Almost there 2012 Sportswagon Jetta diesel TDI Auto Sunroof

Hi down to 3 cars VW Jetta diesel auto sunroof- suburu outback- Camry hibred all 2012- all around same price- i have a 1999 Maxima going strong - I take care of the cars oil - maintenance drive sensible = I would NOT buy the reg jetta I know VW have reliability problems- So the 3 year all maitance is awesome- But after the 3 years will i be wishing I had not got this or saying this is the BEST- Thanks - I see problems in 2009 VW glow plugs and fuel lines but lets go with reliablity just want to strat and go hopefully get 200 K without dumping money into it- all help appreciated the problem I found online is all the horror stories - like to hear from real owners- I use the Maxima forum and love it hopefully this site serves the same- Thanks TDI owners

hobokenkid said:

"I would NOT buy the reg Jetta, I know VW have reliability problems".

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Don't know where you heard this - like ANY vehicle, if you don't take care of it...expect it to have some failures at some point.
The issues with glow plugs and fuel lines are RECALL items, so they will/have been addressed.

I would discount the horror stories you have read online, they are just that,
you only hear about the bad stuff....not the other 98% that are doing just fine.

Get the Jetta Sport Wagon, forget the Hybrid, the Subaru Outback is nice but I think you'll have more fun with the VW...only thing is the DSG transmission, which is expensive for scheduled maintenance....find a 6-speed manual.

If you want a vehicle to "get 200 K without dumping money into it" go buy a Honda - they tolerate owners that skip maintenance, treat the car like crap
and abuse the vehicle.....IF you take care of your Jetta SW- it will last a long time, be fun to drive and also get some decent fuel mileage.

On a note regarding unreliability...VW's track record with sat radio receivers IS bad.....they are problematic getting them to work....I never used mine...
besides...I have the iPod hook-up so I bought a cable and run it to my Android phone and stream Sublime and Pandora through it.

+1 for the JSW with 6-sp manual transmission. 2009 glow plug issue is addressed, and others like ti are/will be covered by recall.

Hybrids - who know what the issues are down the road with the complications of gas plus electric motors, batteries, and a computer running things. The Subaru might be fun, but with the full-time all wheel drive they really chug the gas down at an alarming rate.

Andrew

I love my 2012 Sportwagen. If I had to do it again, I most certainly would. That said, my second choice was a Prius.

What 2009 glow plug issue?

What Glow Plug Issue?

jbright said:

What 2009 glow plug issue?

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+ 1 Never heard of such. HPFP maybe? Intercooler maybe?

I spend far too much time on the TDI Club site reading about problems and this is a new one to me. I think they're talking about a glow plug issue in a previous model year, but not the CRs. We have other things to worry about, right?

Flashing glow plug light, maybe .

This is the answer you would expect from someone on this forum, but I cross shopped these three cars (and others) before getting my 2012 JSW. I live in a place with lots of snow and mountains but I've always found front wheel drive and snow tires to be the best combination in terms of gas mileage and winter performance. The Camry was just too big and unfun to drive for me.

Sample glow plug "issues":

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=348538
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=316440

Andrew

OK, so that's two problems out of how many thousands of CR engines, and I'm not sure the second thread was about glow plugs as such. The flashing glow plug light serves as a warning light for a variety of issues, like an EGR problem (had one) or the exhaust flap sticking (had that, too). But the glow plugs on these new engines are complex and I'm sure there will be some problems with them, just as there will be problems with any other part of the motor. But it's not an "issue" subject to a recall or even something that a prospective buyer should take into consideration, like the HPFP, a true issue, albeit a rare one in terms of numbers of cars affected.

And I love my car, by the way, and highly recommend a TDI, the best combination of power, performance and fuel efficiency on the market.

jbright said:

OK, so that's two problems out of how many thousands of CR engines, and I'm not sure the second thread was about glow plugs as such.

...

And I love my car, by the way, and highly recommend a TDI, the best combination of power, performance and fuel efficiency on the market.

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I agree with you. That's why I put the "quotes" around issues. Not sure the forum has the [sarcasm] bbcode tags enabled...

Anyway, I second your endorsement of the cars, and I think if the OP really wanted something other than a VW he would not have asked here.

Andrew

I missed the sarcasm. Sorry about that. Didn't want to give the OP something else to worry about. I just passed 60K and the car runs better than new (I just had it professionally detailed and it looks new again, inside and out). It's very well built and I hope the HPFP issue gets settled because I'd like to keep it a few hundred thousand miles.