MB vs VW vs The World!
Greetings!
I've spent the past year hunting for the correct diesel vehicle (it was just sold in Ontario) and there is certainly a substantial difference in price between the TDI's, Volvos, MB's, and even the BMW's. What I've come across is that it is the total cost of ownership. The TDI's and other VW diesels are dependable and fairly inexpensive to maintain. That cost is relative, of course. Compard to the MB's, the cost of maintainance of the ancilarry systems is much, much less expensive on the VW. A friend of ours drives a 1987 MB 300TD. Great vehicle, love riding in it. He has spent well over $ 10,000 on repairs in the past 2 years.
Timing Chain replacement $ 3500
Rear Suspension repair $ 3000
Transmission replacement $ 5000 ?
Brake work $ 1000 ?
You get the drift. So, when I see a beautiful mid-80's MB with "only" 180,000 miles on it, and I look at what systems on the car are going to need to be replaced in the next 30,000 miles, I have a hard time balancing out the difference in cost. Of course, Ted does not do any of the work on his vehicles. I do almost all the work on mine. Parts for the VW are an order of magnitude lower for the VW, too. I'll stick with the Passat, thanks
BoiseTDI said:
Being a non-turbodiesel still doesn't explain the price difference. Nonturbodiesel Rabbit cars/pickups are even higher appreciated than Volvos and Mercedes.
You bring up the Mercedes turbodiesel...even they are priced pretty cheap compared to VW TDI's. I love VW and all but they really can't compare to the build quality of a Benz.
Am I missing something here? Just curious...