Used Car Buying: Yikes! 44.8 Miles per Gallon!
With threats of four-buck-a-gallon gas looming we decided to add a diesel to our fleet of long term cars. Shopping the diesel market narrows the choices drastically. And, besides a scant few 2007 Mercedes E320 Bluetecs, you have to buy a used diesel in California. With this in mind, we quickly landed on the idea of buying a circa 2005 Volkswagen TDI.
Only problem is, everyone knows these babies are fuel-sippers. Looking at the prices it's obvious that you pay upfront for the privilege of saving our natural resources. It's not so different than paying extra for a hybrid.
I used Autotrader.com, Cars.com and Google to search Southern California for diesel Jettas and Golfs (we ruled out the New Beetle because we had one in our fleet about 10 years ago). The search format on these web sites allowed me to set a maximum price and mileage and search only for a diesel in a certain radius of miles.
Ultimately, I found a 2005 VW Jetta TDI at Timmons VW of Long Beach and went down there on a Sunday morning to test drive it. They were asking $18,995 and it was certified with 51,000 miles on it.
As soon as my foot hit the pavement salesman Gaylen Currie was at my service. He found the keys, I test drove it and moved on since it was well out of our price range.
But several days later I had still not found something to fit our budget so I decided to make an offer. I consulted our used car department and learned that Timmons had probably paid $14,000 for the car as a trade-in or at auction. With this in mind I offered $17,000 for the Jetta. They came back at $17,200 and we had a deal. No doubt that the Edmunds.com name had a lot to do with getting a good deal. Still, the folks at Timmons were friendly and easy to deal with.
I was lucky enough to have the use of the Jetta TDI for the holidays and took it on a golf trip to San Diego. I drove 330 miles and the fuel gauge was only at half. When I filled up I found I had gotten 44.8 mpg! For some reason this really tickled me. It was amazing to drive such a long distance on only half a tank of fuel. Unfortunately, diesel is a bit more expensive than gas (I paid $3.65) but the boost in mileage more than makes up for the difference. In the past, diesel has been significantly cheaper than gas due to lower refining costs.
The Jetta TDI has plenty of torque in the midrange and cruises happily at 80 mph. The growl of the diesel is quite noticeable when accelerating but somehow, you soon become fond of it as you would a faithful workhorse.
After we run several tanks of petro-diesel in the Jetta we will switch to biodiesel to compare the performance. Later, we might convert it to run on waste vegetable oil. For now, we're just happy to have it in the fleet and drive over 400 miles between fill ups.
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- January 2, 2008, 10:33 AM
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Wow! Who needs a hybrid when they can get a Jetta TDI!!!!
I heard that this car is so underpowered.......is it true? How would you compare it's "real world" performance with, say, a gas-powered non-hybrid Honda Civic?
Cool! Imagine how it would have done at 60 mph. Is it loaded with leather and everything? I almost bought a new TDI Jetta wagon back in 2004. I looked for used TDI's a couple of months ago, but ended up buying a brand new Mazda3 for the same price. I know the higher price of diesel is more than offset by the higher mpg, and it will hold its value very well (at least until the next round of TDI's comes out and they're not so rare any more). But I just couldn't get comfortable with it being used, and hearing so many horror stories about VW's electrical gremlins.
Nevertheless, I'm glad to be able to read about this one on the long term blog.
PS - This generation of Jetta is inifinitely better looking than the newer Corolla-esque jelly bean shaped ones.
bummer you couldnt have waited for the 2008, or is it 2009 thats coming with the new 50 state diesel. still will be interesting to read this one
I agree, ahightower.The exterior styling of the current Jetta is pure rubbish.
I agree with you also ahightower, the 1999-2005 Jetta was a great looking small car, and I almost ended up with one as opposed to my 2005 Mazda3 as well. As much as I loved it though (more so than the 3 in all honesty), I couldn't get over their reputation for problems (especially in the 1.8T form), and the fact that you couldn't get the Sport Package and 17" wheels with the diesel. That being said, a friend of mine has a 2003 Jetta 1.8T (pretty much exactly the car I was searching for) that has been very reliable, so here's to hoping VW has improved!
Agree, Diesel cars could be one of the way to save money at the pump, but... few comments:
To work long without problems the Diesel engine needs very clean fuel and this isn't always the case right now.
As it was pointed out, yes it's quite noisy, but what about the smell? No matter what you do you will always have that diesel smell around the car and this could be very annoying.
Another thing, VW TDI calls for synthetic oil because of the turbo, and it's a lot more expensive than regular oil.
In addition, not every mechanic can service a Diesel engine, you need a mechanic specializing in Diesel or VW in this particular case.
Sam
around-wheels.blogspot.com
I was pleasantly surprised by the power in this TDI. The acceleration comes mid-range like a nice surprise. Two other editors at Edmunds have driven it now and give it high makers. One editor has a commute that involves passing in the 55 to 65 mph range -- he says he can do it in the TDI without shifting into a lower gear.
We have a cloth interior but it is very clean. Rear leg room is pretty tight and the trunk isn't good for golf clubs (but it is very deep and roomy).
Those VW gremlins worry me a bit too but that is why we are testing it.
I had an '01 Jetta GLX that I leased for three years. Only problem I had with it was a bad Climatronic unit during the initial month of ownership. Fixed under warranty and it was perfect for the rest of the lease.
VW's and Audi's can be a real gamble, however. My wife and I have leased two Jetta's, a Passat and 2 A4's. The only major problem we ever had on any of them was a bad CVT on our first A4. Otherwise, all were very reliable. However, I know many people have had horror stories with their VAG products.
Personally, I would only lease a VW or Audi and would NEVER own one without a warranty.
I read what karl wrote and kept using our TDI but i wasn't sure why... NOW I KNOW LOL!!
I feel 2 sided about this particular long term car.
1) Why not an 06 with 6speedDSG? But then i remembered the Long Term jetta 2.5.(I hate the base jettas and edmunds/insideline always gets them!)
2)Why not wait until October when VW introduces the new 140hp 240lbs ft 2.0L TDI engine? But then the same second half issue as #1. Still, I think I would have waited... but then again....
Well at least there is a V-dub on the LT fleet again! Can't wait for an acceleration video! Good luck finding B100 pumps. Google it for the area.
-Cj
Has Edmunds considered getting the servicing done by an independent mechanic or somewhere other than the stealership? My experience with the Timmons VW service department has been mixed - hopeless service advisor - and dealers in general tend to overcharge or suggest unnecessary repairs.
Considering the typical used VW diesel enthusiast buyer isn't the typical new car buyer, I would suggest an alternative servicing route, one informed by the enormous and knowledgeable VW/TDI online community.
I see you are in California. I would take your Jetta over to
http://www.vwtdionly.com/default.asp?newused=5
who is one of the better known tdi technicians in Calfornia. He is a true specialist. Judging by your fuel economy you might have some intake clogging and or a stuck VNT on the turbo. I know folks with the same car that get over 50mpg. Not all dealers really know their stuff on these cars, particularly in California.
My dad and brother both had VW's. Servicing them at the dealership was very expensive. They found a third-party shop specializing in VW's similar to what empowah suggested, and were able to cut their costs by more than 50%.
Thanks for the comments on servicing our TDI. Our car is certified so anything major would be handled by the "stealership" as empowah called it. I liked the suggestion from leicaman that we could even improve our fuel economy further.
I getting 47MPG on my 2004 GLS (I think the identical car as Edmunds') and I want to get the high mileage others are reporting on TDi.com. Let us know if you do anything to improve your economy, including the right foot mod!
My car is also certified and I have put 12,000 trouble free miles on it since purchase last year. But if I have ANY engine related problems, I am definitely going with one of the TDi gurus rather than the notoriously ill trained VW Dealership service techs . . .