This has been a long and winding road from the beginning.
Upon getting my 09 TDI in June of 2009, I always felt sort of special owning a Diesel Jetta. I even told a number of people that I’ll never buy another gasser commuter car again.
Getting 40mpg was real cool and the Jetta was very fun to drive. I even drove the Jetta more than my Mustang GT vert 5 speed.
Doing a lot of reading here for 2.5 years with some turbo issues but more importantly the infamous HPFP implosions and my confidence with VW was weakened. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no single repair should cost between $8,000-$10,000; especially when it’s not our fault. Living in one of the 2 States in the country where you’re not allowed to pump your own fuel (yes, I know you can pump diesel), I always kept my eye on the gas attendant to see which nozzle he pulls. Just to make sure it’s diesel. I even have kept my diesel receipts for the last 10 months, just in case and mark down the current mileage.
I still feel that my TDI is a great car and I had planned to keep it for 10 years. So that’s where the potential problem come in to play. Currently at 42,600 miles and with the 5 year/60,000 miles if the HPFP fails I should be covered by VW. But when I have owned the car say for 8 years and “if” the HPFP implodes I’ll have about 160,000 miles on her and no way is VW going to over the cost of the repair. At that time the TDI is good for parts or pretty much a throw away car.
With Diesel prices jumping from 30-40 cents a gallon difference from regular gas in 2009 to 70-76 cents a gallon difference in 2011. It’s time to say that’s it.
Yes the TDI is a great car, but I am a little paranoid and feel it’s only a matter of time.
So, with that in mind the Jetta has been traded in for a 2012 Chevy Cruze 2LT 6 speed. I did take a Cruze out for drive with an automatic and did my normal commute to work and averaged 35mpg. Maybe I’ll get 1-2 more with the manual. The Cruze drove just as well as the Jetta and to me looks more sporty than the Jetta. Last Chevy I owned was a 1969 Camaro. Sure wish I had that car today.
Since I had to order the Cruze the way I wanted it, the dealer wanted a pre-trade on the Jetta since it's going to be 8-12 weeks as they say. Lucky for me I have my Mustang to drive to work and have my wife’s car if/when it snows. I also felt that if I didn’t trade it in immediately, what would happen to the deal if something happened to the Jetta before I handed it over.
Who knows what’s going to happen with gas/fuel prices in the future and even with my old Jetta and new Cruze. But at least I know now that my HPFP worries are finally over I wouldn’t be surprised if the dealer fills the Jetta up with gas as we know it’s been done before.
Maybe once a year I’ll do a carfax on my Jetta to see how it’s doing.
One of my last drives today with the Jetta scared the hell out of me. I was starting to enter a circle (yes we still have them), hit the pedal and the Jetta bogged down for a second while a truck was right behind me. I was looking at the dash for lights going on, but nothing. So who knows what happened.
I did join a Cruze forum and also see that they’re not without some issues or quirks. But it seems that most of them are with the 2011 Cruze’s. Hopefully the bugs have been worked out for the 2012’s.
I’ll still hang around here to see what’s going on and once I get my Cruze will do an update after driving it around for about a month.
I would like to thank everyone here for the last 2.5 years and wish you the best with your TDI’s.
Upon getting my 09 TDI in June of 2009, I always felt sort of special owning a Diesel Jetta. I even told a number of people that I’ll never buy another gasser commuter car again.
Getting 40mpg was real cool and the Jetta was very fun to drive. I even drove the Jetta more than my Mustang GT vert 5 speed.
Doing a lot of reading here for 2.5 years with some turbo issues but more importantly the infamous HPFP implosions and my confidence with VW was weakened. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no single repair should cost between $8,000-$10,000; especially when it’s not our fault. Living in one of the 2 States in the country where you’re not allowed to pump your own fuel (yes, I know you can pump diesel), I always kept my eye on the gas attendant to see which nozzle he pulls. Just to make sure it’s diesel. I even have kept my diesel receipts for the last 10 months, just in case and mark down the current mileage.
I still feel that my TDI is a great car and I had planned to keep it for 10 years. So that’s where the potential problem come in to play. Currently at 42,600 miles and with the 5 year/60,000 miles if the HPFP fails I should be covered by VW. But when I have owned the car say for 8 years and “if” the HPFP implodes I’ll have about 160,000 miles on her and no way is VW going to over the cost of the repair. At that time the TDI is good for parts or pretty much a throw away car.
With Diesel prices jumping from 30-40 cents a gallon difference from regular gas in 2009 to 70-76 cents a gallon difference in 2011. It’s time to say that’s it.
Yes the TDI is a great car, but I am a little paranoid and feel it’s only a matter of time.
So, with that in mind the Jetta has been traded in for a 2012 Chevy Cruze 2LT 6 speed. I did take a Cruze out for drive with an automatic and did my normal commute to work and averaged 35mpg. Maybe I’ll get 1-2 more with the manual. The Cruze drove just as well as the Jetta and to me looks more sporty than the Jetta. Last Chevy I owned was a 1969 Camaro. Sure wish I had that car today.
Since I had to order the Cruze the way I wanted it, the dealer wanted a pre-trade on the Jetta since it's going to be 8-12 weeks as they say. Lucky for me I have my Mustang to drive to work and have my wife’s car if/when it snows. I also felt that if I didn’t trade it in immediately, what would happen to the deal if something happened to the Jetta before I handed it over.
Who knows what’s going to happen with gas/fuel prices in the future and even with my old Jetta and new Cruze. But at least I know now that my HPFP worries are finally over I wouldn’t be surprised if the dealer fills the Jetta up with gas as we know it’s been done before.
Maybe once a year I’ll do a carfax on my Jetta to see how it’s doing.
One of my last drives today with the Jetta scared the hell out of me. I was starting to enter a circle (yes we still have them), hit the pedal and the Jetta bogged down for a second while a truck was right behind me. I was looking at the dash for lights going on, but nothing. So who knows what happened.
I did join a Cruze forum and also see that they’re not without some issues or quirks. But it seems that most of them are with the 2011 Cruze’s. Hopefully the bugs have been worked out for the 2012’s.
I’ll still hang around here to see what’s going on and once I get my Cruze will do an update after driving it around for about a month.
I would like to thank everyone here for the last 2.5 years and wish you the best with your TDI’s.
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Good luck with the car. I may get one myself, when the Cruz diesel comes out. Of course, it won't be until it's been out for a while and proven, because so far my '06 has been awesome and should still be going strong for a long time.
