Help with purchasing Jetta

[Kor]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

If you are looking for a higher mileage TDI then you should try to get one with a full service record. You can also get it inspected fully before or after buying it. A TDI will last a long long time however its still possible the previous owner was mistreating it. My brother owns a Sunfire with like 160,000kms or something on it, and both he AND the last owner didn't maintain it. Its totally shot I would not wish it on my worst enemy. No way that engine makes it to 200.

Occasionally, dealerships DO get higher mileage TDI's on the used lots (people trade them in for new ones etc). You could look into a warranty on your used TDI if you got it from the dealer. For reliability this may be a good investment. Especially if you could get something like a 50,000km warranty at 150,000kms. That would last you up into the 200's!

Some of the things to look for or expect to have to replace on used vehicles are (as already mentioned) belt, brakes, clutch, tires, anything involving bearings... shocks only last so long also (maybe do an aftermarket upgrade). These parts will just weear out on any car. Not replacing them when needed just makes the problem worse too.

[Stonewall]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

Occasionally, dealerships DO get higher mileage TDI's on the used lots (people trade them in for new ones etc). You could look into a warranty on your used TDI if you got it from the dealer. For reliability this may be a good investment. Especially if you could get something like a 50,000km warranty at 150,000kms. That would last you up into the 200's!

The wifes TDI was bought at a dealership (5th ave) for a fair deal. It had all service records and and was driven mostly highway miles at it was a priest driving all over the country. I dropped a grand into it to fix up some body work and it almost looks and runs like a brand new car. First thing to look into when getting a used TDI is timing belt, if there is no record of the last time it was done, do it right away. Next would be intake cleaning, brakes etc etc. Really none of those jobs are hard. I plan on buying the timing belt tools and know it takes only a couple hours to do. Another good thing about highmilage cars is that they would have to be driven long periods of time at once which diesels and turbos love as the oil is at a constant temp and the wear on parts isn't as bad.

[Stampfan]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

Stonewall:

Where/how much did it cost to get your intake manifold cleaned?

I'd imagine since VW doesn't recognize the problem, the dealerships wouldn't know what to do with them. And if they did I'd imagine the cost would vary lots from place to place.

[Stonewall]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

Stonewall:

Where/how much did it cost to get your intake manifold cleaned?

I'd imagine since VW doesn't recognize the problem, the dealerships wouldn't know what to do with them. And if they did I'd imagine the cost would vary lots from place to place.

About $50 in parts if you want to replace all the gaskets (you don't really have to replace them ALL but I wanted too) and if you buy all the parts at the stealership plus a couple bottles of castrol superclean and a large tupperware container to store the uggglllyy crud until the water evaporates. Took me about 4hours but could be faster as I took my time. The dealerships do know what to do with them and they will charge you about $400 so I heard.

[snipa_mini85]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

Well, here's my plan, within about 3 months or so i will probably be getting a Jetta TDI (hopefully there are a few more choices, and the prices have lowered at the dealerships by then). 3 months should give me enough time to save up for somethings that might need to be replace or upgraded, like brakes, tires, wheels, suspension, etc. then i'll go at it from there.

[Platinum-G]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

...and don't forget to change your timing belt regularly (not the cheapest job either)

I have been wondering about this timing belt deal, I drive a 1.8T and notice that it has become a little hesitant off the start and not as responsive.....is this caused by wearing or loosening of the timing belt???? I have 30,000kms on now....

[Stampfan]

Re: Help with purchasing Jetta

I would suspect TDI's are going to be hard to come by for the near future due to high gasoline prices -- a lot more consumers will switch to TDI's.

I did a quick search of the VW dealerships in Calgary a couple of weeks ago through the pre-owned, and there aren't a lot of used TDI's out there at the dealerships.

I've seen some really well-priced TDI's as trade-ins at non-VW dealerships (Ford, GM, Honda, etc.) and they don't know what to do with them, probably can't do any work to them, etc. I'd look there first, maybe save a few thousand, and then get any work done that you need with the money you save. You won't get a longer warranty, but if its still under its original warranty you wouldn't need anything additional.

I don't think there's much advantage to getting a certified pre-owned TDI. When I bought mine the oil, air filter, etc. NONE of the overdue maintenance had been done like I was led to believe.