typical/expected cost of diesel option???

tlhfirelion

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Is there a general ballpark price for the TDI engine option with VW? I'm looking ahead and while I know the prices aren't out yet (as least sa far as I know) I wonder if it's halfway affordable or not. Thanks in advance!
 

tlhfirelion

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geesh, I just called 2 dealers to ask them what they expect the TDI option to cost and one said $4000 and the other said $6000!!!!! That just sent my economy car over 20K and thats with no options. Frigin eh.
 

toastblows

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The diesel option back in 2003 was about 1000-1500 more i think. i dont recall. It wasnt 6 grand. Tell them you are getting a civic or corolla....and then follow through. :D
 

TDIfor

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Logan, Ohio
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Hmmm... assuming a 20MPG bump over a gasser, and diesel at $3.50, I figger you can get your $5000 back in only 28,600 miles..... <sigh>
 
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toastblows

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TDIfor said:
Hmmm... assuming a 20MPG bump over a gasser, and diesel at $3.50, I figger you can get your $5000 back in only 28,600 miles..... <sigh>
Rug is $2.75 here, Diesel is $3.30. My civic gets 40 hwy, tdi gets 49hwy. I think at that rational you are looking at $140 savings over every 100k miles. :(

If you drive an H2, it will be a lot more ;)
 

FL2AK-tdi

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If you're looking to save money, do your self a favor and run like hell from Volkswagen TDI's. Buy a Civic or a Yaris. Get your near 40 mpg on gasoline and zero maintenance. Any possible fuel savings you are going to get from a TDi you are going to give back to a mechanic and/or a parts dealer.
 

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
FL2AK-tdi said:
If you're looking to save money, do your self a favor and run like hell from Volkswagen TDI's. Buy a Civic or a Yaris. Get your near 40 mpg on gasoline and zero maintenance. Any possible fuel savings you are going to get from a TDi you are going to give back to a mechanic and/or a parts dealer.
"Zero" maintenance? Ha! :rolleyes:

To the OP:

First, Volkswagens are NOT economy cars. They have not sold such a vehicle in this country for a very long time. What they are is solid, fun to drive, roomy, nice looking vehicles with a lot of neat features and a soul. The diesel versions just also happen to do so with very little fuel consumption. They are in no way a means to "driving cheaply". You want to drive cheap, then buy an economy car. You can buy TWO very nicely equipped one-year-old Elantras for what ONE new Jetta costs, and be far ahead even of they 'only' get 35 MPG.

Every car needs PM, every car needs brakes, tires, etc. In the end a Volkswagen will win out due to extreme longevity, gas OR diesel, but most folks are unwilling to make that commitment. If you are already shopping for 'cheap', please do NOT buy a German car, you WILL be disappointed. If you want a great car, know what needs to be done to take care of it, are gonna keep it 'indefinitely', and don't want some boring little crackerbox for the masses, then a Volkswagen is a great car. The diesel version will just use less fuel getting to 500k miles. :p

I have two higher mileage Volkswagens, and I challenge anyone to show me a Toyota or Honda that has covered what my Volkswagens have covered that looks and drives as well.
 
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FL2AK-tdi

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Perhaps zero mainrtenance was the wrong phrase. I expect that brakes and oil changes go without saying.

As for your challenge of honda vs vw: let's find a less subjective standard. what looks good to you may or may not look good to me or someone else.

Incidentally, I'm just about to change my first set of front brakes on mine at 93k mi. No way am I going to whine about that. My S10 would be going on it's third set by now.
 

alphaseinor

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Oilhammer

Actually looks being in the eyes of the beholder (a.k.a. my wife) she loves her Honda Fit. It's not boring to drive, it's just slow... I can do things with this little car that my Golf never dreamed of. It's more stable at speed (I didn't think it was possible), stops like my 944 turbo did, It can do an emergency lane change at over 65 MPH without a hitch (My wife did it when she wasn't paying attention to the road), and has a smaller turning radius.

The Golf with the stock suspension was cushier. With the upgrades, it's close to a GTI without all the bouncyness.

other than that... I agree... German cars aren't cheap. I've owned five so far, and all have the "pleasureable driving" experience that nothing japanese/american (other than the fit) can compare to.
 

Ian F

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The PM on a Toyota or Honda is about the same as a TDI... my old Acura Integra needed TB changes every 75K miles.... and would toast the valves just as quickly if it broke... And that car needed it's oil changed every 3K miles... despite all data to the contrary... around 3K, gas mileage would drop from the low 30's to the high 20's... change the oil: back to normal... Makes no sense, but it was like that for the 154K miles I owned the car (traded in with 229K and still ran great).

...and having a chain wouldn't make it much better, if at all... chains stretch... tensioners wear... just ask any higher-mileage BMW owner... and can be a real pain to repair... you should see the chain routing on a R50/53 MINI... yuck...
 

toastblows

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minnesota
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We can really simplify this if we take out the "fun" and "maintenance" factors.

Paying $6K over msrp of a gas VW is a rip off.....responding to this threads first couple posts. At that point you are paying what.....$25-28K for a 50mpg car. You can get a top of the line Civic for $19K (msrp). You will never make up the gap in price savings on fuel at current rug/diesel level discrepancies. Anyone disagree?
 

FL2AK-tdi

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toastblows said:
We can really simplify this if we take out the "fun" and "maintenance" factors.

Paying $6K over msrp of a gas VW is a rip off.....responding to this threads first couple posts. At that point you are paying what.....$25-28K for a 50mpg car. You can get a top of the line Civic for $19K (msrp). You will never make up the gap in price savings on fuel at current rug/diesel level discrepancies. Anyone disagree?
Rock on!
 

Bob_Fout

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Indiana
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toastblows said:
Rug is $2.75 here, Diesel is $3.30. My civic gets 40 hwy, tdi gets 49hwy. I think at that rational you are looking at $140 savings over every 100k miles. :(

If you drive an H2, it will be a lot more ;)
What speeds must you drive at to get 40 MPG from a gasser? Around 60 MPH?
 

toastblows

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Bob_Fout said:
What speeds must you drive at to get 40 MPG from a gasser? Around 60 MPH?
i get 36-37mpg average 80/20 hwy/city in my 05 civic. I get 47-48mpg average in the tdi, same split.

All Highway Trips:

I get 40mpg 70-75mph in the civic. Same tips on TDI help gas cars too...clean air filter, synthetic oil, 40psi tire pressure. TDI 49-50mpg same scenario.

I like both cars for different reasons. Im just suggesting that a dealer who charges $6k over the gas version is a scam artist. Dont fall for it.
 
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oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
Bob_Fout said:
What speeds must you drive at to get 40 MPG from a gasser? Around 60 MPH?
Most years' manual trans Civics can get 40 MPG without too much trouble on the highway, even at 70. The newest Civic got yet a bigger engine and a severe obesity problem, not to mention a dashboard that hurts my eyes, so we'll leave that one out. But the best Civics ever, the '88ish through '00, with the tiny 1.5L or 1.6L engines can get really good MPGs. Especially the HF/HX/GX cars (although the latter two barf up an uber expensive LAF sensor every 50k miles or so... :rolleyes: ).

Point is, there is no cost justification in buying a TDI based solely on fuel economy. There are cheaper cars out there. Volkswagen even makes some, they just do not sell any here :mad: .
 

toastblows

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oilhammer said:
Most years' manual trans Civics can get 40 MPG without too much trouble on the highway, even at 70. The newest Civic got yet a bigger engine and a severe obesity problem, not to mention a dashboard that hurts my eyes, so we'll leave that one out. But the best Civics ever, the '88ish through '00, with the tiny 1.5L or 1.6L engines can get really good MPGs. Especially the HF/HX/GX cars (although the latter two barf up an uber expensive LAF sensor every 50k miles or so... :rolleyes: ).

Point is, there is no cost justification in buying a TDI based solely on fuel economy. There are cheaper cars out there. Volkswagen even makes some, they just do not sell any here :mad: .
Best car they ever made was that 92-94 VX....55mpg+...who cares about pollution ;) .

I agree with your assessment, diesel is not for fuel $$$ savings at the current time. Maybe we can get a cheap 50mpg car in america some time, like the geo metro or civic vx...wait wasnt that like 15 years ago? How about a Lupo 3L.
 

oilhammer

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There are just too many to list....
toastblows said:
Best car they ever made was that 92-94 VX....55mpg+...who cares about pollution ;) .

I agree with your assessment, diesel is not for fuel $$$ savings at the current time. Maybe we can get a cheap 50mpg car in america some time, like the geo metro or civic vx...wait wasnt that like 15 years ago? How about a Lupo 3L.
It is not even so much the diesel/gas debate, but the actual car itself. The only diesel passenger cars you have been able to buy in the US in the last 15 years are expensive German ones. That's it. We do not get the base crackerbox Accent diesel here, or any other small cheap car, or even a mid-size cheap car for that matter. They are all gasoline powered.

Now I realize the diesel engine option may add some to the price of the car, but trust me there is NO WAY the diesel engine accounts for very much of a $52k E320 CDI.

I purchased new a 2003 Accent 3 door GL (the lesser trimmed model) with an automatic and A/C (both options) for less than $10k. If a diesel engine option added even $2k to the price, you are still looking at only $12k, or about HALF the price of most new Jetta TDIs, and since the Accent's 1.5L gas engine can get 35 MPGs I'd suspect a small displacement high efficiency diesel would easily get that same car to 55+, autobox and all.

So for $12k a car that could get 55+ MPG on diesel...now THAT would be an economy car. Knock the $1k slushbox option off, and you have a $11k car that would likely get 65+ MPG!!!

Now imagine that you can go to a dozen other countries in the world and pick from probably 20 cars that fit into that category (I realize cost may vary depending on region, which is all relative).

Manufacturers blame consumerism and the gov't for our situation, but bottom line is, if you live in the USA, an uber high MPG [diesel] economy car for a low price is simply not gonna happen ever again. Let alone a small truck, minivan, etc.
 

FL2AK-tdi

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Agreed. Completely. I just don't know how the car cmpanies are using consumerism as an excuse not to do the right thing. How can there NOT be demand for the cars you just listed?
 

oilhammer

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outside St Louis, MO
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There are just too many to list....
FL2AK-tdi said:
Agreed. Completely. I just don't know how the car cmpanies are using consumerism as an excuse not to do the right thing. How can there NOT be demand for the cars you just listed?
Males make up a large portion of the buying market, and so many American men have SPS and many women have whatever version of that they have.
 

tdidieselbobny

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I will guess that the TDI option will probably add $2k-$2500 to the model price.Then there probably be "option" groups you can only get w/ the diesel.Take anything the dealer says w/ a grain of salt.The $6k price is more in line for the big 3 full size pickup diesel engine options.
 
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