What’s the best TDI to buy

Freakoboost1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Location
Lynden
TDI
98 AHU JETTA
Looking for a commuter, yet something to tune up and get much more power out of it compared to stock. Question is…..what’s the best tdi in the US to look for in a car whether Passat/Jetta/Golf. It’ll be for my finance so my truck can rest more throughout the week

~~thanks
 

d24tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
MT
TDI
BHW, BEW, ALH, AHU, 1Z, AFB, AKN, BCZ
+1 to the above. The main downside of those Mk4 ALH cars at this point is simply that they are old and almost all have been owned for the purpose of getting lots of use and miles, so finding one that is not worn into the ground at this point is harder than it was 10 years ago. That alone is a reason to consider something newer but if you did, going much newer with a TDI gets into trouble areas the Mk4 cars never had. All around, the PD cars (2004-06) are good too though. The late era TDIs with common rail engines (2009-15) can do well for folks but are in a different universe of complexity and long term cost of operation. The B5 Passat TDIs with PD engines (2004-05) are good cars too but are also more complex than the Mk4 with rotary pump, and have some trouble spots that have to be addressed and can get expensive (BSM, transmissions primarily). The pre-Mk4 cars (Mk3 Jetta, B4 Passat) have their fans and advantages and are objectively good cars that can serve well for many miles, but are much more primitive vehicles for daily use and much harder to get parts for, plus the early 1Z/AHU engine has some failure points that were eliminated in the ALH. So that really leads you back to the Mk4 with ALH as the most solid option out there, even today when the newest of them is 20 plus years old.

All that said, a Mk4 ALH car can still be completely viable even well over 300k miles if given decent care. And keeping one going for the long haul is not hard as they are simple and easy to fix and still easy to get parts for. Still huge numbers of them on the road worldwide. As long as you start with a decent example that is not beat/crashed/rusted, keeping it on the road is a reasonable proposition. Just last week I picked up an 01 Jetta sedan with 385k on it that's a little tired but will clean up just fine, intended for a Smyth Ute project this winter.

The only caveat to add to Peter's good advice above IMHO is to stay away from automatic transmissions in the ALH cars. If you need an automatic then the consensus recommendation would probably swing more towards the 2004-2006 Mk4 with BEW engine and 09A transmission which was a massive improvement on the 01M auto that was offered in the ALH era. Also slight preference among most of us for the 2000-2003 models as the 1998 (NB) and 1999.5 Mk4 ALH models had certain small disadvantages. Not enough to make you avoid one if you found a nice early car for a good deal, but all else equal the 2000-up cars had updates that are preferable.

And since you mentioned "much more" power than stock AND indicated it is for your partner to drive on a daily commute to save miles on your truck (meaning you want it to be reliable), remember that you will be starting with a car that has already been on the road for decades and probably hundreds of thousands of miles. FORGET about modifications until you get the car to a very thorough "Stage 0", in other words plan on spending plenty of time on servicing and inspecting fundamental systems and catching up on deferred maintenance before you think about turning up the fuel and boost. Mods that put heavy pressure on things like cooling systems, old turbos, etc are not a recipe for reliability or saving money in the long run if they are done on an ancient heavily used car that needs attention to the basics first. ;)
 

d24tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
MT
TDI
BHW, BEW, ALH, AHU, 1Z, AFB, AKN, BCZ
FWIW, if you/your fiancee can stand driving/being seen in a New Beetle and can deal with the reduced interior and cargo space, you can often find those for a deal even in nice shape, relative to a Jetta or Golf.
 

Freakoboost1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Location
Lynden
TDI
98 AHU JETTA
+1 to the above. The main downside of those Mk4 ALH cars at this point is simply that they are old and almost all have been owned for the purpose of getting lots of use and miles, so finding one that is not worn into the ground at this point is harder than it was 10 years ago. That alone is a reason to consider something newer but if you did, going much newer with a TDI gets into trouble areas the Mk4 cars never had. All around, the PD cars (2004-06) are good too though. The late era TDIs with common rail engines (2009-15) can do well for folks but are in a different universe of complexity and long term cost of operation. The B5 Passat TDIs with PD engines (2004-05) are good cars too but are also more complex than the Mk4 with rotary pump, and have some trouble spots that have to be addressed and can get expensive (BSM, transmissions primarily). The pre-Mk4 cars (Mk3 Jetta, B4 Passat) have their fans and advantages and are objectively good cars that can serve well for many miles, but are much more primitive vehicles for daily use and much harder to get parts for, plus the early 1Z/AHU engine has some failure points that were eliminated in the ALH. So that really leads you back to the Mk4 with ALH as the most solid option out there, even today when the newest of them is 20 plus years old.

All that said, a Mk4 ALH car can still be completely viable even well over 300k miles if given decent care. And keeping one going for the long haul is not hard as they are simple and easy to fix and still easy to get parts for. Still huge numbers of them on the road worldwide. As long as you start with a decent example that is not beat/crashed/rusted, keeping it on the road is a reasonable proposition. Just last week I picked up an 01 Jetta sedan with 385k on it that's a little tired but will clean up just fine, intended for a Smyth Ute project this winter.

The only caveat to add to Peter's good advice above IMHO is to stay away from automatic transmissions in the ALH cars. If you need an automatic then the consensus recommendation would probably swing more towards the 2004-2006 Mk4 with BEW engine and 09A transmission which was a massive improvement on the 01M auto that was offered in the ALH era. Also slight preference among most of us for the 2000-2003 models as the 1998 (NB) and 1999.5 Mk4 ALH models had certain small disadvantages. Not enough to make you avoid one if you found a nice early car for a good deal, but all else equal the 2000-up cars had updates that are preferable.

And since you mentioned "much more" power than stock AND indicated it is for your partner to drive on a daily commute to save miles on your truck (meaning you want it to be reliable), remember that you will be starting with a car that has already been on the road for decades and probably hundreds of thousands of miles. FORGET about modifications until you get the car to a very thorough "Stage 0", in other words plan on spending plenty of time on servicing and inspecting fundamental systems and catching up on deferred maintenance before you think about turning up the fuel and boost. Mods that put heavy pressure on things like cooling systems, old turbos, etc are not a recipe for reliability or saving money in the long run if they are done on an ancient heavily used car that needs attention to the basics first. ;)
Yeah I’m looking for a bit newer for her. Nothing pre-2010.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Ah, so your thread title is an impossibility.

Well, you can delete the CJAA cars and quadruple their reliability.... and they'll at least come close to the ALH.

So far, the 2015s have been better than other CR offerings.
 

Freakoboost1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Location
Lynden
TDI
98 AHU JETTA
Ah, so your thread title is an impossibility.

Well, you can delete the CJAA cars and quadruple their reliability.... and they'll at least come close to the ALH.

So far, the 2015s have been better than other CR offerings.
We don’t have the CUA or CUAA in the US don’t we?
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
No. The diesel 4 cyls we got:

1Z 1.9L VE90 (old style) B4/A3
AHU 1.9L VE90 (old style) A3
ALH 1.9L VE90 (new style) A4
BEW 1.9L PD100 A4
BHW 2.0L PD136 B5
BRM 1.9L PD100 A5
CBEA 2.0L CR140 A5 (early) and Audi A3 Sportback
CJAA 2.0L CR140 A5 (late) A6, NCS/Beetle through 2014
CKRA 2.0L CR140 NMS through 2014
CVCA 2.0L CR150 2015 NCS, NMS, Beetle
CRUA 2.0L CR150 2015 A7, Audi A3 sedan
 
Last edited:

d24tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Location
MT
TDI
BHW, BEW, ALH, AHU, 1Z, AFB, AKN, BCZ
Are there even any ALH+01Ms left on the road? :p
Gotta be a few based on numbers alone! Maybe? The other day I saw a B4 Passat sedan for sale with an ABA and automatic (would that be 01M or 096? not even sure) with high miles and a beat body and interior yet still running/driving ..... Amazing what kind of stuff can survive by random chance. Can't even remember how many years it had been since I last saw one of those.

OP -- is this a car your fiancee actually wants? Or one that YOU want/like the idea of her driving? If what she actually wants/needs is an economical commuter, a modified CR TDI with "much more" power will not be the easiest or lowest cost path. An old ALH car might be, for the right kind of person, but not for everyone.

Don't forget emissions deletes are still illegal last I checked (not to mention also expensive) and if you live in a state that ever heads in the direction of M&I regulations you could come to regret it.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The 01M is the same as the 096, it just lost its dipstick and uses the different fluid (like ZFs use). I'm not exactly sure when the change happened but I think it was around 1996. That's a tidbit of info I've lost track of. The T4 version was the 098/01P.

I have two semi-regulars left with 01Ms, both ALHs. The last gasser I had in here with one has since died.... a 2001 Jetta GLX. The VR6 was still going strong (I'd rechained it around 160k) but the trans died right after 200k.
 

Prairieview

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2017
Location
Too close to Sturgis 'ithole
TDI
Two 2000 Beetles, 2002 Jetta, 2002 gas avh Jetta, fleet of older 1.6 turbo and non's
D24 has given very intelligent advice in that last paragraph, for sure.

Reminds me of my younger friend who "wanted" an alh and had never even so much as driven one around the block. His main concern was, "....how can I get much more power?"

I promptly shifted the weight to the balls of my feet.....turned...and walked away. They get so much of this idea from sideways-wearin' ballcap snoose-lipped youtube people who look like they are the result of cousins "gettin' together" for quite some time.

LEARN THE BASICS FIRST.
 

Freakoboost1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Location
Lynden
TDI
98 AHU JETTA
D24 has given very intelligent advice in that last paragraph, for sure.

Reminds me of my younger friend who "wanted" an alh and had never even so much as driven one around the block. His main concern was, "....how can I get much more power?"

I promptly shifted the weight to the balls of my feet.....turned...and walked away. They get so much of this idea from sideways-wearin' ballcap snoose-lipped youtube people who look like they are the result of cousins "gettin' together" for quite some time.

LEARN THE BASICS FIRST.
Lol I know the basics but as far as the newer TDI’s go, I’m all ears. I have a very stout AHU but for her, I don’t want her in a manual **** box as a commuter. It would be a clean newer tdi. “Basics”😂 the main question is about the newer TDI’s. Pro’s and con’s…..
 

ts888

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
Location
PNW US
TDI
03 ALH
Asking a better question will result in better answers. GIGO. Instead of asking a fairly open-ended question of a diverse audience and then being dismissive of the responses, craft a question to get a useful answer.

You have constraints on what you are willing to consider, so share all those constraints.

You are looking for a vehicle no older than 2010. You want an automatic. You want it for a partner to use for commuting. You may want to improve the performance.

A better framing of the question -- "I'm looking for a vehicle newer than 2010, with an automatic, that will be a good commuter for my girlfriend, that I could potentially tune. Is there a TDI that meets those requirements? Any one better than another? Any to avoid?"

A couple unpopular opinions, on the house -- if you are looking for a commuter for your partner, one assumes she would like it to be reliable. Modifying for "much more power" almost always reduces reliability or requires mitigation ($$) to restore reliability. If you want more power, just buy a more powerful car. It's almost always cheaper than building. And -- does your woman want more power? If it's her car, she should be the one picking it out.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
ts888 nailed it.

I'll tell ya, I have a customer whose wife drives a 2012 Camry, a tarted up one with all the bells and whistles. She drives about 100 miles a day, all highway. It has over 1/4 million miles on it now, I've cared for it since it was new. It's needed mostly PM, it has the giant low profile tires that don't last very long and are about a grand a set, it has had its dash out to replace the evaporator core, has had a water pump fail, an alternator fail, and I've done a reflash for transmission behavior, and of course the Takata airbag recall nonsense. But it has been a reasonably good car, gets over 30 MPGs on the highway and does not require premium gasoline, and its 3.5L V6 pulls like a guided missile (I think it is the port-injected 270hp version, bolted to the 6sp automatic).

It's not really an awesome car, it hasn't been a perfect car but certainly not bad. Something catastrophic will probably happen to the engine at some point (VVT actuator blow apart, chain jump, etc.). It does consume some oil, and has to be kept topped up. It has a rolling catalyst efficiency DTC that happens from time to time, both banks, so it has a looming $2500 repair there and the oil use is likely going to make it so that will only be a temporary fix anyway.

But, A to B it is reasonably economical and reliable. It isn't "tunable" but it will happily eat the lunch of any 4 cyl TDI in a race, and Toyota literally made hundreds of thousands of these things.

To be fair, the standard 2.5L engine is also nothing to sneeze at.... 180hp and bolted to the 6sp automatic. It'll get down the road plenty fast, too. And there are a lot more of those out there.
 

Bob S.

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Location
Central MD.
TDI
A B4V, some ALHs & BRMs
In response to the OP's questions:
- If you do your own maintenance & repairs: Go to Fred's TDICLUB.com, search & read the sub-forums on the models, years & versions of interest to you. Make your decisions from that.
- If you do not do your own maintenance & repairs: Consult your trusted regular mechanic. If you do not have one; you would be well served to find one & establish a good relationship.

Good Luck with your car search.
 

TomJD

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI GLS, 2015 Golf TDI
What about a Jetta Hybrid? 2016 was the last year. They came well equipped and only with an automatic. You can see TDI range mpgs but with cheaper fuel. My wife wants one so it’s female approved. We are just waiting for her Corolla to die.

They don’t seem too slow either:
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Jetta Hybrids were great, and they are quick.... I'd wager they're one of the quickest 4 cyl gasoline+electric hybrids out there. And the 7sp DSG gets all the power to the ground far better than the CVTs do.

The downside: while the hybrid powertrain (VAG+Bosch) is pretty good. The package (the NCS Jetta) is somewhat mediocre of a car, and the placement of the hybrid battery means the trunk is shrunken if that is a concern.

VAG has also pretty much obsoleted EVERYTHING for them, so any hybrid-specific pieces that may pop up needing replacement.... good luck. You may be SOL. They didn't sell many, and they were really just for some EPA/CARB loophole requirement, so once they were done, they're done. A short chapter in VAG's spotty US-market history, maybe a little more than the footnote that was the Touareg Hybrid (yes, they sold a handful of those here, too).
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
If you live in a place where you can delete the emissions and not run afoul of local inspection laws (and if you're otherwise OK with that) I'd look for a '10-14 Golf TDI. Delete it, get a mild engine tune along with a DSG tune, and you'll have a quick (not fast), economical car that should be relatively trouble free. Or at least VW's version of trouble free.

If you can't or don't want to delete emissions, then the Golf would still be my recommendation. I'd get a good tuner to dial back he emissions profile to pre court orderd fix parameters and tune the DSG. Still a nice car, just not as economical, quick, or repair-free.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
That's too bad. Hybrid is what I was considering for my partner's future car. We love our Gen.3 CR-V, but it's gonna wear out soon.
......................snip....................needing replacement.... good luck. You may be SOL. They didn't sell many,......................snip....................
So who makes a good hybrid?
Original Thread: conclusion- 2015 TDI, but we think you should consider other cars for your purposes. VW guy what does all my hard stuff said he was impressed the the 1.4 engine if your VW brand loyal.
 

GlowBugTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2001 Beetle GLS TDI (BIODSL). 01 original Glow Bug TDI (sold)
If I were to be buying a 2010 or newer VW I'd probably be looking at a 2.5 with a manual or dsg, or an already deleted cjaa with a manual trans. Both in a wagon of course😎
Thats me personally. I haven't heard anyone mention the 2.5 so thats why I mention it.
 

benIV

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Southeast NC
TDI
2003 PG 5m Jetta GL Sedan, 2003 RS 5m Jetta GLS Wagon (Golf Variant)
The best newer than ‘10 rules out my ALH answer but whatever you get, platinum grey makes everything better ;)
 

benIV

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Southeast NC
TDI
2003 PG 5m Jetta GL Sedan, 2003 RS 5m Jetta GLS Wagon (Golf Variant)
A friend has a ‘15 jsw I think it is. He loves it almost as much as I love my alh… for now.

Better than reflex silver that’s for sure lol
My wagon is RS. I wonder how it would look in plat grey.

..a tarted up one ..
I’ve never seen or heard this phrase before but I love it lol. I wonder if I can use it when I talk to my wife about her friends. Lol
 

John Wesley Hardin

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2022
Location
Rockport Texas
TDI
2003 VW Jetta 1.9 Diesel GLS , Five Speed Standard Shift
+1 to the above. The main downside of those Mk4 ALH cars at this point is simply that they are old and almost all have been owned for the purpose of getting lots of use and miles, so finding one that is not worn into the ground at this point is harder than it was 10 years ago. That alone is a reason to consider something newer but if you did, going much newer with a TDI gets into trouble areas the Mk4 cars never had. All around, the PD cars (2004-06) are good too though. The late era TDIs with common rail engines (2009-15) can do well for folks but are in a different universe of complexity and long term cost of operation. The B5 Passat TDIs with PD engines (2004-05) are good cars too but are also more complex than the Mk4 with rotary pump, and have some trouble spots that have to be addressed and can get expensive (BSM, transmissions primarily). The pre-Mk4 cars (Mk3 Jetta, B4 Passat) have their fans and advantages and are objectively good cars that can serve well for many miles, but are much more primitive vehicles for daily use and much harder to get parts for, plus the early 1Z/AHU engine has some failure points that were eliminated in the ALH. So that really leads you back to the Mk4 with ALH as the most solid option out there, even today when the newest of them is 20 plus years old.

All that said, a Mk4 ALH car can still be completely viable even well over 300k miles if given decent care. And keeping one going for the long haul is not hard as they are simple and easy to fix and still easy to get parts for. Still huge numbers of them on the road worldwide. As long as you start with a decent example that is not beat/crashed/rusted, keeping it on the road is a reasonable proposition. Just last week I picked up an 01 Jetta sedan with 385k on it that's a little tired but will clean up just fine, intended for a Smyth Ute project this winter.

The only caveat to add to Peter's good advice above IMHO is to stay away from automatic transmissions in the ALH cars. If you need an automatic then the consensus recommendation would probably swing more towards the 2004-2006 Mk4 with BEW engine and 09A transmission which was a massive improvement on the 01M auto that was offered in the ALH era. Also slight preference among most of us for the 2000-2003 models as the 1998 (NB) and 1999.5 Mk4 ALH models had certain small disadvantages. Not enough to make you avoid one if you found a nice early car for a good deal, but all else equal the 2000-up cars had updates that are preferable.

And since you mentioned "much more" power than stock AND indicated it is for your partner to drive on a daily commute to save miles on your truck (meaning you want it to be reliable), remember that you will be starting with a car that has already been on the road for decades and probably hundreds of thousands of miles. FORGET about modifications until you get the car to a very thorough "Stage 0", in other words plan on spending plenty of time on servicing and inspecting fundamental systems and catching up on deferred maintenance before you think about turning up the fuel and boost. Mods that put heavy pressure on things like cooling systems, old turbos, etc are not a recipe for reliability or saving money in the long run if they are done on an ancient heavily used car that needs attention to the basics first. ;)
Oh the woahs of a TDI. My 2003 Jetta recently went over 300'000 miles runs beautiful looks great. GLS, standard with the leather interior. I could probably throw another two grand in it, for the headliner , windshield , front brakes , things any car would need not specific to a TDI. I can still do some of the work. My investment on the car and repairs hasnt been to bad. However if the engine blows I thought of rebuilding or replace. Can you rebuild the engine without removing it? When I used to be a Sales Weasel at a used car lot the mechanics would do a rebuild on V8's without removing the motor. Any info out there on that?
 
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