2010 Jetta vs 2010 Prius cost of ownership?

have been researching for a new car for a while now. I have a 130 mile commute daily and really want to save money on fuel and have a car that is reliable and comfortable. I love the Gen III Prius has great tech and gets great mpg. Yesterday I test drove the 2010 VW Jetta TDI a DSG and a 6 speed manual and loved the cars, the fit and finish was great I have never really driven a VW before. I know that gas prices are starting to creep back up and diesel is already more expensive than gas. My question is I am going to be keeping the car for probably 5-8 years and will be putting lots of mileage on the car. Which will be cheaper to operate over that time span. I have heard great things about Prius reliability and resale. I have also great things about VW some say they have 200,000 trouble free miles on TDI's while others seem to get CEL and have issues. I know any car can have issues but do VW's really have issues or is this just blown out of proportion. Also DSG or manual? I liked both but for the drive would some what prefer the auto. Thanks

Going from this thread you asked earlier

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=279602

I know the TDI isn't the cheapest to drive and this is more true for the 2009 2010s. Many here will comment this that and other things had to be replaced on so and so model year, but does that really tell you what the 2009 2010 will do. As many hear are still under 36 care free, or 50,000 power train.

As for someone to run the numbers weighing oil change costs and timing belt costs over 200,000 miles, i bet the prius would be a midge cheaper (assuming you wouldn't have to touch the battery packs)

I personally looked at more than the bottom line $X over X-miles. Many people in that other thread mentioned the same, they bought the car not as it's the cheapest to drive, but the most fun car to drive cheaply.

I know if i was concerned about getting the cheapest transportation availible i'd be looking at a yaris or hyundi, the price I paid for my jetta over those (10,000) is quite a bit in total cost of ownership.

Buy what ever you enjoy driving!

Oh and if you're looking at price, say away form the DSG nothing but money goes into that thing.

We have a manual 2010 Jetta TDI SW and a 2005 Gen II Prius. Fuel efficiency is essentially the same on the highway for both cars but comfort and performance strongly favors the Jetta. The water pump has already failed on the Prius - covered under warranty. No other problems with either car. I prefer the Prius in the city and much prefer the Jetta on the highway. Tough decision as both cars have their advantages. Good luck!

Well I am simply trying to get a feel for maintenance costs, I really loved the TDI and even if I don't get that I might get a Wolfsburg over a Prius I liked the Jetta that much.

You have several things in your favor when it comes to a TDI purchase decision.
1. Long commute. Were TDI'S shine for efficiency, also with as much time as you are spending in the car the TDI will make those fun miles, and hours. I really enjoy driving my 09
2. Your planning on holding on to your car for 5 to 8 years. Diesel engines have long life and will hold up the many hundred of thousand miles you will be putting on it.
Also don't forget to factor in the high resale value of a diesel when your done with it 5 to 8 years from now compared to the Prius

Good luck with your decision and welcome to the club.

Get the TDI. You will not regret it. Get the 6M, protection package and rear air bags. Maybe sat radio if you like that. I would opt for fog lights if it is not standard yet on the sedan.

I don't know about specific costs, but my wife has a 2004 Prius and I have a 2010 TDI. Mileage wise the Prius does a bit better around town, the TDI does better on the highway (thought the Prius 3 has better numbers than my wife's 2004). That said I'd rather drive the VW anywhere, anytime. It feels a LOT more solid, it's far more fun to drive, and I suspect that at 200K miles it will be worth a bit more than a same year/mileage Prius simply because the battery will be fairly spent by then. But again, that's all speculation. In the end, get the car you're going to enjoy driving for a few hours each day for the next decade. A few bucks either way is worth it.

I have a 06.5 MKV Jetta manual & my wife has a Prius, Gen III. As others have stated above, I prefer the Jetta on the road. To me, it is a much better road running car & quieter. The Prius probably edges the Jetta on fuel milage. The prius is better in town & stop/go. They are about equal on the road. To me, the Jetta (RC tuned) is way more fun to drive, I love the torque. My wife prefers it on long trips, but does not like it around town or for anything much under 45 minutes in duration.

As far a cost of ownership. Do your due diligence. Read the threads on VW dealership service. Read the threads on the HPFP concerns on the 09/10 Jetta & the threads on VWNA's "customer service" (or so they call it). In my example, I had an engine ECU harness fail 3k out of warranty, VW told me to pound sand. I am looking at a new cam at about 100K. Toyota's troubles & issues should be easy to find.

Each of the 2 cars fits a specific purpose within the household. I would make the same purchase again. But, if I did not do my own service, I do not think that I could afford the VW. Particularly, given my local dealerships.

To more directly address your question about maintenance costs, you might check Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com. They both offer "Cost to Own" estimates for new cars for specific and comparable periods of time. These estimates include operating, depreciation, maintenance and typical repair costs.

Unless you're buying used...I would say that a good 75% of the time; the TDI is going to be cheaper to purchase upfront.

Secondly, maintaining the TDI is going to be a lot easier and cheaper than replacement of batteries (assuming you keep the car that long).

Not to mention, you're going to help support a much more environmentally friendly alternative to low-MPG petrol (the TDI that is). The resources to manufacture and than dispose of hybrid cars far outweigh any "green-factor" that they might have.

Why are people still posting these idiotic threads comparing gasoline hybrids with the Jetta Diesels?

They are two entirely different technologies folks.

I've owned a 07 Camry hybrid for a short while and really liked the tech. However, I spent way too much effort hypermileing the car to get 45mpg. Now I own a much older 2000 Golf and get that same mpg but have fun doing it. If I hypermiled the golf I bet I could get 55mpg.

Hands down the VW is more fun to drive and is more comfortable for me...even with it being 7 years older! I bet the 2010 VWs are awesome compared to my golf.

I have 124 mile commute and love my 09 tdi. It drives like a dream and is very fun as well. Both are good cars but are completely different. If you enjoy driving then get a tdi. Then again I hated the prius and would never own one. I have driven hybrids and wouldn't consider one unless I lived in a city. I am not saying the prius is bad (it's an excellent car) but I enjoy the performance of the tdi. My last 5 cars were turbo gas engines and I can honestly say the tdi is just as fun. All this while getting 40 plus mpg. I normally keep my cars 6 months to 1 year and for the first time I have NO plans to get rid of it. After 10 months of ownership, I like it as much as the day I bought it!

I also have the Revo tune and currently avg 44 mpg. Tons of torque, comfortable, safe, a joy to drive, looks sporty, room for my kids etc. Just a great car, especially with the 6 speed manual transmission. My last car was a Volvo S40 T5 with a 6 speed and with Revo it feels just as strong along with 44 mpg.

My only regret is not getting a JSW.

Best of luck to you.

ncvw97 said:

My only regret is not getting a JSW.

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agreed

Rod Bearing said:

Why are people still posting these idiotic threads comparing gasoline hybrids with the Jetta Diesels?

They are two entirely different technologies folks.

Click to expand...

You win the least helpful post award in this thread...

I don't think anyone here thinks the technologies are the same at all. What we have are two very different approaches to a similar end game. People are simply trying to go the most miles / kms for the least dollars and trying to be a bit green at the same time. What's wrong with comparing the results of two different technological approaches?

I drive a couple hundred kms a day - almost all highway. For me the TDI is a clear choice. Powerful, efficient, feature rich and fun to drive... What's not to love? [FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Tolerance folks... Happy motoring.

Sean.

I did a very un-scientific comparison between buying a '10 Prius & '10 JSW Tdi.
The Tdi won out on so many fronts...

Better up-front purchase price
Better driving experience (big-time!)
No 1st three years maintenance costs
Way high expected resale value

& bought GG a bit more than a month ago

Very, very happy w/ this new car!

Interesting that resale is an important thing for a number of folks. We typically drive our vehicles into the ground, which was yet another factor in favour of the JSW.

One thing I never see discussed in "Prius vs TDI" threads is acceleration. How does the Prius compare with the new TDI's awesome giddy-up? Only today, driving my beat-to-death old Subaru to work while the TDI was in the shop for maintenance, did I remember just how much difference TDI acceleration makes when merging onto the freeway. In the TDI I can always slip into any hole in traffic while merging because I can accelerate really, really good, whereas in the old Subie I had to wimp out today and slow down on the on-ramp to wait for a big-@ss gap in traffic. The CR's go-power is a thing of beauty, which I suspect cannot be found elsewhere in a <$30K car. But I've never driven a Prius, so I can't say for sure.