Drive my '03 TDI in winter to keep the '15 TDI rust free?

gearheadgrrrl · Nov 15, 2017

Live up here in the rust belt in Minnesota and spend a couple months in Florida during the winter.

Got an '03 Golf TDI 2 door 5 speed manual I bought new. 140k miles, rust repaired by VW under warranty in '15, has lots of miles left on it, so I'm still driving it for short trips to save the '15 and get my moneys worth out of it.

Bought a new embargoed '15 Golf TDI DSG last spring when they turned 'em loose, got 6k miles on it now. Build month is 11/14 and it had a bit over 100 miles on it when I picked it up, so it's seen maybe one winter and a few test drives before sleeping a year and a half on the lot before I got it. Dealer is pretty good about washing cars after they've been out on test drives and it got moved around the lot occasionally, so no problems with tires and brakes from sitting parked.

Just put it up on ramps and looks pretty virgin for three years old in the rust belt- a few brown freckles on the muffler and a couple bolts, but otherwise black where it should be black, white where it should be white, etc.. Generally on a three year old car around here you can see plenty of surface rust starting already.

So I'm debating taking the '15 to Florida this winter, but sacrificing the '03 to the road salt up here in Minnesota when I've no choice but to drive on the snow and ice. Sound like a good idea?

Owain@malonetuning · Nov 15, 2017

Don't see why not, MK4s are the new MK2s, undercoated you should get plenty of use out of it. I'm from eastern canada myself (think windsor salt, a nice thick coat of it on all the roads ~5-6 months/yr) and Mk4s are one of the only cars that're lasting more than 8 years without being garage kept and undercoated every year.

Lightflyer1 · Nov 15, 2017

I would move the 15 to Florida, drive the 03 in Minnesota during the good weather and buy some cheap car I didn't care about to drive in the winter. I keep multiple cars around and with only one driver they are cheap to insure and register. Especially if you pick older ones that qualify as antiques technically. $50 registration for 5 years and less than $200 a year for insurance, each. I find it handy to keep an old car around anyway for when one goes in for service or family needs one or visitors come. I keep these:

2015 Beetle TDI new old stock
2003 Beetle TDI
1992 Civic Hatch
1935 Ford Sedan

The Civic is the beater car.

IndigoBlueWagon · Nov 15, 2017

I'm in almost exactly the same situation as you. '02 Wagon, rust repaired in '14. '15 GSW, 3,700 miles on it. I'll use the Wagon as a daily this winter. Don't want to buy snows for the GSW for limited use (and we don't get a lot of snow here), and I prefer non-DPF cars for shorter drives. The only negative is that the '15 makes heat much faster than the '02. I'll miss that.

gearheadgrrrl · Nov 15, 2017

Yup, think keeping the '15 outa the salt makes the most sense, so it's probably going to Florida with me.

hskrdu · Nov 15, 2017

Um, I vote: Drive the '15 to keep the '03 out of the salt!

IndigoBlueWagon · Nov 15, 2017

I was doing a little math the other day while driving IBW. I figure it'll take about two years to reach 400K miles. At that point I may have had enough. This car's been my daily (or nearly so) since 2002. I still enjoy driving it, but when I get in something newer like the GSW I can see how designs have improved. And even though it drives wonderfully, 356K is 356K. That's a lot of miles. If it survives a couple more winters I'll be satisfied.

jettawreck · Nov 15, 2017

Another Minnesotan (MNDOT would rather melt snow than plow it) who has for years sacrificed one car to try to spare another.
I have my '03 Jetta gas to TDI conversion car that is in pretty nice shape for up here and the previous winters it most likely served through. My original "jettawreck" ('01 rebuilt from prior owner accident) has been driven and suffered through every MN winter I've had it since about 2004 (I would have to check my records because I had a 2000 also for a while during the build process). The '01 is looking pretty rough. The rather extensive bodywork, cheap aftermarket hood/fenders, etc have run their course. But, we are getting into salt season and it's time to park the '03 and put the rust bucket back into use until spring. Plus it's got the ZeroStart coolant heater and Panzer Plate on it until it gets retired.
Next spring I may park it permanently and either save it for a parts/donor car for the '03 or look for another conversion project or a TDI with a blown engine.
Winter here forces us to make some choices to either use up one vehicle or try to spare another one.

Geordi · Nov 19, 2017

Wash the underbody weekly and it won't rust.

Take it to a place and have them coat the underbody with Line-X and you won't ever need to worry about salt anyway!

turbocharged798 · Nov 19, 2017

Geordi said:
Wash the underbody weekly and it won't rust.

Take it to a place and have them coat the underbody with Line-X and you won't ever need to worry about salt anyway!

I disagree, all that does is adds water to the mix and makes the rust even worse.

Tdijarhead · Nov 19, 2017

hskrdu said:
Um, I vote: Drive the '15 to keep the '03 out of the salt!

I’m with hskrdu, drive the 15 in the salt and keep the 03 in Florida. Those new high tech HPFP, DEF cars will likely not last as long as the 99-05’s.

OlyTDI · Nov 19, 2017

I suspect that the 15 has better metal protection than the 03. It should hold up better.

Regardless, I would be shooting the undersides and nooks n crannies every fall with Fluid Film. That would help a LOT.

Geordi · Nov 19, 2017

turbocharged798 said:
I disagree, all that does is adds water to the mix and makes the rust even worse.

You know how a shower works, right? Adding water doesn't take the dirt on your skin and just coat you in mud. There is this magical process where the water spray carries the dirt and salt away from the surfaces it is on.

You DO need to wash (both your car and your body) more than once a year for it to be effective however.

Fahrvegnugen · Nov 20, 2017

keep the 03 in Florida since you have a choice. Water, salt, and air make rust. No doubt about that. The 15 has a warranty against rust for a long time. One of the best factory rust proofed vehicles on the market. The 03 is nicer and needs attention, you can always buy another 15. Water gets in the wheel wells and sits in with the rust along with rear hatch and rocker panels, and festers. Washing the vehicle just makes sure those nooks stay saturated. Give it a wash and Drive it around (or while raining) and park it somewhere dry and watch it drip.

FletchMan · Nov 20, 2017

I've never understood not driving a car to save it from anything...miles, rust, accidents...anything. If it's a cost savings and you're trying to keep miles down then nothing is cheaper than not owning it at all. I can see where you might need some sort of a vehicle (like you own a diesel dually pickup) but drive a car to save miles on it but driving a like car to save another...I don't get it.

The cool thing is it's yours to do with as you please!

IndigoBlueWagon · Nov 20, 2017

It makes sense if the cars are not replaceable with the same car. I feel that way about both my Wagons. Although it's got high miles, I'd be hard-pressed to find another Jetta Wagon that drives as nice as IBW. And I don't think it would be easy to locate a '15 GSW with a manual transmission and 4K miles on it.

I drive my '02 a lot, mostly because I enjoy it. I am saving my '15 for when the '02 gives up the ghost, gets wrecked, or I finally grow tired of it. So saving the '15 is a good idea. Fifteen years from now it'll be every bit as hard to find a nice '15 as it is to find a nice '02 Wagon today, I suspect.

n1das · Nov 20, 2017

Keep in mind that the timing belt has an age limit of about 5 years in addition to the mileage limit. After about 5 years the timing belt should be changed regardless of miles.

I learned this the hard and expensive way in 2009 where my 2005 PD Jetta Wagen TDI experienced a TB failure out of warranty but not due yet in miles on the belt. The root cause was dry rot after 3 winters of non-use of the car. At 4 years old the belt was also bumping up against the age limit.

My 2002 Golf TDI was my daily driver at the time and I was obsessed with protecting the 05 PD JWagen TDI from New England winters. I would have been better off to drive the car on a regular basis and change the TB sooner when due in miles and prevented the car from suffering atrophy from non-use.

Cars need to be driven regularly instead of sitting around unused.

maxmoo · Nov 21, 2017

hskrdu said:
Um, I vote: Drive the '15 to keep the '03 out of the salt!

^ I would agree

belome · Nov 21, 2017

Keep in mind, the 15 is going to be more comfortable in the winter. Having instant heat would sure be nice. My 02 is almost unbearable in the winter for the first 15 miles unless I plug it in at night... which also costs money.

IndigoBlueWagon · Nov 21, 2017

Since reading this post I've been paying more attention to when my '02 Wagon makes heat. This morning, 30F out, it made heat within a mile. I think the bigger injectors and tune help a lot. And having it in an insulated garage doesn't hurt.

belome · Nov 21, 2017

IndigoBlueWagon said:
Since reading this post I've been paying more attention to when my '02 Wagon makes heat. This morning, 30F out, it made heat within a mile. I think the bigger injectors and tune help a lot. And having it in an insulated garage doesn't hurt.

I don't worry so much 30F, but when it is 0F and there is a quarter of an inch of ice on the windscreen it sucks owning a TDI.

I once started my ALH at -37F, I think it was a good hour before the cabin was warm enough to turn the heat down.

RabbitGTI · Nov 21, 2017

geordi said:
you know how a shower works, right? Adding water doesn't take the dirt on your skin and just coat you in mud. There is this magical process where the water spray carries the dirt and salt away from the surfaces it is on.
You do need to wash (both your car and your body) more than once a year for it to be effective however.

lol

RabbitGTI · Nov 21, 2017

gearheadgrrrl said:
Live up here in the rust belt in Minnesota and spend a couple months in Florida during the winter.

Got an '03 Golf TDI 2 door 5 speed manual I bought new. 140k miles, rust repaired by VW under warranty in '15, has lots of miles left on it, so I'm still driving it for short trips to save the '15 and get my moneys worth out of it.

Bought a new embargoed '15 Golf TDI DSG last spring when they turned 'em loose, got 6k miles on it now. Build month is 11/14 and it had a bit over 100 miles on it when I picked it up, so it's seen maybe one winter and a few test drives before sleeping a year and a half on the lot before I got it. Dealer is pretty good about washing cars after they've been out on test drives and it got moved around the lot occasionally, so no problems with tires and brakes from sitting parked.

Just put it up on ramps and looks pretty virgin for three years old in the rust belt- a few brown freckles on the muffler and a couple bolts, but otherwise black where it should be black, white where it should be white, etc.. Generally on a three year old car around here you can see plenty of surface rust starting already.

So I'm debating taking the '15 to Florida this winter, but sacrificing the '03 to the road salt up here in Minnesota when I've no choice but to drive on the snow and ice. Sound like a good idea?

My 97 has some rust on the front fender lips from being sand blasted by the front wheels. Other than that almost no rust top or bottom. Just wax the hell out of it in the fall, touch up any rust freckles on the rockers each summer, wash it once in a while and it will last 20+ years in the salt. Drive more, worry less.

Fahrvegnugen · Nov 21, 2017

I cleaned out front rocker panels about 6 months ago and opened them again tonight and they were fully caked with mud and leaves. I cleaned them out and sprayed corrosion free in the wheel wells, now they smell lemony fresh. I’ll Try some plastic washers next to help drainage. Maybe for the new year i’ll Get it an insulated garage and injectors. Haha. I debate whether to worry about the 7 going on 8 year old timing belt that still looks good and has less than 60k. Drive it huh?

Geordi · Nov 21, 2017

The timing belt has a 6 year age limit according to Gates - you probably want to change that when you have a chance... Or sooner.

whitedog · Nov 21, 2017

I so don't understand this thread. The only rig of mine with rust is the 1982 F350 and that could be covered with a folded dollar bill.

I was talking with a guy from Seattle once about rust and his theory up there is that with all of the rain and with most cars dripping a bit of oil on the road, the water/oil mix gets constantly splashed under the car, thereby constantly keeping it clean and oiled. For my area in the High Desert, it's about staying dry and not using salt.

After reading threads like this, sometimes I feel guilty about my rust free cars, but the feeling doesn't last long.

gearheadgrrrl · Nov 22, 2017

TB only good for 6 years?

Geordi said:
The timing belt has a 6 year age limit according to Gates - you probably want to change that when you have a chance... Or sooner.

Maybe under worst case conditions. My '79 VW diesel had 50k miles and 7 years old when I sold it with the original belt. The '86 diesel had 90k miles and was 15 years old on the original belt when I parked it, VW tech told me it looked fine and didn't need replacing. "03 TDI was 8 years old with 100k miles when I did it, 2nd belt now 6 years old and 40k miles with no problems. I've heard that MoPar recommends 10 years for their TBs and my brother still hasn't done the belt on mom's '99 minivan.

So at 10 years I'll probably do the TB even if it's still got miles left on it.

BobnOH · Nov 22, 2017

There was some published specs for shelf life of certain products, may have gotten misread. 6 years is nuts, the belts themselves will last a real long time, even installed on a car. We use the intervals we do for piece of mind, interference engine will tear up some stuff. Those mopar engines are not interference.

gearheadgrrrl · Nov 22, 2017

This one is, 2.4 liter four in a minivan.

Drive my '03 TDI in winter to keep the '15 TDI rust free?

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