Potential 270 mile daily commute - A6 best option?

I currently drive 40k miles a year and my B5.5 Passat 1.8t has been flawless. I need to move though and a job transfer isn't in the imminent future, so I will have to lengthen my commute - 270 miles a day - prob be 75-80k a year once you factor in errands, etc. The fuel expense of the Passat (and fact it has 160k already) would kill me.

I have a 97 tdi, but has some motor issues. I'm on the fence on what to do. I could put a new motor in the 97, but that will be 5-6k w/ turbo, etc and not as safe in a wreck as a newer model. A 2006 intrigues me b/c I think it's the best motor of the newer body styles, but I know there are camshaft issues and they're 7yr old cars, so they will have higher miles. The 09-10 will have lower miles, but I know there are HPFP problems and they don't achieve the fuel economy of the MKIII. When I look on fuelly, I see they avg high 30s/low 40s. Given my commute, I need 50mpg. What are my chances in flat Florida w/ a 95% interstate commute? Honestly, 255 miles will be interstate. What is the perceived longevity of the newer motors? 300, 400, 500k? What about trans? I know MKIV weren't great, so I've always sought out a manual (Passat and 97 both are). Are the newer ones better? Are they all DSG? Regardless of which car I decide (except 97), I will do a Malone or Green tune. Gotta squeeze out all I can!!

I don't think anyone can survive that commute for long. You need to start posting your resume. Even in a TDI you will be spending almost $90 day in vehicle expense (obviously there is more than just fuel in the cost of driving). Knowing Florida there are also tolls too.
$450/week for say 50 weeks per year is $22.5k on transportation costs.

Maybe your best bet is a $500 beater economy car with liability insurance only that will last 50k miles and then sell for $200, and if something big breaks you trash it. But the numbers will have to be run to see if this makes sense.

Look at a passat tdi with manual trans. I don't know where the guy above is getting $90 a day but I drive 140 miles a day and I spend 60 bucks a week on fuel (1 tank) so figure filling up twice a week. The passat on pure highway gets 50-55 mpg for me and I rarly see under 45mpg even with in town errands and such. On another note I would consider either a new job , relocating or getting the company to pay for your transportation if I had a commute like yours.

I would honestly sink the money into the B4 and set it up for highway driving. I used to drive 360 miles round trip every day (180+ each way) and did it for 7 months until I found another job. It sucks but is workable. If you plan on doing it for a very long time (years), then it will take a heavy emotional toll on you and your marriage (if you're married/dating) since a lot of time is chewed up in travel. I used to be up at 3:00 for work and would get home around 7PM, and I'd have to go to bed early to do it all again. When the weekends would come one day was spent recovering, like jet lag.

The road time is not harmful to the car and is actually good for it, causing less wear and tear than around town. It's also surprising how fast it'd go after the first few trips.

I drive 38-40K a year now and don't even notice it, and my daily commute is only 60 miles, so I'm practically next door.

I hope you are talking about an A-6 Intruder!



But seriously, that's a long commute! I typically do 72 mi/day and think that's enough dealing with traffic and road issues. I love driving my car but after an hour I'm more than satisfied! Any TDI or diesel car in general would be a great choice for long highway travel but I personally would want a new or newer car I could trust for that kind of commute.

I drove for over 2 years 300 miles DAILY with a MB TurboDiesel Stationwagen.... (Had to haul parts etc to the job). Why not buy a new Jetta? ! The payments might be better for you... Even if you put all the money into your cars right now. Who knows it might break down a few month later !!!? Hope not. On a new one you have fairly good Warranty.

You could easily sink 3-10k into the B4 to make it close to as reliable as a new car, then you'll still have the loud, uncomfortable car that handles poorly compared to the new car

Having recently purchased an 09 going from a 98, I say go with the newer car.

HPFP failures are such a low percentage its ridiculous to to let that sway you unless you have a habit of putting gas in your diesel car.

Although I like my B4 it does feel like an old car. And that many miles per day in it would make me crazy. Too much wind noise, body flex, hard seats...cars have improved in the past 15 years. I prefer my A4, but those are now old cars, too, and it would be hard to come up with one that is in good enough shape to withstand what you're going to subject it to for long.

Given what you're doing I'd go new. And they're not A6 cars, they're MKVI. There really isn't an A6 VW. I'd get a new Jetta sedan, manual transmission, and take good care of it. If you keep speed under 70 you'll probably get high 40s, maybe not quite 50. There's a guy here that has one he uses for a taxi service and has gotten good reliability out of it. Just my .02.

I never had a long commute like that, but did fly 100K+ a year for many years. Happy not to be doing it anymore.

As softrock recommended, look at the Passat manual. It might be a little more expensive but looks like the higher mileage might make up for it. I like my JSW but had a Passat rental last week and it is a nice cruising car.

I appreciate all of the input. My job is in Jacksonville and I will most likely be moving to Titusville (40 miles south of Daytona) for personal reasons (having a baby, getting married, etc). It truly is a straight drive - 130 miles one way, no tolls and no real traffic to speak of. It will honestly take right at 2hrs. No doubt it will make for a long day though and not ideal w/ a newborn at the house. I partially justify it b/c people sit in traffic in LA for 2hrs and only move 20 miles - I'd much rather actually be driving for that length of time!! I would not welcome years of it though. A transfer is definitely possible, but the promotions are limited to large cities - ie - Jacksonville and Orlando. Anyway, about the cars...

I haven't driven my MKIII in almost 2yrs and thinking back, it would make for a loooong drive. Noisy, lowered on coilovers, etc. The Passat seems like a Bentley compared to it. A new car is out of the question for me. I hate debt and the benefits of new (warranty) are gone within a year. I'd also have to hope that a $25k car will last 250-300k miles before payoff opposed to trying it with a $12k one that I could knock out in a year or so.

All that being said, I'm assuming manual still nets better economy and less maintenance? Is DSG even reliable longterm? Any high mileage ones out there? What about these newer engines? I know there is quite a bit new emissions tech on them - is that hampering longevity? Making them impractical to own for 100s of 1000s of miles? I'm hoping to not do this longer than a year, but who knows - crazier things have happened...

There is a ton of info on this board with regards to the CR TDI's so you should be able to come to an informed decision about them.

I put some money into my B4 and LOVE the way it drives now, great power and it corners like its on rails without being harsh. I wouldn't buy one of the new abysmal pieces of over engineered trash with your money. Just my opinion on them, which is purely based on readings here and my disdain for debt.

Abacus said:

I wouldn't buy one of the new abysmal pieces of over engineered trash with your money.

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That opinion is rehashed on every generation, and I don't even disagree with it (minus the trash part, over engineered perhaps and most likely but not trash), love my old VWs but I do love my new Golf.

That being said, if I had a commute like that ahead of me, I would rebuild yours or buy a very good used ALH or PD from a person that cared about it, which takes a lot of time to find, and then you have to be on your game to pick it up before someone else does, but that's my advice.

save yourself... pack a bag for the week and stay near the job. Go in on Monday & home on Friday (or whatever the work week is). Did this for a while and it was better than driving every day. (210~220 mile daily commute otherwise). With the current commute of 150~160 mi/day it is almost too much to make it worth it to commute every day. 20 miles farther & I'd be spending nights.

With the new baby, that may not be the best way to keep the marrage together. You might look at staying two nights a week near the job at least. The other option would be to see if your employer would let you work from home a few days a week. Even one would be helpful. Or work 10 hour days when you're not driving home and have a three day weekend every other one.

There are many, many people who have commutes that are 2 hours each way. When I traveled a lot I used to ask people how long their commutes were and learned that different cities have what they think are acceptable commute times. For example, the Twin Cities was 20-30 minutes. Denver is 40 minutes. San Francisco and LA are 90 minutes, although there's variability in that. Boston is 60 minutes. Chicago is 70-80 minutes. And NY is 90 minutes to two hours plus. I had a client on Wall Street who commuted from Philadelphia. Two and one-half hours each way. One afternoon I was in his office and we timed out who would get home first: Him taking the subway to Penn Station and Amtrak to Philly, or me cabbing to LaGuardia, taking the Shuttle to Boston, and driving 35 miles home from the airport. We determined he'd get home about 10 minutes ahead of me. But I didn't have to get up the next morning and do it again.

My point is that a lot of people have demanding jobs AND long commutes and get through it. I certainly don't miss my 60-90 minute commute each way, but I did it for 25 years and survived.

Thought you meant the Audi A6 diesel at first since we just saw a friend that is general manager for an Audi dealership. I asked him what car he has now. He said that he's driving an A6 diesel for 6 months, and it is a fantastic car with huge torque.

Fellow Postal Worker?

Gone Postal, just wondering if you're a fellow Postal Worker that's getting "excessed out", and the only opening available is hours away?

Postal - yes, excessed - no. I'm EAS and lateralling into what I think will be my dream job (use to work @ VMF and my old supervisor retired - district manager isn't far behind either, so could work out well). That's the downside tho, those jobs are far & few.

I currently live in St Augustine and all of my family & fiancee's family are here too, so I could and prob will stay one or two nights here, but obviously want to minimize that due to the new baby.

I appreciate the honesty from everyone. I think minimal expense & best mpg is my MKIII. Comfort & safety obviously goes to newer models. The fact that no one has jumped into this convo and raved of CR reliability or economy speaks volumes. I realize they're not very old, so there are prob few 200k+ cars, but makes me wonder.

Best overall cost of ownership would probably be a Prius. Not as much fun to drive though.
My 2002 has been trouble free for 11 years. I can't say the same for my 2009 JSW though. Plus diesel costs more per mile eroding the advantage of the TDI.
Add the worry factor and poor development of the ancellary pieces and the Prius is a clear winner.
Not as much fun to drive though
As to reliability of the new TDIs ----- Not There!
Economy ---- Not There either compared to the Prius!
Fun to drive though with all of that bottom end torque though!

redbarron55 said:

Best overall cost of ownership would probably be a Prius. Not as much fun to drive though.
My 2002 has been trouble free for 11 years. I can't say the same for my 2009 JSW though. Plus diesel costs more per mile eroding the advantage of the TDI.
Add the worry factor and poor development of the ancellary pieces and the Prius is a clear winner.
Not as much fun to drive though
As to reliability of the new TDIs ----- Not There!
Economy ---- Not There either compared to the Prius!
Fun to drive though with all of that bottom end torque though!

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Funny, I've always hated those cars - actually almost anything Japanese - the styling, both exterior and interior, has never appealed to me. I swear looking at interior pics of a 2010 Prius that some of the switches and bezels are the same as in my friend's 1998 Tundra!! Just looks stark and boring. That being said, after some research, the cars are no joke on mileage. I thought they didn't do well on the highway, but I'm seeing a ton of reports for near 50mpg economy. The battery horror stories I've always heard also seem to be of mythical proportion. I'm a HUGE VW fan - had 8 over the last 11yrs (and NOT b/c of necessity!! Only one w/ motor problems), but am seriously considering a 2010 Prius. I've actually spent the last several nights scouring the internet trying to convince myself on why NOT to get the Prius and buy a 09/10 TDI instead. I'll be honest, it ain't easy! From a shear practicality standpoint and given my new potential commute, it seems to be the best bet. I know the fun factor is less, but I'm in FL - flat roads w/o curves. My fun factor would be getting the best mpg. I also wouldn't have to worry about HPFP issues......

Found a 2010 TDI that I was very interested in w/ 46k miles and see from Carfax it has already had the injectors, tank, rail and pump replaced - appears to be twice! Occurrences are a month and little over 500 miles apart - possible just clerical error, but whatever happened was enough for owner to get rid of the car already. One thing I have yet to research - are the replacement pumps redesigned? I have no idea what causes the originals to fail and I know VW has been great on absorbing the cost, but w/ my commute I could have a 200k+ mile car in a heartbeat - at some point they will deny coverage.

It's probably not a clerical error but an error on the garage that did the work not getting all the crap out of the nooks and crannies that then shredded the new pump. There have been four generations of the pumps but no one knows what Bosch did. Lots of speculation but no real answers. It might be good to go for the long haul but I would stay away from it if it were my money.

I agree that the Prius is an extremely boring toaster with tires. I would rather drive my 05 corolla but then I'm also not commuting the miles that you're looking at. I think you could live with it for a while and get a 2015+ VW in a few more years.

there are a few 2009-up tdis with 150,000 miles on them with not many issues, my only concern is when they do have issues it seems they are down for a few days at a time and that may kill you unless you have a 2 car. Good luck The other option would be a Passet they have a bigge rank and folks say they get better on fuel than the dsg golfs, I had my HPPF pump replaced by vw when it failed at 70,000 no questions asked but I lost my car for 5 days and instead had to fly to Toronto rather than drive. There are many theories why they fail but it seems no one is sure, my died but did not blow up. If it is straight driving get a stick and drive around 65 and you should get very close to Prius terr and well you would worry about the Hppf you would not worry about replacing the hybrid batt or hanging your self in the Prius it is that much of a one trick pony.

another option is to rent -- really I have a coworker who does this rents a car for a month ( he does it bc he has to many tickets and ins is to much) it cost about 350 a month unlimited mileage and he rents a civic type of car and gets 35 miles to a gallon, no repair issues, and he gets a new rental every month with no depreciation or repairs, this may work for you.

MAJSW said:

I don't think anyone can survive that commute for long. You need to start posting your resume. Even in a TDI you will be spending almost $90 day in vehicle expense (obviously there is more than just fuel in the cost of driving). Knowing Florida there are also tolls too.
$450/week for say 50 weeks per year is $22.5k on transportation costs.

Maybe your best bet is a $500 beater economy car with liability insurance only that will last 50k miles and then sell for $200, and if something big breaks you trash it. But the numbers will have to be run to see if this makes sense.

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I don't know how you came to that $90 a day math, but let me help you out

Here I will break it down for you, using the most extreme numbers:
75,000 miles/40MPG =1,875Gallons of Diesel fuel used a year
1,875x$4.10 p.Gal= $7,687.50 spent in fuel a year....Lol Way off from that 22,000 a year cost you came up with and again these are extreme numbers, he will probably be around 6k a year.

I have a very long commute to the office and then I drive all day around my territory. I typically drive anywhere from 200-250 daily, just for work alone and I only spend around 70 in Diesel a week.

That being said, I would go with something new. Your body will thank you for it.

Don't do the beater option . It's obvious that either A) They've never experienced a 1k mile weekly commute in a beater type car or B) They did but they have a very petite frame.

I used to do my thousand mile a week commute in a beater car. A 95 Tercel DX that I purchased with 80k on the odometer for 700 bucks off of a crack head in Newark. That car was/is great! 42+MPG, low maint cost, easy to work on and reliable as hell (250k and still runs like new!). But the money that I saved commuting in that beater car took its toll. I am a big guy. And by big I mean 6'4" 260lbs. I am 28 years old, but when I drove that car that much I felt like I was 82.
Don't sacrifice a few dollars for your health man......It's not worth it.

I would try and find any 2013 models left on the lot. There aren't many, but there are some. On those flat Florida roads and no traffic I can see you hitting mid to high 40 MPGS. Currently I drive from the Pocono Mountains through Northern NJ and NYC...Constant hills and traffic, but I still average 40-42...Oh and my average cruise speed on the highway portion before I hit traffic is 80-85.

This past weekend I drove to Baltimore to visit friends and I drove the car much more conservatively, meaning I didn't let it get past 75 and I was cautious on the pedal, I saw 48 MPG. Again this is driving through hills, mountains, and winter fuel..Not nice flat Florida interstate driving with regular Diesel. I don't see you having a problem hitting similar numbers on a regular basis.

I am sure you can haggle on a 2013 Jetta TDI close to 21k. I got my 14 for 23,900 to put it into comparison. Or a Passat even. They get slightly better numbers on the highway and they have a more highway friendly feel/drive. Bigger/more comfortable seats etc.

As for the DSG question. Me personally I have a hardcore beef with any Auto style trans (notice I said auto style for those of you that will criticize my statement in saying that DSG isn't an auto ) I prefer Manual trans in all of my cars, ESPECIALLY those that are German. Some folks rave about their DSG and how great it is, I strongly disagree. Clunky shifts, odd shifts and the maintenance cost associated with having a dry clutch system doesn't appeal to me. Me personally I like having the reliability of a manual, the control and the fun factor. My girlfriends MK5 Jetta SE has a DSG and I HATE it. It always seems 'confused'. Read through the threads you will see a lot of posts like this.



Hopes this helps you

gone postal said:

Funny, I've always hated those cars - actually almost anything Japanese - the styling, both exterior and interior, has never appealed to me. I swear looking at interior pics of a 2010 Prius that some of the switches and bezels are the same as in my friend's 1998 Tundra!! Just looks stark and boring. That being said, after some research, the cars are no joke on mileage. I thought they didn't do well on the highway, but I'm seeing a ton of reports for near 50mpg economy. The battery horror stories I've always heard also seem to be of mythical proportion. I'm a HUGE VW fan - had 8 over the last 11yrs (and NOT b/c of necessity!! Only one w/ motor problems), but am seriously considering a 2010 Prius. I've actually spent the last several nights scouring the internet trying to convince myself on why NOT to get the Prius and buy a 09/10 TDI instead. I'll be honest, it ain't easy! From a shear practicality standpoint and given my new potential commute, it seems to be the best bet. I know the fun factor is less, but I'm in FL - flat roads w/o curves. My fun factor would be getting the best mpg. I also wouldn't have to worry about HPFP issues......

Found a 2010 TDI that I was very interested in w/ 46k miles and see from Carfax it has already had the injectors, tank, rail and pump replaced - appears to be twice! Occurrences are a month and little over 500 miles apart - possible just clerical error, but whatever happened was enough for owner to get rid of the car already. One thing I have yet to research - are the replacement pumps redesigned? I have no idea what causes the originals to fail and I know VW has been great on absorbing the cost, but w/ my commute I could have a 200k+ mile car in a heartbeat - at some point they will deny coverage.

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Real world mileage is harder to achieve on a Hybrid vs. Diesel. You have to drive at much slower speeds and more cautious on the gas pedal. There's a reason why Prius drivers are the most hated in the world. You have to baby the hell out of the accelerator and drive at a snails pace...This is especially true in Florida where the average interstate speed is probably around 90mph lol. Hybrid would be more beneficial if you had more city driving, but for pure Highway like yours you're better of with a diesel.

Being that you live in a flat state, I have read that flat roads aren't the best of friends with Hybrids. Hybrids hit those great MPGs when they're using their electric motor. At interstate speeds the car typically gets more power from it's gas motor, due to weight, drag and other laws of physics. This is why Prius drivers do 50 mph in 65mph zones...This isn't practical. In a hybrid it is advantageous to coast as much as possible. At highway speeds this is damn near impossible, again due to that party pooper we call physics. The only way you can really coast is if your going down hill, which in Florida you don't have many Here is a link that backs this statement and overall how Hybrids aren't the best bet for highway driving: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23644029/how-many-miles-per-gallon-does-your-prius

Also you state that you have a family? Another added benefit of Diesel vs Hybrid is the torque. You will practically get almost the same MPG's with a car load of people in your Diesel vs the Hybrid that has almost no torque.

You also have to factor in costs. Hybrid parts cost more than Diesel parts. That fancy Variable trans cost more to repair than the manual gearbox. Those batteries overtime need replacement...See where I am going with this?

I am not Hybrid bashing, nor am I a Prius hater...Although there are days I want to pull my hair when I am stuck behind one lol. But the proof is in the pudding. There are a lot of posts out on the internet on how Prius owners aren't getting those mythical 50+mpgs and the ones that are, are typically employing hypermiling techniques. Owning a hybrid has it's advantages over diesel, specifically city driving. Real world city MPGS for a hybrid are way better than a diesel.

Here are a few links with Prius owners talking about how they can't get that mythical 50mpg mark
http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2013/02/heres-why-prius-owners-drive-like-that/ (he's bragging about how he gets a ton of mpgs, but read on the methods how he gets there)

Unhappy Prius driver #1:
http://priuschat.com/threads/how-does-everyone-average-50-mpg.84553/


#2http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef7c05b
(he's only averaging 40-43 at best, something that you can get on a TDI easily)

Best bang for buck, is always going to be the already paid for, cheaper to fix car. That means the mk3 tdi is your best "dollar standpoint" option.

What kind of engine issues does it have exactly? Easily fixable? I think for the first few weeks, saving as much as possible while figuring out the real cost of things would be wise. Baby on the way, so you could easily be staying over near work.. it will be hard anyway that you decide to do this.

I like the idea of renting a car, that actually sounds very feasible... no maintenance costs ever.. and just fuel and rental fees. So say $450 a week guranteed travel costs?

gone postal said:

That being said, after some research, the cars are no joke on mileage. I thought they didn't do well on the highway, but I'm seeing a ton of reports for near 50mpg economy. The battery horror stories I've always heard also seem to be of mythical proportion....

...seriously considering a 2010 Prius. I've actually spent the last several nights scouring the internet trying to convince myself on why NOT to get the Prius and buy a 09/10 TDI instead. I'll be honest, it ain't easy! From a shear practicality standpoint and given my new potential commute, it seems to be the best bet. I know the fun factor is less, but I'm in FL - flat roads w/o curves...

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I think you're making sense. I love my Golf TDI, but from a practical perspective - lowest cost of operation and lowest chance of expensive repairs, I think the Prius wins easily. I have friends that own Prius cars, some of them have two! They never complain about anything breaking and they get great mpg without any effort at all. It won't make you feel like a kid again like shifting my little 6-speed Golf TDI, but the Prius does seem to be a very good car for mpg and reliability.

ksing44 said:

It won't make you feel like a kid again like shifting my little 6-speed Golf TDI, but the Prius does seem to be a very good car for mpg and reliability.

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My parents bought a Prius V last year... It eats your soul and you constantly find yourself wandering into oncoming traffic when you spot an 18 wheeler, just hoping for the opportunity to put yourself out of such numbing misery.

I wouldn't get the Prius V.

rhouse181 said:

My parents bought a Prius V last year... It eats your soul and you constantly find yourself wandering into oncoming traffic when you spot an 18 wheeler, just hoping for the opportunity to put yourself out of such numbing misery.

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Lol

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