What year VW TDI to buy?

[George_7.3IDI]

Hi everyone,

I've been interested in getting a VW TDI for a while now and I'm just looking to educate myself a little bit. Just don't have the $$ right now so I'm doing my homework. First off I don't want to buy brand new because I hate car payments so I'll only be considering used ones. I want to get your opinions on what year(s) would be the best for the greatest mileage... it needs to be turbo'd though just a personal preference and I'd like that extra power. I've heard that the newest VW TDI's are getting mileage that's less than some of the older ones like the late 90's and early 2000 models. As far as body style I was thinking 4 door so a Jetta or Golf sedan but not really interested in the Beetle. So if you have the time I'd appreciate your opinions on what you think the best year would be.

Also I'm not necessarily dead set on a VW TDI... so something similar with 40mpg or better and runs on diesel would interest me as well.

Thanks
George

 

[armstrongfordt]

I don't know if this will help or not. I bought a 2005.5 jetta tdi new, (new body style) it now has 103,000 miles on it. It has since day one got 43 mpg, never more or less. It just got new rotors and disc brake pads last weekend. I have installed 2 fuel filters, original air cleaner,( I vacumn it every oil change) and change the oil every 10,000 miles.
It is a great little car, I plan to get rid of it next year, so 6 mos before I get rid of it I am going to start running wmo in it, using the same mix, 80/20 kero and see if it will run as good as my 1997 psd does. The only problem I have with it is it is just terrible in the snow, with winter tires. My next vehicle will be 4X4, I am tired of cleaning my drive to get it out. That is all I have done to it since day one, except but new winter tires every year.

ARMSTRONGFORDTRUCKS

 

[Zrock]

Go with the 1998 - 2004, 05. The old body style. They were a much lighter car and get much better fuel econ. I found them to be a bit peppier when i worked at VW also. their is also far more aftermarket available for the older cars and can easily creat some extra HP and fuel econ. We love our 2006 but the price it has cost me for upgrades on it is nutz i could have completely done a older car for less money. If you go for a older one take it to a VW tech and have them give it a once over. Make sure they check timming belt and check the intake for cokeing and watter pump. Those are the higher dollar repairs so it will be money well spent on your part

 

[SORTIE]

Go with the 1998 - 2004, 05. The old body style. They were a much lighter car and get much better fuel econ

x2, my dad owns a 2000 and it gets > 45 mph on the highway, handles beautifully and is quite peppy. I should really chitcan my old MB diesel wagon and buy a 2000 Jetta or Passat TDI wagon

 

[Coalroller68]

We have a late 04 so it has the newer injection pump and cruising at 78mph i avg 47mpg, Friend of mine has same thing and he has gotten 65 but thats doing like 40 on the interstate

 

[FoMoCo]

I have a 2005 Golf with the PD motor and it is a BEW. I get 44 to 46 mpg. I have 80,000 miles on the car and so far has been problem free. The only thing you might want to consider is that some cars 2005.5 on up had BRM motors, and some of these have cam wear issues which is very costly to repair. My motor is a BEW and this motor is very similar to the BRM, but does not the cam wear problem. Not to say that the cams won't wear, just not as likely. I would go with the older ALH motors, they have a belt driven injection pump and are great motors. The only problem with these is that the rubber timing belt needs changing more often and there intakes clog up. So either a ALH or BEW, also get the manuel transmission (cheaper to operate). Go to fred's TDI web page, those guys eat and breathe TDI's. (tdiclub.com)

 

[Darrin Tosh]

My wife Lori drives an 02 Jetta TDI with an Automatic. she Loves it, and she wont drive a stick, but it has 225K on it and we average 37 mixed driving and 42-45 on the highway trips. It is a great car, just had the timing belt and water pump done. The auto trans are marginal and will go out someday. Get a stick if you have the option,..I didn't..

 

[gonecrazyi]

I just bought a 01 jetta with 138k and it runs great and gets around 48 doing 80. My dad has a 98 with the same setup as me and regulary gets 56-58 with the ac off doing 55. Both are 5 speeds. My mom has a 2003 jetta wagon with an auto and it never really does much better than 38 no matter how you drive it.

Id rather drive my truck but this thing is far cheaper and has saved me at least 300 in fuel this month alone. Id also go with the 98 to 2004s, parts are still expensive but nowhere near as bad as the newer models.

 

[carknocker]

I'd go 1999.5-2004. These are the ALH engine, have a simple mechanical Bosch injection pump set up. Try and get as many service records as possible- these cars need timing belts every 80k miles, running one far over that is just tempting fate and a belt breaking requiring a new/refurb head.

The ALH motors are the most efficient, most mod-able, and least picky when it comes to oil, which I wouldn't consider to be a concern for people who understand diesels, but when the average consumer gets one and doesn't know the difference between a CJ-4 oil and your standard ******-lube 5w30, problems happen... Try and stick to the manual cars, the automatics tend to fail due to the torque converter, and can't be rebuilt.

 

[ocnorb]

Another ALH motor fan. We've had our 2003 since it was new. I've done all the maintenance myself, including the timing belt at 89K miles. We're at 132K now and it has been a very dependable car.

Ours had the alternator pulley fail at 60K- easy fix.

TDIclub can help guide you through any issues.

Prior to ULSD it averaged 46-48 MPG consistently. Post ULSD it gets 40-42. I may try a tuner soon to see if we can get the MPG's back where they belong.

 

[carknocker]

I just had TD Tuning tune mine to a stage 3 to maximize my bigger injectors.

Wow. Completely different car, and TDTuning/Mikel are great to work with as well!

 

[joemac]

What mods are available for a reasonable cost on the late 90s early 00 tdi's? What kind of power is possible?

 

[02AutoWag]

I'd go 1999.5-2004. These are the ALH engine, have a simple mechanical Bosch injection pump set up. Try and get as many service records as possible- these cars need timing belts every 80k miles, running one far over that is just tempting fate and a belt breaking requiring a new/refurb head.

The ALH motors are the most efficient, most mod-able, and least picky when it comes to oil, which I wouldn't consider to be a concern for people who understand diesels, but when the average consumer gets one and doesn't know the difference between a CJ-4 oil and your standard ******-lube 5w30, problems happen... Try and stick to the manual cars, the automatics tend to fail due to the torque converter, and can't be rebuilt.

My choice is the ALH too.
Correction though:
ALH motor was NOT offered in 2004.
ALH motor was run in the 1998-2003 Beetle and 1999.5-2003 Jetta/Golf.

What mods are available for a reasonable cost on the late 90s early 00 tdi's? What kind of power is possible?

For the model years you are looking at, a rough $600 ($300 nozzles, $300 chip tune) will move you from 90hp/155ft.lbs to 125hp/225ft.lbs. This equates to a 40% increase in performance numbers. As usual, fuel mileage is directly linked to your right foot. Many have reported better mileage, but my foot does not allow me to verify that claim.

That's the cheap stuff. Exhaust, intakes, turbos, all this stuff is available, but then you begin the slide down the slippery slope of mods. Spend more money and you can have 200/300 if you wish (a 100% increase over stock).

Being from Maryland, your best bet is to pay this guy a visit: http://www.torquejunkie.com/ Oliver has more tricks up his bag than what's on his website. Oliver was the crew chief for the now defunct RallyVW car: http://www.dieselpowermag.com/features/0610dp_2006_biodiesel_volkswagen_golf/index.html He knows how to build them wild and/or mild. He does not take chances on customer cars, so he will listen to your needs and recommend wisely.

Additional info at www.tdiclub.com

BTW, if you are going to run biodiesel, stick to the ALH motors and their more tolerant fueling system.

 

[joemac]

Cool, thanks

 

[j2005]

so has any one ran WMO in their 99-2004 tdi?