Drove a Volkswagon TDI Jetta wagon yesterday. Thinking of adding the station wagon to the stable for the wife's 500 mile per week commuter car. List price of $23,000. Window sticker said final assembly on wagons was Wolfsburg Germany. Sedans are put together in Mexico.

I am 6 feet one inch tall and had plenty of leg room in the Jetta.
It had lots of power! I put the pedal to floor and left some of the new tires on the roadway. Those tires screamed! The salesman said he didn't care one bit. That little car had tons of power.

I got a service schedule. They say they use Castrol synthetic in these cars and change every 5k miles. The timing belt only last for 60k miles and then you get hit with an $800 service bill. OUCH! My wife's Honda accord is not that expensive to service.

I find it interesting that these have a built in Fuel water separator. I have one on the boat engine, but have never thought of putting one on my car.

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1982 300SD Light Blue
2002 Honda Accord SE
1974 Toro Wheel Horse Tractor
2000 Toyota Tundra Pickup

Check out TDIclub.com lots of info over there. The new timing belts are good for 100k in the manual trans cars, not sure about autos.

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82 Rabbit diesel (first d), 84 Jetta turbo d (300k when sold), 83 240d (305k when sold), 84 F250 6.9d w/Banks turbo(parts truck), 86 F250 6 cyl.gasser(waiting for 6.9d), 84 300d ( 347k Sold 8/04), Y2k New Bettle TDI (185k miles), 95 740IL (wifes), 87 300TD (206k Sold 7/05), 05 Passat TDI Wagon

You perhaps know the 2006s are due out in two months. If this is the older 2005 body style make sure to get a really deep discount. No noticeable price increases on 2006 I have been told and also a little more power but probably at the expense of a little fuel milage. As soon as the new body style released in diesel prices on old style will drop bad in my opinion. For what it's worth resale on the station wagons is supposed to remain very high. German assembled should be better than the last mexican built car we had but overall it was good from that point of view. Good crash design as pretty strong. My wife took hers to extremes last august.

For an $800 bill I would learn how to change it myself......thats a lot of money.

Could be I am just cheap....but $800 to me is a lot of money. I am seriously considering one if my job survives the buyout with the greedy SOB's I work for.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Belt change should be available cheaper than that unless new system. Probably includes the water pump and all small rollers etc. Water pump driven direct by engine on crank. Miserable little job on that model but think 800.00 american gouging a little. May be wrong though. A good check of vw site would clarify I believe. Bonehead guess i'am cheap as well but at least not easy.

1. TDI.com is an excellent site as posted earlier
2. Manual shifts are 100K for the timing belt - I do believe they reduce that for an auto. I would suggest a manual if your wife can deal with it, better mileage and better timing belt change interval
3. The new PD motors require some higher end oil than even Delvac 1. My TDI manual says Castrol as well but Delvac 1 is just fine. You can only get the specific Castrol at the stealership. The new PD (pump duese) motors require a certain standard that Delvac and Amsoil do not yet reach. I think Motul and one or two others (see TDI.com) manufacture it. Doesn't the oil change interval progress to 10K after the first two?

I love my Jetta, put a lot of miles on it. I have not had any problems except for a thermostat under warranty. I tripped a code for inadequate coolant temp. They just replaced the themostat and the light has not come on since. I put an aftermarket TDI heater on it and the code tripped one morning after I had it plugged in all night. I suspect the heater may have had something to do with it but not sure. Two known issues with the TDI's: MAF failure and intake plugging over time from oil mist. There is an aftermarket fix for the intale pluggin - see TDI.com.

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'85 300D - 206K (sold)
'81 240D - 149K (sold)
'03 Jetta TDI - (sold)
'79 300D - (sold)

Had a customer with one who wanted "rad" injector nozzles. I was like, sure, whatever. He ordered some mondo nozzles and I replaced them in his injectors and re-installed in his car.

When he came to pick it up, he drove up the hill and back like an old lady. He noticed I was visibly pissed and I pulled him out of the car (Jetta TDI) and said, THIS is how you're supposed to drive this car now. Then proceeded to do a 30' burn out going UPHILL (surprised even me.) The thing felt like a friggin' rocket.

He had an ear to ear grin and said he wished he'd recorded that, he'd never seen anyone do that and certainly not in a diesel. He called two days later and said he still smelled burning rubber in the car and was getting used to the power (yeah right.)

Anyway, the cars are made pretty chincy, but the TDI can really get on it with a little tweaking.

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

I'd hold out for the new Jetta.. I saw a few gassers at a VW dealer yesterday.. very nice! As someone said, if you must get an 05.. make sure you get it CHEAP.

Financially the 2000 worked out terrifically. Paid 26,500 + tax canadian with sunroof and alloys will collect 22,000 + tax canadian for the written off car. Smallest depreciation on a new car we ever owned. Hope to duplicate on the 2006. Remember I live in canada. Volkswagon has a strange pricing code on their new cars. Seems independant of currency values to some extent. But does the companys customer service stink. Worse I have ever seen with any car. Other brands were not too bad at all in comparison and sometimes they were almost a nightmare. Check up on dealers service reputation you are buying from because thats all you pretty well have period. Any complaints that dealer will not address you may as well urinate into the wind.

I am looking into getting a 1999 or 2000 Jetta TDI, the prices have dropped enough that they are in reach of me being able to afford one. I've been looking at TDI.com, and they look easy enough to repair, and will cut my fuel expenses in more than half

Buddy bought one, driven them, eh. Motor is alright, wouldnt want to work on the very new ones much. The car's are as Tom said, chinzy, plastic. They all sound solid and new for awhile, but wait...
You really cannot argue with the mileage though, other than the fact that I can buy multiple A2 turbo diesels for the price of a TDI, but almost as fast, get about the mileage, and not depreciate.

The alure of a new car is powerfull, but I've learned long ago, I really prefer my $1500 slightly worn rattly german cars to anything new. My BMW cost less in fuel the my 300D, and will run rings around that TDI in every way, plus it looks better..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K