I'm looking for a new car and I'm trying to get the best milage I can. I'm looking at all cars but figured I'd see who drives what and gets how many km/s per tank and how happy you are with the car itself, model type, power etc. I'm looking at VW TDi's today, apparently great milage but I've heard maintence is crazy expensive and there WILL be problems because of all the emission standards. Also that they have good torque but no HP.
I willl need to be able to tow a bike trailer and 2 bikes.
I currently have an 04 Subaru (modified) so I'm only making 420km on a $65 tank.
I tow an open bike trailer with 2 bikes with a 2006 Jetta TDI (manual) and it does fine. I've owned the car since new, and it has 365,000 km on it now. No plans to sell it. It has been very good. Actually, we've had several VW's in the family, and they've all been fine. The '96 Passat TDI that I had before this one, had 462,000 km on it when I sold it (and I sold it to someone who wanted to drive it - not scrap it). I'm fully aware that some people have had problems with VW and it's also known that VW is having some teething problems with the common-rail engine used on the 2009-onward models (different from the engine in mine). Normal fuel consumption is around 5.5 L/100 km without towing and around 8 L/100 km when towing but this varies strongly depending on how fast you drive.
Now, on the VW issues. The so-called Mk4 generation (Golf/Jetta late '99 through early '05, through '06 for Jetta wagon, and all Golf/Jetta "City" after that) was a low point. They suffered from certain components that were too cheaply specified (ignition coils, MAF sensors, power window mechanisms) combined with arrogance from the manufacturer (it took them 3 YEARS to realize that the piece that holds the power window mechanism to the bottom of the window needs to be a steel piece, not a plastic piece). The Mk5 and onward cars have been a lot better; there are certain known issues but much fewer of the dumb little things that would go wrong with the Mk4's.
If you take your VW diesel to a quickie-lube place for an oil change and fluid top-up, you are going to be in for a world of hurt. If you cheap out on fluids and maintenance in any way whatsoever, you are going to be in for a world of hurt. VW diesels must use a specific engine oil (which varies depending on engine type). Quickie-lubes won't have it, Canadian Tire won't have it, Wal-mart won't have it. (There are plenty of independent shops that specialize in VW/Audi, and they WILL have it.) There ARE certain substitutes that have been found acceptable or in some cases better, but these substitutes have to be carefully researched and chosen, you can't just pick a random motor oil off the shelf and say "that looks good". In the case of the engine generation that is in my car, if you do that even ONCE, bye-bye camshaft and lifters. (There is a prominent warning label under the hood and in the owner's manual). Use the correct engine oil (or a very carefully chosen substitute) ... No problem. My car is on the original camshaft and lifters.
Likewise with the coolant. There is a specification VW G12 which it must meet. VW G12 coolant is very good - I have yet to see evidence of even a trace of corrosion in the cooling system. But, top it up with the regular green stuff, and the whole thing turns into a brown sludged-up mess ... the additive package is not compatible with standard coolant. RTFM and do what it says, no problem. Quickie lube where a minimum-wage high school kid who can't or doesn't read does you a favour of topping up the coolant ... Uh oh.
There are certain cases where maintenance beyond what VW specifies is warranted. Water pump doesn't have a specified replacement interval, but you had better do it at every timing belt change. Transmission fluid is lifetime ... ya right. (I just finished changing mine.) Many a VW gearbox has gone south because since it isn't in the maintenance schedule, the oil level never gets checked, the oil naturally weeps out of seals over a couple hundred thousand kilometers, it drops below the level needed for splash lubrication of 5th gear, then the 5th gear synchro and bearing go boom. To make it just a little more interesting, on the last couple generations of cars the gearbox is sitting at a slightly more forward angle which puts the fill plug in the wrong spot and since theoretically you are never supposed to check it, they never re-engineered the casting to put the fill plug at the right spot. Means it is a &%&#$ of a job to get the level right. (I do it on an uphill and jack the left front corner way up in the air as high as I can get it and then pour in the specified amount) If you do it the normal method (fill to the bottom of the fill plug with the car level) it will be about 1 litre short of the correct amount of oil in the gearbox ... The newest TDI cars have a 6-speed gearbox and I HOPE they have fixed this but I wouldn't guarantee it since it's still supposed to be a "lifetime fill".
Lifetime-fill on gearbox oil is by no means a VW-only thing.
One other small thing, there is a new Golf on a new vehicle platform (MQB) coming next year and it will have new engines. It's already known that the new engine will fix one of the glitches that VW had with the Mk5/6 common-rail TDI application (air-to-water intercooler so the intercooler won't freeze up in cold weather any more). It remains to be seen whether they'll fix the HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) since according to VW, the problem doesn't exist in the first place even though it's under investigation by NHTSA ... According to VW, it's all because of people filling up with gasoline. BULL.
