40X40 said:
Did you read the OPs' requirements? A short, stop and go commute is the opposite of what the TDI is good at. TDIs are not cheap to maintain either..... Hard to beat the comfort, but cheap they ain't. I think the OP will be lucky to get low 30s judging by his commute description. The limited budget nearly guarantees that he is gonna get a car that needs a whole lot of work just to keep it on the road. I love my TDIs, but they are not the right car for every situation.
Bill
BS.
Since new:
$900 for clutch and Single Mass Flywheel
$50 to fix the busted dog ear motor mount locking point on my block
10 oil changes @ $55 ea = $550
12 fuel filters @ $30ea = $360
Brakes & rotors (rear) = $300
Over 90,000 miles that is $2,160 in repairs/upkeep.
So I don't buy that a TDI isn't cheaper to maintin.
This was over 2.5 years of driving, no less.
My Escalade I'm driving as the van gough block fix is being put on the car has consumed 2,700 gallons of gasoline over 42,000 logged miles [lifetime average is 15.1mpg] ... it needs $60 in oil changes every 3,500 miles... you tell me that's cheaper to maintain.
As for a Honda, no civic that gets the economy you cite is going to fit my frame... so... that is out of the question.
I'd strongly suggest you get a 5-speed.
BTW my car makes 126HP/wheel (factory is 100HP/crank). Its not stock, I consider what I've replaced/broken on the car to be extreme minimal given I have abused it quite a bit.
/has a 2006
/gets 35mpg running 65mph in 3rd gear for 200 miles
/never gotten less than 38mpg in city driving conditions over 1.5 years of delivering flowers in traffic
/has a manual transmission
/was buying biodiesel at 3.50 for the first two years (64,000 miles or so) of use and was running at less than 9-cents per mile factoring in oil, oil filter and fuel filter changes
Also I'd avoid any TDI that has a WVO/Grease/Straight veggie oil kit. You might be able to make it work but generally this is an ill fated idea for a car with high pressure injection. Biodiesel needs no conversion, it's just another diesel fuel. No different than mixing a few gallons of kersoene.
For that matter a diesel could run on wasted motor oil from your GTO, for how long is unknown, I know Dodge truck owners who dump their 55 gallon barrel of collected Automatic Transmission Fluid and Waste Motor Oil out of the barrels into a 50-gallon secondary fuel tank in their bed, add diesel, kerosene, and drive on it. They also can afford to rebuild their fuel injection pump, or replaced a blown/clogged injector.
if you want to save money on the cost of fuel, you're going to make up for it in labor later (as someone who has a 400HP car you should we well aware of that trade off).
If you want reliable, keep sticking regular diesel into the tank, buy a car with a manual with less than 180k miles, and don't chip it. There is no reason you can't get 500-600 miles out of an ALH in your conditions. Just be sure to block off the EGR and take it out for a good romping on the weekends or at the track along side your GTO.