i test drove some diesels yesterday

[FoBoT]

we liked both of them
my wife liked driving the jetta better but riding in the passat better. the passenger side seat in the jetta is a little closed in

and of course the passat is larger. it is a nice car

the high fuel economy and large fuel tank give both over 600 mile range
and diesel is a little cheaper to boot

we'll probably get the passat and ditch our plymouth grand voyager van.

the car salesman said they weren't making any 2006 passat TDI wagons, so we will have to find a dealer with a 2005 still on the lot or buy a used one. i guess they are hard to find used.

anybody here own a diesel passenger car?

 

[LandRover]

Did you look at a Jetta wagon as well?

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: LandRover
Did you look at a Jetta wagon as well?

no. our thinking was to either get the bigger car in a wagon and ditch our van, or get the jetta sedan and keep the van for trips or when we need the space. but my wife will be the main driver if we get the passat and i would be the main driver if we get the jetta. i think my wife wants to get rid of the van. so i'll have to keep my '97 saturn for commuting to work.

we sat in a beetle, but they didn't have any TDI beetles on the lot to drive. with 2 kids still at home, we decided the beetle would have to wait

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
we liked both of them
my wife liked driving the jetta better but riding in the passat better. the passenger side seat in the jetta is a little closed in

and of course the passat is larger. it is a nice car

the high fuel economy and large fuel tank give both over 600 mile range
and diesel is a little cheaper to boot

we'll probably get the passat and ditch our plymouth grand voyager van.

the car salesman said they weren't making any 2006 passat TDI wagons, so we will have to find a dealer with a 2005 still on the lot or buy a used one. i guess they are hard to find used.

anybody here own a diesel passenger car?

I've had 2 diesel VW's, a 79 Rabbit IIRC, and an 02' Golf, currently have a 95' G20 Chevy Diesel van.

The biggest downside is oil changes are $50+ at the dealership, the VW's take synthetic diesel spec oil or you void the warranty. The oil filter is an element style, not a spin on cartridge style & it can be super messy to do yourself, it's also rather time consuming, you have to pull the upper engine shroud and the belly pan to change the oil on them.

TDI Club should have a list of dealerships that has an 05' Passat wagon.

 

[olds]

Diesel is more expensive than premium here in the Communist State of California.

 

[cjgallen]

Brother in law had a TDI Beetle, now has a TDI Jetta, had no problems with either (besides the window defect, but that was fixed).

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Diesel is more expensive than premium here in the Communist State of California.

And with winter coming it will skyrocket even more so make sure those TDI cars get significantly better mileage and that you WANT or NEED a new car or you might be simply pursuing a folley.

 

[Farbio]

haven't had a vw diesel, but own a 05 duramax 2500 chevy crew and love the diesel power and economy...a bit louder than the gas, but i'm assumming the vw versions have some better nvh than a truck.
u will find your driving habits changing though w/ a diesel - its almost impossible to overheat one - i.e. u can leave the car running w/ ac on in hot as hell weather w/out much consequence even if stopped - i use the key fob to just lock it alot as i run an errand into the store and leave it running w/ ac full blast - have yet to notice a mileage penalty for it, so it works here

 

[Contagious]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Diesel is more expensive than premium here in the Communist State of California.

In Soviet California diesel fills YOU.

 

[aidanjm]

it's not going to save you money. diesel is more expensive than regular in australia, europe, it's only a matter of time before that happens in the usa. face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

 

[klah]

Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

 

[NakaNaka]

Originally posted by: aidanjm
face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

Now there's an intelligent response.

 

[klah]

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: klah
Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

Universal LSD?

 

[Farbio]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: klah
Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

Universal LSD?

i wish!

ultra low sulfur diesel = most of the engines available today won't comply and will have to be re-eingineered or completely pulled

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: NakaNaka

Originally posted by: aidanjm
face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

Now there's an intelligent response.

you can't handle the truth?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Farbio
haven't had a vw diesel, but own a 05 duramax 2500 chevy crew and love the diesel power and economy...a bit louder than the gas, but i'm assumming the vw versions have some better nvh than a truck.
u will find your driving habits changing though w/ a diesel - its almost impossible to overheat one - i.e. u can leave the car running w/ ac on in hot as hell weather w/out much consequence even if stopped - i use the key fob to just lock it alot as i run an errand into the store and leave it running w/ ac full blast - have yet to notice a mileage penalty for it, so it works here

why would you leave your car running without anyone in it?

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Farbio

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: klah
Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

Universal LSD?

i wish!

ultra low sulfur diesel = most of the engines available today won't comply and will have to be re-eingineered or completely pulled

we have no emissions requirement in BFE, i don't care what it emits

 

[FoBoT]

the salesman told me about the oil change requirements, even though it is more expensive, it only has to be done every 10k miles

i drove a lot of diesels in europe in '97-'98 , i like them

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: klah
Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

Universal LSD?

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/ulsd/chapter5.html

I would wait. Read lots of horror stories when Aussies switched over in 03-04 with seals, fuel pumps and wear due to less lubrication.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: cjgallen
Brother in law had a TDI Beetle, now has a TDI Jetta, had no problems with either (besides the window defect, but that was fixed).

The window, and the sunroof, and the battery, and the headlights, and the center console, and the seat rails, and the AC compressor and the......

Great drivetrain and fun to drive though!

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
the salesman told me about the oil change requirements, even though it is more expensive, it only has to be done every 10k miles

i drove a lot of diesels in europe in '97-'98 , i like them

I would never go 10K miles between changes especially with a turbo, I changed the Golf's oil every 4-5K miles.

The TDI's have an issue with sludge build problem due to their relatively low oil capacity- yet another reason not to go for the extended change intervals.

$2k for the diesel option, higher diesel than gasoline prices, and the oil change expense/hassle killed VW diesels for me. Also factor in the reduced reliability that diesels used to be famous for because of the increased number of electronic engine control systems

Mechanic?s Tale: VW, Heal Thyself

Honestly, I was a fan till wife's TDI got about 39K miles on it, now it's got some wierd ass problem every other month that only the dealership can fix

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Farbio

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: klah
Wait 9 months until ULSD becomes mandatory.

Universal LSD?

i wish!

ultra low sulfur diesel = most of the engines available today won't comply and will have to be re-eingineered or completely pulled

Uh, do you mean most of the sulfur available today won't comply?

 

[InlineFive]

Don't the TDI Passats have close to 400 Lb. Ft. of torque?

I wish Volvo would bring their new D5 engines over here. :|

 

[forrestroche]

Originally posted by: aidanjm
it's not going to save you money. diesel is more expensive than regular in australia, europe, it's only a matter of time before that happens in the usa. face it, suckers, your love affair with the automobile is over, time to get a bicycle

That's wrong. I live in Europe and diesel is much cheaper here. Diesels are highly desirable cars here for that reason (and the lower consumption).

Australia I don't know.