Dark Day... selling the Altima

[Lazarus]

Since you do so much highway you could do some aero mods. Grill block, belly pan (this would cost next to nothing) and probably get another 5 mpg out of the altima. From the garage it looks like all you done is put more air in the tires.

More mess to throw in to the equation.

I also think it would be easier to see it in cost per mile or KM instead of tank.

[cwarnar]

Originally Posted by Lazarus

Since you do so much highway you could do some aero mods. Grill block, belly pan (this would cost next to nothing) and probably get another 5 mpg out of the altima. From the garage it looks like all you done is put more air in the tires.

This is my dilemma, I have a plan for the grill block, belly pan, and full moon wheel covers. I am just not sure if it is worth it, I could swap to a 99-01 Corolla and get 40-45 without mods and go from there, not being out any more $$$.

I am going to be doing some test driving tomorrow and Friday on the TDI's and Corolla's, just have to fight the urge to impulse buy.

[Lazarus]

Here's the way I see it if you don't have to go into debt(now's not the time) and can get a good car that cheaper to operate and greener go for it.

[zjrog]

Does the VW use the same oil and filters you buy for a gas car? Or do you need special supplies? Will they cost more and offset your savings in fuel? One of my neighbors just sold his Dodge Cummins and replaced it with a year older Hemi. Almost equal mileage, but the cost of an oil change is about a thrid of that for the diesel. Also, replacement engine items (if needed) are a lot cheaper for the Hemi than the Cummins. Thats part of the total cost of ownership...

[digitaldissent]

@jjw

same for me the Prius is a good 10k more than a Yaris, in fact we got two for about the same price as a Prius

[cwarnar]

Originally Posted by zjrog

Does the VW use the same oil and filters you buy for a gas car? Or do you need special supplies? Will they cost more and offset your savings in fuel? One of my neighbors just sold his Dodge Cummins and replaced it with a year older Hemi. Almost equal mileage, but the cost of an oil change is about a thrid of that for the diesel. Also, replacement engine items (if needed) are a lot cheaper for the Hemi than the Cummins. Thats part of the total cost of ownership...

This is what I found over at TDI Forum:

Mobil Delvac 1 5w40, Shell Rotella Synthetic 5w40 or 0w40, PetroCanada Duron Synthetic 5w40 (can be special ordered at any PetroCanada OilChangers location in Canada), Castrol Syntec 5w40 European-car formulation, and quite a few others.

Couldn't find too much else on them...

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by cwarnar

This is what I found over at TDI Forum:

Mobil Delvac 1 5w40, Shell Rotella Synthetic 5w40 or 0w40, PetroCanada Duron Synthetic 5w40 (can be special ordered at any PetroCanada OilChangers location in Canada), Castrol Syntec 5w40 European-car formulation, and quite a few others.

Couldn't find too much else on them...

You could always change your own oil too, $20 vs $50. Maybe its an Ontario thing but you can also drop off your used oil at any garage, they can charge you the disposal fee but none have bothered to charge me yet. I asked the local canadian tire where they would like me to put it and I drop it off whenever.
I too am considering a VW diesel as a next car, but odds are it will cost more to maintain than your altima, no one I know that had a VW bought another right after. I am almost leaning towards the older simpler ones as they cost less to start with and don't have so many expensive parts to break, look up how often the TDI injector pumps fail, it might make the $15 per tank extra with altima seem like a great deal!
Do your homework so you know what your getting into and you should be fine.
Ian

[ankit]

How about putting some money into the Alti that you know who has maintained (yourself) and what condition it is in. 5-speed swap? From what I read, the KA24DE engine is solid and can run for miles and miles.

I'm not too fond of VeeDubs, no offense to anyone here. I've just always heard bad stuff about them, except for a friend who has an early late 80s early 90s Diesel Jetta and finds it really easy to work on and reliable for the most part (for a couple hundred dollar car anyways.) But if you do find a nice Carolla in your price range, it would be a different story. My dad has a Camry with 240k miles and it is still going strong.

Good luck on whatever you decide on and keep us updated.

[cwarnar]

After running the numbers again I have decided to hang on to the Alti for now.

I am going to do the belly pan and grill block as soon as I get a decent weekend to do the work. Also planned would be a suspension drop (1.5-2") along with full moon wheel covers and new tires.

I got 32.68 on my last tank, if I can start getting 35-38 consistently with the aero mods I think I will be fine. My big concern is maintenance costs. My Alti is mechanically flawless and only has 117,000km, I figure I can drive it to at least 250,000 - 300,000 km with little to no maintenance costs. The other issue is most of the TDI's is my price range are miled out at 200 - 250,000 km.

[IndyIan]

I'd think you should be able to beat my beater for mileage, maybe my hills are to much of an advantage.... 2km engine off coasts.... and many many engine on coasts.
See what your auto does from neutral to Drive at 90km/h. I rev match and if I do it right, no lurching, even just going to drive at an idle doesn't produce any terrible clunking. I keep on meaning to stop at the local tranny repair place and see what they say about it. They would know exactly what's happening in there.
Keep at it, don't let my crappy neon beat you!
Ian