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Comments
Thanks a mil.
Inventory is dropping fast on the 2009 and there's still awhile before 2010's show up so VW has pulled back on incentives at their big dealers (the small dealers don't get much if anything regardless. May was the best month to buy a TDI. They had dealer incentive of $1,500 in May, then they dropped to to $1,000 in June, and now it's $500. No idea what August will bring. It might go back up after the 2010's arrive...but there most likely won't be much of anything to pick from. From what I've seen/heard the manual transmissions are getting really hard to find. Pricing isn't out yet on the 2010 models....so it would be hard to deal on a precise number but I would think they would agree to $XX discount. The dealer in Philly is taking orders at $200 under invoice....whatever that works out to be.
I was very close to buying from this dealer in Philly back in June but I couldn't get one exactly the way I wanted....and I'm picky. Now if someone could use the cash4clunkers program, plus the $1,300 tax credit, plus buy at under invoice....that would be a terrific deal.
From what I've seen on the other site, he is also out of wagons and says he needs about 100 days to place the order. I'm betting he is getting plenty of allocation on these considering the number of TDI's they move. I do not believe they've been offering nearly as good of a deal on the JSW's though....probably because demand has been so strong on them. Sedans had the factory incentives but not the wagons. The last deal I seen him advertise on a 2009 JSW was $600 over invoice. Not sure what he's doing on 2010 orders.
I'm not sure what I would do if I was shopping a TDI wagon. They seem to go pretty quick and you'll not likely get that great of a deal. If you're specific about what you want, I'd say pay the deposit and wait on it just to make sure.
A friend put a deposit on a diesel Dasher and when the year was up he did not need the car. The dealer gave him $500 for his interest in the car. They were bringing big premiums around 1980.
Again they are on track to overall sell 30% diesel with the initial 2009 target of 25%. As I have not read what the initial target was for the JSW other than they would produce far less of them, I am assuming 25% diesel was also the initial target.
I am sure that EVERY car maker would like to have problems of this nature. I think it is especially true inview of the almost D..... like economy.
As a comparo I ran a 1970 VW Beetle (leaded regular) and got 32/34 mpg on the highway. 80 mph was like right on the edge and 85 mph you were fighting. I once read a book going from the San Francisco Bay Area to Riverside, CA @ 70 mph. (don't try this @ home folks)
Looking back on it it seems every time I turned around I was doing an oil change 1,500 to 3,000 per OCI? The oil change was no big deal, it was those 6/8 nuts I for some reason was compelled to R/R each time holding the oil screen in place that were a pain.
In some ways we have come a very very LONG way and in others, app running in place.
Fast forward to 2009, 2003 Jetta TDI. If I had to stick one mpg number, 50 mpg. Range on a 14.5 gal tank is 700 miles (.5 gal gives you 25 miles to look for a truck stop). Oil changes are at 25,000 miles and the evacuation unit takes all of 5/7 mins to evacuate the oil and manually pour the new back in. It takes me 10 mins more to clean up the mess and try to remember for next year what I could have done better this year, but I promptly forget about it for next year until the cycle repeats itself....@ 120,000 miles, it feels nicely broken in.
Also, are there any issues/concerns in finding diesel in Canada?
There are absolutely no issues/concerns in finding diesel in CN. It is as you are well aware, sold by the liter and is much more than the US prices (per gal converted)
I hope you have a great trip !!
Not sure if the U.S. Jetta's have the same deal, but if they didn't promote it when you bought your U.S. vehicle, it's unlikely your Jetta would get a free oil change in Canada.
On your other concern, ULSD is on tap everywhere in Canada, the truck stops have gone over to it totally, and I don't know of any regular 'self serve' in Alberta that has anything but ULSD.
Calculating in your dollar exchange, you would be getting ULSD for $2.69 a U.S. gallon right now.
Regular unleaded gas would cost you $3.16.
Where I live, VW TDI's are everywhere. (except on the VW dealers lots, they are pretty much sold out with no more 09's on the way)
From my previous trips to our Northern neighbor I've seen that fuel is quite expensive compared to here, I'll try to fill up in the US, a tankfull should last the entire time until I return. When coming back here I can help but appreciate how "low" our fuel prices are.
In the same .02 cent vein, I have come to dislike leather for any number of reasons. So I am glad the VW Jetta TDI comes with the perforated vinyl. (or what ever it is or what they call it)
As for saving on fuel costs, even at 48-52, 39-45 mpg (03 Jetta/09 Jetta TDI's) If I started with the 06 Altima, I would have still kept it @ 30 mpg. Indeed we still have a 04 Civic that puts up 38-42 mpg. The other two drivers do NOT miss an opportunity to drive the 09 TDI however !!!
As for the fuel price, I think right now here in western PA I'm paying around $2.59, so not much difference in fuel prices. RUG would be much more expensive by comparison.
1 CAD=.917212 USD:
1 USD=1.09026 CAD:
3.78541 liters per gal (128 oz)
Visibility with the Tiguan was good. Most cars sold today have horrible rear visibility. I really did not test drive the Jetta Sportwagen to get a feel for the visibility.
Americans, too, had a hard time applying the science of ergonomics---subtle things like "switch weight" eluded them, giving fairly expensive American cars a cheap feeling in the switchgear.
It's odd--Japanese cars have a logic to their ergonomics, but not so much to their design. The Germans seem the opposite. I mean, who can make sense out of the interior of a MINI?
So basically when you buy American, German, Japanese you are in effect "surfing" for that statistical "comfort" zone of all three's "interior" design efforts. :shades:
This makes it all the more logical from a population point of view, why folks use mini vans and SUV's as comfort standards. Anything less can be "torture chambers" for a SD (standard deviation) of car buyers/owners.
Or maybe a TDI sport wagon with some of my own "improvements"?
1. tilt and telescope steering wheel
2. adjustable mirrors, seats, etc.,
3. adjustable foot pedals (controls)
will make it comfortable enough to drive, albeit more buy able. So in effect, it removes a conscious or unconscious objection.
Take off a10% discount for the U.S. dollar exchange factor and you have $2.69
With the Jetta's Camel like capacity for conserving fluids, a tank full of ULSD should get you across a whole Province.
A couple of guys in a VW Jetta TDI went from Calgary to a hockey game in Vancover on one tank.
(The last 100 miles the Jetta was probably running on Beer Fumes)
http://www.windsorstar.com/cars/Good+great+mileage+first+days/1841700/story.html-
So far, their mileage has been good with their best at 44 mpg (US gallons). I would have thought they would do better, but I don't think their driving in a conservative manner (so it's probably pretty much "real world" numbers).
1. Unlike gassers which can yield their better to best mpg numbers after 1,000 miles, the VW Jetta TDI does not yield its best numbers till app 40,000 to 60,000 miles. This was not mentioned, not even a footnote. Specifically 1-3 mpg BETTER @ those miles.
2. What did they expect for an mpg number? One close "rival Honda Accord " with slightly more torque@ its disposal (254 #ft vs 236 # ft) is fully a V6. The rated mpg are 19 C/29 H and 22 Comb. So if they got 44 vs 29 for the sake of argument that is 15 mpg MORE, or 52% better !! OK use a 4 cylinder Honda Accord @ 21C 30H/24 Comb. That is still 162 # feet of torque vs 236 # ft. The VW Jetta TDI still gets 47% BETTER. Finally a like model gasser Jetta gets 24 mpg.... Again you know the drill.
3. What they didn't say would lead me to believe they really didn't understand the best RPMs to achieve even better mpg !! I broken in a 09 TDI in the herky jerky style on a 2,200 mile road trip with almost no regard for mpg (focus on "correct" break in RPMS and procedures) and it posted 43.65 mpg !!?? This is with 3 adults and the trunk literally stuffed to the gills A/C blasting. The GPS indicated when it was on, that the car went no faster than 90 mph. :surprise:
You are so right, each type of car does have its strength. Does anyone know if they make a more deluxe storage unit for in between the front seats that is larger? I am also looking at getting some tempurpedic pads for the seats. If you have any other ideas to make it more liveable, please let me know. I have gotten used to the head rest so that is no longer a problem.
Thanks.
H
They seem more interested in "Lunch" than how the new VW is performing vs how they are driving it.
This yarn would be much more interesting had the Jetta not already broken more than one record for mpgs, and fastest time Coast to Coast on 82 gallons, in the "Willy Run" can't imagine what that car smelt like after 38 steady hours of driving like mad men by a couple of Willy Nelson fans.
"VW Jetta TDI Sets New World Record: 58.82 MPG" - TDIClub Forums
(That's 70 mpg the way mpgs are calculated on the window stickers in Canada.)
I think the other truth is most folks really do NOT believe 58.82 mpg is possible, let alone do able. If I never drove a TDI, or have actually done it myself, I might at worst need some convincing; to probably would not believe it either.
For me the weirdness is when I got 59 mpg. I really did not set out to do that at all. Nor would I say I did ANY hypermiling techniques !!! It was @ 75 mph and across 3 states and one foreign country and with the A/C blasting.
65 mpg is infinitely do able, but I would fight serious road hynosis. Of course being rear ended by a fully loaded single, double or triple tracker trailer rig might ruin the day also.
The other thing that I have not heard mentioned much, even by seasoned long distance travelers is that it is VERY dificult to exceed and average speed of 55-59 mph from starting point to end destination, aka point A to B !!!! The real key at even a shot at beating those speeds is to stop for literally NOTHING. I have stopped for nature calls after having passed literally scores of tractor trailers and upon getting back on the highway commence to pass ALL the very same vehicles.
But, this covers the manual trany only, is that correct? That's the way I read it.
http://www.clean-diesel.org/pump_survey.html
Well I mean, it's POSSIBLE on occasion but I doubt that 99% of TDI drivers come anywhere near it, averaged out over the course of a year. Certainly nobody road testing them or longterm testing them gets anywhere near that mileage.
I once got 32 mpg on my Subaru but the annual average is actually 25.2.
No fair picking your BEST and calling it the norm.
It is like my standard answers to friends who don't drive diesels, oh not bad, it could be better, you know how EXPENSIVE fuel is these days and yada, yada.....
Or like talking to friends who do 3,000 to 5,000 mile oci's. Well gee, I don't know exactly, I have it written down somewhere.....
I normally give the ranges and I know the averages. I even know the epa ratings.
And this is what I'd expect if I bought one, too.
1. save up for the repair/replacement
2. adjust your comprehensive (window) coverage for the 6 mo period you will take that vacation, IF that makes financial sense for the "chances" you are taking, then readjust when it no longer makes sense to "cover" the... need....
3. do nothing.
Each state also has its transit damage reporting agency where you can file claims such as happened to your Chevy Suburban. So for example the CA limit is $5,000 reporting directly to CA Trans. Over that, you have to file to the victims compensation section directly.
If you get those bullseye pings, insurance companies normally pay (for a guy to come out ) to drill out and epoxy the ping.
Indeed so would I. My response was in keeping in the "context" of THAT ROAD TRIP.
Again this really goes beyond diesel and that is know your equipment's parameters and (hopefully) drive your equipment within those parameters to achieve whatever goals you have: long, med, short, term, etc. .
So much of that - it's actually off the subject, I guess....