Which diesel car to buy?

mfsuper90

mfsuper90

300ft is all I need
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
769
So its time my mothers Pontiac Bonneville finally gives up the ghost, and we are in the search for a new car. I am pursuading them to buy a diesel because, well, is there anything else out there really?:lolly:
But we have been looking into the Passats and Jettas, even a couple used Mercedes Bluetecs.
What would you all recommend? Realibity is a must, fuel economy is a plus, and it has to be a sedan.

Thanks fellas!
 
Mercedes. If you can find s nice one with documentation of service work.
They can hit 30mpg easy
 
Any reason to stay away from the VW's? Finding a blutec at a reasonable price is tough
 
The new Cruze diesel is claimed to get 900 miles/tank.
Personally, I'd buy an E350, throw 22's on it, and ride out.

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or a 335d bmw the coolest stock diesel i have ever driven..
 
Some of the VWs have problems, and some are great. Any car with the ALH engine will be reliable and inexpensive to maintain. I think their worst engine was the BHW used in the 04 -07 Passats, it had camshaft failure, balance shaft failure, and turbo problems. Every single one... VW is great, our family owns 5, but do your research before you get one because they did have some bad models.

Mine is a 03 Jetta, I have PowerPlus 764 injectors, VNT17/22 turbo, Rocketchip Tune, Manual trans, and get 63 to 64 mpg on the highway 50 around town. 292K miles on it, seats are worn out, trans is gonna need a differential carrier bearing soon, but other than 100k timing belts and clutches nothing has been done to it.
 
If you are thinking new the VWs and the Chevy Cruze are available now in addition to Audi, BMW and MBZ models... I am really looking forward to driving one of the Cruze diesels, on paper it competes very favorably with the Jetta.

If you are on a budget look for an '04 Jetta TDI with the ALH they are reliable, but it is going to feel VERY small coming from a Bonneville. The '05-'10 Jetta is roomier and the '11+ is even roomier still. From '09 on the VWs are Common Rail engines and they have had some HPFP issues, but they make more power!!! The '05-'06 use the PD engine which have cam wear issues... We wrote a lot of articles in Diesel World including a spotters guide for the VWs and cam repair/upgrade with the PD.

My Jetta is an '06 with the PD and it had the cam wear issues but we repaired it and I expect at least another 100,000 miles out of the Colt cam now that I am running Schaeffer's 9000 oil in it!!!
 
2000-2004 jetta diesels are where it's at. I have a 2000 with 184k on it. Owned it for two months averaging 49 on my 70 mile round trip commute to work which is rural roads with 20 mile highway. On a straight highway tank I'm expecting north of 57. Then I just picked up more parts to go towards 60mpg everyday and higher than that highway. All numbers are hand calculated too. Front seat tons of room rear not so much but with adjustments you can fit 5. Lots of trunk space also.

I will forever have a tdi car. Awesome deals!
 
I think the Mazda 6 is supposed to be released soon. That would be a comparable size to the Bonneville, well more so than the Jetta.
 
Our '11 jetta has been an awesome car so far. Consistant mid 40's fighting so-cal traffic, and no issues at all.
 
I am leaning more towards a jetta or passat because the bluetecs are too expensive as are the audi's and BMW's. My mother just turned 50 the other day, so believe it or not, she isn't really concerned about power (that doesnt mean I'm not :hehe:).

So what from what I gather from you all, (feel free to correct me) I should look for an ALH (1999.5-2003) or skip a generation and get the '09 and newer to avoid having cam issues.

I am swayed towards the newer generation. Obviously my mom is not getting any younger, and I am sure she would like the comfort of the interior of the newer car better than the older ALH.

Thanks for all the information guys!
 
I love my Jetta and it has a clean bill of health with 316K miles on it (allbeit rebuilt head, new pump and aftermarket injectors) and runs like a top. I just wish I got the MPG some of these guys claim. I really hate to complain about 40mpg but when others are claiming more than 20% better MPG out of the same car, it's a little bit frustrating.

My commute is 2 mi. neighborhood, 2 mi. 55mph straight/flat rural hwy (ideal conditions), 10 mi. of interstate at 72mph with 1 large hill (1 mi. at 6-7% grade) to pass, then 2-3 mi. stop-n-go at 45mph. That's 1-way to work. Then just the opposite coming home. Any extra miles are 75% interstate at 72mph going to other cities with 25% stop-n-go at 45mph. I've tried the various driving styles I've seen other post about and have settled for somewhat spirited driving but still shift at 2-2400 rpms with exception to merging onto the interstate for which I'll sing 'er on up to 32-3500 rpms. :D

IQ is set at 4.2 (I think but I can check if someone needs to know), fresh timing belt, fluids, tires inflated properly and pratically new, intake is 100% clean, turbo is clean, all new vacuum lines.

IDK whatelse to check/change but I feel like I should be able to get 50mpg with my normal driving patterns, no?


OP, sorry for the OT post. Just bugs me a little that my mileage is lower than most the ppl who post online. It's comparable to other local TDI drivers though who have a Jetta TDI wagon and TDI Bug.
 
mfsuper90 said:
I am leaning more towards a jetta or passat because the bluetecs are too expensive as are the audi's and BMW's. My mother just turned 50 the other day, so believe it or not, she isn't really concerned about power (that doesnt mean I'm not :hehe:).

So what from what I gather from you all, (feel free to correct me) I should look for an ALH (1999.5-2003) or skip a generation and get the '09 and newer to avoid having cam issues.

I am swayed towards the newer generation. Obviously my mom is not getting any younger, and I am sure she would like the comfort of the interior of the newer car better than the older ALH.

Thanks for all the information guys!
Click to expand...

I actually really like my '06 and now that the cam is fixed it will likely be good to go for a real long time. As long as you are prepared for it the cam issue is not too big of a deal. Have it changed when you have the timing belt changed, which on any used VW TDI you should do right away since you do not know who changed it, if they changed it or if they used proper parts... The TDIs are interference engines and a broken timing belt will at the least require a head rebuild or a lot more in some cases...

Really I would skip the older car for your mom too. But an '06 can be had for a good price and you can negotiate the price of the cam replacement too. The '09-'10 are the same body style as the '06 but have the Common Rail engine with more power, a DPF and worse mileage. I generally get 45 or so MPG in my '06 and I drive about 4 MPH over the limit... The '11 and newer Jettas have more room but the same CR engine. Most seem to report around 40 MPG or so...

What is your/her budget? The '06 can be a very good car and is considerably cheaper than the newer models...

Also, if you are looking at new cars, don't discount the Chevy Cruze Diesel. Chevy designed the car to be as good or better than the Jetta TDI in virtually every category and they look to be VERY nice cars. I am scheduled to get a media car from GM to review for Diesel World sometime in the not to distant future but I have not driven one yet... They are available at select dealers now and will be nationwide in the coming months. I have read a few favorable reviews from the initial GM launch event and it sounds like people like the car.
 
1999.5 is a weird year. I would stay away from them. My reasoning was tunability but your not worried about that.

For her I would go newer. Just pay attention to what oil your using these cars are weird when it comes to that.

MITCH

Is your thermostat reading correct? Heard that can cause 2-3mpg. My car is a 2.5" straight pipe with an AFE intake that's it. But I did order a set of bosio pp520s so mileage should go up 2-3. Then a tuner to come. I do shift my car at 2k no matter what. It just works for me. But on most tanks I'm found to run a little harder at times. I haven't been lower than 47mpg yet (knocking on wood). :D

CHRIS

I would never buy a new car for anything. Especially with a new engine. Give it a few years to get the bugs worked out and everything. Uncle bought a ford whatever hybrid that is boasted to get 47 by the standard and he has yet to get over 40 on anything. It's all a hype to me. One day I will be proved wrong but until then I stick with that.
 
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Thanks guys. We are currently in the search for a new (new to us at least :D) 2009+ VW.
Possibly a bluetec if we stumble upon a deal.
 
Im enjoying my 06. 147000 on the ticker and I got it at 60k. The cam has some wear the egr cooler is leaking some. All 4 wheel bearings have been replaced and had an oil cooler fail. But nothing crazy my driving style is very spirited to say the least and I get an average of 40-42 mpg. Best ever tank was 52 when I followed the speed limit LOL
 
Chris Tobin said:
If you are thinking new the VWs and the Chevy Cruze are available now in addition to Audi, BMW and MBZ models... I am really looking forward to driving one of the Cruze diesels, on paper it competes very favorably with the Jetta.

If you are on a budget look for an '04 Jetta TDI with the ALH they are reliable, but it is going to feel VERY small coming from a Bonneville. The '05-'10 Jetta is roomier and the '11+ is even roomier still. From '09 on the VWs are Common Rail engines and they have had some HPFP issues, but they make more power!!! The '05-'06 use the PD engine which have cam wear issues... We wrote a lot of articles in Diesel World including a spotters guide for the VWs and cam repair/upgrade with the PD.

My Jetta is an '06 with the PD and it had the cam wear issues but we repaired it and I expect at least another 100,000 miles out of the Colt cam now that I am running Schaeffer's 9000 oil in it!!!
Click to expand...

Chris,
The 04 jettas are not ALH. They are PD engines also. The 04 have same body style as ALH jettas but have PD engine then body style changed with the 05.5-06 jettas
 
04.5 to 5.5 are BEW with some variance and 5.5 to 6 were BRM.

Tobin, when you "fixed" your cam, what parts did you use?
I have been told mine is worn but not sure what/whose parts to use to repair.
For anyone interested, the 05.5 to 06 have door wiring problems, the laminate peels off all of the interior controls, the DmF for the manual and dsg trans fails, along with the cam.
All of that hit the door at about 110,000 for me.
On the flip side, I've run 70k since I bought it, and the only major repair has been the timing belt. I'm working through the other repairs.
From my Not-So-Smart phone
 
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