We are selling my wife's 2006 Volvo V70R and seriously considering replacing it with one of these. We've driven a few and like them. Online reviews seem favorable overall, although there are stories of HPFP failures, turbo failures and other various and sundry horror stories. Any firsthand experience on the board? Anything I should pay close attention to when shopping/inspecting? I have my eye on a one owner 2012 with 30k miles on it that is going to CarMax this week unless I buy it.
I know for sure that the 2009-2011 had the HPFP failures. Had the pleasure of dealing with one first hand. Metal shavings throughout the fuel system is never a good thing. Luckily one of the local dealers took it on as warranty, even with over 100K on it. It seems to be a super secret recall on VW's part.
Other then that, I think the TDI's are the most reliable/low maintenance vehicles in the VAG fleet. Of course that's not really saying much...
Even though my only experience with VW's was very bad (leased a 2002 Jetta that was an absolute nightmare), I like the JSW TDI. Or at least I want to like it.
On paper, they look awesome, and they appeal to me because they get great mileage and have great fuel range (I drive a lot). I see a ton of these on my daily commute, and they are very popular in the extreme suburbs of Boston where I live. When I think about TDI cars, I always think of my buddy's "unicorn" 1996 Passat TDI manual wagon. I've driven it across the country twice now, and it's a great car. It gets amazing mileage, and it has a quarter million miles on the odometer with no signs of stopping. It's only needed general maintenance since new (it was his dad's car).
Then, I read about the HPFP issues and other typical VW problems, like electrical gremlins. Some say that HPFP issues are from people putting bad fuel or even gasoline in their diesels. My friend's independent TDI mechanic says that this has been the case on every single one he has serviced out of warranty. Then, I read about DSG services that cost around $800 at the dealer every 40k miles (or $350 yourself with the chance of destroying your transmission) so you pretty much have to get the manual. These are very maintenance intensive cars.
If you want a smaller, fuel efficient, and newer wagon, this is pretty much the only game in town. I'm honestly not sure if the potential for negatives outweigh the positives, but I will tell you this: people that own them LOVE them. If you find a clean example at a good price, I'd try it out and see if you like it. Keep in mind that the resale value on these is great, so if you don't like it, you could get out of it easy.
Also: Check out TDIClub. It's a forum dedicated just to the TDI cars run by TDI and diesel nerds. It's pretty good, with lots of tutorials, write-ups, and things to look for.
It does seem to be the fuel causing the HPFP issues, and mostly in CA. I believe VAG is suing CA for not having the proper lubricants in their low-sulfur diesel like all other states and countries.
I too love the idea of these cars. Wagon so you can carry stuff. Not a gas guzzler SUV and handles ok to not make me hate life. I also feel the same about the older Elantra Touring models.
I spotted one at Carmax when my wife and I were shopping. I hoped she would like it but after sitting in it for a few seconds she said I don't like this.
Datsun1500 wrote: It really depend on how much $$ they want for the 2012. They do not drop much and it might only be a $2000 swing between 3 years old with miles, and a new one.
30k miles for $19.5k. Sat radio, nav, sunroof, push button start, DSG. Needs nothing from what I can tell.
We test drive a 2014 last weekend and sticker was $35k for a comparably equipped model. Sounded like they would sell it below sticker but not too terribly much.
dyintorace wrote:Datsun1500 wrote: It really depend on how much $$ they want for the 2012. They do not drop much and it might only be a $2000 swing between 3 years old with miles, and a new one.30k miles for $19.5k. Sat radio, nav, sunroof, push button start, DSG. Needs nothing from what I can tell. We test drive a 2014 last weekend and sticker was $35k for a comparably equipped model. Sounded like they would sell it below sticker but not too terribly much.
That's a bit below the market here. If you feel like dealing with the DSG, and servicing that thing every 40k doesn't bother you, then that is not a bad deal.
Here's a DIY writeup of how to do the DSG service on an older Jetta TDI:
My father has one (6spd). Pleasant enough in most ways, though the headrests are some of the most uncomfortable I've ever encountered - that alone would make me think twice about owning one, but that's me. The only other issue is that the 17" rims appear to be made of cheese instead of alloy, and bend far too easily for the roads around here. On my recommendation, he swapped them for 16" steelies, which solved the pothole issue and made the ride far more comfortable at the same time.
BTW, anybody want to buy three 17" VW Jetta Sportwagon alloys?
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I have one - a TDi Sportwagen. It is pretty much everything it is cracked up to be. 
Datsun1500 wrote: It really depend on how much $$ they want for the 2012. They do not drop much and it might only be a $2000 swing between 3 years old with miles, and a new one.
This is what we ran into when we were buying back in '09, there was a hiatus between '06 & '09 with no TDIs sold in the US, so everything used was at the newest an '06 and everything we were interested in was within a couple grand of what we could buy brand new for. So we bought new.
I've talked about it several times here, we have an '09, TDI (The "bad" CBEA one), DSG that we have owned it since new. Once the free 30K mile dealer service was finished, I have done all maintenance except for 2 recalls, 2 DSG services, new set of tires at ~43K, balance, and alignment myself. I do not own VCDS/Vag-Com, but do own a CAN-Bus capable scan tool.
As of this writing we are approaching 94K miles, relatively trouble free.
Since owning I have repaired or replaced:
- 1 Glow Plug/Cylinder Pressure Sensor at around 70K miles
- 1 Battery, just this past Saturday actually, left SWMBO stranded, over 5 year old OEM battery that has been completely drained at least once, expected maintenance.
- OEM Bridgestones were replaced north of 40K.
- Three low beam head light bulbs.
Another recent issue I haven't diagnosed/repaired yet is the left rear door will not open, from inside of out. SWMBO attempted to open the door while locked, the exterior handle pulled out, and didn't fully spring back into place. When there's space available in the garage again it will get further attention.
DSG service isn't that big of a deal, call around, get prices. If they'll let you provide your own fluids, filter, o-rings, and washer, it can be done for between $300-$400.
Our Jetta has had Mobil 1 ESP 5w-30 religiously every 10K miles, so far the DPF, and flapper valve are still functioning as they should. If the DPF fails (it's 1 piece on the CBEA) it will be replaced with a DPF delete kit and tune vs. a new DPF, shhhh, don't tell anyone.
While the HPFP failure obviously exists, it's unfortunate, but the internet has blown it out of proportion, knock on wood, we've hand no issues, and I have never hesitated to take our Jetta all over the country. I do regularly add 4 oz. of Stanadyne Diesel Performance Formula to the fuel tank when filling up though just for the added lubricity.
I go back and forth between a TDI Sportwagon and last generations A3 for my next car. I would not hesitate to own a TDI Sprotwagon.
I bought a 2012 TDI Jetta sedan and I do like the sport wagon but I didn't need the extra cargo space so I went with the 4dr. As for the engine. I add diesel fuel additives to most every fill up or about every 600 miles! I don't have that many miles on mine yet as while it's a '12 I bought it new in Sept of last year. It sat on the lot for 1 1/2 years. My guess because of being a base model with 6 speed in a major metro area. (Chicago). As for mileage, I have yet to get less then 40 mpg and have made over 50 mpg on two tanks. It's best to buy fuel from the same station when ever you can, which I have unless I'm traveling.
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