Overall experience 2.0 TDI

[horrendo]

Hi,

I am doing my research prior to purchasing a 'small' diesel family car and one of the obvious contenders is the Golf. I've read as many 'reviews' as I can, and the reviewers give the Golf a pretty good rap, but they only live with the car for a few days. I was wondering if anyone has any information on what the vehicle is like over the longer term? Are there any quality or mechanical issues to be aware of? What about dealer experience - in particular post-sales and Melbourne.

The other vehicles I'm considering are the Ford Focus TDCi and the new Peugeot 308 XSE HDi. If you have any thoughts on how they would compare to the Golf I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,

Horrendo

[vwsales]

These days you pay for what you get. We are the most expensive but for good reason. We are in the top 3 for higest reselling cars for its size, its won Australian car of the year, wheels magazine choice award, and Volkswagen alone take up almost 50% of the nations diesel market share. Every car/manufacturer has their own little problems that may pop up here and there, but to that say Volkswagen may have reocurring issues is like saying, the Australian cricket team have weakness'. Need anymore convincing?? :)

[horrendo]

Well, thanks for a response as a Salesman. I was kind of hoping for a response (or two) from an owner. You know - someone with no vested interest :).

[shauno]

I had the Golf 2.0 TDI Comfortline DSG for about 14 months... only sold it to get a GTI :)

The 2.0 TDI engine kicks ass, with a nice massive torque shove - and that's unchipped. If you floor it, it'll leave a nice little cloud of soot behind... but it's a diesel, so that's expected.

I did a lot of short trips (~10kms), so the fuel efficiency on average never matched the spec sheet - but on average trips (30km+) it's quite good, and on long trips (200km+), it's fantastic :)

The only downside (on a Comfortline) is the handling with the 15" alloys & "fuel efficient" tyres - a huge improvement by going to 17's with good tyres. The new Pacific model comes with 16's, which should be fine.

I also wasn't a fan of the non-body-coloured side moldings & door handles, but the new Edition & Pacific both fix this.

If you're buying new, the Pacific appears to have quite a few minor upgrades (making it pretty close to the old Sportline model).

If you want more performance & a diesel, get the GT Sport with the 125kW engine :)

[horrendo]

Thanks for the feedback Shauno. Were there any quality issues with either of your Golf's?

I suppose 14 months is a bit short a period to get an idea of resale value (given all new cars drop a significant amount when you drive them off the lot), but did it hold its value as well as you hoped?


What was your experience with your dealer? Are you in Melbourne?

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I really appreciate it.

[shauno]

Thanks for the feedback Shauno. Were there any quality issues with either of your Golf's?

I suppose 14 months is a bit short a period to get an idea of resale value (given all new cars drop a significant amount when you drive them off the lot), but did it hold its value as well as you hoped?

No quality issues in either... and the TDI held its value fairly well - though I probably would have got an extra $1000 for it if VW weren't doing free onroads in Jan/Feb while I was trying to sell it!

[Bizi]

Hi shauno and horrendo (and readers),
Can you or anyone else add your experiences with the 2.0TDi, in terms of the good and the bad of buying/owning/maintaining/upgrading(!) this car?

I'm seeing the Golf V 2.0TDI from $16k used and t's tempting, but at that price it's high mileage and I would like to be aware of the risks/pitfalls and be prepared to get a specialist to thoroughly check the engine and any service requirements at the 130k mark.

(I agree with everything in the thread so far... it will be more of a weekends away car than a daily commuter, so basically some shopping trips, 40 min trips on the weekend and several hour trips to weekends away, hopefully!)

Thanks in advance!
Bizi

[Umai Naa!!]

Common problems with them seem to be EGR valves and wheel bearings. But these parts are reasonably-priced, and aren't too hard to replace. Something with high kilometers on it is probably due for brake pads and rotors, too.

Find one with an absolutely flawless service history with a VW dealer, or at least a Euro/VW specialist.