IndigoBlueWagon
TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Of all the people to do this, this weekend I helped my daughter buy a gasoline-powered Jetta. She's living in LA, not a car person, but needed reliable wheels. Being 2,600 miles away makes it hard to help her out if she has a breakdown, and LA County doesn't have a surfeit of TDI gurus. So we decided to go gasoline.
I looked at some certified used cars, both VW and other makes, but used car prices are pretty high out here. And she didn't want any unexpected repairs. Turns out the owner of our local dealer in MA knows the GM of the Downtown LA VW dealer, so with a few phone calls we had a deal together on a '13 Jetta S. I flew out Friday AM and we picked it up.
We wanted to find a sunroof model, but they are scarce out here. And she absolutely wanted an auto, which I can almost understand in LA. The 2.0 has a 6-speed Asian auto this year, which is very smooth. It also has rear disc brakes, folding rear seat, and center armrest, even though vw.com says the S w/o sunroof doesn't come with the armrest and folding seats. The only thing it's missing that I would have liked is cruise control, although my daughter will probably never have a chance to use it here. And it has Contis, not Hankooks.
Maybe the new car feeling hasn't worn off, but this car is very, very nice. The interior materials aren't up to the level of my '12 Golf, but they’re not bad at all. And I prefer the fabric seats to the leatherette in the more expensive trim levels. The car is totally tight and rattle free (at least it is now). The ride is excellent, 15" wheels really help, I think.
The transmission works great, the engine makes decent power, which I think will improve as it breaks in (it has 100 miles on it). It will downshift from 6th to 5th on the highway if you try to accelerate quickly from, say, 60 MPH, which I have always found annoying, but the gearing is pretty tall in 6th so that's not a surprise. The car only weighs 2,800 lbs., so it's not working any harder than the A3 ABA she had before. And the transmission is far better than the 01M in that car. I drove when she took me to LAX last night and the car happily and silently moves along at 70+ MPH. I think the gearing is almost as tall as the TDIs.
The kicker is the cost. Retail price delivered after discounts was $16,800. MSRP with destination on a TDI with no options is $24,910. Invoice on the TDI is about $23,850, and the $1,000 lease incentive we got on the S isn't available on the TDI, nor is the low money factor on the lease. A three year, 15,000 mile a year lease with no money down was $240/month. The dealer used the owner loyalty program for the upfront costs, so she paid $75 and drove away. She'll most likely buy the car at the end of the lease term.
With a manual transmission (which is about a grand less) this is a car I could very happily live with, much to my surprise. She should get between 25-30 MPG in mixed driving, probably about 10 MPG less than in a TDI. RUL runs about $3.95 here, and widely: I've seen it at $4.19, but also at $5.02. If she gets 26 MPG in the gasser (She does a lot of city driving), 15,000 miles of fuel will cost about $2,280. If she got 36 MPG in a TDI (remember, auto and city driving), the same 15K would cost about $1,790. In round numbers the TDI might save $500/year in fuel. Odds are she won’t have the car long enough to make up the $7,000 or so in cost.
I don’t expect I’ll convince anyone here that they should get an S instead of a TDI. And I was happy to climb into my ’97 Passat this morning for the drive home from the airport. My point is that VW is making some good cars that are excellent values, and the Jetta S may be at the top of the list. Also, I've discovered that the MKVI Jetta is a pretty nice car, regardless of drivetrain.
I looked at some certified used cars, both VW and other makes, but used car prices are pretty high out here. And she didn't want any unexpected repairs. Turns out the owner of our local dealer in MA knows the GM of the Downtown LA VW dealer, so with a few phone calls we had a deal together on a '13 Jetta S. I flew out Friday AM and we picked it up.
We wanted to find a sunroof model, but they are scarce out here. And she absolutely wanted an auto, which I can almost understand in LA. The 2.0 has a 6-speed Asian auto this year, which is very smooth. It also has rear disc brakes, folding rear seat, and center armrest, even though vw.com says the S w/o sunroof doesn't come with the armrest and folding seats. The only thing it's missing that I would have liked is cruise control, although my daughter will probably never have a chance to use it here. And it has Contis, not Hankooks.
Maybe the new car feeling hasn't worn off, but this car is very, very nice. The interior materials aren't up to the level of my '12 Golf, but they’re not bad at all. And I prefer the fabric seats to the leatherette in the more expensive trim levels. The car is totally tight and rattle free (at least it is now). The ride is excellent, 15" wheels really help, I think.
The transmission works great, the engine makes decent power, which I think will improve as it breaks in (it has 100 miles on it). It will downshift from 6th to 5th on the highway if you try to accelerate quickly from, say, 60 MPH, which I have always found annoying, but the gearing is pretty tall in 6th so that's not a surprise. The car only weighs 2,800 lbs., so it's not working any harder than the A3 ABA she had before. And the transmission is far better than the 01M in that car. I drove when she took me to LAX last night and the car happily and silently moves along at 70+ MPH. I think the gearing is almost as tall as the TDIs.
The kicker is the cost. Retail price delivered after discounts was $16,800. MSRP with destination on a TDI with no options is $24,910. Invoice on the TDI is about $23,850, and the $1,000 lease incentive we got on the S isn't available on the TDI, nor is the low money factor on the lease. A three year, 15,000 mile a year lease with no money down was $240/month. The dealer used the owner loyalty program for the upfront costs, so she paid $75 and drove away. She'll most likely buy the car at the end of the lease term.
With a manual transmission (which is about a grand less) this is a car I could very happily live with, much to my surprise. She should get between 25-30 MPG in mixed driving, probably about 10 MPG less than in a TDI. RUL runs about $3.95 here, and widely: I've seen it at $4.19, but also at $5.02. If she gets 26 MPG in the gasser (She does a lot of city driving), 15,000 miles of fuel will cost about $2,280. If she got 36 MPG in a TDI (remember, auto and city driving), the same 15K would cost about $1,790. In round numbers the TDI might save $500/year in fuel. Odds are she won’t have the car long enough to make up the $7,000 or so in cost.
I don’t expect I’ll convince anyone here that they should get an S instead of a TDI. And I was happy to climb into my ’97 Passat this morning for the drive home from the airport. My point is that VW is making some good cars that are excellent values, and the Jetta S may be at the top of the list. Also, I've discovered that the MKVI Jetta is a pretty nice car, regardless of drivetrain.
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