[quote=JohnAlt91941][quote=treehugger]
I want something that has plenty of room for my toys and dogs (bikes, stand up paddle boards, 2 75 pound dogs) and gets good gas mileage. I think I am going to go this weekend and test drive the Jetta sportwagon and AUDI A3 both TDI get great gas mileage, but is the extra cost of diesel worth it?
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My 2009 Jetta TDI had a failure of the high pressure fuel pump. VW had to replace the entire fuel system due to metal shavings from the pump grenading. Mine wasn’t the only one for this generation of the TDI.
Additionally, the turbo failed on it twice and I kept getting a check engine light for the exhaust temperature sensor despite NUMEROUS attempts at repair by the dealership.
I also owned a 2003 Jetta TDI that was the best car I ever had. I wish I still did. 45 mpg, 650 miles to a tank. But the clean diesel I bought in 2009 was a mess.[/quote]
Yikes. I hope I don’t have any problems like that. This was my first Audi. The only problem I’ve had so far is that I just went in for a service visit and keep in mind my car is less than 2 years old. I only have 16,900 miles on it. Well, I just took it in a few weeks ago for a scheduled maintenance and they said the front brake pads already need to be changed! I was like huh? And it was something like $1,300 or something they quoted.
I was shocked as I’ve owned other cars before where I owned it for 4 or 5 years and never had to change the brake pads. Apparently with the Q7s they say EVERY 15,000 to 20,000 miles! And the back brakes they say every 25,000 to 30,000 miles.
I said thanks but no thanks and said I’ll wait until my “Check Brake” lights go on.
Other than that I’ve been really happy with the TDI. I always heard people complain before about Diesels being loud, fuel smelling, etc. But I really wouldn’t even know it was a diesel if it didn’t have the TDI on the back of my car.
I’d definitely get another TDI again in the future. I don’t change cars often. I’m not that type. I typically drive cars until they can’t drive any further. But this “change brake pads” after only 15,000 miles thing turns into other problems I’ll probably sing another tune.
But as BG mentioned, it really does feel like you’re in a protected tank. There is a LOT of room and it’s spacious and the third row is big enough for our kids. When the in laws come in town we actually put the 3rd row to good use.
Any of these SUV’s you can buy a roof rack really easily online for paddle boards, etc.
