Golf TDI or ???

Sort of mimicking Javelin's post with this one.

So I am DDing an RX-8 R3 (2.5 seasons) and a '96 F-150 5.0L 65 miles round trip daily, and they are killing me on fuel. This wasn't an issue when I was living with my ex-gf only 4 miles from my office. My fuel bill is on par with a nice car payment. Budget wise, even factoring in the extra insurance and maintenance, I will save money or break even if I pick up a different commute vehicle.

So I've been thinking a lot about what to do vehicle fleet wise in the future. So far I have come up with this.

• Keep the F-150 (paid for)
• Keep the RX-8 for one more year to use as a track car and occasional fun commute car. Sell fall 2014 or spring 2015 to avoid winter sports car price drop.
• Buy a certified used Golf TDI or _?_ to use ad a DD.
• Save enough to pay cash for a decent car to use for track/fun commute. This also gets me out of tracking a car that I am still making payments on.

Then winter 2014, buy a track worthy car and modify before track season 2015. I really want to build V8 Miata or Midlana...hmm...V8 Midlana???...n/m that's another post entirely.

Requirements for the DD:
+ Manual transmission
+ Fun-ish. I had a Mazda3 at one point and that was my only car. It was nice, but still boring. However, having the 2nd track car will hopefully scratch that itch. I still don't want to drive a toaster though.
+ Some utility. I'll have the truck for the big and dirty jobs, but smaller, clean jobs it would be nice.
+ MPG. I seem to drive between 400 - 600 miles a week. I live in the middle of nowhere and my social life is about an hour away, so on weekends I find myself driving all over the place.
+ Comfortable. This is relative. I DD'd a Miata with the FM suspension and stiffer spring upgrade on MI roads and I was fine. But good seats are required.
+ Under $22k out the door.
+ Low maintenance.

The Golf TDI seems to tick all those boxes. I looked at Jetta's as well, but like the Golf better. What other cars am I missing?

Thanks, GRM!!!

Diesel fuel, at least around here, is so expensive that you will struggle to break even with a TDI over a gasoline car.

Diesel vs. gas prices are figured into the budget as well. Diesel also tends to go down during the summer while gas stays steady.

2014 Jetta TDi Value Edition

bludroptop wrote: 2014 Jetta TDi Value Edition

Uhhhh.... Where's my pen?!?!?!

Sky_Render wrote: Diesel fuel, at least around here, is so expensive that you will struggle to break even with a TDI over a gasoline car.

If it is like me, I would be looking at burning 4 gals of diesel at 4.20/gal vs 9 gals at 3.45/gal..... Going back and forth to work everyday.

Check out the Mazda 2. While maybe not as plush as a TDI Golf, they are much more fun to drive IMHO. I've done extended trips in one, and found it comfortable. They aren't fast, but they are nimble, and flingable. They are also cheap as chips!

The Golf is pretty boring as well.

My commute is 130 miles roundtrip. I wound up leasing a new commuter for the commute and kept my FD for fun street driving. Prior to leasing I was looking into fun to drive, good MPG cars. Although I'm a Honda 'hater', Honda does seem to win the MPG batter on non-hybrid, internal combustion engines. If I didn't lease, I was very close to getting an old Civic or Acura RSX since they are inexpensive to buy, get an honest mid-30s MPG, have already depreciated and can be fun to drive with some minor mods like good shocks.

It's not really worth buying a new car and taking the depreciation hit unless you plan to own it for a good 5-10 years. CPO might not be bad but the newer cars aren't really all that fun to drive. If you were bored with the Mazda 3, I can't picture anything else being that much more fun that you wouldn't get bored with it also.

In reply to amg_rx7:

How long do you lease for? What are the mileage limits? I can't find anything for more than 20k miles a year. If there are higher mileage leases, it is something for me to consider.

I replaced my 00 TDi golf with a civic SiR and missed the TDi.. such a great car.

CGLockRacer wrote: In reply to amg_rx7: How long do you lease for? What are the mileage limits? I can't find anything for more than 20k miles a year. If there are higher mileage leases, it is something for me to consider.

36 mo / 15k miles per year

It's a fluke that I'm driving it all the way to work. That was not the original plan and I need to stop that. :)

I have owned a TDI and two Ford F250 diesels, the cars just don't do it for me don't get me wrong I love diesels, perhaps I have a sour tast in my mouth because I could never get my TDi to run right, but with the petrol engines running direct injection many of the cars are close to what a Diesel can do and have more HP, less torque.

Just buy my car

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/open-classifieds/fsft-2013-kia-forte-sx/72128/page1/

Sky_Render wrote: Diesel fuel, at least around here, is so expensive that you will struggle to break even with a TDI over a gasoline car.

Last time I filled up it was 3.29/3.39/3.49 for 87/89/92 and 4.49 for diesel.

I hear there are some places where diesel isn't that much more expensive but that sure ain't here.

Regarding fuel savings. Whatever you buy will still have to be fed. Buying a new car to save a little fuel is spending dollars to save dimes. The time to think about that sort of thing, IMO, is when you are already in the market for a new car anyway. The money is going to be spent anyway at that point.

Knurled wrote:

Sky_Render wrote: Diesel fuel, at least around here, is so expensive that you will struggle to break even with a TDI over a gasoline car.

Last time I filled up it was 3.29/3.39/3.49 for 87/89/92 and 4.49 for diesel.

Around me in SF Bay, diesel is usually 10-20 cents over premium. Diesel is $3.97 at my local Shell. 91 is $3.83. I'd say that particular station you went to is an anomaly.

I own a '12 TDI Jetta and while the price of diesel is higher then gas it's only a bit higher then premium and that's what my car needed to run at it's best that the Jetta replaced. And in the summer when I do most of my driving diesel prices come down while gas goes up! To date I have not gotten less then 40 mpg with this car. My former gas car would get at best 25-27 mpg in a mix of driving and only 29-32 mpg on the highway. Both are about the same size and weight.

As far as fun to drive I get off on the MPG readout on the dash telling me I'm getting 200 mpg while coasting! Oh, I do have a fun car, my ITA prepped 16V Scriocco.

Right now locally diesel is 20 cents a litre more than reg gas. Which translated to a US Gallon would be approximately 76 cents per gallon more. This winter has been an anomaly however. Diesel is tied very closely to Home Heating fuel in price and due the cold it has driven pricing up across the board.

I had a non-TDi Golf TD and frankly it was one of the best cars I have ever owned. I only sold it due to rust and mileage.

Part-throttle usage is where diesels shine so if you have a commute that is mostly steady-state highway run a diesel is absolutely something to consider.

Get a VW with as few power options as possible.

Due to the price differential of how much TDi cars sell for... I'd get the cleanest civic hatch I could and run it. The difference between 35usmpg and 45usmpg is so little in the amount of money saved, plus diesel being more expensive (plus at the end of the day, VW's are more tempermental/prone to issues than the japanese manufacturers) that it makes sense in my head. Sure, the civic isn't as nice, but it should be fine IMO.

Edit- WOW, $22,500 plus tax for a manual tdi jetta in Canada. Too bad diesel is 20C per litre (75C/gallon) more expensive which negates that though. A Mazda 3 is cheaper and gets virtually the same gas mileage.

amg_rx7 wrote:

Knurled wrote:

Sky_Render wrote: Diesel fuel, at least around here, is so expensive that you will struggle to break even with a TDI over a gasoline car.

Last time I filled up it was 3.29/3.39/3.49 for 87/89/92 and 4.49 for diesel.

Around me in SF Bay, diesel is usually 10-20 cents over premium. Diesel is $3.97 at my local Shell. 91 is $3.83. I'd say that particular station you went to is an anomaly.

No, not an anomaly. It depends on the part of the country you're in. Hence my "at least around here" statement.

In California, your standard gasoline is so berkeleying expensive thanks to all your stupid CARB regulations that it makes diesel look cheap.

Sky_Render wrote:

amg_rx7 wrote:

Knurled wrote:

Sky_Render wrote: Diesel fuel, at least around here, is so expensive that you will struggle to break even with a TDI over a gasoline car.

Last time I filled up it was 3.29/3.39/3.49 for 87/89/92 and 4.49 for diesel.

Around me in SF Bay, diesel is usually 10-20 cents over premium. Diesel is $3.97 at my local Shell. 91 is $3.83. I'd say that particular station you went to is an anomaly.

No, not an anomaly. It depends on the part of the country you're in. Hence my "at least around here" statement.

Gotcha. Never seen such a huge difference before.

Neither have I, which is why I made note of it. Usually it's 80c more than 87 with a 15 cent hike between grades of gasoline, not a buck more than premium, and I haven't seen a ten cent hike between grades in about a decade.

It's most likely due to the weather. We run our shop truck on CNG and the price per gallon equivalent went up from 80 cents to $1.50-1.60. Still less than half of what it'd take to run on gasoline, mind you

Diesel is $3.75/gal. around here. Regular unleaded is about 50 cents less. I paid $3.68 for diesel in SC on Tuesday but saw $4.55 in the northeast last week. Diesel does not seem to fluctuate as much as gas - its been $3.75 all winter.

I think I"m going to have to live with a boring car. I test drove a 2012 CPO Golf TDI today. It was very nicely appointed, good feeling, very good seating position for me, and deceptively quick on the highway. Then I drove a new Mazda2. It felt like a small Mazda3. But I wasn't able to find a good seating position and it felt wheezy to me. I'm going to try a Honda Fit next week, and maybe for E36 M3s and giggles a Fiesta ST (will there be a Mazdaspeed2?)

Be careful with the Fiesta ST. I drove it and liked it a lot. I couldn't find one available at dealerships without a sunroof! Ford continues to do lots of little things to keep me away from their cars. I recently picked up a new 2013 Honda Fit and it's IMO the best car in it's segment.

Move closer to your office and social life? Seems to be the most apparent solution...

Diesel is $4.29 here. 87 Octane is $3.47.

Prius. Cheaper gas. More reliable. Same fuel economy.