How many 97 passat tdi were made/sold in the US

[Coldlogik]

Kinda curious as I read that the TDI didn't sell very well in its earlier models and also not many were made for the US market. How many do you think are on the road today in working order? Id assume not too many as mine while mine is not completely rotted with rust it does have some sub-surface rusting (bubbling and such) so id imagine that the engine will outlast the body of the car.

 

[Starion_slider]

I put complete floors in mine from front to back, replaced 3 outa 4 doors and part of rear quarter, painted it, and replaced basically every part on it at least once or twice in the last 10+ years but haven’t touched motor/turbo/trans or any major running gear. Over 400k and i still drive it 2hrs a day 5 days a week. Never left me stranded in 10yrs.

 

[Coldlogik]

Im considering doing the same, both front fenders, hood, 4 doors, both rear quarters and then take it to Maaco for a simple black paint job. I found a car at a local junkyard that I may be able to get all of that from. I just took its rear driverside tail light lens.

 

[Starion_slider]

Mines been through basically 4 winters after all the work and it’s starting to show its age again but i will just fix it all again. It got hit in rear quarter area that i fixed perfectly and the 2nd time around i cheesed it up and shot it in a rush and that body work is showing now and bolt front fenders randomly bubbled where they meet the bumper. Me and my buddy spent a lot of time getting the paint flat and gleaming on the first go around but after recently rebuilding my entire pickup and using a product called u-pol raptor liner I think the passat will be getting the same texture color matched finish in the future when it starts to look ratty enough where it bothers me. I will just keep fixing it unless i find a really clean shell that interests me to tdi swap or just another clean B4. Who knows. One things for sure is that little AHU motor is my favorite powerplant ever and i dont see myself ever daily driving anything else. I actually am really attached to the B4 chassis also……even with all its quirks and hard to find parts I still love it.

 

[jdulle]

Mine's still going strong, 256k. It is a 97 B4s. Some rust bubbling, one that I recently punctured and used rust transformer on. I still put 6-9k on per year.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Answer to the OP is not many. Fewer than 10K in '96, and less than that in '97. VW was somewhat limited by how many they could import because of emissions averages, but I also think they didn't sell well.

Mine is hanging in there.

I don't use it as a daily, it's becoming more of a weekend fun car. I still think the 1Z diesel sounds best.

 

[TDeanI]

Of these how many of the '97 TDIs were wagons? I have only seen a few wagons around here. I have heard that there were only 500 wagons imported. Does anybody know?

 

[Coldlogik]

Of these how many of the '97 TDIs were wagons? I have only seen a few wagons around here. I have heard that there were only 500 wagons imported. Does anybody know?

Possible to do a wagon conversion? LOL

 

[Coldlogik]

Answer to the OP is not many. Fewer than 10K in '96, and less than that in '97. VW was somewhat limited by how many they could import because of emissions averages, but I also think they didn't sell well.

Mine is hanging in there.

I don't use it as a daily, it's becoming more of a weekend fun car. I still think the 1Z diesel sounds best.

Wow, really nice looking car!

 

[oilhammer]

They seemed to have no trouble selling every one they imported... I never remember seeing them sit on the lots long. But, they were all manuals for us, so that limited who was willing to buy them. Oddly enough, they did offer them with automatics in Europe.

The base ABA 2.0L gas engine got dropped a couple months into the 1997 model year, making the TDI the standard engine for us. Seems like most B4s I have ever seen were TDIs. A handful of VR6s, and probably a grand total of three 2.0L cars ever. I've not had a B4 in our shop in a long, long time, though.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Thanks. I bought it from the original owner, although I've now owned it for 9 years.

There are right around 1,100 '97 Wagons sold. Small number.

 

[Windex]

But the capacity of the fuel tank in those wagons... Hnnnnggghhh... 25 gallons vented!

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Maybe not quite as appealing at today's fuel prices.

 

[oilhammer]

Mine was a sedan, but even those had some crazy range. The Rabbit pickups had a pretty large tank, too (although not THAT large).

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

The previous owner of my Sedan (BRUSSELS BELGIUM here), said he could fit 19.6 gallons in the car. At $6.25/gal that's over $120. Yikes. Of course it's also good for about 900 miles.

 

[oilhammer]

Yeah, what really sucks is when you go to fill one of the F-trucks that holds nearly 40 gallons, and the pump shuts off at $100, and you have to restart. I remember some years back when fuel spiked up some (not THIS high, but high), and I was caught off guard as to what was happening.

 

[ToddA1]

The base ABA 2.0L gas engine got dropped a couple months into the 1997 model year, making the TDI the standard engine for us. Seems like most B4s I have ever seen were TDIs. A handful of VR6s, and probably a grand total of three 2.0L cars ever.

I think I’ve only seen one ABA B4 and that was in the JY. The majority I’ve seen were VR6.

the pump shuts off at $100, and you have to restart.

Happened twice so far. Once when fuel was at $4.75 and Sunday, when I was paying $5.99. Need to do some math to see if it’s now cheaper to drive the gassers.

Rabbit pick ups hold 15 gallons.

-Todd

 

[Coldlogik]

I think I’ve only seen one ABA B4 and that was in the JY. The majority I’ve seen were VR6.



Happened twice so far. Once when fuel was at $4.75 and Sunday, when I was paying $5.99. Need to do some math to see if it’s now cheaper to drive the gassers.

Rabbit pick ups hold 15 gallons.

-Todd

I can tell for sure where im at its about $5 per gallon, and im getting 50mpg in my Passat. No way im driving my other vehicle as a daily over it, ive got a souped up 2018 Ford Flex ecoboost, close to 500hp and gets like 16mpg if you are really gentle with the throttle lmao.

 

[Abacus]

I’ve put over 28 in mine (your old one).

 

[TDeanI]

I did the math, and that is why I started driving my Passat again recently after 5 years parked.
The difference in fuel cost and gas mileage between my other daily driver was enough to pay for the extra $70 per month insurance they are robbing me to add the Passat, and still save me money.

Diesel is now $5.60 a gallon here and premium around $5 a gallon. My other car has a tune and requires premium. It gets about 18 mpg on the commute. My Passat got 43 mpg last time I checked.

My commute is around 48 miles both ways.

I can get over 26 gallons in the tank, but when it gets down below 3 gallons the fuel pump starts sucking air and is hard to start on any kind of hill. With the fuel prices climbing, I fuel after using 10 gallons to keep it full. You can save money this way if fuel prices are going up .

Once the fuel price hits peak or starts going down, I will run it down to empty (3 gallons) before refilling. The longer you can go without having to refill, the more you will save. I can go almost a full month without refueling.

What you don't want to do is fill it up at the peak price, then watch it drop again and again over the next month, knowing you have fuel in the tank that you spent way too much on.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

$840/year for insurance on a 25 year old car? That's kind of incredible. What coverage does that provide?

Here in MA I pay about $1,200/year for my Passat, Jetta Wagon, Golf, and Mercedes. Now that the Mercedes is sold I expect the remaining 3 cars will cost less than $1K/year. That's for comprehensive and liability, no collision or theft.

 

[Coldlogik]

I want to say it costs me like next to nothing for insurance on my passat, I want to say 288/year for liability only. They wouldn't offer me any other coverage. But idk 24 bucks a month to drive a car is a bargain. My 2018 ford flex ecoboost with full coverage 250 comprehensive 500 collision is 70/ month.

 

[oilhammer]

It varies a lot state to state, even area to area. When I moved from STL Co. to Franklin, my rates dropped. When I lived in STL City proper, the rates were so bad I had to stay on a County address (my mom's) just to make it affordable.

I have an insurance broker, have had one for the last ~20 years. He shops around, I've changed insurance companies quite a few times now. They seem to get you on a low price, then slowly raise it and see if it gets noticed. It is a game they play, like cable and internet companies.

Wife and I currently have two Golfs, two Passats, two Ford trucks, and my little camper trailer, all on the bare minimum liability for Missouri, with limited mileage on the Fords and the gasser Passat, and it is fairly inexpensive. We don't crash, and no tickets. I just got the F250 added, and it increased it a whole $7 a month.

 

[02NBTDI]

Answer to the OP is not many. Fewer than 10K in '96, and less than that in '97. VW was somewhat limited by how many they could import because of emissions averages, but I also think they didn't sell well.

Mine is hanging in there.

I don't use it as a daily, it's becoming more of a weekend fun car. I still think the 1Z diesel sounds best.

Clean!!

 

[TDeanI]

My insurance is liability only, but with added $100k per person, $300k per accident and underinsured motorist. Around here minimum insurance required is $50K/$100k. Which is way too little if you have any accident with an injury and you own a home. You would soon lose your home if your passenger gets injured or you hit somebody and they have to go to the hospital. There are so many deadbeats, that you need underinsured motorist, although probably not worth it since my TDI is worth $2k.
I agree its too much what I pay.
I have 0 deductible. Having a $500 deductible only saved about $50 per year. What I pay to add the Passat is $62.66 per month .

I need to shop around. This is Allstate. What do you have?

 

[TDeanI]

My 3 collector cars are on Hagerty insurance. Which is about $400 per year for three vehicles comprehensive, as long as they are not daily drivers or commuters.

I have tried to get the Passat on Haggerty claiming its rare and collectable being a wagon, but their evaluation tool doesn't recognize that a TDI wagon is any different than a VR6 one.

 

[kjclow]

Yeah, what really sucks is when you go to fill one of the F-trucks that holds nearly 40 gallons, and the pump shuts off at $100, and you have to restart. I remember some years back when fuel spiked up some (not THIS high, but high), and I was caught off guard as to what was happening.

New Ram 2500 with the Cummins has a 50 gallon tank and will probably hold another gallon in the lines. I put 23 gallons in my 1500 last week, $119 total.