I'm pondering a VW Jetta TDI. The mileage is most attractive, and I test drove one recently. Great car with nice features, very roomy, and fast. So, those of you who have them, any down sides? This car will require ultra low sulfur diesel, which is quite common these days, so it's cleaner than any other diesel vehicle from the past. Any diesel car will work, but if anybody has VW Jettas, let 'er rip.
Never drove a diesel car, but I'm sold on light truck diesels. I still am impressed by my 03 GMC Duramax. For a crew cab 4x4, it can move pretty quick, haul the load, and get great mileage when compared to gas engines in the same heavy duty line of trucks. And with some tuning, you can make stoopid power too.
i've heard nothing but positive reviews from those who own them. Only one issue with a navigation system causing a major electrical issue.
I used to have a couple Jetta's...matter of fact, when I "scale" down I might buy another one. I never had a problem with any VW Jetta I've owned. Price is right too.
I work at the VW dealer. I have a 2008 gas Jetta great car. All my customers love their Jetta diesels. You must use special oil in the engine though so if this isn't a problem for you go for it. You do get free oil change for the first 3 years at 10/20/30K. We recommend changing at 5K intervals. It's you engine after the warr expires and oil is lesss that a diesel engine. We have some in stock. www.3riversvw.com
My neighbor has a 2008 VW Beetle with a diesel and he gets around 40-45 mpg on a regular basis. The best he's got was 60 mpg using some very strict driving habits. If I get this new job I'm interviewing for next week , I'm going to be in the market for a VW diesel auto due to the 80 mile round trip travel will have . Only thing is , I want a 1999 - 2002 model so I can do the waste vegetable oil conversion or run it on home brew Bio.
My dad had one for three years, his only complaint was that any repairs no matter how small was very expensive he sold it for that reason Regards DW
Why hasn't anyone made a diesel rotary? I heard so much hype about how rotaries didn't care what fuel, from butane to french perfume.. as long as it would burn. Then I hear no more EVER about 'em, even when natural gas is cheap, or diesel's cheap.. what's the issue about making a tiny rotary motor and some batteries? Run it on whatever we HAVE, from methane to methanol to gasohol to diesel. Why did the engineering just .. stop?
I drive a 2005.5 Jetta TDI daily. Love the car, fun to drive and it gets great gas mileage. Oil changes can get expensive. I want to say they are $120 at the dealership. If you can do them on your own, that'l cut down on costs. 100k miles, still haven't changed my front brake pads, some ppl say they'll go 180k on one pair. Low sulfur diesel is all I've ever seen, never even have to make the choice. They will run on biodiesel, not WVO. Anything else, just ask!
I drive a Jeep Liberty diesel, and I love it. Nearly 300 lb/ft of torque and 25-28 mpg. Great fun to drive. Don't fear the oil burners.
I would love to have a diesel car - not necessarily a VW... But, the mileage isn't good enough relative to the price. I can get 38-40 with my Corolla. The money I save on a Corolla vs. a Jetta Diesel will buy a lot of gasoline. Diesels last forever - but, the rest of the car still wears out - suspension, interior, etc. I have 150K miles on my current Corolla. I plan to run it another 80K miles (just bought another set of tires). By then, many other components will be worn to the point of replacement. At that point, I'd rather have new car than a bunch of new parts around an old engine. To each his own. As I said - nothing against diesel - I'd love to have one. But, I'll stick with the Corolla and the cash for now. Good luck with your choice.
The early models will run on WVO. Grease car, Frybrid and Veg oil has kits for 99-02 model Beetles . I would imagine the early Jettas would reap the same benefits.
Let me correct myself, the new Pumpe Duse engines do not like the WVO. Any Jetta after 2005 has a Pumpe Duse that runs at way higher pressure and they don't like WVO very much. If the OP is looking for an older Jetta than that, then it probably would like WVO just fine.
My Buddy has had 2 RX-7 and they are not low maintenance in fact are pretty fussy, they get fuel soak fairly easy and the wiper/ apex seals can fail or stick plus they could not keep up with emissions requirements but with some materials redisign they might be diesel capable with turbo and TDI help
Speaking of Diesels unrelated to the TDI (A car I like a lot) I was at the "Pinks: All out" at Dallas speedway and someone had a Ram 3500 dually 4X4 that ran around a 12.6 1/4mile at over 105MPH the black smoke it was pouring out was crazy. End of pointless add nothing to the thread post.
Wankel engines are novel, but they do not get good mileage. A Diesel piston engine will get far better mileage than a Diesel Wankel. The gas powered RX7 back in the day got mileage in the low to mid teens, depending on how hard it was pushed.
Have two co-workers with TDIs. One has had his for several years and the other has right at 2000 miles on a new one. Solid and they do have torque once they get going. If you drive interstate and don't use cruise control, invest in some good LEO countermeasures (like a V1 radar/laser detector). 70 to 100 happens pretty quick it seems
