2014 Jetta TDI any better than yrs ago?

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New Volkswagen TDI a good car for someone who relies on dealer or shop maintenance for everything including oil changes (my sister is 60)? I'm thinking a hybrid would be better *for her* but she wants another TDI. She currently has a 2005 Jetta TDI that hasn't been too bad on maintenance cost, and wants new one since hers is passing 200,000 miles. It would be the automatic transmission option and I think the dual clutch trans they use needs an expensive service every 50,000 (?...)
 
I believe the going rate for the DSG service is around $500, and has to be performed every 50,000 miles. The price obviously varies depending on the dealership.

If she really likes the car and hers has treated her well, as long as she doesn't mind that expense I don't see much of a reason to warn her off otherwise.
 
I do know the 2015 Jetta TDI over the 2014 model has 10 more horsepower while also getting 4 MPG better highway.
 
DSG service is every 40k miles and at the dealer is $326 (mine was in July)

Oil changes at the dealer are around $69 and you change it every 10k miles. Not bad IMO. Or you could change it for her for cheaper with a 507 spec oil.
 
The TDI engines (CBAA and CJAA) used in the 2014 Jettas (as well as Golf) may be an issue. There are multiple reports of high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failures. A glance at forums.tdiclub.com should tell you lots, and you can decide if this is a significant enough of an issue.

The TDI engine on the Passat is the CKRA, not plagued by high reports of HPFP failures. Some early models seemed to have turbo failures, but percentage wise, seems to be a significantly lower rate than the HPFP failures on the other engine.

For 2015, all three of these cars have switched to the new EA288 TDI engine. Perhaps this is the route she should go if she wants a Jetta, but remember, this is a new engine, and though it may share parts with predecessors, it is new in this form.

I also have heard the early DSGs had their issues, but these issues have apparently have been resolved now.
 
I believe when you peruse TDI club you will find that the HPFP failures were earlier revisions of the pump, my 2012 has the third or fourth revision in it. Also this was not a VW exclusive issue - BMW and Ford also had Bosch HPFP issues if you peruse their forums...

Even so, she has one and wants another, I don't understand why you would try to change her mind because if you do and things don't go well it will be YOUR fault...
 
She prefers a new Jetta but is willing to consider any other "Jetta size" sedans that get 40+ MPG in the same price range. I'm not sure there is anything else that fits that bill, though. The Jetta TDI checks a lot of boxes for the price. She works in sales and puts on a lot of highway miles.... again, prime territory for a diesel. I'm going to FYI her about the 40K interval for transmission service and cost reports on that, and let her decide.

She's in California, I'm not. Otherwise I could help her out on oil changes.
 
The new Mazda 3 is rated at over 40 mpg on the highway, I have a Car and Driver laying around here somewhere that tested a bunch of cars in that class and it did better than that at 70 mph.
 
Cruze diesel? Uses a regular Aisin 6-speed slushbox. Basically it's a Chevy-badged Buick Verano Diesel. Pretty quick and excellent long-distance cruisers.
 
One thing I did not see mentioned...

I believe the 2015 Jetta (and Golf) TDI uses urea injection like the Passat. This has been put forward as the reason that the Passat TDI generally gets better mileage than the Jetta TDI inspite of the Passat's larger size. It is quite possible that a 2015 Jetta would get better economy than her present TDI.
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
... She works in sales and puts on a lot of highway miles.... again, prime territory for a diesel. ...

If she is in sales where clients and prospects see her car, a VW might present better than a Toyota or Mazda. I know people who bought lightly used Cadillac and BMW for this very reason, and they were not show-off types at all. It was just the nature of their job.
 
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect

If she is in sales where clients and prospects see her car, a VW might present better than a Toyota or Mazda.


well, we're talking about the Jetta specifically here though...not just any VW.
I am not sure if a Jetta presents better than a Mazda 3 or a Mazda 6 ... (which also gets around 38-39 MPG hwy - real life numbers on our 6, the 3 might get around 40 MPG), they both look / present way better than the Jetta, IMO.

2014_volkswagen_jetta-pic-4632765711790424986.jpeg


Mazda3_2647769b.jpg


08-2014-mazda6-lt.jpg
 
Well she bought a 2014 Jetta TDI yesterday evening. Said she got a 7 yr warranty and maintenance plan on it or something. On the matter of how the car presents to clients, she actually mentioned that she likes VW as a [budget] Euro nameplate for that reason. On 2014 vs 2015 she got a year-end inventory mark down.
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
... On the matter of how the car presents to clients, she actually mentioned that she likes VW as a [budget] Euro nameplate for that reason. ...

I believe that.

97tbird, while I personally agree with your perspective, I maintain that European brand VW does present better to most of the judge-you-by-your-car type than Mazda or Toyota.
 
Toyota I totally agree.

But Mazda is one of, if not THE best loved Japanese brand in Germany though...and it's not the cheapest Japanese brand. Very niche and has a sort of exclusivity.
(also it's closest to a Euro car I guess - it's as German as it can get for a Japanese car, IMO)

VW is one of the cheapest (and Jetta especially) and most common German cars...
But you may still be right. A "European" (even a horrible cheaply made Jetta) might still be 'better sounding' for some.

Jetta's cheapened interior in the latest gen. has been well documented all over car rags, and i also experienced it first hand when we test drove one. Fit and finish in the Mazdas (2014) and all the other cars we test drove were WAY better than the Jetta. The Jetta was cheap plastic galore.
 
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
I'd take a Mazda6 any day over a current US market Passat, let alone a Jetta. No argument there.


For me, personally, I'd go with the 6.

I'm pretty sure my wife would prefer the Passat though. I checked prices on those on Autotrader recently and I wished I had looked before I bought the Camry. A lightly used 5-cylinder Passat goes for quite a good price. The only downside I can think of is that the 5-cylinder isn't particularly efficient, but it is reliable.
 
We also drove the Passat, right after the 6.
No comparison, really. The Passat felt really weird when u take the foot off the gas pedal, like it almost stops.
The 6 is way more fun to drive, Auto trans was about 10x better, and pretty much won in all criteria.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
We also drove the Passat, right after the 6.
No comparison, really. The Passat felt really weird when u take the foot off the gas pedal, like it almost stops.
The 6 is way more fun to drive, Auto trans was about 10x better, and pretty much won in all criteria.


The only reason I say my wife might prefer it is for comfort reasons. I'm sure the 6 is plenty comfortable, but I also think the Accord is plenty comfortable..... to my wife the Accord is a torture rack. Oddly, she can spend all day in my GTI, which is on the firm side compared to these sedans we're talking about. Not having been in a newer Passat, my imagination leads me to believe that the Passat's suspension tuning would be at least faintly reminiscent of other VWs (like my GTI).

I don't want any of these cars for my own personal conveyance, any mid size sedan we buy will be primarily for my wife (even if I drive her around in it a lot), so I place her preferences first.
 
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