i used to have an wagon type vehicle and regret selling it . been looking at the jetta wagons ,especially the desiel models . i was a great VW fan in the past . So what should i look for when looking at a one? are they a good reliable vehicle or a money pit.
Tell me about the 2011 - 18 Jetta wagons
- Thread starter CarLuver
- Start date
@TiGeo will be able to give an answer.
At this point those are getting pretty long in the tooth. MK7 Golf Sportwagens came as a TDI for 2015 only...another option. I'm not a diesel guy so not much help. For the gas engines the 2015-2019 Sportwagen is a great car...check them out.
the mk7 jetta TDI wagons are pretty good cars, they have a timing belt and the dsg flywheels don't last super long behind a rattly diesel. they get over 30 mpg and have as much space as a cuv. my grandpa had one for a while. if i wanted a vw wagon i would get a Passat wagon TDI from the late 90s/early 2000s because they were mechanically injected, had very few emissions devices, came in manual (i think) and were rear wheel drive.
FWD.
The B4 Passat, I think to do rear struts, you start around the glovebox? lots of trim pieces in the way on wagons, but maybe the memory isn’t as good as it used to be. Heater cores can be fun on these older cars.
2004 brought in the PD motor, which was a nice upgrade but took fancy oil and still liked to wipe cam lobes.
Not sure if all the bugs are ironed out on the diesel models now? for a while they seemed like a real gamble. Mind you, I did have am 04 Jetta Wagon, which I liked, the PD motor did not lose its cam, and I put over 300k onto. I still think about getting a 2.5l I5 wagon, but still hesitant about VW and repairing. FUD I know, but my old Camry can be repaired with a hammer, so my expectations are out of whack.
I recall my lifetime average was 46, but I wasn’t good at driving for mpg.
Best tank was one winter, on snow tires. 953 miles, 53 mpg. 14.5 gallon tank held 17 if you filled it to the brim.
But that was a MkIV.
Only ten years old, c’mon, not that old… but my VW was a bit worn after ten years, will admit that.
Puts a damper on my own shopping.
They're great cars. If it were me, I'd be after a MKV 2.5 MT
How were the automatics? I'd rather get a stick... but I haven't driven one in a few years... and I'm guessing take rate was rather low for the 5MT.
Assume 150k+ on the clock. I'm a cheapskate, after all.
the automatics were dsg gearboxes, you can't tow with them and the flywheels wear out around 130k miles (on the TDis at least) but the dsg transmission is wayy better than a slushbox. the manuals are really nice. I've never worked on one with a conventional automatic
They're not bad with regular service but they can get clunky if neglected.
I'd bet that VW has a higher MT take rate than any other make but MINI.
The 2.5 came with the 09G Aisin.
Thanks. I'd rather do stick, but, sometimes one makes poor decisions and gets the auto.
I'm taking a vacation week, and my daughter is stealing my car for the next two (3?) weeks. Perfect timing or what? Now if I could just convince myself to open up my wallet...
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I'd rather have the gas version. Harder to find someone who knows about diesels to work on too.
Sure they get better mpg, but aside from the current fuel prices diesel is usually more expensive which mitigates any fuel savings. Add in timing belt changes, DPF issues, HPFP issues, and fuel filter replacement, any "savings" is long gone.
Sure they get better mpg, but aside from the current fuel prices diesel is usually more expensive which mitigates any fuel savings. Add in timing belt changes, DPF issues, HPFP issues, and fuel filter replacement, any "savings" is long gone.
I kind of liked the 2006 DSG Tdi Jetta I borrowed but the top gear was pretty short for a turbo diesel. Why it needs to spin well above 2000 rpm at 60mph is a mystery to me, even with the smeared off cams, it had plenty of torque to hold that gear up any of our hills. But it does tow well with that gearing, my buddy towed a 2 wide open snowmobile trailer with it, with no problems and it was working well at 200k miles, so its got that going for it.
Probably in the later years the dsg is geared a bit better for mileage? For me anyways, if the auto doesn't get better mileage with a taller top gear than the manual, I will just get the manual.
The 2019 Golf Sportwagen with fwd could be had with a 1.4L gas engine and either a 6-spd manual or 8-spd automatic transmission. This car can easily average over 40mpg in a modern package. No way I'd fool with an older diesel over this. The 1.8 like in my Sportwagen in fwd can manage mid-30s. My awd Sportwagean with 1.8 and DSG auto at 2x stock power (so ~350hp) can do 31 on the highway. Obvsiously around town averages are not great so overall mpgs in the mid-20s at best is what I see.
Lugging issues? no idea. Maybe NVH? lower rpm vibrations?
Was reading a thread on a different site about changing struts, sounded harder than I’m used.
Lousy time to shop…
