buying first jetta tdi :) mk3 vs mk4?

Hi everyone, you guys have a kick-ass site here!!

I bought my gm v6 when i was living 5k`s from my work and soon i`ll have to drive 100k`s, plus I`ve always liked jetta diesels since I was a kid and the Jetta TDI 94 was the big new **** here in Canada.

Stuck between the Mk3 vs mK4 and leaning towards the mk3 now.

Reliability, mpg, and it being easy to work on and to tweek are whats important to me. Looks don`t matter as I like both in their own way.

So who`s better the mk3 or mk4? I wanna see some arguing here lol

Ps : Some guy claims his timing belt broke and he rebuilt the top end of his engine and did his piston rings 40k miles ago, is there a way to tell the truth? (can a compression test could tell the difference?) its a sweeeeeet deal on this car

-Reg, Quebecer

sandman.dreams@live.ca said:

Hi everyone, you guys have a kick-ass site here!!

Click to expand...

This site is the primary reason why I own VW Diesels!

sandman.dreams@live.ca said:

Stuck between the Mk3 vs mK4 and leaning towards the mk3 now.

Reliability, mpg, and it being easy to work on and to tweek are whats important to me. Looks don`t matter as I like both in their own way.

Click to expand...

Either platform can be easy to work on and tweak.

I prefer the A3 (I have a B4, which is the same generation), and I porefer it to the newer cars, just for the simplicity. Having said that, if I could swing the $, I would buy an A5/5sp, only because I like driving a cleaner car. See the 'project' link in my signature for reference.

Tweaks: The A3 platform is more mechanical / hard tweaks. The A4 platform tends to be more electronic tweaks.

The A4 shifter is more refined, easier to adjust. The A3 shifter tends to be sloppy.

Reliability for either one is not that big an issue; it's all about the quality of parts and workmanship. Speaking of that, avoid any website, like http://volkswaparts.com/ or any user going by the moniker, 'prothe'. He has a terrible reputation for selling cheap import parts that don't last and doesn't stand behind his warranty.

sandman.dreams@live.ca said:

Ps : Some guy claims his timing belt broke and he rebuilt the top end of his engine and did his piston rings 40k miles ago, is there a way to tell the truth? (can a compression test could tell the difference?) its a sweeeeeet deal on this car

Click to expand...

Maybe...it all depends on who's looking at it and the quality of parts involved.

HTH

Tony

Not all A4's are the same, they had two engines, the ALH and the PD. You might want to stay away from the late A4's with the PD's due to cam issues.

A4's are a bit more refined, and available with more options, also a bit smaller inside.

A3's are more prone to rusting, so be on the lookout for rocker panel/fender/hatch/truck rot on any prospective A3 purchase.

Both will get similarly excellent mileage if driven judiciously, though the A3 should do a little better due to the lower weight.

A4's can make more power with mods...

more...

actually my alh experience has shown that the mk4 alh always got much better mpg. The mk4 tdi cars are much more common so junkyard parts are easier to find at reasonable prices and the cars don't look as dated at mk3s.

The mk3 gassers are very common in junk yards but goodluck finding a tdi for parts.

The prices of mk4 tdis are very similar to mk3 tdis so I would just use searchtempest and look hard and if need be open up your region for where you will consider buying.