Recommendations for sister's new car

[ericbecky]

Originally Posted by Daox

I also stumbled across a veggie Jetta, but I know nothing of the Elsbett kit.

2000 VW Jetta with Elsbett kit -- veggie oil $7500

That one is owned by a guy that was a speaker at Hybridfest last year. Good guy to talk to and I'm sure would be happy to help get you on the road to veggie-ness.

[metromizer]

VW TDI's 2001-2004:

I did a fair amount of research on these, yet did not buy one only beacuse of the price of Diesel going through the roof about a year ago. I still may purchase one to replace my metro in the coming year or two.

A former VW (but now Audi) technician friend of mine advised me to steer clear of any high mileage automatic trans TDI... he said $4k-$6k to replace it when (not if, but when) it goes out. They don't repair them at the dealerships, they buy reman units from VW. You want the 5spd. he said.

Replacing the timing belt and water pump is an expensive job on TDI's. If it has more than 90k miles and hasn't been done, add that to the overall cost of the vehicle (many VW owners choose 90k miles as a good time to sell because of this service interval cost).

My friend says the rest of the car is solid, the engine is almost bullet-proof, 300k miles if it's cared for. The suspension bits wear out, and bushing replacement is costly (VW parts are nothing like cheap, these days)

I looked into running on bio-diesel or waste veggie oil: The VW's will do either, some kits are junk, others use good quality components suitable for long term usage. My conclusion is 'there's no free lunch there'. When I looked at it on paper, brewing my own bio-Diesel would only made sense (cost effective, or me) if I had three or more cars buring the stuff. It takes equipment, hours per week of my time, storage space, etc. to get into this operation at home. I am not sure what you do to get rid of 'a bad batch' if something goes wrong?

To burn french fry grease I would need to make or purchase collection and filtering equipment, purchase and instal a tank and heater(s) equipment on the car, then spend my time on some 'route' collecting the french fry grease from resteraunts (yuck!). I deeply admire anyone who has the time and tenacity to make either of these solution work for them, but weather it's time, out of pocket cash, or both, the fuel isn't 'free'.

[tasdrouille]

1999.5-2002 have the VE pump ALH engines, 2003-2004 have the Pump Deuse engine and are more sensible to proper spec oil than ALH engines. Ideally you would pick a 2001-2002. Stay away of automatics, few autos of these years make it past 150k miles before needing to be replaced.

As far as the engine goes. My local TDI guru has a 2000 with 500k miles on the odo. TDI engines can take a lot of abuse, but no neglect. You have to stay on top of maintenance. Timing belt changes are not all that expensive, you can find a local TDI guru on TDIclub that will probably do it for 500-600 bucks. Not too bad since you only need it done every 100k miles. Apart from that maintenance costs are roughly the same as running a gasser on synthetics. The local gurus know their stuff and are way cheaper than the stealers. There is a great community built around TDIs, lots of knowledgeable folks that are always willing to help out.

[some_other_dave]

A buddy of mine has a ~2002 Bug TDI that he runs on 100% Bio-D. The original tank at the dealer was Dino-D, and at the recommendation of a dealer mechanic, he ran one tank of Dino-D when he was having fuel pump problems, but apart from that it's all Bio-D. He gets it at a station a decent distance from where he works, or at one closer to where he lives. He has two or three 5-gallon jerrycans that he also fills, to extend the time between his fill-ups even further.

He has had problems with fuel pumps. I think he has replaced the pump twice so far. I'm not sure if that specifically has anything to do with the Bio-D or not, but he feels it is an acceptable price for not using imported oil for his commute.

-soD

[wyatt]

Here's a Prius... $9500, but the gas savings if she drives a lot will make the extra $1500 completely worth it... I may even be able to help with the transaction if you need.
For Sale 01 Toyota Prius Hybrid 56K miles 50+MPG 6 Cd changer

2001 Toyota Prius Electric/Hybrid, has 56K miles, runs like new, has 6CD Changer -- New Hybrid battery that is rated by Toyota to last 7 years. Excellent gas saver 45 - 55 MPG. Asking $9500

[Daox]

I've still been watching CL for cars and this TDI has been up for sale numerous times. His price is way above edmunds estimate of $5700, but that seems to be the case with most efficient vehicles these days.

2000 VW Golf TDI 4door 106K 5 speed

If I were to go look at it, are there any tell tale signs of neglect?

Timing belt change shouldn't be a big deal, I can do that myself.

[Daox]

Drat, its sold.

[TestDrive]

Originally Posted by Daox

His price is way above edmunds estimate of $5700, but that seems to be the case with most efficient vehicles these days.

A different handle on what TDIs are selling for today, vs what people are asking.
Completed eBay Listings: 96-03 VW TDIs within 500 miles of Milwaukee
(Think, you'll have to log-in to eBay to see results)

[Daox]

Still looking at vehicles. Next on the list I found this one: 1998 Volkswagen Jetta TDI-Excellent MPG!!!

Ideas? Sounds like he'd let it go for cheap. I have no problem doing a bit of work to it if its going to run for a good while longer. I'm not sure how long TDI engines last though.

Edit: I also found this: http://appleton.craigslist.org/cto/1072207684.html

It too has high miles.

[Daox]

Still on the hunt. This car has been up for a while now, but the price recently dropped. Any input would be great.


2001 jetta turbodiesel tdi