Tomorrow morning I will be a TDI owner
 

I am buying a 2004 Jetta TDI wagon tomorrow morning. The wife wanted something newer for her 100mi roundtrip daily commute and I wanted to stick with a diesel. VW is about the only option. Here is a pic.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...I/IMG_0053.jpg

You're going to hate the transmission in that car. The 2.0L TDI Passats with the 5spd tiptronic is a much better ride.

You'll have the acceleration of a cargo barge.

We'll see. When I drove it I didn't notice any dislike. It's got more pickup that either of my MB's.

Some people mod the crap out of them for more power- bigger injector orifices, FI maps, I think. I've read they grease well, but I've also read of some adverse outcomes w/ modded engines & grease- spray pattern might break down w/ big orifices & grease.

For now I'm gonna keep it stock. I know can do ECU mods and chips that can squeeze out more HP or MPG. I might play with that a little. I'm not gonna do anything crazy. I wan't to have this car for a long time. I haven't read if the intakes in the 04s get the build up that the earlier ones do, but I'll have to look into that. I would like to get some different wheels, but thats pretty low on the list.

Looks very nice. Congrats

My sister has a 2004 Golf TDI with a manual transmission; she is in love with that car!

She’s kind of a slow poke driver... so maybe the transmission is not super sporty, but she has never had a complaint. Being a manual I think its all about how you drive it since you are in control.

The only bad thing that happened to my sister since owning it was when the engine broke... Something to do with torturing down the engine mount after the timing belt was changed. She had the T belt changes and about a year later the engine fell in the compartment because where the mount bolts to the engine failed. Not the mount mind you the engine block, the casting that provided room for a hole to be tapped (kind of an ear off the side of the block) ripped apart. Since it happed a year after the T belt service, the shop would not warranty the work, and the VW dealer said she needed a new engine block... Thanks to the guys on TDIclub she learned that there was a guy making a bracket that relocated that bolt so that she did not need a new engine.

All of this was pretty scary for my sister... and a head ache for me because the work was done by her boyfriend in my garage! lol.... I suppose the moral of the story is to take the car to a reputable shop for timing belt services.

Sweet ride. That's going to be a fun car to drive, hopefully the wife lets you get to drive it occasionally.

Exactly, thats what I worry about. I won't get to drive it. :P

Nice car. I wouldn't mind owning that one little bit. :D

Nice car.
You're on a MB board, so some people are going to say some naysayer things. But I drove a friend's '03 wagon and loved it.
The only things keeping me from getting one are: my MB wagon has a lower dollar/mile ratio, even with the mpg factored in, because it was much cheaper, and I do like the "character" of an older vehicle about 51% of the time.

My wife loves her '06 Jetta TDI.

:P I like the "character" of mine all the time...51% of the time when they are NOT running. Both of mine were inoped at the same time last December...that was a headache. Both are running like champs now.

Bio- I like the Jetta wagons. I do like the Passat wagons a bit better but they don't do the same mileage as the Jettas.

I'm hoping to get in the high 40's low 50's but we'll see. The PO was getting in the 40's. But she's young, and I'm guessing fairly heavy footed.

Our '06 get 48 mpg, in mixed highway/city. This car is what made my wife a diesel convert.