Gauging Interest in TDI

ZACK

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Location
New Mexico
TDI
Currently Looking
Hello All-

My name is Zack, I am a new member from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I joined the forum in hopes of acquiring knowledge about Jetta TDI's. I am looking for advice on 99-06 Jetta's with the TDI. I have been reading a lot and have heard a lot of people say you can't beat the 99.5-03 ALH Engine code, standard transmission models. The issue I'm having is I cannot find many of those particular Jetta's in my area. The majority that I find are the 2006 models, but I am worrisome of the 2006 models as I read about the cam issues, fuel issues and emissions related issues. Here is a link to a car I went and test drove: http://www.ebautosales.net/newandus...7d98804/Craigslist/2006-Volkswagen-Jetta.aspx

The car is very clean, especially the interior, it rides nice and smooth, no pulling one way or the other. No wind noise, rattles, etc. Transmission feels tight, clutch feels good and everything that I tried worked (sunroof, cruise-control, heated seats, stereo, etc). Although the car seems very well kept, while at a stop light with the transmission in neutral the car felt as if the engine had a misfire as you could feel the car bouncing or vibrating, is this common? Also I noticed the car really sounded like a diesel at an idle with lots of clatter, not sure this is normal either as it is the first TDI that I've ever driven, but I really expected it to be much more quiet at idle. Once going down the road, there is absolutely no engine noise. The car is a one owner local car, I could not find many maintenance records, only a few dealer receipts for oil changes, I had hoped to find a lot more! I am not sure if the timing belt has been changed either. Based on advice from the forum and either decreased or increased interest in the car I plan on taking it to the local VW dealer to inspect it, or maybe an independent VW shop.

Please feel free to give me any advice, recommendations, etc. I am looking at TDI's for a daily driver, I want it to be reliable, fuel efficient and most cost-effective as possible. I am mechanically inclined, but I don't enjoy working on my daily driver much, and after reading more and more about the Jetta TDI's I am starting to wonder if I should get a boring Camry as a daily driver.

Thank you,

Zack
 

Ol'Rattler

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Location
PNA
TDI
2006 BRM Jetta
A clean ALH will be hard to find because they didn't make a lot of them.

How many miles on the 06? The funny idle probably is cam wear. If you can get a good price then the car might be a deal. A new cam, lifters and timing belt kit will be about $1300 for parts.

Go over to myturbodiesel.com to the 101 section. Chitty has a ton of write ups and DIY's about TDI's.
 

D-Cell_Mekanick

Veteran Member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Location
Sandwich, IL
TDI
2015 Honda Civic SE
Nice looking car! It's the manual version of mine, an 06.5 diesel edition.

I'd plan on a new clutch & flywheel, camshaft & timing belt for sure. That's about $2000 in parts right off the bat. Plus you may be looking at an EGR valve and cooler.

Without looking up the resale values in your area the price sounds a little high. If you can get the dealer to split the costs for any repairs it may need it would be worth it, at least to me.
 

ZACK

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Location
New Mexico
TDI
Currently Looking
A clean ALH will be hard to find because they didn't make a lot of them.
How many miles on the 06? The funny idle probably is cam wear. If you can get a good price then the car might be a deal. A new cam, lifters and timing belt kit will be about $1300 for parts.
Go over to myturbodiesel.com to the 101 section. Chitty has a ton of write ups and DIY's about TDI's.
2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDi Fully LOADED Turbo Diesel
$12,900

VIN#:3VWCT81K16M852623 Transmission: 5 Speed
Year: 2006 Engine: 1.9L L4 SOHC 8V TURBO DIESEL
Mileage: 121,759


Thanks for the info! I am not sure how much they will work on the price, I am thinking they'll go $11,500 or so.
 

ZACK

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Location
New Mexico
TDI
Currently Looking
Nice looking car! It's the manual version of mine, an 06.5 diesel edition.

I'd plan on a new clutch & flywheel, camshaft & timing belt for sure. That's about $2000 in parts right off the bat. Plus you may be looking at an EGR valve and cooler.

Without looking up the resale values in your area the price sounds a little high. If you can get the dealer to split the costs for any repairs it may need it would be worth it, at least to me.
Thanks for the advice! I would just delete the EGR system (if possible), if I did this, I assume a tune would be necessary? In regards to my Duramax that is all I would need to do, but I am TDI dumb lol!

Thanks,

Zack
 

dieselpony

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2008
Location
Woodbury, MN
TDI
2015 Jetta SEL 6 speed manual Moonrock Silver
That looks like a nice car. The 06.5 diesel edition comes with the full multi-function display, which I think is a nice feature.

As for the slight idle bounce, mine does the same thing when warm. I've inspected my cam and found it to be pretty worn (currently 71K) so I assume this is the cause. Chances are the cam in that car is worn. Possibly DMF or alternator pulley could cause that too.

There's an 05.5, same color, listed in the for sale section now, I think in Kentucky, that has fewer miles and more features (package 2). But it's a ways away from you.

Just a thought. Good luck!
 

nord

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Location
Southern Tier NY
TDI
All turned back to VW. Now a 2017 Hundai Tuscon. Not a single squalk in 10k miles.
I bought virtually the same car two years ago with 65k miles for $12,500. The car was pristine... So nice that I didn't even bother with a test drive. The price factored the cost of a new cam, a timing belt kit, and a possible clutch.

I now have just turned 121k miles and other than for normal maintenance I've replaced a fan and an anti-shudder valve. Not bad! (I did the timing kit at 96k miles a year ago.)

Cam wear is simple to determine. Just pop off the valve cover and have a look. The clutch issue (if an issue) will usually rattle at idle and should change slightly or disappear completely as you engage or disengage the clutch in neutral. Obviously when this happens you're in for a new clutch fairly soon.

A slight roughness at idle is pretty common as long as it's not constant. Mine has done it since I got the car. Sometimes as smooth as silk and other times a slight roughness that disappears with the addition of only a few rpm's. I've had lots of theories on this one and have come up with the opinion that it's either the alternator or possibly the EGR being a bit aggressive.

My advice? You won't find a nicer car and 120k on the clock is nothing for these vehicles. Look for the obvious problems before you buy and make an offer based upon what you find or negotiate based on the possible upcoming costs.

So... $12,500 is a bit high, but if a new timing belt kit, a new cam, and a new clutch, then it's not all that bad. Or $12,500 minus the cost of the above or about $2,500. Do the work yourself and you'll be at $1,500 or $1,000 ahead of the game with a very nice car at the right price.

Based on my experience with my Jetta I'd not be afraid of the car at $10,000 if overall condition was obviously good. While there's a lot of hype about the cam and clutch, it's just one of those things you accept or don't. If you purchase the car right, then you'll have a cushion built in for expenses that may or may not come up. And that's a smart way to own an A5 Jetta.
 

striker

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2010
Location
Canada
TDI
None
That looks like a nice car. The 06.5 diesel edition comes with the full multi-function display, which I think is a nice feature.

As for the slight idle bounce, mine does the same thing when warm. I've inspected my cam and found it to be pretty worn (currently 71K) so I assume this is the cause. Chances are the cam in that car is worn. Possibly DMF or alternator pulley could cause that too.

There's an 05.5, same color, listed in the for sale section now, I think in Kentucky, that has fewer miles and more features (package 2). But it's a ways away from you.

Just a thought. Good luck!

How can one tell the difference between the 06 and 06.5 models-I've never seen this multi display in person.

Also, does the manual transmission on the MKV's have any known issues? My old man has a DSG and we did the DMF on his.
 

D-Cell_Mekanick

Veteran Member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Location
Sandwich, IL
TDI
2015 Honda Civic SE
How can one tell the difference between the 06 and 06.5 models-I've never seen this multi display in person.

Also, does the manual transmission on the MKV's have any known issues? My old man has a DSG and we did the DMF on his.
Easiest way to tell without knowing build date is to look at the fenders if they have the DIESEL emblem it's an 06.5 MY. Or if the emblems are removed (like mine) look at the radio it will have silver buttons instead of black.
 

dieselpony

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2008
Location
Woodbury, MN
TDI
2015 Jetta SEL 6 speed manual Moonrock Silver
Easiest way to tell without knowing build date is to look at the fenders if they have the DIESEL emblem it's an 06.5 MY. Or if the emblems are removed (like mine) look at the radio it will have silver buttons instead of black.
Yes, and the silver button radio is nice to have right away - 05.5 and 06 came with soft touch black buttons, and the soft touch part bubbles off in many cases. So silver radio buttons are good. I had to replace mine with one of those later models. Not really a huge deal, though.

As far as the manual transmissions go, I'm not aware of any major problems - just the possible DMF issues with the Sachs flywheels.
 

MyAvocation

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Location
Hoffman Estates, IL
TDI
2017 Passat SEL TSI
Since you're new to TDIs, I highly recommend having a local guru or competent member look at it. For the 2006 your main concerns are flywheel and cam (and in this case timing belt, too). I would not buy it without removing the valve cover for a cam inspection.

You can tell from the photo it's a 2006½ Special Edition. $12,900 is way too high for the car -- even if they had receipts for everything that confirms maintenance schedule adhered to and oil spec used. I think $11K would be good, but only if new timing belt, no DMF flywheel clatter, no cam wear. Basically, if they can't prove a new TB, then knock off another $1K, cause there's zero room for assumptions.

I absolutely enjoy my 2006½, but there are numerous, less serious, common failures on this model -- so expect to have to dump some money into it every 6-12 months. If you do your own scheduled maintenance and handy with basic repairs you'll be a very happy owner. Mine is at 187K and still gets up to 51 MPG per tank when temps are above 40° -- that's with a wearing cam and noisy DMF, which are soon to be replaced.

The price on the 2004 is waaay off, and the slush box is a deal killer.
 
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Dodoma

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
TDI
2002 Jetta White
These car whether be they for year 1999 or 20012, are inherently strong but with a lot of electronic controls, are sometime subject to problems and fixing that may cost you a lot. So it is wise to know something about these cars and some common problems that may happens and how they can be fixed. Doing some work yourself should save you a lot of money, just like fixing any other car. Moreover, there is always some vibration and noise, as you have noted, and that usually disappears when you increase rpm. Do not buy these cars solely to save money on fuel cost because all your savings will disappear if you have to fix some problem. Buy the car for utility or for any specific reason you have.
 

ZACK

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Location
New Mexico
TDI
Currently Looking
Thank you guys very much for the advice. They won't move on the price very much, $11,900. I don't feel that is a reasonable price if I have to start throwing parts at it from the get go. Therefore I will continue looking, I honestly prefer the earlier body style, I just love the interior of the MK-5's!

Again thank you for the advice, it is worth Gold to me!

Here is a car that I found local, appears to be clean, I have yet to look at it:

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/2758431670.html

Also this one that is listed here on the forum as well:

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/2725629290.html
 

D-Cell_Mekanick

Veteran Member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Location
Sandwich, IL
TDI
2015 Honda Civic SE
Just remember 04-05 BEW engines can also have cam wear issues as they are also a PD engine. So make sure you have the cam inspected before purchase.
 
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