Sold my TDI - This is why......

[Ian F]

I can understand selling the TDI for a 40 mpg Civic... I am also a member of a MINI club and have considered switching to a MC... But in the end, I just finished paying for this car... and we already have two other MINI's... the 3rd (if it ever happens) will be a track car... and I love that I can fit a lot into my wagon... which I do with some frenquency... the only car that can beat the wagon in the hauling:mpg ratio is a B4 TDI wagon... which was actually my first choice back in '03, but finding a good one was too difficult and too expensive, so I went with a new one.

Instead of switching cars, I'm looking at switching jobs... just found out about a company that does similar work but is 15 miles from home instead of 50... close enough that I could ride my bicycle to work a few days a week... now THAT would save me some money in diesel...

 

[TurbinePower]

Instead of switching cars, I'm looking at switching jobs... just found out about a company that does similar work but is 15 miles from home instead of 50... close enough that I could ride my bicycle to work a few days a week... now THAT would save me some money in diesel...

Yes, yes it will.

 

[nicklockard]

Yes, yes it will.

Mind your stutter

 

[TurbinePower]

Mind your stutter

The nerve of you, talking about another man's stutter in public! For shame!

 

[nuke]

All those trips to the dealership suggest to me that problems weren't being solved the first time you reported them. That's more a dealership quality problem than a Volkswagen quality problem. It might still be a reason to avoid VWs, but the criticism should be directed where it belongs.
How will you know if VWs improve, quality-wise?

Honestly, the dealer wasn't bad. Sunnyvale VW has a good service department. I wouldn't take a whiz in Bob Lewis service department.

The problems we had were far ranging and VW parts network can seriously suck sometimes. My Golf had a screwed up headliner from the factory. There was glue press-through. It took months to get another one and it was covered with greasy handprints when it came out of the box. It took weeks to get another. The Beetle was plagued with electrical issues, from foglights that blinked to headlight switches that just broke and a failed instrument cluster, ABS controller, neutral limit switch and some mystery issues that never got figured out, rattles, numerous leaks in the rain, the worst of which was the third brake lamp.

But both cars suffered multiple, unrelated failures, recalls, campaigns and on and on. It was pretty clear that keeping them beyond the warranty period wasn't going to be a good idea. Honestly, I've crossed the whole VW/Porsche/Audi group and all their makes off my list. My Chevy experience on the Corvette and a 05 Van has been completely different. Both just keep on kicking and the van was an ex-rental car!

The VW's really reminded me of the 1978 Dodge Diplomat my folks had. Just one poorly made thing after another. I hope they get better, I really do. They are fun little cars and diesel power is a good idea.

The other thing against the Beetle was the mileage wasn't all that great and when you add up the maintenance schedule including the timing belt, it just didn't save any money. Diesel has gone out of site in California and really, it just didn't add up.

 

[TornadoRed]

Nuke, you had a 2001 and I've got a 2003. My Golf has never had any of the problems you listed, has never leaked in the rain, and at 283k miles it doesn't have any rattles. Sorry to hear about your misfortunes, but not all TDIs are as bad as yours -- and some of them are simply wonderful.

 

[nuke]

Nuke, you had a 2001 and I've got a 2003. My Golf has never had any of the problems you listed, has never leaked in the rain, and at 283k miles it doesn't have any rattles. Sorry to hear about your misfortunes, but not all TDIs are as bad as yours -- and some of them are simply wonderful.

We had 2 TDI's, my Golf 2001, and her 2002 Beetle. The Golf was way, way better than the Beetle. It was the Beetle that leaked and had the plague of electrical issues.

By 2003, I think they had fixed some of the problems, like the power windows falling into the doors, MAF sensors, the ABS controllers that caught on fire, on and on.

But man, the TDI club was buzzing with all of those problems back in the day. No joke. Same deal at the VW Vortex forums. The dealer service issue was very, very bad nearly everywhere around the country. In those days, they included all the scheduled service for the first few years. The dealer oil changes and so on were more of a curse than a blessing for most TDI owners. Most of the issues had not a darn thing to do with the engine. The TDI engine was fine. The rest of the car was crap though. Fun to drive, but just not durable. I liked them from a driving standpoint, but was just not willing to put up with them for the long term.

My much-maligned GM products on the other hand, have been essentially trouble free and I do not regret buying them one bit.

I hope they have their act together these days. But they sure as hell didn't back then and I doubt I'd spend another dime on a VW/Porsche/Audi product the rest of my life. Same deal with MOPAR, though they are not the same company they were in 1978, I've never spent another penny on MOPAR and never will.

 

[vwmk4]

At this time I have both a 2006 Golf MK5 non TDI and a 2005 Golf GLS TDI. I've had ZERO problems with the MK5, just wish it was a TDI. It was built in Germany and that is a good thing.
The 2005 Golf TDI has not had any problems with the possible exception of the 5 speed auto. When shifting into fourth gear before reaching operating temperature it will "surge" if shifted above 2000 RPM. I would like to add a MK4 Jetta TDI to the fleet.

 

[Dimitri16V]

Nuke, you had a 2001 and I've got a 2003. My Golf has never had any of the problems you listed, has never leaked in the rain, and at 283k miles it doesn't have any rattles. Sorry to hear about your misfortunes, but not all TDIs are as bad as yours -- and some of them are simply wonderful.

Oh, come on . you can't defend the worst VWs ever made.

 

[Bob_Fout]

Oh, come on . you can't defend the worst VWs ever made.

My experience is similar to TR's 2003 Golf. I have a 2003 Jetta. No issues other than: (1) N75, (1) glow plug, (1) coolant temp sensor. All covered under the warranty (at the time).

That's it! 5 years and 80K miles.

 

[TornadoRed]

Oh, come on . you can't defend the worst VWs ever made.

I was defending a 2003 Golf TDI, not a 2001 model like yours.

 

[Kenbob]

I'll agree completely on the quality issues of the A4 Golfs and Jettas. I had a 2000 Jetta TDI and was plagued with minor and major issues. The worst was a blown turbo at 52K miles in the middle of New Mexico desert. I still had an affection for the car in spite of that.

However, my current 2006 Jetta TDI has been one of the most reliable, trouble free cars I've ever owned. The only thing that has malfunctioned on the car in 3 years of ownership and almost 81K miles is the alarm quit beeping the horn when I lock the doors. Since the doors still lock and the alarm arms, I'm not going to even worry about it. Otherwise, I couldn't ask for a more reliable vehicle in every way.

I'm considering selling it now because of the high price of diesel and relatively good resale value, but my decision won't be based on reliability.