Just about to switch... need some advise!

[en13]

Hi all

I'm just about to switch to a Diesel (either Polo of Golf) but I'm wondering if I could get a better idea of how it feels like to be driving a diesel. My understanding of it is that it's more economical, it has a bit less power (which isn't an issue for me).. and if anything goes wrong, it's very very pricey.

What has been your experience with diesel? Everyone seems to sing praises of it but I'd really like to know if there's a flipside that is 'unspeakable'....

I'm almost ready to get my new diesel car... the contenders for the moment are- Polo, Golf and Astra (don't kill me). Of course I'd like to stay in the VW family, seeing as my Golf 1994 GL has served me well but at the moment, it's just about budget!

So hit me back with any input you have, I'm really quite new to this so I hope I'm not doing anything wrong!

[EL Burito]

well the Astra is a little povo spec but its a good drive with the sports mode on

the auto is also a waste of time chews same fuel as the petrol models

[en13]

Thanks El Burito!

I just read another thread about switching to Diesel.. but I'm still interested in servicing costs and whether anyone has had to change any parts... is it going to be a constant source of worry?

I've had to change tube by tube, every single bit of my Golf.. so once bitten twice shy, ain't doing that again! I'm not a carhead and don't have a clue what goes on underneath that thing.. I just want o get from A to B safe.. and fast

Any thoughts on Polo vs. Golf for Diesel?
How about 2nd hand diesels? Is there a greater risk involved when purchasing a 2nd hand diesel?

[BeigeJet]

Hi all

I'm just about to switch to a Diesel (either Polo of Golf) but I'm wondering if I could get a better idea of how it feels like to be driving a diesel. My understanding of it is that it's more economical, it has a bit less power (which isn't an issue for me).. and if anything goes wrong, it's very very pricey.

What has been your experience with diesel? Everyone seems to sing praises of it but I'd really like to know if there's a flipside that is 'unspeakable'.... :

en13,

I was a little hesitant about going to diesel but after taking delivery of my Jetta TDI manual and looking back I wish I had made the switch earlier. To give a quick comparo the Jetta (103kw/320nm) is noticably quicker than our V6 Camry (145kw/284nm) point to point. And uses half the fuel to boot!

I've 29,000km on the Jetta now and ave about 6.1 l per 100k around town. Gets down to 4.6 on a long interstae trip. 1st service was $275 @ 15,000k.

I suspect that diesel servicing and repairs is really no different to petrol in the long run when you consider fuel usage, wear and tear etc. This is provided that you maintain to vehicle correctly and have it serviced at the prescribed intervals. This applies to any car, petrol or diesel.

IMHO just go for it!

[jets]

I have switched all my cars to diesel, 4 registered & 1 vehicle used as farm vehicle.
Downside is when refueling, if previous customers have not been carefull you are stepping in diesel & bring it back onto your carpets. 2 The injection system used by VW [unit injector] requires a special oil that is expensive & not readily available. 3 I would worry about buying used unless you are convinced PO always used the correct oil. 4 I have read of a couple of turbos needing replacement on caddys [under warrenty] very expensive. This may also be the case with petrol engines. 5 The price of diesel is dear compared to unleaded, not so much difference with premium unleaded [oil Companys are ripping us off] It has been suggested that because the price of petrol is being monitered the oil Cos are turning there attention to more profit on diesel.

If I was to buy another diesel it would be another VW, lots of experience & millions produced [future spares availability]

[Seano]

Drive style between petrol and diesel is different....petrol gets up and goes immeadiately so quick off the mark (due to big kW) but TDi is relentless......(due to big Nm over wide rev range).....personally I prefer relentless.

Servicing can be deadly (especially when the k's get up - VW Tdi's need belts and water pumps every 80,000 to 120,000km) but general service intervals for TDi are getting longer due to better quality fuel and oil. Best way to find out is ask the service department about costs for service intervals out 10 at least 150,000km for petrol and Tdi Polo/Golf and add them up....

...personally, I would always choose a TDi over a petrol engine....unless that petrol engine is a Boxer

[en13]

wow, thanks for all that input everyone.
i'm just about zip off to test drive some cars now.

Jets, you said something about the injection system and oil being expensive... will this be done by the service guys when I send it in for servicing or do I have to keep extra in my garage? I'm not a car person almost at all. What I want from a car is just for it not to cost so much when I'm topping it up, a fair bit of speed and steady (my starlet used to feel like it'd get blown off the freeway)..

Thanks Seano, Biegejet & El Burito! Any other input always welcome!

I'll go ask the service dept about average cost of servicing

[The_Hawk]

It's a good idea to get the servicing costs worked out, but also consider your driving patterns (how far you drive mostly). If it works out you will have $20 week on diesel there is $1,000 / year your better off

You may find the Diesel has more power than your current GL anyway

Enjoy your test drives. It's worth asking if the dealer will provide a longer test drive, like over a weekend or for a full day during the week. You never know, they just might. Mind you maybe you want to save that little request for after the initial test drive and after you get all the other figures. No point test driving a car if you think it's TCO (total cost of ownership) is going to be too high with servicing etc added in. Also consider resale value since one day you will want to replace it.

[Jarred]

Unless you get the GT TDi golf, (125kW and ~340Nm) you really should consider the polo IMO, it'l' be that little bit zippier than the equivalent 1.9Tdi golf. Defiantly get a manual, as auto's and diesels just don't match.

You driving style will need to change. In a petrol, where you have to rev it's guts to get up and go, and deisel, (cause of the massive tourqe) only needs to be rev'dto about 2,500 - 3,000 rpm, and you are already at max power and torque (well nearly), and then you can shift at 4K rpm, cause there is no point in revving higher.

IMO, go for it, chances are you'll love it to death!

[shogun2]

Now had my TDI Golf for nearly 2.5 years. Couldn't be happier with it (except for the stupid P plater who shunted us in the side doors, and now one is hard to shut). I came out of a twin turbo Subaru, so was used to the kick of the turbo. I haven't been disappointed at all with the 2L TDI. Of course the "chip" helps.
Can actually get wheelspin in 3rd! I'm trying to wear out the tyres so I can go to something with a bit more grip. We consistently get some 4.5l/100Km - except when the other half drives - then it goes up to 6.
Rod

[GermanwithaVdub]

wow, thanks for all that input everyone.
i'm just about zip off to test drive some cars now.

Jets, you said something about the injection system and oil being expensive... will this be done by the service guys when I send it in for servicing or do I have to keep extra in my garage? I'm not a car person almost at all. What I want from a car is just for it not to cost so much when I'm topping it up, a fair bit of speed and steady (my starlet used to feel like it'd get blown off the freeway)..

Thanks Seano, Biegejet & El Burito! Any other input always welcome!

I'll go ask the service dept about average cost of servicing

the service costs between a petrol golf and a diesel golf is not going to be so great. and you only have to service the damn things every 15000 so you're gonna be re-couping a lot of dosh inbetween services.

that being said, it'll take you 2-5 years to recoup the cost of buying the 2.0tdi compared to the 2.0fsi

the driving style of the two is completely different too, the diesel has nothing till 1800 revs and then explodes, its really VERY noticeable that you're driving a turbo (some people dont like that feeling) and also, the tdi has a short first and second gear - 1st gets you to 40 and 2nd only gets you to 60km/h, although it sings in 3rd, pulls all the way from 50 to 100 (exactly how i lost my licence haha). but if you get the dsg, you wont have to worry about that.

and who ever said anything about the diesels being slower than their petrol counterparts? the 2.0tdi is barely slower than the 2.0fsi in manual, and faster when they're both in auto. not to mention the gt sport tdi which is a rocket

dont know about reliability, except that its as good or better than most other car companies. basically you're up **** creek with ANY new car if it breaks down, all the electronics etc.

just buy one you wont regret it hehe

michael.

[jets]

wow, thanks for all that input everyone.
i'm just about zip off to test drive some cars now.

Jets, you said something about the injection system and oil being expensive... will this be done by the service guys when I send it in for servicing or do I have to keep extra in my garage? I'm not a car person almost at all. What I want from a car is just for it not to cost so much when I'm topping it up, a fair bit of speed and steady (my starlet used to feel like it'd get blown off the freeway)..

Thanks Seano, Biegejet & El Burito! Any other input always welcome!

I'll go ask the service dept about average cost of servicing

If you take your car to a vw dealer for servicing you should be ok, it's only if you need to top up in between oil changes or you take your car to someone who is not aware of the special oil requirement that there will be a problem.
I have seen a photo on an American site where cam followers were damaged from the use of wrong oil being used at from memory around 20,ooomiles.

[dmm_au]

Defiantly get a manual, as auto's and diesels just don't match.

That an interesting perspective. Not sure I'd agree.
Manual is going to give you more control but not sure your actually going to be able to use that control for a better result in many cases.

I've just ordered a auto diesel Touareg. Off road auto has other advantages for hill starts and water crossings. Possibly not so good for engine breaking on descents, but there are electronics and sports mode for that.

[GermanwithaVdub]

That an interesting perspective. Not sure I'd agree.
Manual is going to give you more control but not sure your actually going to be able to use that control for a better result in many cases.

I've just ordered a auto diesel Touareg. Off road auto has other advantages for hill starts and water crossings. Possibly not so good for engine breaking on descents, but there are electronics and sports mode for that.

dsg is an automatic shifting manual so you still get the responsiveness and performance.

off road wise though, if your stuck in a ditch and you have a manual you can just rock the car back and fourth or try and stick it in low range mode. if you have an auto you can rock it back and fourth to try and get out of trouble.

[en13]

the driving style of the two is completely different too, the diesel has nothing till 1800 revs and then explodes, its really VERY noticeable that you're driving a turbo (some people dont like that feeling) and also, the tdi has a short first and second gear - 1st gets you to 40 and 2nd only gets you to 60km/h, although it sings in 3rd, pulls all the way from 50 to 100 (exactly how i lost my licence haha). but if you get the dsg, you wont have to worry about that.

thanks for all the input!!! i really appreciate it. i drove the golf today and really liked it- i'm still torn betwen the astra or the golf, they're both the same price so it's really a toss up between extras (the astra has extras) or just going standard with the golf.

sorry i don't get how i have to drive it differently.. it's just city driving (and the ocassional freeway)... are you talking about driving it differently if i'm racing it? i'm just errr... happy to drive it as per usual but am concerned if i have to learn how to drive it differently in order to help with my fuel economy...

the polo is out of the race btw.. i'm just used to more space in a car... decisions decisions!!!! argh!!

anyone driven as astra CDTi or knows anything about it? i heard horror stories about holdens but i'm not sure how reliable the stories are.... any input of the manufacturing for golfs?