2009 Jetta 2.5 with 34k miles

[Jeff7181]

I'm looking to replace my leased 2010 Altima Coupe 2.5S because I'm going to go way over the mileage and the manager at the dealership said he'll buy out my lease if I get another car from him.

I saw they have a used 2009 Jetta 2.5 I5 on the lot. Looks fully loaded, leather, heated seats, sunroof, upgraded stereo, etc. Listed price is 16,285. I'm thinking I can get it for closer to 15. The only thing that is causing me to hesitate is that reviews say it gets poor gas mileage for a 2.5L engine. Anyone have any input? I plan to go look at it and test drive it in about an hour. It's a 6-speed auto by the way.

 

[LTC8K6]

It's rated 20/29 for whatever that's worth.

 

[Kroze]

Probably 24mpg combined. that's pretty bad in today's standard and especially for a 4 cylinder.

Today's V6 making 260-300hp are getting better than that in mixed driving.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Coming from a VW fan, the 2.5 is pretty crap compared to everything else out there.

 

[coxmaster]

Probably 24mpg combined. that's pretty bad in today's standard and especially for a 4 cylinder.

Today's V6 making 260-300hp are getting better than that in mixed driving.

It's a 5 cylinder not 4...

As a Jetta owner I'm glad I have the 2.0T not the 2.5

 

[Jeff7181]

What about the 2.0T do you like better? Just mileage and power or are there problems with the 2.5?

 

[Christobevii3]

The 2.5L is mediocre in power, fuel mileage, etc. For $16k you could save a little more and get a new focus that gets almost 10mpg more combined or a cruze.

 

[rdp6]

What about the 2.0T do you like better? Just mileage and power or are there problems with the 2.5?

Fuel economy, torque, noise. Had a '08 Jetta 2.5 6A rental for a few days while my 2007 Passat 2.0T 6M was in the body shop. I was pretty surprised about the fuel economy for sure. Flogging the 2.0T returned better economy than treating the happy pedal like a landmine on the 2.5.

 

[Jeff7181]

The 2.5L is mediocre in power, fuel mileage, etc. For $16k you could save a little more and get a new focus that gets almost 10mpg more combined or a cruze.

The problem with that is that I can't find another dealer that is willing to buy out my current lease. The buyout is almost $20k. The most another dealer has offered to buy it for was 15k.

Really the only other option I see is to get a brand new Sentra SR Special Edition from this dealership. I can't find any other used cars on their lot that fit my needs/wants. The Sentra fits my needs, but not my wants. Stepping down to a little 140 HP economy car that feels like I'm seeing on the seat rather than in it isn't very appealing to me. I've already dealt with that with a 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage.

I'm just real nervous about the fuel mileage of the Jetta. I get about 29 mpg driving mostly just to work in my Altima. If I only get 26 in the Jetta, that's going to add $30/mo in fuel costs. I do like the car... it doesn't feel underpowered to me, in fact, it feels a little more powerful than my Altima even though the Altima's rated at 175 HP/180 lbs/ft vs 170/177 for the Jetta. Although, the increase in fuel cost would pretty much be offset by the mileage penalties I'd accumulate on my Altima.

We'll see how much fuel it uses to and from work tomorrow and I'll probably base my decision on that. They let me keep it overnight and take it to work to see if I like it.

 

[kaerflog]

The Jetta just doesn't have comparable mpg to cars in its class.

 

[Kroze]

Easier if you compare displacement size rather than number of cylinders. The Honda accord 2.4l is pretty close and it get 34mpg hwy

 

[LTC8K6]

Easier if you compare displacement size rather than number of cylinders. The Honda accord 2.4l is pretty close and it get 34mpg hwy

What would a comparable Honda Accord cost?

 

[chin311]

those jettas are the ugliest ones they made IMO and the 2.5 is kind of a dumb engine, not really a lot of power and subpar gas mileage, I'd rather have the sentra if it was me lol.

 

[Jeff7181]

Well I just drove it to work and it did pretty good on the highway. I thought I felt a slight vibration yesterday when I drove it, but today I drove on some freshly paved roads and didn't feel it, so it must have been the road I was on yesterday.

I like how it drives. We'll see what the gas gauge looks like after I drive it home, but I didn't catch a breeze from the needle sweeping across toward E, though.

 

[alphatarget1]

VW= maintenance nightmare.

 

[Jeff7181]

VW= maintenance nightmare.

What type of things have you had go wrong with your VW? And what model/powertrain combo do/did you have? If there are maintenance issues with the 2.0T, for example, I'm not concerned. If there are maintenance issues with the 6 speed automatic transmission, then I am concerned. More details, please.

 

[Jeff7181]

Oh... and I can see why someone said this 6 speed automatic needs another gear. 2800 RPM at 80 mph... thought this 5 cylinder was supposed to have more low end grunt than a typical inline 4... why not gear it as such?

 

[PlasmaBomb]

How far over are you going on your mileage?

I just ask because over here it can be X pence per mile <10,000 and XXX pence per mile for >10,000 so you need to watch out. Just something for you to check out

 

[coxmaster]

What type of things have you had go wrong with your VW? And what model/powertrain combo do/did you have? If there are maintenance issues with the 2.0T, for example, I'm not concerned. If there are maintenance issues with the 6 speed automatic transmission, then I am concerned. More details, please.

IIRC there aren't too many problems or concerns with the 2.5. It is actually more reliable than the 2.0T in many cases

 

[Jeff7181]

How far over are you going on your mileage?

I just ask because over here it can be X pence per mile <10,000 and XXX pence per mile for >10,000 so you need to watch out. Just something for you to check out

I'm allowed 12,000/yr, I got it July 29th last year, I have 19,800 on it now since starting my 75-80 mile round trip commute to work in February. So just driving to work I'll be putting 20k a year on it. When I started this new job on Feb. 21st I had 8300 miles on the car. This is why I'm trying to turn it in early.

 

[wand3r3r]

From experience the honda accords will be trouble free to 200k mi. My passat has needed many of the axle/rods with bushings replaced and from what I hear others have to replace a lot of the other parts connected to the wheel area which have bushings. I don't know the parts names but basically the parts with bushings seem to wear exceptionally quick on vw's. Honda's tend to cost more but if you don't want to spend anything on repairs they will last forever.

 

[Doppel]

I have yet to read why going over the mileage on the lease is a problem for you--you realize that your can buy the car out at the end, right? And at a price already set in your contract. You can put 400,000 miles on the car and after three years it will have a residual price of $13-14k I'd guess. So then you can, if you want, finance it at that point. Replacing it now early just seems awfully dubious, especially with a vw.

You have a good car now and you're putting a lot of miles on it, the lease is not the end of the world, though as long as you buy it out at the end.

 

[Jeff7181]

I have yet to read why going over the mileage on the lease is a problem for you--you realize that your can buy the car out at the end, right? And at a price already set in your contract. You can put 400,000 miles on the car and after three years it will have a residual price of $13-14k I'd guess. So then you can, if you want, finance it at that point. Replacing it now early just seems awfully dubious, especially with a vw.

You have a good car now and you're putting a lot of miles on it, the lease is not the end of the world, though as long as you buy it out at the end.

The problem will be getting financing at the end of the lease. I have a coworker and family members who have run into that problem. They get crap interest rates if they even find a bank or credit union willing to finance the car. I'll have the option to buy it for $16k I believe at the end of the lease, but with 80-100k miles on it, it'll be valued below that. I can almost guarantee I won't be able to pay cash for it in a couple years so I figured I'd go with something used and pile on the miles.

 

[Doppel]

The problem will be getting financing at the end of the lease. I have a coworker and family members who have run into that problem. They get crap interest rates if they even find a bank or credit union willing to finance the car. I'll have the option to buy it for $16k I believe at the end of the lease, but with 80-100k miles on it, it'll be valued below that. I can almost guarantee I won't be able to pay cash for it in a couple years so I figured I'd go with something used and pile on the miles.

But you'll have to get a loan now And it's going to cost more per month than your lease. Perhaps you could take that extra a current finance rate will cost, bank it, and then in three years your car is $16k minus whatever you have down to put into it ($5k perhaps) and financing $11k shouldn't be a problem

 

[Jeff7181]

But you'll have to get a loan now And it's going to cost more per month than your lease. Perhaps you could take that extra a current finance rate will cost, bank it, and then in three years your car is $16k minus whatever you have down to put into it ($5k perhaps) and financing $11k shouldn't be a problem

You have a good point, and that would be one way to go. But the other factor is that I'm finally in a stable relationship and marriage and a family is all but a certainty at this point. The sedan is much more family friendly and the extra trunk space will aid in traveling to see out-of-state family (both her's and mine).

They let me keep it another day to see if I really want to keep it, and I'm pretty much sold on it at this point. I'm just going to try to get a few more bucks seeing as how the windshield has a couple chips in it that need to be fixed and there's a ding in the fender and the instrument panel is telling me there's an exterior bulb burned out (I've yet to find it, everything looks fine). Oh, and their porter left a bunch of accessories on and drained the battery to the point it had to be jumped for me to test drive it. I'm going to see if they'll put a new battery in it due to that.