Posted on 12/12/2012 6:02:23 PM PST by Chickensoup
Time for another motor in the house. Last vehicle I bought I ran by the Freeper Auto-Guys and it worked great. Time for a different kind of transportation.
Looking at a new two or four door Golf TDI in Red with manual transmission. No sunroof, no nav package.
Test drove it twice and like the manual transmission. Dealer giving 300K warranty with serviceing Q10K at dealership. Your thoughts.
looks great Thank you thank you!
Have you considered the Jetta Sportwagen?
I am biased but I love VW’s. I have owned six but never a diesel. You pay more up front for a VW but it is fun to drive and built well. When you dump it at the end you can ask more for it so you get some back. You defiantly want to check out VWVortex it is a VW enthusiast site. (Don’t like to promote other sites on FR but it is car related)They have a forum for TDI’s. Just be forewarned people post their problems looking for answers. But on the whole you will see what owners think about the car. Save the link once you purchase the car it is a great resource for problems.
( http://forums.vwvortex.com/forumdisplay.php?22-TDI-and-Diesel-Forum)
Thank you. I am learning.
I didnt want something so big.
I am no longer a mom with four duckies. I am unencumbered and looking for somethign, small, reliable, good milage and durable.
If you read some of the online TDI forums, many have 800-900 miles per tank clubs. Sure is tempting.
If you want a Ford, I can get you a Friends and Neighbor discount.
Yes, the Jetta is a Golf with a trunk.
I like the Jetta wagon.
I like the Jetta wagon.
The MK-VI Jetta is no longer a Golf with a trunk. They have downgraded the Jetta (except the GLI model) with non-independent rear suspension and drum rear brakes, and the interior isn't as nice.
The Sportwagen remains a MK-V Jetta (IRS and all disk brakes), and is a very nice car indeed. I would have bought one of them except they dropped the gas 2.0T engine option, so I bought a GTI instead.
Here are 3 examples of the dealer’s “policies” that burned me and assured me that I wouldn’t buy another VW.
First, the antenna failed so radio wouldn’t work....proposed charge to fix/replace was over $600. This was one month outside the 1 year warranty for the 2001. Asked dealer to call VW of America in New Jersey and see if they would still cover it....was told by dealer that could not intercede with corporate on behalf of a customer and gave me an 800# to call. Foolish me, I thought my relationship was with the dealer. I didn’t have it fixed and ultimately bought several years of XM radio for less than the antenna fix.
Second, front brakes needed pad replacement at 45,000 miles...quote was $800 plus...asked why so much, the dealer said that included new rotors. They did not inspect rotors saying they get replaced as a matter of “policy” if they need it or not (they did not need replacement....weren’t warped). Got the local gas station to replace the pads for under $250 and they lasted until I sold the car at 104,000 miles.
Third, dealer tried to sell me air conditioning cleaning/conditioning and when I asked the service writer what they did for the price, he didn’t know and then ran to the service department to inquire. Returning, he told me they cleaned the condenser etc. I then asked where the condenser was (I’m familiar with cars and I knew)and he again ran to the back to inquire. Returning, he then told me the condenser “was not accessible to the public”)
Its too bad because VW has some great styling and the dealer is 1/2 mile away but....no more. Bought a used Lexus instead. Got more examples....
That seems real reasonable.
You can put a couple gallons at each oil change and it’s just a bit of extra maintenance.
The stuff is pretty corrosive, we had to plumb our lab with stainless steel to port it to the test engines when we started running 2007 compliant engines.
That's not a good idea unless you plan to "flush" the tank every year or two.DEF has a shelf life and,under certain circumstances,can also form crystals which,IIRC,can foul things up.My car has a low level warning system which first appeared about a month before I started getting a "5 starts until no start" warning (or something like that.It takes a bit of planning but it's certainly not complicated or particularly annoying.
Yes an A3. It has a lot of torque, is fun to drive, and gets 42+ mpg on the open road. I drive a lot for my work so it is a real help having the diesel efficiency. I cannot figure out why no one is offering an AWD or 4WD in diesel.
I like the sound of that Q5 too. Do you know what kind of mpg it is supposed to get?
Low-to-mid 20s/30s city/hwy is what I’m hearing from an insider. Not sure if that’s EPA or real world. I think it might well be real world, and I expect he drives like I do (like he stole it).
A6, A7, A8, and Q5 are all going to be available with the 3.0 TDI next year.
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/f28/audi-torques-floor-la-four-new-tdi-oil-burners-20835/
I just hope it’s with the 7-speed DSG trans in the Q5, and not the 8 speed torque converter. Or worse, the 6 speed torque converter box.
Jetta TDI, actually. Upon post-trauma inspection, it looked like everything was in good condition but for the belt.
Who knows?
Oldplayer
I only got over 50mpg one time on my Jetta TDI with manual 5-speed . . . but I never got worse than 41 MPG, either. Average over the life of the car was right at 47mpg. Much of that time, diesel was cheaper than regular, too. We may never see that advantage again, but the Jetta TDI was a sweet ride while it lasted. My experience is less common than getting 200,000 miles out of the engine.
A long block plus installation is more than the blue-book. I only paid $5200 for the thing with 128,000 miles on it. Drove it for two years and put 20,000 plus miles on it.
Oldplayer
Yeah, it’s probably ugly. As far as I know, the only space in the combustion chamber between the valves and piston is provided by the thickness of the head gasket.
There is no recess in the top of the piston, and there is no recess or swirl chamber around the valves. The head is basically a flat slab. It’s the ultimate “interference engine”.
They have about 300 lbs of compression.
Time for a long block!
I've always driven the Jetta. My son had a Golf, he liked it, but now he drives a Jetta (although that decision was one of economics and availability - the Jetta was available and in his price range.. He likes it, but I think from his comments if he were to buy new, he would go Golf...) My reason for the Jetta was purely one of room. I'm a bit too old to care about impressing anyone - kiddy punks, giggley chicks, whatever - so the 'sporty' image of the Golf isn't a factor with me. Comfort, room, fuel economy, reliability count. Not sure what VW is doing now with the body stuff. Remember that the first Jettas were just Rabbits with a trunk (1983ish?), then Rabbits disappeared and reappeared as the Golf which was a Jetta without a trunk...
Would be your personal preference. Depends on how much stuff you carry around or need to carry around. Like I said, I use mine for work and for taking family on vacation so the room was the reason I never seriously looked at a Golf.
Golf being a bit smaller is more responsive in handling, if you're into Gran Prix type driving, but both packages handle well. Can't really offer more than that 'cause you will be the one driving! (Golf is lighter, so a bit better fuel economy. And you can always trick out the computer to squeeze more out of the package, or at least performance chips are available for the older ones. Don't know what's out there for the new direct rail injection ones.)
Oh, and one more thing - cold starting.. Mine does have a block heater installed in the coolant line. I have never plugged it in. I found that the beast started up even in the coldest stuff NY weather could throw at it. Even would start in the cold with only two of four glow plugs working. It complained about that, ran rough and smoked a lot until the other two cylinders warmed up, but it started. I'm sure you can find a suitable heater if you think cold starting will be a problem, but my experience is that they start and if they complain, it's usually something defective as opposed to a general dislike for cold.
Most, probably all, stations that sell diesel sell a winterized mix for cold weather. It is always a good idea though to carry around a bottle of anti-gel in case you get a tank of something that your car doesn't like in the winter (or you take a trip to Florida and return home to the great white north with a tank of warm weather diesel.. They might start with only two functioning glow plugs, but they won't start on fuel the consistency of jello!)
When it gets to 150k it'll be broken in ;-) Let me know when you're approaching the half million mile mark!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.