VW TDI Buy-back... not sure what to get now?

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I got a phone call from my local VW dealer yesterday, sounds like I'll be returning my TDI sometime next week. I'm still up in the air about what to get, but leaning towards a '14+ (or possibly new) Jetta with a 1.8T.
 

Rot Box

Diesel and Dust
Location
Smithfield Utah
Just curious did you get a new car Greg? As crazy as it sounds (after the crap I went through) I really wouldn't mind a newer Subaru. I've really grown to like ours and the new ones are quite a bit better. If my Jetta ever dies---hope it never does I freaking love this car!---I may go with a Subaru.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Just curious did you get a new car Greg? As crazy as it sounds (after the crap I went through) I really wouldn't mind a newer Subaru. I've really grown to like ours and the new ones are quite a bit better. If my Jetta ever dies---hope it never does I freaking love this car!---I may go with a Subaru.

Not yet, still waiting for the official return of my car and $10k in my account! They said 10 business days.... that will be coming up real soon.

I have looked at Subaru's from the mid to late 2000's, but keep seeing rebuild engines and replaced head gaskets listed as work done... and done again. I just can't get over that, I don't know if the latest cars have resolved that issue or not, but I sure hope so. One of the cars I looked at was an '09 Subaru Legacy GT.... it was a good looking car, but paying for premium fuel and getting AWD mileage numbers aren't something I'm excited about. Plus, I just don't know that I can be a Subaru guy... :D

I found a used '14 diesel Chevy Cruze that has captured my attention, with the pricing I'll probably end up $2-3k out of pocket and still have a car gets 45-50 MPG, long life of a diesel and with a tuner 320-330 ft/lbs of torque. That's probably what I'll end up with... we'll see.
 

thefirstzukman

Finding Utah
Supporting Member
Not yet, still waiting for the official return of my car and $10k in my account! They said 10 business days.... that will be coming up real soon.

I have looked at Subaru's from the mid to late 2000's, but keep seeing rebuild engines and replaced head gaskets listed as work done... and done again. I just can't get over that, I don't know if the latest cars have resolved that issue or not, but I sure hope so. One of the cars I looked at was an '09 Subaru Legacy GT.... it was a good looking car, but paying for premium fuel and getting AWD mileage numbers aren't something I'm excited about. Plus, I just don't know that I can be a Subaru guy... :D

I found a used '14 diesel Chevy Cruze that has captured my attention, with the pricing I'll probably end up $2-3k out of pocket and still have a car gets 45-50 MPG, long life of a diesel and with a tuner 320-330 ft/lbs of torque. That's probably what I'll end up with... we'll see.

I thought long and hard about one of these, but bought the new Hyundai because of warranty. My last car was a Chevy and it left a very nasty taste in my mouth and a continual oil spot everywhere I went. Both Chevy dealers I dealt with sucked and told me from day one the oil leak was residual from the oil change. (for 70000 miles?) My Hyundai has been awesome, 7000 miles on it now and i bought it on 7/4.... best fuel econo is 30 though and I averaged 22 mpg from Spanish fork to cedar city and back this weekend. (average speed was probably 90-100 tho) I hope you get the cruze so I can see how it does for you, i plan on a new car every 40k, so thats about 2 years.
 

N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
Consumer reports came out with this cost of ownership thing a while back and I was surprised to see the Cruze ECO was marked as the most expensive in the "small car" category and the 1.4T was the third most expensive. Take it FWIW. I just found it interesting. Their ranking system is based on depreciation, fuel costs, interest, insurance cost, sales tax & maintenance/repair.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm
 

jeep-N-montero

Formerly black_ZJ
Location
Bountiful
Greg, I strongly suggest you at least go drive a newer Mazda 3(not the MS3) and see how you like it, they are one of the most stylish cars on the market and very reliable.
 
Greg, I strongly suggest you at least go drive a newer Mazda 3(not the MS3) and see how you like it, they are one of the most stylish cars on the market and very reliable.

My DD is a 2014 Mazda 3 GT-S, nothing but good stuff far at 50k miles (bought with 8).
Even with the larger 2.5l with the GT I still get high 30's/low 40's with just me commuting back & forth to work. And it's still a fun car to drive with lots of luxury/features.
 

jeep-N-montero

Formerly black_ZJ
Location
Bountiful
My DD is a 2014 Mazda 3 GT-S, nothing but good stuff far at 50k miles (bought with 8).
Even with the larger 2.5l with the GT I still get high 30's/low 40's with just me commuting back & forth to work. And it's still a fun car to drive with lots of luxury/features.

My wife bought our 2005 brand new and it has been problem-free, only has the 2.0 but gets the job done, if I set the cruise at 75 it will average about 33mpg. The Skyactive fuel management on the newer models bumps it closer to 40mpg and the hatch is a very nice looking car, if the hatch had more space in the back for 2 dogs we would be buying one in the spring instead of a Subaru or Escape. The CX-5 is getting a diesel option next year so we may look at that as well.
 

thefirstzukman

Finding Utah
Supporting Member
I have had 2 Mazda 3s... you can keep them. I bought a new 2004 5 door, motor lost the bottom end under warranty and they told me to pound sand because I changed my own oil and couldn't provide proof it was changed (I bought all the filters from them and they had record) I traded the 04 for a new 08 and traded that in for my dodge nitro a year later. I will never buy a new Mazda again!!!
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I thought long and hard about one of these, but bought the new Hyundai because of warranty. My last car was a Chevy and it left a very nasty taste in my mouth and a continual oil spot everywhere I went. Both Chevy dealers I dealt with sucked and told me from day one the oil leak was residual from the oil change. (for 70000 miles?) My Hyundai has been awesome, 7000 miles on it now and i bought it on 7/4.... best fuel econo is 30 though and I averaged 22 mpg from Spanish fork to cedar city and back this weekend. (average speed was probably 90-100 tho) I hope you get the cruze so I can see how it does for you, i plan on a new car every 40k, so thats about 2 years.

I wish the Veloster was AWD! I like the look, but the reviews on the car weren't too assuring. A co-worker has a fully loaded... Azera? It's an amazing car, but after buying it new it didn't hold its value and they owe much more than it's worth. I like the interior, carbon fiber, high-end leather, etc. I'm not sure I can do a Hyundai, I keep having flash-backs to the cars they built in the late 80s' and early 90's... :D


Consumer reports came out with this cost of ownership thing a while back and I was surprised to see the Cruze ECO was marked as the most expensive in the "small car" category and the 1.4T was the third most expensive. Take it FWIW. I just found it interesting. Their ranking system is based on depreciation, fuel costs, interest, insurance cost, sales tax & maintenance/repair.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm

I started looking for reviews about the diesel Cruze and they look pretty bad, people are having all kinds of expensive problems.... so that one is ruled out, now. :( Too bad, I liked how the GM 2.0 diesel was very similar to the latest VW diesel... common-rail, powerful and efficient.


Greg, I strongly suggest you at least go drive a newer Mazda 3(not the MS3) and see how you like it, they are one of the most stylish cars on the market and very reliable.

My DD is a 2014 Mazda 3 GT-S, nothing but good stuff far at 50k miles (bought with 8).
Even with the larger 2.5l with the GT I still get high 30's/low 40's with just me commuting back & forth to work. And it's still a fun car to drive with lots of luxury/features.

I had a bad experience with a Mazda when I was learning how to drive... not sure I can get that taste out of my mouth. We had a Mazda that would randomly shut-off, leaving you stranded... until it would usually re-start, about an hour later. I hated that car!
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
Hyundai's are great cars now. Super reliable. It's a cheap commuter car in the end, but it's reliable.

When we bought our Honda Accord, we looked very hard a Subaru. Every single one we drove felt cheaper than the Hyundai comparable. It was weird, because we really liked the 07 Outback we had. I wouldn't rule out the Hyundai at this point.

I cringed when you mentioned the Chevy Cruz. Chevy makes a great truck, and that's about it. One of the guys at work has a 300 mile commute in a baby duramax Colorado. Loves the truck, but it's only getting him 25 mpg with pure highway driving.
 
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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
So I found a '08 VW R32 that is priced at $11k, leather, heated seats... AWD with 260 HP. :freak: It has an auto, unfortunately.... VW's DSG auto-manual and it comes with paddle shifters! :eek: :greg: It is rated to get 18/23 mpg, but requires 87 octane or better. It would be a super fun car to drive, should be excellent in the snow... but costly to drive & maintain.

I like the idea of a R32, but the practical side of me says to keep looking... :rofl:
 

thefirstzukman

Finding Utah
Supporting Member
I did a some custom brakes for a guy years ago on a R32, Porsche Cayanne S calipers and 14.7" rotors on the front and pads and Rotors on the rear, he had to have wheels made to fit it, the wheels would not fit and it sat on my lift for a week. He would not let me drive it, but he took me for a ride after it was done so I could make sure everything was good. It had over 700 HP with some twin turbo set up that he paid around 35K to have done. That car was insane.....
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Damn, those are HUGE rotors! I bet it needed those brakes to stay ahead of the speed that engine cranked out!

I've been looking at VR6 and R32 turbo kits... it's insane the power they can get out of those engines! I think a VR6 with a turbo would be fun too, not AWD though.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3312880?ad_cid=1

Id would jump on something like this for a commuter

I've been looking at Strong VW for quite awhile, they have great prices and include a full engine/transmission warranty with vehicles purchased from them... not sure what the details of the warranty are, though. Problem with their cars is that very few have leather and that's one thing I must have.


http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3145457?ad_cid=2#

Or this, i actually might look into this.

That doesn't look bad... I'm still on the fence about Hyundai myself.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Wow, this has my attention! http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3345491?ad_cid=19#

696545-1479245727-42355.jpeg



I priced out insurance for an '06 Audi A4 compared to my '09 VW Jetta awhile ago and it was significantly more costly! :eek: Still, that's a beautiful car.
 

Cascadia

Undecided
Location
Orem, Utah
What is expensive? How much was your vw insurance every 6 months? I don't think I've ever checked insurance prices before purchasing a vehicle. Usually if I want a vehicle I buy it and call my agent and say take x car off and add x car. Wonder if I'm screwing myself?
 
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