Am I crazy for wanting a newer wagon?

I have a low milage 03 wagon that runs and drives perfect, but would really like to upgrade to a newer 09-12 sport wagon. My question for you guys is what year would you recommend, and am I crazy getting away from my ALH?

Not crazy at all. I enjoy my new one. But a word to the wise... think long and hard before getting rid of your ALH wagon (especially if it's a manual trans). Sorry, I can't recommend what specific year among the newer ones might be best. Personally I'll stay away from 09 TDIs because, afaik, that year had the DPF and CAT integrated together. (very expen$ive if it ever happens to need replacement).

Drive a newer one and make a comparison. I have an '02 wagon and a '12 Golf, and although the newer car is nice, I prefer my wagon. There are some significant differences between the cars, and not all of them favor the newer one.

furgburg said:

I have a low milage 03 wagon that runs and drives perfect, but would really like to upgrade to a newer 09-12 sport wagon. My question for you guys is what year would you recommend, and am I crazy getting away from my ALH?

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Yes, unless yours is an automatic. In that case, you're crazy for not doing a 5 sp swap.

Both great cars, but I'd stick with your ALH car for a daily driver, and buy a new GTI or Golf TDI for fun. Best of both worlds!

old ALH wagons are terrible........sell me your old wagon for $1000 and use it to put a down payment on a shiny newer one......

Yes mine is a 5speed. And still under 150k miles. And I know it's value, just was curious what u guys think about the newer cars.

Here is what you will find in a newer car: 1. quieter. 2. more comfortable. 3. more power. 4. good mileage.

Wait for the 2016 with the new engine.

DogParkGuy said:

Here is what you will find in a newer car: 1. quieter. 2. more comfortable. 3. more power. 4. good mileage.

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Newer car: More road noise. Harder, flat seats. More difficult to modify. Lower FE, especially in winter.

I just came very close to buying a 2014 Passat (listed on this forum) but just could not stand the thought of getting rid of my ALH Jetta. The newer car would be very nice, I think, but I would hate to regret the decision later.

What to do... I guess I'll drive the Jetta for another couple years and shoot for 300K.

furgburg said:

Yes mine is a 5speed. And still under 150k miles. And I know it's value, just was curious what u guys think about the newer cars.

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Let me know if you do decide to go newer. I'm looking for a car like yours... and I live in Michigan.

/and yes, I'm serious.

I keep reminding myself that it's paid for. Cheap miles are the best miles.

TDI WGN said:

I keep reminding myself that it's paid for. Cheap miles are the best miles.

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I'd recommend keeping both, if that is an option for you. That way you have a good classic and all the amenities of the newer car...Mark

VeeDubTDI said:

Wait for the 2016 with the new engine.

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what new engine?

Mpg

The main reason for buying any TDI is for the mileage. I have never heard any hard facts on MPG comparisons. Other wise the newer sport wagons, look much nicer and Id rather have an automatic, considering they have a 6 speed and its supposed to be as efficient as there manual "maybe" I would rather have the newer sport wagon. Only if the MPG,s can be closely matched.
I wander how much more efficient it would be with out all the PTF and EGR, and maybe a high flow cat. Does anyone know if the ecu can be programmed to work without all that crap. I'm sure someone has done that for racing purposes.

It has been done already but be advised that Texas is heading towards emissions checking for the newer diesels, 2009 and later IIRC. You will not pass inspection with emissions delete. Save the "for racing purposes" comments, they serve no use. Read here:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=396162

The newer cars will be coming with the EA288 IIRC and AdBlue. Many threads already on this happening.

seaglf said:

The main reason for buying any TDI is for the mileage. I have never heard any hard facts on MPG comparisons. Other wise the newer sport wagons, look much nicer and Id rather have an automatic, considering they have a 6 speed and its supposed to be as efficient as there manual "maybe" I would rather have the newer sport wagon. Only if the MPG,s can be closely matched.

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I like my DSG but 09-14 common rail diesels in the Jetta/JSW/Golf have shown better mileage in manual than DSG. The US built Passat gets better mileage. With the new engine using urea, the Jetta/GSW/Golf should go back to getting better mileage than the Passat since they are smaller cars.

In comparison to the older engines, you should see about a 10% drop in mileage if you're going from an old manual tranny to a new DSG. (That's my real world comparison) Of course you get a bigger and heavier car with some nicer amenities. I don't regret getting rid of my bug for a new wagen, most of the time.

Ad Blue will cause issues as it has in many Tregs. All sorts of things are going on in this mode of pollution control. Ask me how I know I own a 2012 TDI TReg. Got the engine warning light on a trip. Needs a new Heater, 29K miles 3yrs old= 850 $ charge if you are out of warranty. I assume the Newer Passats and Jettas that have these systems will be reported on soon with issues. All German TDIs with Ad Blue will experience of various types of problems keeping them operating. I still love the cars.

From what I remember the most common complaint with AdBlue in the Passats is that it will freeze and the tank heater does not thaw it quickly enough to keep from triggering the AdBlue count down.

Seen a few [expensive] reductant heaters going bad on the Passats now.

furgburg said:

I have a low milage 03 wagon that runs and drives perfect, but would really like to upgrade to a newer 09-12 sport wagon. My question for you guys is what year would you recommend, and am I crazy getting away from my ALH?

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I had an 03 wagon, manual. It had 235,000 and I was getting nickel and dimed to death. New turbo, etc...

I have a '13 JSW now, it has DSG.

My $0.02
-The 03 had plenty of power. Maybe the '13 has more, but I don't really notice
-The '13 has quite a bit more rear legroom than the '03

-On the flip side, the 03 had quite a bit more room in the back back. I have 2 large dogs and really notice this.
I also do recycling for school. I could get significantly more stuff in the back of my 03.
This is mainly because the rear of the 03 was pretty vertical, whereas the '13 is sloped. The slope cuts off a lot of room.

-My 03 had a huge glove box. The '13 is moderate sized. Either one fits about the same amount in the center console. The 03 had a small armrest console, the '13 has a huge center console but almost all of it is taken up with AC stuff. There probably was more room in the 03's armrest.