Hey Im lookin at getting a TDI jetta for a second car. For the milage just wondering if anyone has owned or has any experience with them
Looking at a 04-05 jetta TDI

Plus are they just slow or do they have modding potential
Thanks

 

Before I bought my son his IS350 he drove a Golf TDI, while the car was on the slow side it was a great commuter. I think that he averaged anywhere between 45 and 50 mpg. His car was the base version, and by base I mean it had crank windows and a tape player. He loved the car, it was a really solid car.

 

Damn, IS350. Want to adopt me??

 

Actually no, you see I havea daughter who is pissed that she is "still driving the hand me down CL" and can't understand that I had to buy him the car because I was keeping up my side of a bargain that I never thought would happen. He was applying to med schools and he said that he was going to apply to Harvard and I told him (knowing his grades and board scores) that there was more of a chance of me buying him and IS350 than him getting into Harvard. He responded, well how about this, if I get into Harvard you buy me an IS350.... yeah well you can probably figure out the end of that story. Now I am not only stuck paying for Harvard Med I am missing a chunk of my savings because of his damn car.

Luckily for me my daughter probably can't even pronounce the word Harvard, and most likely has no idea what or where it is so I will not have to go through that ordeal again...

 

TDI's are the cream of the crop on the mkiv volkswagens. They are slow stock but with minimal upgrades they get even better fuel economy and have a lot more power(a lot more torque, and similar horse power of a 2.0). A p-box or power box, and new injectors are the easy upgrades TDI owners usually do first. If you get a stick and do the upgrades be prepared to do a clutch in the not too distant future, the stock clutches are horrible, when it goes replace it with a VR6 clutch, it will hold up better. I would look for one with crank windows, the power window's have a VERY high failure rate, like all mkiv VW's. The only other real problem with the cars is rear brakes, they go through them a lot and usually need the calipers replaced at least once during your ownership.

And if you live in a cold climate, a block heater is a must if you park the car outside. Check out www.vwvortex.com there is a TDI section there and they know what they are talking about.

 

definatly cold here, hopefully someone already has a block heater installed, how fast really can it go. i know they are like 100hp stock with like 180ft/lbs but can i make it quick? and i guess aftermarket clutch is the wya to go. would the power windows be under warranty?

 

If you are looking at a TDI you are not looking for horsepower, you are getting for better gas mileage.

 

true enough, just curious thought it would be funny if i could race people in a diesel

 

Warranty or not, the windows are a constant problem on my friend's Jetta. Hers is a '99 and I think the windows still don't work right to this day...lol. Go for the crank ones...as ancient as that sounds.

 

man that sucks I hate crank windows. Oh well ill prolly just suffer with the power ones.

 

I think teh VW's have among the worst reliability these days...

 

really havent had much exerience or really know anyone thats owned any. just looking for something that gets good mileage and looks half decent