passat tdi

I am very much interested in getting a new passat tdi. I have test driven them and so forth. Completely devoured any information about them. I do have a few questions you folks might have answers to:

  1. Is it possible to get any sort of a deal on a tdi? I noticed all the incentives etc, do not apply to this engined machine and I am very curious on others experience. Its not that its a big pain to pay near or list, but I would prefer not to. Just plain curious on this one. I have not gotten to the final numbers stage. Won't for a few weeks yet.

  1. Should I buy one, any advice for proper break in that they DON'T tell you about at the dealership when you get your new car.

  2. Yes I know a special 505.15 oil is needed for this machine. Is it a synthetic or what? I am not opposed to getting my oil changed at the dealer, but I need to know can this spec be bought out of dealership loops? Also, those of you with tdi, do you do better getting fuel at truck stops or at regular fuel stops that have diesel?

  1. I am considering either the 16 or 17 inch wheels. If any of you were to have this choice, what you do.

  2. And last. Is the leatherette as durable as it was when I drove my first VW (which was a 1972 Superbeetle). If any of you have any comments on the leather interior currently offered, I'd be ears.

thanks

leicaman

Reply to
Leicaman
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I am very much interested in getting a new passat tdi. I have test driven them and so forth. Completely devoured any information about them. I do have a few questions you folks might have answers to:

  1. Is it possible to get any sort of a deal on a tdi? I noticed all the incentives etc, do not apply to this engined machine and I am very curious on others experience. Its not that its a big pain to pay near or list, but I would prefer not to. Just plain curious on this one. I have not gotten to the final numbers stage. Won't for a few weeks yet.

  1. Should I buy one, any advice for proper break in that they DON'T tell you about at the dealership when you get your new car.

  2. Yes I know a special 505.15 oil is needed for this machine. Is it a synthetic or what? I am not opposed to getting my oil changed at the dealer, but I need to know can this spec be bought out of dealership loops? Also, those of you with tdi, do you do better getting fuel at truck stops or at regular fuel stops that have diesel?

  1. I am considering either the 16 or 17 inch wheels. If any of you were to have this choice, what you do.

  2. And last. Is the leatherette as durable as it was when I drove my first VW (which was a 1972 Superbeetle). If any of you have any comments on the leather interior currently offered, I'd be ears.

thanks

leicaman

Reply to
Leicaman

Check the "forsale" forums at

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There are a few VW dealers who post there when they get new cars in. They have some pretty good prices advertised, considering these cars are very hot sellers right now. You may have to travel to get a deal, but it could be well worth it.

Matt O.

Reply to
Matt O'Toole

Check that your dealer is using the correct oil for the TDI.

Not all full synthetics meet the VW TDI requirements. Check the TDICLUB FAQ on oil for more information.

I have printed that section of th eFAQ and given it to my dealers service department.

Howard (new Gulf GLS TDI 2005 Silver)

Reply to
Howard R Garner

Oh, maybe. I got a killer deal on my TDI Wagon, but maybe buying it on the afternoon of December 31 from a dealer who was in a sales competition helped. If you can hold off about a month, you very well may have salespeople fighting over you when you walk in the door. Even for a TDI. Car-selling gets slow around Christmastime. The risk you run is that they can't find what you want anymore.

While you're at

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checking dealer inventories, read the (longish) thread on break-in by a guy who goes by Drivebiwire (sp?). He knows his stuff, and plenty of people on that board (me included) have been following his instructions with success.

All oil used in a TDI should be synthetic. People get into long detailed discussions on exactly _what_ constitutes a synthetic because of the component petroleum products, but it's not regular oil and that's what matters to me.

I would never use "dino oil" in a TDI. I can't say about the availability of that oil outside the dealership (my TDI is an '03, and Chevron Delo 400 works fine in it).

As for the fuel, you want to go where they move a lot of it. Truck stops are great for this. Your local neighborhood Kwik-E-Mart usually is not. I fuel at a station in the middle of a lot of warehouses and some highways. They pump a lot of diesel.

The big pain with truck stops is that the pumps designed for truck tanks come with big nozzles and feed at a high rate that makes filling a TDI (or old VW/MB diesels or even diesel pickup trucks) frustrating. The best place would sell fuel to truckers and have a pump or two with narrow nozzles for those of us with fewer than 18 wheels.

What's your goal? Frankly, the 17s are going to cause a hit on fuel mileage. And if you're of the persuasion that "radials are just as good as snow tires," wider 17" tires aren't going to help you a bit in getting around in the snow. 16s probably are the best compromise of style and function.

Can't really speak to either other than to note that "leatherette" is a marketing term for vinyl, while the leather you're considering in the Passat is real leather.

I have cloth in my Jetta Wagon; didn't really want leather, which, though it is still better than vinyl, doesn't breathe as well as cloth. In addition, my TDI is a "keep-it-till-it-drops" car, which means I should be driving it in another 13-14 years. I'm not sure how current leather will fare under my state's freeze/thaw/burn cycles; nor am I sure how well leather will stand up with heated seats. I'm more confident that cloth will go the distance.

HTH sd

Reply to
sd

The rating is VW 505.01, not to be confused with VW 505.00 which is suitable for older VW diesel engines but not PD TDI engines (though VW 505.01 rated oils typically do meet VW 505.00 also). In the US, Castrol, Motul, and Elf offer VW 505.01 rated oil, but they are not likely to be found in common auto parts stores (Castrol 505.01 is at the VW dealer; Motul Specific 505.01 is at

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Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

I don't think you will get much. I picked up my 05 Passat TDI in mid-September, and I did persuade the dealer to throw in a used set of rims with wheel covers and some used snow tires. The harder task was persuading the dealer to get me out of the lease on the Jetta I had, which still had 12 months to go.

Be gentle at first...

I asked the parts guy at the dealer, and last I heard (a month ago) they were still trying to find a supplier of this oil in bulk. When I picked up the car the salesmanager had a litre on his desk. He gave me the lecture about not even topping up with anything else, and then stuck it in the trunk.

I've been driving diesels since 1978. I *HATE* filling up at truck stops. I do agree that would want to find a spot that does lots of volume, but around here there are lots of "gas bars" (with car wash, coffee shop, and overhead protection) that sell diesel. At the one I frequent the diesel pumps ALWAYS seem to be busy.

My 05 came with the sunroof package (I think it is called the "luxury package"), which included 16" rims.

Mine also came with leather, and I love it. I would not consider the vinyl interior. Back in 1978 when I bought my first VW one of the major things that sold me was the ability to avoid "plastic" seats.

Reply to
Al Rudderham

I doubt that you'll be able to get a great amount off on a TDI, since the availability of a diesel is one of VW's biggest selling points in the U.S., and only a few thousand TDI's are being imported. Basically, TDI's are in bigger demand than other engines in all VW's that offer them.

I have an '04 Jetta Wagon TDI and I love it. It drives well, and I'm averaging about 44mpg for all types of driving including high speed interstate and around town with lots of stops. As far a break-in, I did what the dealer said to to, which is "just drive it." That is what I've done with every car I've owned, and since I generally drive "moderately," the "just drive it" break in has worked fine for me. If your normal mode of driving is full throttle all the time, you should probably not "just drive it" for break in.

The 505.1 oil is synthetic, and is hard to find in the U.S. except at dealers. So far, I've had my oil changes done at dealers and haven't needed to add oil between changes. I'm sure the appropriate oil is available everywhere in Europe, since 30+ percent of new cars sold are diesels, but it's not that way in North America. I generally get my fuel at "car" stations. It is a real pain at truck stops, since it is very difficult to pump fuel from the high volume pumps into a car without the valve "kicking off." At a truck stop, the thing to hold the valve on without your doing it manually won't work at the low flow needed for a car.

You get a better ride and less road noise with the 16's. You get a little better handling with the 17's. There is not a huge difference, though. Passat TDI's are in short supply in the U.S., so if you want one, you'll probably have to take what you can find.

I haven't had a car with vinyl since a '74 Plymouth Duster, and its driver seat cracked at about 50K miles. My parents had a '77 Volare, and its one good point was its much-improved vinyl seats. They were still good at 115K miles. My Jetta has leather which is fine. Actually, though, my preference would be cloth over either leather or vinyl, but VW, as BMW apparently finds cloth to be out of fashion these days on most of their cars.

Reply to
KokomoKid

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