I am in the market for a new vehicle, so I did some research and I came upon the VW Jetta TDI. I've never owned a Volkswagen before, but I've driven a friend's GTI and had alot of fun with it. I understand the TDI won't be as fast as a GTI, but the fuel mileage is what sways me toward the TDI. Are there any glaring issues I should be worried about? The same friend with the GTI is a VW mechanic, so he is helping very much, but he has less experience with the Deisel-powered Jetta. I was just wondering if there are any problems that could possibly be severe enough to change my mind and convince me to buy a GTI instead? Thanks in advance for all your help!!!

 

GTI's are always nice, but the TDI is always good for gas mileage. Depends on what you want.

 

Well Im somewhat mechanically inclined, so I was planning on a few mods to the TDI, (chip, exhaust, possible body work, wheels, etc.) I was just wondering if I was getting in over my head. I've never owned a diesel vehicle, so It will be a learning experience, apart from what I already know (no spark plugs, hard starts in colder weather, etc)

 

No hard starts from what I hear. I am a new TDI owner. Check out TDIClub.com for a TON of TDI info.

 

Watch out for mileage. My dad bought a 96 passat tdi for me. 270K miles.

 

TDI's are pretty reliable, like all diesels they typically have fewer problems and last longer than other vehicles. If your looking for speed in a Jetta id look at the GLI tho, plenty of space to mod without upgrading engine/trans materials and still gets 30mpg hwy. VW really did a great job on the exterior and it has the same motor as the GTI weighing only about 150lbs. more. A good friend just got one and we cruise around, hes really not much slower and with a couple hundred bucks in mods it would easily be faster than a stock GTI. Also you can get the DSG trans that is being compared to ferrari and bmw as the best electronically controlled manual gearbox ever created (crazy germans).

 

depends on what you want. i have a '00 tdi with a manual 5 speed. i've had mine up to 120mph(sorry didn't know how to convert to kph). also gets 50 mpg. that's what i like. my first VW and i love it.

 

Have you gotten your car yet? If so, I won't weigh in on the TDI,