs/starts great and feels solid, it is not a rattle trap like the Honda I had prior to it. The bad I would say is VW TDI's are very picky about what fluids, oil types and parts they use. I went to a local parts store for a tail light bulb and they did not stock it, due to Europe either using or not using nickel (do not remember which way it was) in their bulbs and we use or don't use here, another parts store did have the correct bulbs for it. I would not take it to Jiffy lube to get the oil change because of this, I do most of my own stuff. There is a website/forum http://www.tdiclub.com/ that offers a ton of help if you have issues or need information, it is a great resource for VW diesels. |
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| How old ? the late 80's and early 90's were real good cars that were pretty simple to work on . The fuel milage runs from 40-50 . The only word of caution I know is stay away from the auto transmissions . prone to problems and expensive to work on . |
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Western Kentucky | Daughter had a 2004 Jetta with the diesel..Fantastic MPG would get nearly 50 mpg on the interstate.. in town 35/38..Never had any engine or transmission problem..Not a lot of room in the back seat. It was an automatic. Overall it was a very good car. |
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central - east central Minnesota - | Deere8420 - 12/4/2010 20:59 Thinking about buying one for fuel mileage just wondering what anyone has good or bad to say about them. Pro's - seems to get good fuel mileage Con's - over priced diesel (extra $$ for diesel option, extra $$ for maintinance ) Price of diesel - averages about .30¢ gal more then gas Gas vehicles now can run as many miles as a diesel engine Compared to simalar vehicle w/gas engines - they don't seem to pay It used to be that diesel was quite a bit less expensive then gasoline - since it switched, it's really hard to justify a diesel powered vehicle now a days . . . . |
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So Illinois | Daughter has one with a 5 spd with close to 300k on it. Ditto the timing belt every 100k. Will cost u about 800 I think but is a neccissity. They burn used veggie oil in summer months. |
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Cen IL | Is that $800 for timing belt, tensioner pulley and labor ? Sounds very high. Must be replacing more than that |
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| Probably water pump also. And lots of labor. One of the engine mounts has to come off while the engine is hung by a special frame from above.
Gerald J. |
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| Takes an oil specification that's hard to find away from VW and they get about $10 a quart. But its synthetic that runs 10K miles on a change.
In the past, some of the TDI engines had a tendency to plug the intake manifold with soot, and the official VW repair was to replace the manifold for a few hundred bucks, though there are those who claim it can be cleaned and reused.
I don't think TDI can be bought in California or New England because of pollution laws.
I know of one that gets about 180 miles a day and the owner is still happy after 6 months of that.
Gerald J. |
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The Internet | They are pretty common this side of the Atlantic. VAG's diesels are generally better regarded than their gas engines. The 1.9TDi is a very robust engine, it has now been superseded by the 2.0 which meets emmisions regs, is smoother, more powerfull, better on fuel, but not quite so robust, though they have probably sorted that by now.
Every major manufacturer has at least one diesel in their range over here, but I think some of them don't like your diesel, which is why you don;t get the silky BMW diesels.
you will need to sit down and work out whether you do enough miles to make the diesel more economical to own than the gas engined car. |
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Portland, ND | We have an 2006.5 Bought new in june of 07, VW was calling them 06's to avoid some mandate. Car has been good, 70k on it now, no troubles yet.
Local dealer sucks, but Luther in Minneapolis is good.
Are they back on 0% again? When i bought mine, they had 3 yrs at 0%. They were selling at sticker price because of high fuel prices, so I went for it. Seems like we average 42-44 with it, better if it is a longer trip. |
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| A coworker has one, and he has had it for about 4 years. He puts on 130 miles a day just driving to work. Maintenance of the timing belt is important. If you are considering getting one, and driving on any kind of gravel road, make sure and get the skid plate option. This stops rocks and debris from getting into the the engine compartment and holding the turbo waste gate open, hence losing all your power. Once installed, he had no more issues. I believe his is a 2001 or 2002. |
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NW Iowa | We had a '03 Jetta GLX TDI with an automatic. It had 200K+ miles when we traded it and it was still very solid mechanically. I burned 100% soy diesel during the Summer and got along great. We never could get better than the low 30's for MPG no matter what kind of diesel was used due to the automatic and mainly short trips. I did the timing belt myself with a kit and special tools purchased online. I used TDICLUB.COM and the repair manual for instructions. TDICLUB.COM has loads of info on these cars. As others have mentioned, definitely get a 5 speed and replace the cheap plastic cover with a metal skidplate. Not sure on the newer ones, but the '99-'03's
were made in Mexico except for the stationwagon. |
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Northwest Indiana | Wife has an 06' it has been a great car. Two years ago on a 1200 mile trip it got 51 mpg. I dont know of any other car that can get that type of mileage that isnt a ****box. I wish VW made a 2500HD pickup, would buy one in a heartbeat.
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| The car I am looking at is a 2010. The girlfriend drives 120 miles plus everyday so I figured that might as well buy something that goods mileage. They have O% for 5 years on them so that makes the deal even better. |
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Central Mo | I am looking for some parts for a trencher that was made in Germany but don't have the access I need. Think you could help?
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The Internet | Possibly, no harm in trying |
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| I have a 03 TDI W/a auto. Run 140-150 miles aday at hi freeway speed (around 70-80 ) and still get well over 40 mpg. Love the power and ride. Replaced the timing belt at 160, and water pump. as well . Replaced the eng. oil pan when i put a dent in it and it started seeping. (hit a bump on my field road,the plastic skid had been removed to make oil changing easier) replaced the interier blower fan, That's it ,Buy anouther ,you bet . But i would not if i was not putting on all of these miles ever day. Also i have been looking alittle at the new TDI and the price is making me winch alittle. I'm looking at finding a slightly used one and give this one to my son. As mention eariler it does burn out a rear tail bulb every 6 months or so?
Gettin BY |
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SE MN | I was having issues with tail lights not working and replacing bulbs. Checked TDIclub.com and found out I was putting in the wrong bulbs. You need to get the ones with nickel(if I remember right) plating and hopefully help with your taillight issues. I think if I remember correctly the ones with out nickel plating, the normal North American(that most cars use) bulbs the part store may give you do not have this plating and can cause premature burn out or inoperative bulbs at times. Sounds goofy but after I got the correct ones, I have not had an issue since.....fingers crossed! Some parts stores carry the correct ones, some do not. |
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Central Mo | My email is [email protected]. Shoot me an email.
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Portland, ND | Mine has the Auto five speed, it works great. It isn't really an automatic, but more of an autoshift manual. It shifts just like the newer autoshift trucks, if you hold it to the floor the rpm drops between each gear. If you look at the specs, the autoshift is actually rated at better mileage than the manual. |
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| My son bought an 09 with the 5 speed auto. It has about 20000 miles and has done very well. It is solid and has better performance than most economy cars. He averages 38 mpg in combination driving and VW pays all maintaince and filters for 3 years. He has had one warrenty repair for a loose door handle, but has been very good other than that. We have never been VW fans, but I have been more impressed with that than my 09 Chevy pickup. |
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SE MN | VW Jetta TDI tops Consumer Reports eco roundup, Honda CR-Z scores too low to recommend
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/07/vw-jetta-tdi-tops-consumer-repor...
Edited by eth555 12/7/2010 18:21
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volkswagon jetta tdi pros and cons
