Once again the TDI reigns supreme

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

VW TDI owners......

......are not the only ones enjoy the benifit of the lower diesel fuel prices......... All of the truckers out there which move the nations goods benifit as well! Not to mention all of the other diesel powered vehicles out there too!
 
I've heard of Crisco being used for different things but

We have a customer who's Mercedes runs on vegetable oil he gets from restaurants that give him used frying oil.
 
*LOL* I've seen (rather smelled) one of those here and there and I keep looking for the fast-food source of fried potatoes and meats nearby....
 
My partner was eyeing the TDI, but he went with the Hybird instead due to the cost of Diesel last year.

I kinda wished he did get the TDI instead, I love the sound and smell of Diesel.
 
All of the truckers out there which move the nations goods b

Yeah, but the BIG question is.......Will we see any price reduction in goods? My guess is a firm NO! :(
 
Cost not going down for goods and services.

My trash service started charging a fuel surcharge last year when prices were up. I asked them why they didn't drop the surcharge when prices dropped and they replied that fuel was part of their profit margin; so I changed trash companies.

Hate Waste Connection anyway, then they charged me $15 to terminate service because they had to pick up their dump cart. (dirty word, dirty word, dirty word)
 
I too have enjoyed the past few months with diesel being cheaper than gas! My '02 Golf gets around 34-36 mpg in the city and 42-48 on the highway, so cheap diesel means I spend comparatively little on fuel. On the other hand, spending less on fuel helps offset the high cost of owning a VW. If only it were as well built and engineered as the Saab 900 and Fiat X1/9 that preceeded it! Both those cars were purchased used with little history but the Saab lasted until an inconsiderate driver rear ended it at 160,000 miles, while the Fiat was retired and sold at 183,000 miles because it was getting pretty tired and parts became hard to find. Meanwhile, the VW was bought new, adult driven and carefully maintained. So far, at 117,000 miles it has had catastrophic turbo failure requiring engine replacement, timing belt tensioner failure on the second engine (OEM and dealer installed), failure of the airbag computer (in spite of never being wrecked), premature wear out of front suspension bushings, increasingly erratic operation of the alarm and interior lights, and a few other odds and ends. Thankfully when the timing belt tensioner went it turned the check engine light on as the injection pump timing became erratic. I then found the floppy belt (split longitudinally by the piece of tensioner that pierced it) but as it was only 10,000 miles old it was tight enough to not jump time. Had it done so, I'd probably be on the third engine! So I'll enjoy the mileage as long as I own it, but after it's gone no more German engineering for me.
 
Yeah.. as much as I love VWs, I have heard through multiple sources that the early 2000s were not a good time for their quality.

My mother loves her 2001 Cabrio, and as meticulously as she maintains it, the "check engine" light is constantly coming on. Her engine blew this past winter, there has been a myriad of other problems... an expensive one that the dealership ended up splitting the cost on was the convertible top - it had to be replaced a year or so ago because one of the seams was ripping in a few places. Problem after problem.

But... One seems to forget about all of those problems when one is driving it with the top down. :-)
 
The quality is just all over the place - mine has held up very nicely in terms of paint and interior, the heating and air conditioning are also excellent, and the original battery went over six years and 100,000+ miles.

Those crappy turbos are sourced from Romania of all places. The dealer took seven weeks to install the new engine and turbo under warranty, but it still didn't run right and kept going into "limp mode." That means the turbo is essentially turned off, leaving an exceptionally gutless car with no warning. After not being able to maintain 65 mph on the freeway one night I was so mad I took the "new" (2000 miles old) turbo off the next Saturday. The car was still under warranty, but I'd had enough of VW service. Turns out the replacement turbo was defective - the internal vanes would jam and stick. So I spent $1000 for a new OEM turbo through a parallel source vendor and installed it myself. That was at 67,000 miles so it's now gone 50,000 miles and still works fine, but needless to say I have my doubts about Romanian quality. The failure prone timing belt tensioner was Canadian - the bearing was fine, but a small and very flimsy metal tab that locates the internal spring simply cracked and allowed everything to unload, and the broken tab then pierced the belt. Maybe if VW actually tried to make parts in Germany they'd be reliable again! Oops, on second thought the bum airbag computer was German, so maybe that's not a solution after all . . .
 
I'll stick to my Honda thankyouverymuch...

60K miles and 5 years later and it's never been in the shop for anything more than a leaky A/C schrader valve.

I still get 40+ on the highway and it's not even a hybrid. Considering that's with my lead foot and the A/C running full blast all the time, that's pretty darned good! I've never gotten below 34 in town either.

I'll personally never own a VW or a BMW. I've worked on entirely too many, parts are too difficult to obtain, and it seems they have more "major" problems than many other brands.....including American brands. Don't even get me started on Ford...
 
I'll stick to my Honda thankyouverymuch...

X2

My 1999 Accord turned 10 this past February. All I have had to do (besides regular maintenance) in 10 years was replace a door lock solenoid. $42 and 25 minutes later it was fixed. I have records of every fill up and maintenece performed since brand new. The worst gas mileage she ever got in a decade is 28 MPG. Best mileage (in stock form) was 52MPG coming back from Reno in 107F doing 65MPH without A/C.

I also have 1984 Toyota SR5 pickup that turned 25 years old this past April. Everything down to the power steering fluid is original with the exception of the clutch I replaced 2 years ago. Oh yeah, 9 people (friends and relatives), including myself, learned how to drive a manual transmission on her. Eh, 23 years and 200K on a clutch ain't too bad :) Worst gas mileage in 25 years was 24MPG. Best was 36MPG.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top