To buy or not to buy TDI Wagon/Pumpe Duse

This is my first post but I have enjoyed reading this forum for several years (on and off). I met several members at TDI Fest 2002 in Michigan and had a great time with my nephew "SUDS". Thanks guys! My question is, I currently own a 2000 TDI Jetta automatic and have been reasonably happy with the car, however, I think I might have purchased a relative "lemon". It has had several problems (computer relay failed and the car had to be towed, engine seal went and timing belt had to be re-replaced-not on warranty, $300 labour-wiring problem, window-lift broken, not to mention cup holders and glove-box plastic that breaks) Did I mention the approx. 10 cents per kilometre I saved in fuel for the last 130,000 kms compared with our previous Nissan Quest! My local dealer (Cedarbrae VW where Fred bought his wagon) is great to me and have suggested that I trade up to a 2004. They suggest that I have had more than average problems with my car. I am concerned that I might be better keeping my suspected "lemon" or upgrading to a 2003 and that Pumpe-Duse may be relatively unproven technology and that I may be into another series of problems. Do you think I would be better with a 2003 deal or go with the 2004? We are going with the automatic because my wife doesn't drive standard. I also liked the Tiptronic option for myself on the 2004 vs the 2003. Any advice?

Buying a new car is always a fun thing to do. Paying for a new car is a different story. I have rented the 100hp Golf PD in Europe several times and to be quite honest, the performance has been disappointing. It didn't seem to run any better than my North American 90hp Golf so upgrading for reason of improved performance would be a mistake in my opinion. As for the quality of the plastics inside, again I just don't see Volkswagen making any great strides with regards to quality improvement.

If you just want a new car and can afford it then by all means go ahead and treat yourself. If you're upgrading because you feel that your previous VW is a lemon then you stand a very good chance of being disappointed. For me, I'd upgrade only to change body styles. I currently have a 2 door Golf and I'd love to have a wagon so I would make the change if the price was right. However, I wouldn't change vehicles in hopes of finding a better built product from the same manufacturer.

I would buy a leftover 2003 with the old ALH engine. Too early to buy one in the states. Our fuel is terrible. As a noted TDICLUb member told me....they are going to be stealership magnets till 2006.

I drove a 2004 Jetta last week and IMHO didnt see the power over a 03 that I wanted to see. Its only 10 HP but I guess I expected more. Way better deals on 03's right now. It is close to a $200 oil change in Canada with that new Shyttec they are pushin.OUCH!!!

One factor I failed to mention in my original post was that we can afford the new car by trading it in on a lease for the new one. We currently own the sedan. We want the financial security of the warranty and the frugality of the fuel economy. I was thinking of purchasing the extended warranty to 180k.

Buy a 130 PD, it's a grand or so more expensive but it's far superior to the 100.

Oohhhh Darcy,, you guys across the pond are always rubbing those fancy cars that we can't have in our faces. Unfortunately for us our choices for a diesel vehicle in North America for 2004 is only the VW 100 hp TDI. Mercedes may choose to give us a diesel powered $55,000 E-class but that's a little rich for my blood. And if Jeep decides to give us a diesel Jeep Liberty then that will be nice,, but it's still a SUV and not a car.

Thomaspartlow, if I were in your shoes I definitely would not go in debt and lease a new vehicle if I owned a
2000 model of the same vehicle that was paid for. But that is certainly a personal choice and yours to make. Whatever you choose to do I hope that you have good luck. Keeping your current car and having no problems would be ideal,, but buying a new one and it being completely trouble free from the get-go would be even better. Of course, we are talking about Volkswagen here.... /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I just realized that you have already decided to buy a new car and your original question was whether to buy the 2003 or the 2004. I'd say save the money and buy the leftover 2003. There are a few cosmetic changes for 2004 but nothing worth a price increase and the new engine doesn't seem to perform any better than the engine that it replaces.

Thanks for the advice. Another factor for us is that we like to camp and thought the wagon would be more useful with more than twice the trunk capacity. I'm not sure this would justify the extra $'s especially $200 oil changes! Keine Vergnügen ohne gefahr! (I think that's a gutte thing, isn't it?)

I've had my 03 wagon for a year now with 25k of no problems at all. I had Toyota pick ups with 198k and 150k respectively, so going with vw has been a gamble for me. So far, so good.

My 2 cents worth is the 03 wagons, mine anyway, seem to have better reliability compared to some of the problems others seem to have. I used to car camp with my truck, so this has been a bit of of space shift for me. I did build a roof rack to handle the excess, which cuts down my fuel economy.

Besides the high mileage, I bought the tdi to use biodiesel. My concern with the 04 pd's is that biodiesel use may be more problamatic. If you have no intention of using it, no problem.

I did notice some posting about how disapointed folks are with the performance of the 04 pd's. My philosophy is when in doubt, test drive yourself. Decisions, decisions. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

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bean boy said:
I've had my 03 wagon for a year now with 25k of no problems at all. I had Toyota pick ups with 198k and 150k respectively, so going with vw has been a gamble for me. So far, so good.

My 2 cents worth is the 03 wagons, mine anyway, seem to have better reliability compared to some of the problems others seem to have. I used to car camp with my truck, so this has been a bit of of space shift for me. I did build a roof rack to handle the excess, which cuts down my fuel economy.

Besides the high mileage, I bought the tdi to use biodiesel. My concern with the 04 pd's is that biodiesel use may be more problamatic. If you have no intention of using it, no problem.

I did notice some posting about how disapointed folks are with the performance of the 04 pd's. My philosophy is when in doubt, test drive yourself. Decisions, decisions. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

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Thats because wagons are built in Germany. Still not sure if final assembly makes a difference, would be intresting to find out.