Clean Diesel Fuels Volkswagen's June Sales

wxman

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Other Diesel
PRESS RELEASE:

News Release Issued: July 1, 2009 1:39 PM EDT
Clean Diesel Fuels Volkswagen's June Sales

Over 25 percent of sales were Clean Diesel TDI's

HERNDON, Va., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced June 2009 sales of 19,027 units, representing an 18 percent decrease over June 2008. However, Volkswagen's award winning clean diesels posted their best sales month since their re-launch with 5,072 units, representing an impressive 26 percent of total sales.

The Jetta SportWagen once again posted its best sales month ever with sales of 1,982 units. Clean diesel TDI's accounted for 81 percent of SportWagen sales, 40 percent of Jetta sedan sales, and 29 percent of Touareg sales.

"Volkswagen of America is encouraged by the momentum of our clean diesel TDI sales," said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "It appears that U.S. consumers are starting to realize the many benefits of today's clean diesels--vehicles that attain more than 30 percent better fuel economy while emitting 25 percent less greenhouse gas emission, all without sacrificing driving dynamics," Barnes added.

Volkswagen also announced today that they have been named a corporate leader in Strategic Visions Total Quality Index® (TQI). For 2009, Volkswagen has the most models across the segments that were measured than any other brand--New Beetle, Rabbit, Jetta, CC, and Tiguan were all recognized as TQI leaders in their respective segments.


http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/07/01/diesels-grab-81-of-volkswagen-jetta-sportwagen-sales-in-june/
 

GoFaster

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Brampton, Ontario, Canada
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2006 Jetta TDI
Given that a bunch of other manufacturers have just bailed out or postponed their diesel plans, VW had better be prepared to make a lot of diesel engines.
 

chewy

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Sep 23, 2006
Location
CA
TDI
None
That's about the same amount of diesels sold as Ford and GM hybrids combined.
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
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Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
GoFaster said:
Given that a bunch of other manufacturers have just bailed out or postponed their diesel plans, VW had better be prepared to make a lot of diesel engines.
Amen. VW may not be able to produce them fast enough. I also hope the 6 car manufacturers who recently canceled their plans to offer diesel cars in the USA take note of the bright spot in VW's sales numbers due to the 09 TDIs proving to be more popular than planned.

More diesel demand --> more diesel choices! :cool:
 

AndyBees

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
Other car companies

I don't care about the other car manufactors. If it ain't a VW, it ain't a car!:D
 

Nocky

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Sep 6, 2006
Location
Iowa
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2003 Jetta wagon
I hope it does not go bad like GM diesels in the 80s. People will buy new VW and then have to take it in for something then the poor dealer service will break them.:(
 

Kabin

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Valley of the sun
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Jetta '04 PD TDI/Tip
wxman said:
PRESS RELEASE:

News Release Issued: July 1, 2009 1:39 PM EDT
Clean Diesel Fuels Volkswagen's June Sales

Over 25 percent of sales were Clean Diesel TDI's

HERNDON, Va., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced June 2009 sales of 19,027 units, representing an 18 percent decrease over June 2008. However, Volkswagen's award winning clean diesels posted their best sales month since their re-launch with 5,072 units, representing an impressive 26 percent of total sales.

The Jetta SportWagen once again posted its best sales month ever with sales of 1,982 units. Clean diesel TDI's accounted for 81 percent of SportWagen sales, 40 percent of Jetta sedan sales, and 29 percent of Touareg sales.

"Volkswagen of America is encouraged by the momentum of our clean diesel TDI sales," said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "It appears that U.S. consumers are starting to realize the many benefits of today's clean diesels--vehicles that attain more than 30 percent better fuel economy while emitting 25 percent less greenhouse gas emission, all without sacrificing driving dynamics," Barnes added.

Volkswagen also announced today that they have been named a corporate leader in Strategic Visions Total Quality Index® (TQI). For 2009, Volkswagen has the most models across the segments that were measured than any other brand--New Beetle, Rabbit, Jetta, CC, and Tiguan were all recognized as TQI leaders in their respective segments.


http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/07/01/diesels-grab-81-of-volkswagen-jetta-sportwagen-sales-in-june/
I didn't catch the year over year TDI sales %'s. It's good to have increasing TDI sales but let's compare apples to apples. Also, it's easier to have an increasing % of total sales when total sales decrease.
 

peapodtdi

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Jun 14, 2009
Location
St. Louis
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2005 Beetle GLS TDI
Nocky said:
I hope it does not go bad like GM diesels in the 80s. People will buy new VW and then have to take it in for something then the poor dealer service will break them.:(
I was thinking the same thing! After reading on here about the horrible and unreliable service people have been getting on their TDIs at the dealerships I am so worried for new owners who don't have a clue! To someone who doesn't have any knowledge about these cars, they think the dealership would be the best place to take it. But now I know that is usually not the case.
I just really hope the dealerships clean up their act a little and don't leave a bad taste in peoples mouths about these wonderful cars because of bad service done on them.
 

Virginian 2.0

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1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
Sounds like the # of tax credits being used is quite large. At this rate they will soon reach 40,000. If I'm not mistaken that is the limit of full credits available
 

NYTDI

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Mid - Hudson
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1999.5 Golf TDI AUTOMATIC trans. GLS w/PLX package silver/black cloth
Maybe 26% of total sales but actually if you average the Jetta, Wagen and Toureg - the only models offered w/TDI then it's actually 50% of sales in models where TDI is offered. Very strong #. How does this compare to past TDI #'s?
 
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tedali2004

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Mar 1, 2009
Location
South Florida
TDI
MK IV TDI Jeta
Question : If other car builders released their diesel cars in the U.S., would they get as high fuel mileage and as clean emissions as the VW's are getting already ? Are they too far behind in R and D to compete right now ?
 

German_1er_diesel

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Ratzeburg
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BMW 118d
tedali2004 said:
Question : If other car builders released their diesel cars in the U.S., would they get as high fuel mileage and as clean emissions as the VW's are getting already ? Are they too far behind in R and D to compete right now ?
BMW's 4-cylinder diesel gets a bit better fuel economy than Volkswagen's comparable models, so if they would bother to import a 118d, they could compete on fuel economy. They have a urea system for the larger diesels, it's currently a 1000€ option on the 330d.

Everybody needs low-Nox-diesels in Europe soon, with Euro6 emission standards coming up. So it's not like there's anybody who doesn't have comparable technology.
 

k1xv

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southern Vermont
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09 TDI sedan, sold back 12/16. Present cars 2013 BMW X5 diesel, 2015 Corvette convertible
Virginian 2.0 said:
Sounds like the # of tax credits being used is quite large. At this rate they will soon reach 40,000. If I'm not mistaken that is the limit of full credits available
I believe it is 60,000
 

John06jetta

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Location
Jacksonville, Florida
TDI
06 jetta And 2009 JSW
I am glad to see it. I was just on my soap box a few min. ago on another forum I visit preaching to the masses about what desiel could do for America in making us less dependent on OPECs oil. The thread had to do with Mahindra bringing over there small trucks and Suv's.

But, on a side note I have not been all that happy with my wifes JSW milage. The car has just over 10k miles and around town it is only getting 34mpg. I know it is still a new engine and needs some time to break in. But, my 06 jetta has never gotten that bad of milage. The worse tank in it was 37mpg. And I never get lower that 42mpg in it now. And that is with a RC1+. I keep waiting for the JSW to get the claimed 38mpg in town. Now it will get higher than 40 out on the road. I would just like to see closer to 40mpg around town. I think that would help sell a lot more cars. I wish they would have kept the HP down a little and made it get better milage in the new cars. My 06 had plenty of pep right off the show room floor. JMHO
 

Dooglas

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Portland, OR
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'06 Jetta
peapodtdi said:
I just really hope the dealerships clean up their act a little and don't leave a bad taste in peoples mouths about these wonderful cars because of bad service done on them.
I realize that the quality of servicing dealers must vary quite a bit but my experience to date on my '06 has been excellent. I read the complaints and horror stories here but conclude that either some folks have second rate dealers or this board hears from 110% of those with bad experiences and 5% of those with good experiences.

I owned my first VW in 1967. The service was great. Polite, knowledgeable service managers in white coats. Fourty years later, my service manager is just as polite and just as knowledgeable. The only difference I can see is that he wears a blue coat (and the service costs more).
 

skimasterflex

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Nein...... but I am so close I can smell the smokey goodness!
My mother in law bought a '09 Jetta Sedan when the TDIs first came out on my recommendation. She's been to the dealer for service issues over a dozen times and has never had such horrible service. It hasn't been the cars fault, she had some body damage that was her fault, but trying to get it fixed by the dealership has been a nightmare. And she even spent the crazy extra $$ on warranties and add-ons (out the door she was at over 30k!)

If VW of North America could somehow force dealers to get their **** together, and if they themselves could start making better marketing decisions regarding dieseil releases and tuning options on different trims they would be unstoppable.

Until then we will have to just keep buying their cars and modifying them to be what they ought to be.
 

LRTDI

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Jun 15, 2002
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Red Sox Nation
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RIP 16 GSW... Just the LR diesel now
I watch the local dealers supplies and its the JSW that they have trouble keeping in stock. Perhaps 20% of the tdis are wagons but the demand at least in New England calls for maybe a 50/50 sedan/wagon model mix.

Ever notice to that all the tdis are black dark blue or silver?
 

BeetleGo

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
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Cambridge, MA
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5-door, 5-speed Golf GLS replaced BeetleGo.
Another article: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/01/diesels-grab-81-of-june-volkswagen-jetta-sportwagen-sales/

General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and everyone else may not think there is much of a market for mainstream diesel vehicles in the United States, but Volkswagen would beg to differ. Since it launched its new generation diesels last fall in the Jetta and earlier this year in the Touareg, they have been selling like hotcakes with June being its best month yet. Last month was the best sales month to date for the Sportwagen with 1,982 sales and a whopping 81% of those were equipped with the 2.0-liter TDI four-cylinder.

Among the 8,431 Jetta sedans sold in June, 40% were diesel powered. And while the Touareg followed most other SUVs with a 41% overall decline to only 330 units in June, 29% of those had the 3.0-liter V6 TDI engine. Rabbit sales were down 69% in June, but a redesigned Golf is arriving in September, including a TDI – and if fuel prices keep climbing through the summer, it could see a huge sales spike as well.

Pictures in the link
 

Diesel_Mikey

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Location
Jersey City, NJ
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2009 Jetta TDI
I do worry about what happens when people not familiar with rule #1 of VW ownership (when it's time to fix something, run far, far away from the dealer's service department...and from what I've gathered in this forum the past few weeks, that goes double for a TDI) start to get burned.

Actually, since I've had a tendency to recommend various VWs to various car shopping friends over the years, I've seen what often happens: they ignore my advice to find a trustworthy independent shop, get frustrated with the "service" departments, and go running straight for Toyota or Honda for their next car and never look back.

VWoA needs to do something about this if they ever plan to reach the kind of sales numbers they (and the "mother ship" in Wolfsburg for that matter) talk about...they'll need new repeat buyers beyond the hardcore fans who simply accept that you have to look beyond the dealer for good service.
 

Steve-o

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Diesel_Mikey said:
I've seen what often happens: they ignore my advice to find a trustworthy independent shop, get frustrated with the "service" departments, and go running straight for Toyota or Honda for their next car and never look back.

VWoA needs to do something about this if they ever plan to reach the kind of sales numbers they (and the "mother ship" in Wolfsburg for that matter) talk about
We've talked about this for years here. VW just does not seem to get it. When you look at customer satisfaction ratings for various brands, the higher lines (Lexus, Audi, Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick) seem to do better than the mass-market brands (Toyota, VW, Chevy, Ford).

Since most of these vehicles are produced on the same assembly line, it's not the parts that make most of the difference. I've never believed that assembly-line workers can put together one item very well and the next item on the line poorly. So it must be the dealer experience. Customers are far more likely to gloss over minor problems (and God knows VWs have those) if the dealer seems sympathetic and willing to take care of the problem. Once Volkswagen figures that out, stand back. Until they do, however, they will not reach the front of the pack.
 

Dodoma

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TDI
2002 Jetta White
The spike ins diesel sales is partly due to rising fuel prices where you now see diesel fuel slightly cheaper than regular gas. The diesel sales will eventully fade when electric vehicles or plug in hybrid starts to come in. The Tulsa Motor Company's electric vehicle now has a range of 300 miles. Now that the gas cars are almost 30 to 40% cheaper than the TDI, it would be a hard battle for the diesel sales to keep on rising, which I wish happended for VW whose total sales are now less than those of Hundai, a late comer in car sales in US offering 10 years or 100,000 miles warranty.
 

itchytweed

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Milwaukee, WI
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2010 Jetta TDI Sportwagen
Repair at the dealer requires trained, experienced people that are knowledgeable in the idiosyncrasies of the TDI. A very rare breed. Experience takes time and the proper person and skill set to retain that information. Dealers don't want to spend money on training - digs into profit too much. Dealers don't want to pay to keep the experienced people - digs into profit too much.

A good, experienced independent will keep himself/herself quite busy working on the vehicles. It will be a just a little amount of time before the shysters hang out their shingle that they service TDI engines and their quality will end up being about two-three steps below the dealer.

Even though we may be a small, select groups of enthusiasts, I can see that one of our tasks in the future will be to weed out the shysters and promote the gurus.
Dealers will have to catch on if they want to get a chunk of the after-warranty service pie and hold onto it.
 

dr61

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Redding, CA
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2009 JSW TDI on order
Dodoma said:
The spike ins diesel sales is partly due to rising fuel prices where you now see diesel fuel slightly cheaper than regular gas. The diesel sales will eventully fade when electric vehicles or plug in hybrid starts to come in. The Tulsa Motor Company's electric vehicle now has a range of 300 miles. Now that the gas cars are almost 30 to 40% cheaper than the TDI, it would be a hard battle for the diesel sales to keep on rising, which I wish happended for VW whose total sales are now less than those of Hundai, a late comer in car sales in US offering 10 years or 100,000 miles warranty.
What is the Tulsa Motor Co.? Do you mean Tesla? The Tesla roadsters are $100K cars, unfortunately, and the future sedan is supposed to be around $50K.
Gas cars are 30-40% cheaper? With less equipment the Jetta 2.5 gas version seems to be only about 10% cheaper. The 2.0 turbo Jetta is more expensive.
I hope you are right about plug-in hybrids, especially if they can use biodiesel or another true renewable fuel.
 

wryman

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Cleveland, OH
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Be careful of the overhyped mileages.....

John06jetta said:
But, on a side note I have not been all that happy with my wifes JSW milage. The car has just over 10k miles and around town it is only getting 34mpg. I know it is still a new engine and needs some time to break in. But, my 06 jetta has never gotten that bad of milage. The worse tank in it was 37mpg. And I never get lower that 42mpg in it now. And that is with a RC1+. I keep waiting for the JSW to get the claimed 38mpg in town. Now it will get higher than 40 out on the road. I would just like to see closer to 40mpg around town. I think that would help sell a lot more cars. I wish they would have kept the HP down a little and made it get better milage in the new cars. My 06 had plenty of pep right off the show room floor. JMHO
I've had my Jetta for 2 months now, and have 3k miles on it. I have been using DBW's break-in schedule, so my mileage has taken a hit, but I think that we need to be realistic about this engine. This engine is rated at 29/40 with the DSG by the EPA per the VW website. I think the 37/44 was under the old standards.

I admit to falling for the "unofficial" hype of 50+ miles per gallon, and people averaging 40+ combined mileage. I drive a 65/35 city/hwy mix, and am averaging about 35mpg/tank. It's hilly here in Ohio, I run the A/C, don't use cruise yet, and don't overinflate my tires. At this point, I'm happy with my mileage considering I drive it like I stole it, and I know it will get better over time as the rings seat. I hit 40mpg on a 700 mile round trip to Dolly Sods in the WV mountains, driving 75-80 on the highway, and loving the sport mode up and down the mountain roads. I most recently hit 44mpg on a 250 mile circuit of mostly highway driving again above the speed limit, with the air on, and without cruise. I'm confident that once I can use cruise and if I slow down a bit I will see better mileage yet, but don't expect this car to be better than a hybrid for city mileage. It won't happen....It'll trounce it on the hwy, but unless you hypermile, I just don't think you can expect to see those kinds of results in real-driving conditions.

IMHO
 

RomanL

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Denver, CO
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'10 GOLF TDI
does anyone have numbers for total JSW TDI"s sold since they went on sale last year.?
does anyone know what will happen to $1300 tax credit after first 60,000 cars are sold, will it completely go away or drop down to like $700 or something?
and are Jetta's and Jetta SportWagon's considered same and would fall into the same group for 60,000 cars, or do they each get their own?
i'm sure new GOLF TDI will get its own group.
i'm planning on getting a JSW '10 but probably in a year or so (closer to end of 2010) and i wonder if by that time i'll still be able to get full tax credit?

o and since they are changing JSW a bit (just the look) does that change anything?

thanks
 

dieselyeti

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Location
Fairfield CT
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2012 Passat TDI SE (DSG)
RomanL said:
does anyone have numbers for total JSW TDI"s sold since they went on sale last year.?
does anyone know what will happen to $1300 tax credit after first 60,000 cars are sold, will it completely go away or drop down to like $700 or something?
and are Jetta's and Jetta SportWagon's considered same and would fall into the same group for 60,000 cars, or do they each get their own?
i'm sure new GOLF TDI will get its own group.
i'm planning on getting a JSW '10 but probably in a year or so (closer to end of 2010) and i wonder if by that time i'll still be able to get full tax credit?

o and since they are changing JSW a bit (just the look) does that change anything?

thanks
About two months before I bought my '09 in late May, I emailed VWoA asking about the income tax credit program. At that point they had sold just over 20,000 TDIs. The credit expires at 60,000 cars so you have time to take advantage. IIRC once they hit that figure the credit does diminish to some lesser number, just not sure what. I think the sedan and wagon TDIs are considered the same for the credit purposes, but you'd have to do a little digging for a definitive answer.

After the incentives (sales tax exempt here and the fed tax credit) and my purchase price of $1500 under invoice (thanks Chris F.) my $25k loaded Jetta will cost me 19,700. Not too shabby.
 
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RomanL

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Denver, CO
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'10 GOLF TDI
not bad at all.
how did you manage to get $1500 under invoice? (and how much lower was invoice under MSRP)? what other insentives did you get?
i was really excited about this new CARS program *(cash for old gas guzzlers) but then i found out that my IMPALA doesnt qualify. otherwise i would have ran down to my local dealler for 09 JSW.
ill look to get '10 model probably in the fall next year, so i hope since it'll be towards end of the year, deallers will have some deals.

but congrats on your purchase. thats few hundred more then regular 2.5 JSW, so you came out on top right out the door, wont have to drive for 5 years to recoop the diff
 

k1xv

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Location
southern Vermont
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09 TDI sedan, sold back 12/16. Present cars 2013 BMW X5 diesel, 2015 Corvette convertible
RomanL:

There is an internet car sales person, Chris Farnham, user name "3913" who markets here on TDIClub. His dealership is in Langhorne, PA. Many on TDIClub have purchased through Chris. His prices are usually below invoice, the amount depending on what VWoA incentives are in place in any given month.

Look under the tab

TDI Cars for Sale/Wanted
 

Diesel_Mikey

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Joined
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Location
Jersey City, NJ
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2009 Jetta TDI
Steve-o said:
So it must be the dealer experience. Customers are far more likely to gloss over minor problems (and God knows VWs have those) if the dealer seems sympathetic and willing to take care of the problem. Once Volkswagen figures that out, stand back. Until they do, however, they will not reach the front of the pack.
This topic happened to come up at work today... the two fellow VW owners in my department pounced on me when I suggested that stealers aren't usually the best place for service. So maybe things are getting better and I need to give the stealers a chance.

Then again, one of the owners in question has the "super bonus variety pack" of four different tires and the other's car looks like it was last waxed when it left Puebla 5 years ago, so maybe these aren't the most discriminating tastes...
 

dieselyeti

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Mar 14, 2005
Location
Fairfield CT
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2012 Passat TDI SE (DSG)
RomanL said:
not bad at all.
how did you manage to get $1500 under invoice? (and how much lower was invoice under MSRP)? what other insentives did you get?
i was really excited about this new CARS program *(cash for old gas guzzlers) but then i found out that my IMPALA doesnt qualify. otherwise i would have ran down to my local dealler for 09 JSW.
ill look to get '10 model probably in the fall next year, so i hope since it'll be towards end of the year, deallers will have some deals.

but congrats on your purchase. thats few hundred more then regular 2.5 JSW, so you came out on top right out the door, wont have to drive for 5 years to recoop the diff
Langhorne VW's May special was on TDI sedans for $1500 below invoice. IIRC the TDI Sportwagen was $600 below invoice. There's about $1000 difference between invoice and MSRP. It was well worth the 5hr r/t to PA as my local dealer made me a ridiculous offer for my trade (Langhorne gave me 3k more) and only discounted the car $500 off retail. All told the two deals were $5000 apart, so I hit the road. The other incentives were from the gubmint, no sales tax on the TDI in CT (saved $1400) and the $1300 fed income tax credit. As much as I wanted a CC, I couldn't turn down the deal on the Jetta (and there's no CC TDI!!)
 
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