Newer TDI

I’m straying from the TDI, apologies, I put in pre2006 lexus and have gotten hits for the ls430.....thoughts oilhammer?

The LS430 is the V8. And it is, like the 4.0L V8 before it, an EXCELLENT engine, probably one of the best Toyota has ever made, and arguably one of the best V8 engines ever. LS430 (which replaced the LS400) came out in 2001, and got a 6th gear in the transmission in 2004, but was otherwise the same general car during its run. They are very good cars. Couple things to steer clear of: anything with any active suspension (rare option) as those will be problematic at this age. I'd want one that does NOT have navigation (about a 50/50 split on 2004+ cars, fewer 2001-03 cars had it) and I'd probably steer clear of the also rare "ultra luxury" package, which added among other needless things heated and cooled and reclining REAR seats. I'd also want to stay away from any of the laser or radar cruise nonsense. I think most of these were saddled with park sensors, but maybe the earlier ones dodged that liability.

Just know that parts are expensive for them. They were an expensive car. Most 2004s were around $65k IIRC. The side mirrors are $1000 a pop. I know this all too well because many (most) Lexus owners like to drive by feel. Even with park sensors all over the place.

The LS400 was probably a slightly better car simply because they didn't have a lot of the stuff tacked on to them like the LS430 did.

FWIW, the 2nd gen GS 1998 through 2005 is also an excellent car, the standard inline six (GS300) is a great engine, and the optional V8 (4.0L: GS400 and 4.3L GS430 starting in 2001) is the same engine as the LS. However the GS never got the 6sp, they were all 5sp automatics. Slightly smaller, sportier car, but still a great cruiser.

I found a local ‘15 Passat with about 59K miles. They replaced tires, rear brakes (why not front is strange), wipers, oil/filter. I’d be concerned about DSG fluid sitting for about 3 years. Was sold initially in TX and now here in Vegas. So I like the low odds of rust issues.

I put in VIN and it has had both phases of “fixes”.

They’re asking $14.5K. I would insist on new battery and DSG service and ask why front brakes weren’t touched.

Anything else I should be looking at? I may go look at it here in the next couple days. Thoughts on price? I’m thinking $12-13K OTD (before tax and registration).

Edit: I forgot to mention it is a carfax certified 1 owner with 10+ service records. That was another solid positive for me.

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That isn't a bad price for that car. What model is it? If you can get it for $12 or $13k I would definitely get it, asssuming good shape. If you can get the battery, brakes and DSG service all the better but not a deal breaker, if you can DIY. $300 or so should cover all that.

Lightflyer1 said:

That isn't a bad price for that car. What model is it? If you can get it for $12 or $13k I would definitely get it, asssuming good shape. If you can get the battery, brakes and DSG service all the better but not a deal breaker, if you can DIY. $300 or so should cover all that.

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True on the DIY and $300. Thx.

SEL Premium




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That is a nice looking car. I'd not be too concerned over the DSG or front brakes, to be honest.

oilhammer said:

That is a nice looking car. I'd not be too concerned over the DSG or front brakes, to be honest.

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Thank you sir! I truly value your opinion based on reading lots of your other posts!

Do the ‘15s have the heater core issues? Or was that mainly prior to 15?

Cheers [emoji482]



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They seem to be less problematic, but they do have the HVAC motor issues. Luckily the dash is not too terribly bad to R&R.

If you get the for 12 or 13 that is an extremely good deal, for a SEL Premium. If you don't buy it let me know and I will fly out there for it. CPO i assume as it is at a VW dealer and pretty low miles.

oilhammer said:

They seem to be less problematic, but they do have the HVAC motor issues. Luckily the dash is not too terribly bad to R&R.

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Thanks!


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Lightflyer1 said:

If you get the for 12 or 13 that is an extremely good deal, for a SEL Premium. If you don't buy it let me know and I will fly out there for it. CPO i assume as it is at a VW dealer and pretty low miles.

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Yes sir CPO. [emoji482]


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ratkc135 said:

I found a local ‘15 Passat with about 59K miles. They replaced tires, rear brakes (why not front is strange), wipers, oil/filter. I’d be concerned about DSG fluid sitting for about 3 years. Was sold initially in TX and now here in Vegas. So I like the low odds of rust issues.

I put in VIN and it has had both phases of “fixes”.

They’re asking $14.5K. I would insist on new battery and DSG service and ask why front brakes weren’t touched.

Anything else I should be looking at? I may go look at it here in the next couple days. Thoughts on price? I’m thinking $12-13K OTD (before tax and registration).

Edit: I forgot to mention it is a carfax certified 1 owner with 10+ service records. That was another solid positive for me.

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Before wasting my time to go look...I started throwing numbers around with them...their first round of "best price"...haha....was basically $14.8K. Not a great deal IMO....so they knocked a whopping $200 off the price my bank (USAA) gave me with their car buying service...lol

Question is now: at what price point is it not really a good deal. $13K I would have gone there this afternoon...$14.8K; not so much. It's been on their lot 3 months so far...I thought they may be willing to do something more impressive....being last day of month (perhaps that doesn't matter in reality).

ratkc135 said:

Yes sir CPO. [emoji482]


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Ended up getting car today. $12890 plus tax.

I’m pleased.


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Congrats, rat!

Nice car, nice price. Well done!

old tdis

I have owned 3 volkswagon diesals.

cons hard to work on, hard to find someone skilled, expensive general maintance, expensive parts and labor to fix something. Expensive fuel for the little gain in mileage per gal.

I will never buy another tdi or diesel for that matter. The figures just will not be in your favor.

do I like driving them? yes and yes!

bob

When my daughter totaled my '99 Jetta, I bought the '03 bug, love these cars.
But I laugh when I see claims they're cheap to operate, cause they're not. It's all about the drive.

The older ones win out on long term lower cost of operation, especially if you (like me) drive a lot.

My daily is at 570k miles and climbing, and while it certainly has some wear and tear and the clearcoat has pretty much gone AWOL, it is still reliable, solid, fun to drive, and still does everything I need it to do. The simplistic nature of the ALH engine, including the engine proper AND the engine management system, make it extremely durable and easy to keep in good order. The car it is bolted into, while certainly not "perfect", is overall pretty good and super easy to work on and keep going. The refinement is not there, for sure, but that is not what gets me to and from where I need to go.

I really have to laugh out loud when people think these cars are hard to work on... clearly those people have not had the pleasure of working on the stuff I have had to work on. Being in the field, I can easily trounce any and all labor times working on VAG products over anything else, often by a wide margin. While I do the most work in our shop over all the other techs most weeks anyway, much of that is due to the fact that I get all the dubs.

This week a perfectly good example: I had to do [yet another ] rear main seal on an EA888 engine (a FWD 2011 Tiguan). I drove the vehicle in the shop at 7am, and drove it back out with the new rear main seal installed before lunch, and that included a 20 minute phone call with someone for a consultation on a project car. The guy next to me had to replace a Prius transmission (trashed bearings), and he not only already had the car on the lift next to me the night before, he was already partially into the job.... he was still working on it that afternoon after I had already moved on to my next job.

Tiguan trans R&R: 6.5 hr (I had it done, including R&R the flex plate and rear main seal, in about 4 hours)

Prius trans R&R: 11.5 hr, and it took him every last bit of 12 hours to do it... and that did not include the ridiculously lengthy test drive necessary to get the Prius' excessively complex cooling system completely bled out of air, which was probably another solid hour of dicking with it. This was a 2013 standard Prius, BTW.

I also never cursed once... the Tiggy's plastic shields and fender liners are all held in with Torx screws. Zip-zip-zip with my little electric driver, easy peasy. The Prius (like most Japanese and American cars) have an extensive array of uber-fragile plastic push clips holding all that stuff on. That you have a 50-50 shot of breaking when they get removed, because they simply do not make them in a manner intended to ever BE removed, and of course they are all different. To take the lower shields and fender liners out of a Prius there are no less than about a half dozen different clips... for no reason... they all "do" the same thing, but evidently Toyota wants to give bonuses to designers to see just how many DIFFERENT clips they can use to hold one piece of plastic on. VAG uses one Torx screw. And it is the same Torx screw they were using over 20 years ago. They still use them today.

But hey, go ahead and think they are hard to work on... send them to me, please. I will gladly service them all day every day. Nice stress free jobs for me. I always joke, but it is true: I do not work, I have fun with a paycheck.

Until recently I, along with my two sons, all drove 2002 TDIs. One Jetta Sedan, one Jetta Wagon, one Golf. All assembled in different countries. What I loved was how easy it was for us to service these cars, and the fact that all the engine parts were the same. My younger son and I could complete the 40K service in his car (usually including a gear oil drain and refill) in about 40 minutes. We're not super quick, but, like oilhammer says, everything is easy. And this is without a lift.

k0wtz, from reading your other posts, I suspect part of your impression that these cars are difficult and expensive to maintain may be from buying substandard replacement parts. The thread describing multiple alternator replacements comes to mind. I think I've replaced the alternator in my Wagon twice in 400K miles, and one of them was an aftermarket product I was induced to try. We don't sell that one. There's tons of good quality parts for MKIV TDIs out there, both OE and aftermarket. And replacing something once is easier and cheaper than doing it multiple times, even if you're invoking an Autozone or similar lifetime warranty.

In August of 2018 I had my local guru do a bunch of maintenance on my son's Golf before he moved to Wisconsin. He's driven the car about 20K miles since then, and the only issue he's had is a loose bolt in the wiper linkage. And this is in a car that's approaching 400K miles. Sounds pretty easy to care for to me.

Last month put me at 40 years owning and driving VW Diesels (47 years VWs in general). I have no regrets and like Oilhammer, I've always enjoyed working on my VWs. Even now, I'm coming up on 12 years retired (not as a mechanic) and I still do all my own maintenance. During my career, including my commute and driving on the job, I rolled up over 36k miles per year.

Today, I do maintenance on a few TDIs for friends, in part because I enjoy working on them in my little shop. The cash is a bonus. Recently, I've been introduced to the world of the Tiguan ............ Wow, Oilhammer, you told me!

Heh, I like the Tiggy, they are super easy to work on, and all the exact same stuff breaks (and a bunch of stuff that never breaks), so they tend to be a known quantity at least. I know the CCTA engine quite well.

Of note on the EA888 engines (to which the CCTA belongs), there is an updated rear main seal available as well as an all-aluminum water pump assembly, which addresses at least two of that engine's chronic weaknesses.

Fortunately, my 2002 Golf TDI w/ 220K+ is still going strong. It's tempting to replace it with an upgrade to a 2015 Golf TDI. One is for sale locally for about $14K w/ 70K miles. But then I question if it's even worth it.

Most of the major issues on the 02 have been dealt with (i.e. rear ball joints, turbo charger, clutch, etc.). The alternator and starter are next to go. But otherwise, it still runs great.

Can someone talk me into getting a 2015?

JamesBa said:

Fortunately, my 2002 Golf TDI w/ 220K+ is still going strong. It's tempting to replace it with an upgrade to a 2015 Golf TDI. One is for sale locally for about $14K w/ 70K miles. But then I question if it's even worth it.

Most of the major issues on the 02 have been dealt with (i.e. rear ball joints, turbo charger, clutch, etc.). The alternator and starter are next to go. But otherwise, it still runs great.

Can someone talk me into getting a 2015?

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If you keep your 2002, the 2015 would be an awesome addition to the stable.

oilhammer said:

If you keep your 2002, the 2015 would be an awesome addition to the stable.

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That's what I did. Happy with both parts of that decision.

oilhammer said:

But hey, go ahead and think they are hard to work on... send them to me, please. I will gladly service them all day every day. Nice stress free jobs for me. I always joke, but it is true: I do not work, I have fun with a paycheck.

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Can I make an appointment with you for some time next week? I think that will give you enough time to make it out here. It should be a nice drive.

You'd have to come here. The shop, the lifts, and my toolbox, are far more difficult to move.

oilhammer said:

If you keep your 2002, the 2015 would be an awesome addition to the stable.

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What I did as well! 02 Jetta and 15 Passat TDIs in my fleet. 2 diesel trucks too...I think I have a diesel addiction....



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funny the '13 jetta wagon is still on our local dealers lot with only 9k miles on it...dealer won't budge from $13+k

That's not a bad price.

Good evening. I haven’t been on here in a while but I’m still running my ‘06 Jetta TDI dsg at 221k mi. My question is, how are the “fixed” mk6’s doing. I’ve been looking at a ‘14 with only 21,000 mi. Is there particular things to look out for?