Anyone have a diesel car?

[315bride]

If so, what make and model? Do you like it?

H and I are thinking about a diesel for our next car purchase. We have about 75K on our current car and think it would be a great time to replace.

[lanyac]

We tried to get the Jetta sportwagen tdi, but we couldn't find any used ones. It gets good gas mileage and is very roomy. We have the non-diesel one instead.

[nicoliae]

I used to have a VW Beetle TDI. I loved owning a tdi (the beetle part...not so much). Oil changes were more expensive but the fuel mileage was amazing! I think I was averaging ~40 mpg, I know I could go over 700 miles per tank. That was 2 months between fill ups and in college it super super budget friendly. (My car was also a manual which helped on the mpg)

[winelady]

I have a VW Passat Tdi and I like it. I used to love it! When we bought it, diesel was over a dollar cheaper per gallon!! Now, it's as expensive, if not more than gas but still, 600-700 mile per tank is nice. We have had it for6 years,bought it used for my Dh but it ended up being mine. The trunk is huge!

[phoenixrising]

My dad has driven two different Jetta TDIs (one in the 80s and one prior to the car he has now), and he loved them. He commutes over an hour to work each way, and the gas mileage for him was a big draw. I don't think anyone does diesel better than VW does. He also drove the diesel Jeep Liberty (which is no longer made), but he much preferred his Jettas.

[315bride]

It's nice that VW has several models that are in a diesel version. My FIL had a Jetta from a few years back and I hated it. I am so glad that they changed the styling back to something more driver-friendly.

I would love to find something gently used, but I'm guessing that they will be harder to find.

We drive a manual now, but because we're in the city I'd like to consider getting an automatic. I know it decreases the fuel efficiency, but it's no fun shifting in city traffic.

[annael415]

I have a 2012 Passat TDI and love it. The gas mileage is great. I have about 6,000 miles on the car and have averaged 41mpg. That includes a combination city and highway driving. Problem is that they don't make that many of them, and i found it hard to negotiate on the price because they were in demand.

[Susie]

I think our next car will be a TDI Jetta (maybe the wagon, not sure). Everyone I've known who has one, really likes it. I've had three gas Jettas in a row. Our current one is still going strong at 149k miles, though, so I think it'll be a while. I'd love to see 200k.

[Deleted]

I wish we saw more diesel cars in America! I'm lusting over a Jetta Sportwagen or a diesel Audi A3.

[315bride]

Aug 6, 2012 8:26:26 GMT -5 annael415 said:

I have a 2012 Passat TDI and love it. The gas mileage is great. I have about 6,000 miles on the car and have averaged 41mpg. That includes a combination city and highway driving. Problem is that they don't make that many of them, and i found it hard to negotiate on the price because they were in demand.

I wonder if we're at an advantage living where we do. The dealers around here carry quite a few of the diesel versions, both used and new.

[315bride]

Aug 6, 2012 8:34:02 GMT -5 Susie said:

I think our next car will be a TDI Jetta (maybe the wagon, not sure). Everyone I've known who has one, really likes it. I've had three gas Jettas in a row. Our current one is still going strong at 149k miles, though, so I think it'll be a while. I'd love to see 200k.

I spoke with someone recently who said that because diesels run at a lower RPM, they have more longevity.

[BAMFMrsB]

I have the '09 TDI Jetta sedan. Love it.

[neko]

We had a 2002 VW Jetta TDI and it was pretty good. The only problem we found with buying used diesels in that a lot of people who buy them tend to run them into the ground. It was hard to find a car that wasn't beat down so we had to be patient and stalk Craigslist. Also, a lot of VW have an interior called "soft touch" that degrades over time into this sticky yucky mess. My sister has a beetle and it's so bad she's thinking about ripping all the panels out and scrubbing them down. The jetta actually didn't have as much of that material in the interior as some other VW cars we looked at which meant the interior stayed nicer. We liked it but ended up selling it because my husband wanted an old mercedes diesel to convert to run on used Veg oil, which is what we have now.

[pitterwoo]

H has a Mercedes 240D. It's from the 80s, so probably not relevant for you, but some people do still buy them to drive now because they're such a great car.

I've heard good things about the Jettas, but since I had a regular gas one that I really disliked I don't think I would ever spring for one again.

[femmenatal1]

Aug 5, 2012 21:39:50 GMT -5 kooshball said:

We have a VW Jetta TDI and really like it.

Ditto. We just got back from a 22 hour road trip and we only had to fill up 2.5x. We got over 500 miles out of each tank of gas.


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