Considering a VW Jetta (F150, insurance, car payments, luxury)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My friend has a 2000 Jetta TDI w/ 512,000 miles on it, and it keeps chugging along. But does it ever spew black smoke...
This car needs a tune!
Find a Vag-Com and do a diagnostic. (TDI Club has a nationwide registery for Vag).
The car is wasting fuel, and giving diesels a bad name , and the fix is easy. Probably needs a timing adjustment (3 bolts), and or a computer adjustment regulating fuel input (done with the VAG).
Please do the fix. With the VAG, this is a no cost fix!
My friend has a 2000 Jetta TDI w/ 512,000 miles on it, and it keeps chugging along. But does it ever spew black smoke...
This car needs a tune!
Find a Vag-Com and do a diagnostic. (TDI Club has a nationwide registery for Vag).
The car is wasting fuel, and giving diesels a bad name , and the fix is easy. Probably needs a timing adjustment (3 bolts), and or a computer adjustment regulating fuel input (done with the VAG).
Please do the fix. With the VAG, this is a no cost fix!
I just noticed that post, and was thinking the exact same thing.
There are quite a few diesel vehicles that'll really spew the smoke when you romp on them, but the TDI doesn't seem to be one of them. In fact, if not for the badge - and the rattle if you're close enough to hear it - you'd never know those TDIs were diesels.
Well considering every owner I know or have spoken to with that vintage VW has experienced nothing but atrocious reliability issues, I would never even give them a second thought.
Everything on them starts to go down the sh*tter at around 100k. That said, on the rare occasion nothing is broken they are fun little cars and a pleasure to drive.
Yes, I have a 1999 Jetta and over the past 5 years, I've spent almost 10k in repairs on it. Every time something goes wrong on that car (which seems to be happening a lot now), it costs a fortune to get it fixed. Driving VWs is fun and I love their handling of the road, but I will never buy another one again.
I drove Volkswagens for years, and the final two I owned swore me off them forever. The Mexican built VWs seem to cause the most problems. Parts and service are outrageous, too. I would even buy a Detroit car before a VW.
I've owned mothing but VW's for the last 10 years. It is a car. Things will wear out and/or break. 2 things to look for on a MK4 (99.5-05) 1.8t motor are possible sludge, and then timing belt. I had a 98 passat I bought used in 2006. I didn't do my research and a month after I got it, the timing belt snapped resulting in 16 bent valves and $4k of mechanics builds.
Do your research, do preventative maintenance, get a vehicle with maintenance records. The 1.8t motor can be a fun car and with a simple "chip" reprogramming of the ECU, you can get some more HP and have more fun. The cars feel more solid in the interior than other cars like civics.
If you don't care about power, you can find a jetta with a 2.0 8v motor. Those are virtually bulletproof motors, I've had several cars with them.
If VW's are such horrible cars, why are they the 3rd largest manufacturer in the world? Why was the Jetta one of the best selling cars in the last several years? Nothing is perfect. There are bound to be a few here and there that break. People think that they don't have to maintain their vehicle in order to get miles out of it.
One more thing. make absolute sure that the timing belt AND water pump have been replaced before you buy. they must be replaced every 75k miles, my girlfriend shattered her water pump at 80k miles, luckily she was able to make it to a repair shop without the car overheating too badly. they showed her the parts after and the timing belt was cracked too. if the belt breaks you need a new engine as valves will be bent and mass carnage will occur.
...
Huh. My 97 Jetta (250,000 miles) still has it's original water pump, and the timing belt was first replaced at 185,000 miles....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Black Smoke is fixable
