School me on VW TDI

[4dmalamute]

I have been doing the research thing on the VW TDI's for some time now. I was wondering if anyone on this board has one? I am starting my commute (200 miles a day) for work again but this time I have decided the cruiser isnt up for it . Anyway, I have been looking at years 1998 through 2005. I want to keep the price under 17k. Does anyone have input as to what to look for, what might go wrong, and general ideas on the engine?

Thanks and looking forward to hearing what you all think.

Chans

 

[45Kevin]

My wife has had a '99 TDI (early 99=old style) for about 4 years now and loves it. Maintanence has been only the usual stuff. We got it at 115K km and it is now over 220K km. No electric problems or anything. We get about 60mpg (imperial gal). Very good car IMO. My choice would be the newer style but my wife thinks the old style is a little less sporty looking. I hope to be running it on bio in the next few months.

 

[wesintl]

the 01-02 are considered the best years but really any of them will do.

I thought the 01-02 would be down to around 10k with 17 to spend you could get a year or two old one with 20-30k.

The enging is great.. the rest of the car is a POS.

Instead of hangin hear you need to peruse tdiclub.com. More than you will ever want to know over there.

 

[Cuerno Largo]

We had a VW Jetta with the TDI. Averaged 58mpg on the highway. If you get one, get the manual transmission. Not much HP to the motor, but with the manual, you would not notice it. I have heard the automatics are not much fun to drive.

We sold it to get the FJ. It was a 2003 and we sold it about a year ago for 16K to a friend. He is still driving it and loves it. When we sold it, it was still a tight car, nothing was breaking or rattling.

 

[landcruiserjunky]

We have a 2001 TDI with manual trans, it gets around 40 city, 50+ hwy. Not too shabby! No problems whatsoever, except for the time where I ran over a large skunk and the plastic skid plate thingy got torn half way off.

 

[uberhahn]

I've got a 2004 Jetta TDi with a 5-speed. I commute 120 miles /day (and is the reason I sold my 4Runner). 85% of the miles are highway. My fuel economy is roughly btw 49 and 53mpg. The car is stock. I have approximately a 700 mile range if I'm not conservative (that's with a 75mph cruise).

I didn't want to buy it, honestly as I loved my 4WD. I just couldn't justify the fuel price. I considered a hybrid, but I do mainly highway driving. Once I drove a TDi, I was hooked.

There are many things you can do with the TDi. In 2004, the engine was changed to a PD style (directed injection/more ECU controls...). TDi engines prior to '04 are easier to work on, and have more available aftermarket bits. However, the new PD style engines have higher base HP, and aftermarket parts are becoming more available. Chips, injectors, etc... You can increase HP and torque, while improving mpg.

I have so far put on 20K miles on mine (bought with 28K on the clock). Most important with any TDI is the oil used in the oil changes. Due to very high internal tollerances, and the inherent nature of the high compression, you must use only the VW recommended grades. On the plus side, oil change intervals are at 10K miles.

I enjoy driving the car immensly. It takes about 10 mins to get used to driving a car with torque vs HP. The turbo is quick to spool. Engine is very quiet. Car is very well built overall.

The best place for more information on the VW diesels is a forum (much like ih8mud). It is the www.tdiclub.com. Classifieds, tech, etc.

Feel free to PM with any specific questions.

uberhhan
(you can also find me on tdiclub under the same name)

 

[wesintl]

Car is very well built overall.

 

[FirstToy]

Man, I love the TDI jettas. I looked at those for a dd but the prices (esp in CA) are HIGH. Are the TDI Jettas made in Germany or Mexico?

I'm a big fan of the older bodystyle. If I could go back in time, I would have picked up one of these new.

 

[wesintl]

mexico...

BTW i just got another recall notice. brake light switch or something like that.
Don't get me wrong I love the TDI but I would not buy this car without it. Like I said otherwise it's a POS, I'm even debating keeping it due to it's otherwise poor quality.

 

[uzj100]

I am ready for the TD honda accord due out in 09. 65 mpg and it is a honda. I have been considering the tdi however the v dub quality control scares me.

 

[arcteryx]

I have two Jettas, a 1999.5 and a 2003. Great engines and the rest of the car is OK. Not great, but better than previous VWs. The 1.9 engines will last a long time. The rest depends on how it is/was taken care of. Don't let Wes sway you Some are POS and others are nice. Just depends on each one. Generally though, the later the model, the better.

And tdiclub is THE resource for these vehicles. If you do get one, make sure you immediately find a mechanic on tdiclub. There are a lot of them that work on the side. Don't ever take it to the dealer, unless you like taking it from behind. There are a couple of great guys locally that do TB change for 1/2 of what the dealer charges.

If you're planning on running biodiesel, the 1999.5 to 2003 are the best (ALH engine). The 2004-2005 have a BEW engine, which has a different fuel delivery system. If lower than B20, any model Jetta or Passat will be fine.

For your price range, you can get a 2004 Passat TDI (37mpg), if you need a large car (kids, etc.)

Holler if you got any specific ?'s. Whatever you choose, it should perform fine until the diesel Hondas come on in 2009/2010.

 

[4dmalamute]

Thanks to everyone who has given some input. I am off to check out the tdiclub page. Also, I had no idea that they changed some things in the 2004 year.......so thanks for that info. More than likely, I am going to purchase something between the years 99 and 03.


Thanks again.

Chans

 

[Bob_Garrett]

Good friend of mine has a Bettle TDI. Think it was the 1st year they came out. At about 60k it blew an oil seal in the turbo as he was merging onto the freeway. Pretty much destroyed the engine while sending up a destroyer class cloud of smoke.

The engine is equipped with a Chalwyn valve, however the only way to activate it is to turn the ignition switch off.

 

[tltaylor22]

i've got a 2000 tdi and have had the usual issues. great gas milage, but I have replaced the MAF twice in three years at $80 a piece. I also had to drain the tank as I got a bad batch of b100 from a major supplier. The interior of the VW is junk. The armrest latch doesn't work anymore, the glove compartment door hinge is busted and it is like every non black plastic part has a vinyl coating that is pealing off. These are all common problems according to tdiclub. I also have a check engine light pulling a glow plug code. I have replaced the glow plug harness as that was the likely culprit, but still have the code. The Milage outwieghs the problems though.

 

[Martin White]

Too bad you can't wait for the Honda Accord diesel. Looks like an awesome car and with Honda build quality, you can't go wrong. But it's a year or two off. I'm sure it would eclipse VW for reliability, however.

 

[4dmalamute]

Well, things have changed for me. I am now looking into other autos at this point. My purchase price had to drop, considerably so this sort of crossed out the TDI . I am still hopefull but realisticly, I think I might have to find a inexpensive care with great fuel milage. I will keep posting what I end up with when the time comes. If anyone has a TDI and wants to sell it for a really good price let me know.

 

[haryv]

heard from a owner he paid 1,500 in parts and labor for a fuel pump replacment. A shop recently did a transmission from a late model jetta costing $3,500.00. Outside of that the fuel economy is great and cannot be beat.

 

[Elijah]

Well, things have changed for me. I am now looking into other autos at this point. My purchase price had to drop, considerably so this sort of crossed out the TDI . I am still hopefull but realisticly, I think I might have to find a inexpensive care with great fuel milage. I will keep posting what I end up with when the time comes. If anyone has a TDI and wants to sell it for a really good price let me know.

I'm going to look at a couple 3 cyl, manual .....dare I say it...... Geo Metros The XFI version has a 58 mpg highway rating Non XFI gets about 51 mpg, cheap insurance, etc.

 

[Gus]

I've also been on the look out for a decent used VW TDI, few and far between around here and typically the clean ones are pretty pricey. The Toyota Yaris is worth looking into, the mileage isn't as good as the VW, but you get Toyota dependability.

 

[brownbear]

We had a VW Jetta with the TDI. Averaged 58mpg on the highway. If you get one, get the manual transmission. Not much HP to the motor, but with the manual, you would not notice it. I have heard the automatics are not much fun to drive.

I had an automatic 2003 Golf TDI.

it was still very nice to drive. The engine has soo much torque it doesn't need to downshift on the highway with cruise on.

They are great driving and feeling cars. I owned it 30,000 kms and never had a problem. We decided to sell it because we were not driving enough(one tank of fuel for 2 months) and the payment was too big. But the re-sale on the TDIs is really good.

If I had to commute long distance it would be in TDI VW.

Some people do however have some troubles with them. The car has strange electrical problems I have heard. Lots of engine lights.

A co-worker of mine had to replace the turbo on his. He said the warranty was crap and they make you pay for some labour.

So check out the details on the warranty before buying. I bought extra warranty when I got mine new. I had 100,000 mile 7 year warranty.

Cost 1800 more when I bought it.