OT: TDI satisfaction question

[wbx]

Hello samba-ites, (sambans? sambanians? people of samba descent?)

When we return to california, we are thinking of purchasing a TDi (most likely a Jetta). While they are expensive, and it will be a stretch to swing one, in the long run, hopefully the fuel economy will help pay for the car (the alternative being a toyota corolla). I've seen that several of you own TDis, so i thought it would be useful to post here...

My question is concerning reliability and those "nickle and dime" you kinds of problems. I'm fairly confident in the drivetrain, but am i going to be fixing windshield wipers and power window switches every weekend?

We are also looking mostly at post year 2000 cars, but is there a big difference between pre- and post-2000?

Thanks, and for vanagon content, this may be a future TDi engine donor to a certain '84 westy .

-Damon
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'84 Westy (first owner).......but my daily driver has pedals
My "perspective" mantra:
A Volkswagen Vanagon is just a material thing,
As such, it is of the earth,
And if i need to, I can let my Van go.

[Petervw]

I love the way almost any VW drives, but I would go for the toyota just because the electronics are far superior then anything bosch can produce

[molson88]

[amishman]

[wbx]

[vwjedi]

Correct me if I am wrong but these nuisance things seem like Beetle issues?

Our 2003 Jetta TDI has 65,000 miles on it and no probs yet. I have a check engine light on and code said #1 glow plug heater. So I need to replace it too. However glow plugs last hella longer than regular, at 65k miles gas plugs should have all been changed like 3 times now.

My wife got 51mpg on one trip and our 5 speed is supposed to be better fuel economy than Autos. I too really want to do TDI conversion on my Vanagon for the same torque and fuel econmy reasons. And you can run Biofuel! No more making Saudi's richer and instead put money into American farmer's pockets, that is worth alot to me in the future.

However if a swap is really an option down the road I would get a pre-2000 since you want to find an OBD-I engine for ease of swap. Check out the www.TDIclub.com page, those guys have gobs of knowledge. Good luck mang.
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1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

[cek347]

I purchased a VW certified one, through a couple codes right away, needed a new turbo, glow plugs, and AFM. That was within the first month. Since then not one problem at all. Starts, runs, drives excellent. With 18" wheels and wider tires im still getting mid 40's city driving. My advice would be to get a certified one if possible and let the bugs work themselves out in the first month or so. Mine had 52k on it when i got it, about 75k now. Great cars and now diesel is cheaper then gas right now around me.

If you have any doubts, get a Honda Civic, i got one for my wife in 2k1 and have just kept up with the maint. schedule. Runs and drives great (for a Honda).
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'86 Vanagon Wolfsburg Edition- tiico
'85.5 Porsche 944
'04 GX 470
'17 Prius Prime

[r39o]

I was meaning to reply to this. Forgot. First, a great place to check is TDIclub as above. Second, I own two of them. I (almost) love them. Like all VWs they do have many minor annoyances. You have to LOVE VWs to want to drive one. The basic engine is great. Everything else needs help from time to time. I have a 1998 New Beetle TDI which I bought used from a coworker who bought it new. It has 158K miles now. Story to follow...

We first bought a new 2002 Jetta IV automatic in August of 2001 when the fuel was cheap. It has not given any problems, per se, but did scare us once when the tranny would not make the car move. No faults I could find and neither could the dealer. We will have the trans serviced before the end of the 60K / 5 year warrenty. If they find metal flakes, we get a new trans. If they find nothing, we pay for the service and get 12 months more warrenty for $450!

I bought the Red Baron NB last year, right around the time I got the 85 Westy. There is a long story to this next part which is partly why the Westy is not done, so I will attempt to be brief. My coworker ended up being afraid of the NB at the end. He broke a timing belt in the parking lot because he did not listen to the service advisor and replace the timing belt. He had it fixed for $1200. I thought they did the right things for that price. WRONG. A lifter disintegrated after just shy of 1000 miles of my ownership. What the dealer did was slap a new starter in and a new belt. That was all they did for $1200!!!!!! VW would not warrent the "workmanship" and it was too much a hassle to go to court (lawyer said case was too small!) Damn! So, I did my reading at TDIClub and now I have 110HP and 190 ftlbs torque at 2200 rpm. I get a great wholesale deal at VW. A new head and all sorts of new parts for $1500. Rebuilt the turbo at Turbonetics for $400 and for $500 got some uprated injector nozzles. It burns rubber now. But, just yesteday a window regulator failed and the car is past the 7 year window warrenty. You MUST love these cars to drive them!
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

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[amishman]