Is the MKIV still a viable/cost-effective daily commuter?

Yes, a spare car! I've got three 2000 Golfs (same nozzles and tunes!). I can take my time doing maintenance on the DD cars: and now that I have a garage it's almost like cheating! Just put my spare (11mm IP and 6spd- it's fairly fast!) into service so I could do the rear brakes on my DD (which is my favorite car). I only do about 100 miles a day; that's what the wife was doing before she resigned from her job.

We fortunately have several "spares", but they are varied for different uses.

The Sprinter inhaled several giant potted plants last weekend with ease, something none of my other cars could do (and the pickup would have had them blown to pieces by the time I got home).

My wife seems to prefer "her" 2004 Passat TDI sedan over all of them though. But she drives the Golfs periodically too.

Lightflyer1 said:

My point being the OP already has a newer car that they are commuting in. Buying one of these now is just an added expense and more work. If it was something they already owned and had taken care of I would say keep it. But to buy one now and bring it up to snuff seems not financially reasonable.

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I think you nailed it quite well. It is sort of like people who spend $1k to save 1 mpg. It doesn't financially make a lot of sense.

belome said:

I think you nailed it quite well. It is sort of like people who spend $1k to save 1 mpg. It doesn't financially make a lot of sense.

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But... that's a two-dimensional description to a three-dimensional issue/world. Absent is fuel cost. When fuel prices are "cheap" (affordable- not necessarily a low $$ number [if one is unemployed $2/gal fuel CAN be expensive]) that description might hold; but, if fuel prices are "expensive" then the equation can change dramatically: I would bet that trucking industries regularly spend upwards of $1k for a 1 mpg gain (and the higher fuel prices rise the more that outlay is seen to be worth it).

The ALH does deliver great FE. But they are also durable cars that are easy to maintain, if you're familiar with them. That a car can stay reliable and reasonably rust free for 400K miles in New England is impressive, fuel economy aside.

We aren't a trucking company with many vehicles and fuel prices aren't that high currently and the spread is low as well. So for current circumstances your argument holds no merit.

As IBW says they can be great cars and are everything he says but to buy a used one and sink money into it isn't going to save you money. If you buy one cheap and just shoestring it along and do all the work yourself, then maybe. But I have found it costs a fair amount of money to get one back in shape to make an acceptable car I would drive anywhere without worry. Had Runonbeer (my trusted mechanic) not left I would still have mine. But anyone else I have tried wanted to be paid in gold to touch it and I had little confidence in any of them.

We bought my son's '02 golf with 265K on it for $1,500. Spent about that much again to get it into good running shape. And in the years following we've probably spent $2K on repairs. Maybe $3K. Only work we've done ourselves is routine maintenance and replacing brakes. Let's say we're into the car for $6K. It'll be due for a timing belt again this summer or fall, and I think it may need a steering rack in the not too distant future. But my son has gotten reliable, comfortable, economical transportation for the last 4 years and 100K miles for $6K, less its value, which is probably still in the $1,500 range. I don't know what other car would get 40+ MPG and run reliably for 100K miles for $4,500. Seems worth buying used and sinking money into.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

We bought my son's '02 golf with 265K on it for $1,500. Spent about that much again to get it into good running shape. And in the years following we've probably spent $2K on repairs. Maybe $3K. Only work we've done ourselves is routine maintenance and replacing brakes. Let's say we're into the car for $6K. It'll be due for a timing belt again this summer or fall, and I think it may need a steering rack in the not too distant future. But my son has gotten reliable, comfortable, economical transportation for the last 4 years and 100K miles for $6K, less its value, which is probably still in the $1,500 range. I don't know what other car would get 40+ MPG and run reliably for 100K miles for $4,500. Seems worth buying used and sinking money into.

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For people who don't mind putting in the work, they definitely can be a good vaue. For someone who already has a reliable newer car and doesn't want to deal with repairs right away, I'm not so sure. I do get the advantage of having a spare ride if you have the room/time /resources for it.

Lightflyer1 said:

We aren't a trucking company with many vehicles and fuel prices aren't that high currently and the spread is low as well. So for current circumstances your argument holds no merit.

As IBW says they can be great cars and are everything he says but to buy a used one and sink money into it isn't going to save you money. If you buy one cheap and just shoestring it along and do all the work yourself, then maybe. But I have found it costs a fair amount of money to get one back in shape to make an acceptable car I would drive anywhere without worry. Had Runonbeer (my trusted mechanic) not left I would still have mine. But anyone else I have tried wanted to be paid in gold to touch it and I had little confidence in any of them.

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I'm confused as to why you're here if you don't work on these cars. I thought that this was the point of these forums (and not whether one should be working on them or not).

"We aren't a trucking company" - who is "we?"

It's simple math. If it can be calculated out to be of benefit then it'll be of benefit ($$ wise).

"fuel prices aren't that high currently and the spread is low as well."

Really? Just saying so don't make it so. Diesel fuel has 13% more energy. It is almost always cheaper than regular unleaded, and always less than premium unleaded (which MANY gasser vehicles tend to require). ALL my cars average close to or over 50 mpg. At a more average FE I assure you that fuel prices matter, today's prices as well as tomorrow's (come back here in a couple years and tell me that fuel prices don't matter).

"So for current circumstances your argument holds no merit."

I hope you like egg

Not everyone works on their cars, but do have an interest in knowing about them. I do simple repairs myself and others I hire out that I don't want to tackle for whatever reason. But we are talking about the OP here who said he didn't want to be working on his car every weekend, not me.

"We" is most of us here I would imagine. A few cents is a benefit but may not be worth the trouble to earn. Diesel is not cheaper here than regular, about a .20 difference. If the OP just keeps driving his current car he saves registration and taxes and repairs and purchase price etc..., to be used to upkeep his current ride as needed or saved.

I have no power to discern the future as you do so I can't comment on anything but the present. At present it makes little financial sense to buy another car just for commutings sake to save another car whose value also diminishes.

I love eggs but I am not eating them off of your face.

Heh, well foolish or not, I bought a 2003 wagon. Mint. Or at least as mint as these things can get nowadays. In addition to the economic concerns of driving my GTI to high mileage, it just doesn't feel like the right tool for the job. That job being hauling me to work and back 120km/day (all highway), hauling mine and my kids hockey equipment, mountain bikes, groceries, etc.

So I bought a wagon with 114K kms on it (with a stack of service documentation going back to new, including recent timing belt), which I am confident can go another 400K without major surgery (there will be lots of minor surgeries, obviously). The GTI has 100K on it and based on my experience so far, as well as talking with my mechanic and various forums, I'm not sure I'd want to trust it much past 200K. For me that's 3 years.

Will it save me a bunch of money? Maybe. Maybe not. I am happy to do some minor wrenching myself on occasion (oil changes, brake pads, hoses, glow plugs, mounts, etc.) and I've got a very good independent VW/TDI guru who charges reasonable rates. In the meantime, I will eliminate a car payment (once I sell the GTI) and have a super practical vehicle that should be roadworthy for many years. And if in 2-3 years I change my mind, I will be able to sell the wagon for not much less than I paid for it (if any). It will still be a sought-after *very*low mileage vehicle if I sell it in 2 years with 175K kms on it.

Maybe it doesn't make sense to anybody else, but it feels right to me

UhOh said:

I'm confused as to why you're here if you don't work on these cars. I thought that this was the point of these forums (and not whether one should be working on them or not).

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When I first joined TDIClub I lived in an apartment and had to park on the street. That did not stop me from wanting to know more about the car and how it worked, and that information is present here in spades. It's also useful information when you visit the tech and they have no knowledge of the TSB you saw here on TDIClub.

I don't do all the work on my car, even now that I have a garage. During many months of the year it's just too damn cold to be rolling around the garage working on brittle plastics and stiff rubber. DIY also would require an investment in tools that I really don't need elsewhere. Sure, a heater and some more tools might have other uses, but they're still expenses I would have to lay out to work on the cars and that money has to be part of the cost-of-ownership equation.

UhOh said:

"fuel prices aren't that high currently and the spread is low as well."

Really? Just saying so don't make it so. Diesel fuel has 13% more energy. It is almost always cheaper than regular unleaded, and always less than premium unleaded (which MANY gasser vehicles tend to require).

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Maybe that's always true where you live. It's rarely always so here in The Bold Frozen North. When I drive by a filling station, the diesel price rarely is lower than the RUL price. In the winter, it's pretty competitive with PUL. And fuel prices are significantly lower now than they were during some of the years I've owned my TDIs and diesel was over $3.50 a gallon.

As the (all-too-appropriate here) saying goes, "Your mileage may vary."

Steve-o said:

Maybe that's always true where you live. It's rarely always so here in The Bold Frozen North. When I drive by a filling station, the diesel price rarely is lower than the RUL price. In the winter, it's pretty competitive with PUL. And fuel prices are significantly lower now than they were during some of the years I've owned my TDIs and diesel was over $3.50 a gallon.

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Maybe in the "Bold Frozen North" that is the case, but not in the "Great White North" . I've been filling up with Premium for the last 2 years and looking longingly at the price of Diesel. Diesel is almost always in and around the price of Regular. Premium is routinely ~18-21 cents per litre (about 72 cents/gallon) more than regular.

According to Stats Canada Diesel is actually cheaper on average than Regular, at least in the Toronto area where I am: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/econ152h-eng.htm

Regular Gas=$2.55 here now
Diesel =$297 Here now. Big difference. In 2005 when I bought my 2000 Jetta Diesel was $3.33.

McGuillicuddy said:

Will it save me a bunch of money? Maybe. Maybe not. I am happy to do some minor wrenching myself on occasion (oil changes, brake pads, hoses, glow plugs, mounts, etc.) and I've got a very good independent VW/TDI guru who charges reasonable rates. In the meantime, I will eliminate a car payment (once I sell the GTI) and have a super practical vehicle that should be roadworthy for many years. And if in 2-3 years I change my mind, I will be able to sell the wagon for not much less than I paid for it (if any). It will still be a sought-after *very*low mileage vehicle if I sell it in 2 years with 175K kms on it.

Maybe it doesn't make sense to anybody else, but it feels right to me

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I think you made a good choice- especially if your plan is to sell the gti. Really no point in owning a car you don't want to drive (and isn't a collectible).

Not mentioning you planned to sell the GTI changes the whole picture. I would change my vote to what you currently did, assuming you got a good car to start with. Good luck and I hope it works for you. They can be really nice cars and this one seems to suit your needs and wants better.

Lightflyer1 said:

Not mentioning you planned to sell the GTI changes the whole picture. I would change my vote to what you currently did, assuming you got a good car to start with. Good luck and I hope it works for you. They can be really nice cars and this one seems to suit your needs and wants better.

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Sorry fellas, I guess that is an important omission. For me it was always either or. Keeping both was never an option unfortunately :-(. Keeping both would obviously be best from a lifestyle point of view, but not a wallet point of view!

Just for general info what did you have to pay for it? Pictures of your new ride?

Any 15 to 20 year old vehicle is going to need care and maintenance. If a person does not work on their own vehicles, they should strongly consider their mechanics opinion. Sounds like you have. That being said, these cars have a drivetrain that goes nearly indefinitely, good rustproofing, and a knowledgeable support group. They drive soundly and pull like a midsize car. Others already have the bugs, maintenance, and mods figured out. Reminds me of older Harley’s, minus the road rash. Kudo’s to the people who keep this forum alive, I really appreciate it, thank you very much

Over the years of owning my mk4, i’ve fallen in love with the car itself, not just it’s fuel economy, it’s styling or the engine itself, but the whole. I can’t imagine not having it. Maybe it’s just irrational sentimentality but there’s almost no reason I wouldn’t keep my mk4.

benIV said:

Over the years of owning my mk4, i’ve fallen in love with the car itself, not just it’s fuel economy, it’s styling or the engine itself, but the whole. I can’t imagine not having it. Maybe it’s just irrational sentimentality but there’s almost no reason I wouldn’t keep my mk4.

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I compare it to the relationship between a cowboy and his horse, though of course my Golf does not share my love for it. But if I take care of it, then it takes care of me.

TornadoRed said:

I compare it to the relationship between a cowboy and his horse, though of course my Golf does not share my love for it. But if I take care of it, then it takes care of me.

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exactly!