soon to be VW Jetta owner

[simonn]

hi all,
i am simon, new to this forum and soon to be new to the VW family.
due to take delivery of a 2009, VW Jetta, 1.9tdi (manual), Candy White next week.
any words of advice will be greatly appreciated, on all topics (where to take 1st drive, how to run in a diesel
engine, care and tips, etc...)
much appreciated,
simon.

[maca]

Drive it like it's stolen and have piece of mind with the fact you're doing better for the environment than others in petrol cars.

(Coming from another TDI driver)

[anthony]

hi all,
i am simon, new to this forum and soon to be new to the VW family.
due to take delivery of a 2009, VW Jetta, 1.9tdi (manual), Candy White next week.
any words of advice will be greatly appreciated, on all topics (where to take 1st drive, how to run in a diesel
engine, care and tips, etc...)
much appreciated,
simon.

Congratulations on your Jetta,like all of us here,I am sure you will love yours.
Is it brand new ???
Is it a corporate spec model ???
What car are you changing over from,and what other cars did you consider ???

[simonn]

hi anthony,
yes it is brand new (0km on the clock), the corporate spec model (only available from burwin vw) dealer of the year 2008 and 2009 in ferntree gully.
i am trading in a hyundai excel, 1999, 1.6ltr petrol, manual. the jetta cannot be compared to the korean built car, however i have travelled 210,000kms in the car and have rarely had a problem. at 92,000km the gearbox was replaced after constant excessive thrashing. other than that for much of the life of the car it has been fed the bare essentials; fuel, oil&filter and maybe spark plugs.
i considered (petrol) mitsubishi lancer, camry sportivo, holden astra and (diesel) mazda 3, hyundai i30, vw golf & jetta.
i have never owned a diesel car, have you had one and if so what real world advice do you have?
i hope that i can get many more km's out of the vw.

[anthony]

I have a 2007 Jetta 2.o FSI,and I thought I made a massive upgrade from a 2000 Holden Astra Olympic edition.
It has been amazing,it has done 56000 kilometers,and has not cost me a cent.

Still on origional tyres,brakes,pade,etc.

Am having it acessed for damm hail damage on Monday,and hope they dont write it off.

If they do I want a Jetta 6,but they will not be out until mid year next year,which will be a problem.

This is my 4th VW,and one of my previous ones did over 300000 trouble free and pleasurable kilometers,before it was stolen and stripped for its parts...

I know Burwin VW ,as almost got my Jetta from them,but South Yarra beat their deal.

Have had it maintained at Camberwell VW,let us know how you go with your delivery,etc.

It must be very exciting.

Good luck,and enjoy,enjoy,enjoy.

[Silver dub]

Do you mind me asking who you are dealing with at the dealership?

The reason I ask is we recently purchased our jetta from the same dealership and had a very bad experience with a perticular salesman.

If you would like you could pm me, I just want to make sure you don't have to go through what we did.

[Buller_Scott]

hey mate welcome to the team.

get ready to come along to events, participate in drive days and get togethers, etc etc. bloody awesome dub vibe here in victoria! [not to mention the rest of australia].

how to run the car in- now, my extended family laughed when i told them how im running my car in, because they thought i didnt have a clue, they were saying "hahaha, who told you that you idiot? and you're actually going to follow that? it's a new car, you dont drive new cars like that- pffft. you're pretty damn gullible"

to which i replied "uh, it's a diesel. with a turbo. it's not your commodore executive, nor your magna, nor your mazda 3. maybe you have no idea how diesels work seeing as no one here has ever owned one?".

your tdi will go a very very long way- if cared for, and driven properly, you're looking at 100,000km before the engine is run in properly [no bull], and many many many more km's after that. here are some pointers:

daily drive must-do's:

1. when starting engine, let it idle for 20-30 seconds to let fluids circulate.
2. warm up: dont let revs exceed 2,500rpm [shift at or around 2400-2500 rpm] for the first 8-10km's of driving. if it's a short trip thats less than that, tough luck, no zippy driving for you today! after that 8-10 km warm up, you can start using the full rev range up until 2-300rpm below marked red line where the turbo will cut out anyway, but try to avoid stamping down on the loud pedal when the engine's revving below 1,500 rpm.
3. once warm, THRASH. and i mean, THRASH. this will help seal the turbo rings, helps with compression, etc etc. there are a few things going on with a volkswagen tdi, but basically, if you DONT thrash, then you're not allowing the vanes in the turbo to exercise fully, which means they could potentially clog sooner due to oil blowby. also, when babied, rumor is that tdi's will allow more clogging of the turbo's intake manifold etc etc- so, long story short, once warm, use the full rev range, accelerate hard when you want, and dont be shy- these cars arent fine china. the vag tdi is tough and will take horrible levels of abuse [i abuse mine on an aggressive tune all the time, and not a single problem yet in 60,000 kms]. like an athlete, working the car hard once warmed up properly is better for the health of the engine than allowing him to sit at home, not lift a finger, and eat twinkies all day.
4. for longer trips [~100kms] i'll generally allow the car to slow down as i get closer to my destination, short shifting to put it in a higher gear sooner, taking it easy on the acceleration etc etc.
5. stopping- around the city, i've learned to MAKE time for owning my car, and that means when i park it, setting my stop watch and allowing the engine to idle for at least 90 seconds before shutting it off. if you dont do this, you'll allow hot hot oil thats running through the turbo to remain there when shutting down with no notice, which will heat soak the bearings in the turbo and compromise turbo life blah blah blah.
6. enjoy! i have abused my 1.9tdi for 55,000kms and it has not skipped one single beat. warm her up properly, drive her DAMN hard, exercise that engine and keep it healthy across the whole rev band, and let her cool down adequately before shutting it off, and you've got a car that you'll be able to drive hard twice as many km's as some petrol cars who've been babied their whole lives.

enjoy!

[simonn]

I have a 2007 Jetta 2.o FSI,and I thought I made a massive upgrade from a 2000 Holden Astra Olympic edition.

SO, I gather you are saying that I should notice a difference in the build quality [no offence taken, it is a HYUNDAI], Korean to German???
I certainly hope I see a noticeable difference

[simonn]

scott, thanks for the great informative reply, exactly the guidance i am looking for.

[anthony]

SO, I gather you are saying that I should notice a difference in the build quality [no offence taken, it is a HYUNDAI], Korean to German???
I certainly hope I see a noticeable difference

This is a diffirent kind of motoring...lol.

My Partner upgraded from a 1995 Hyundai Excel to a Golf 1.6 Trendline,2006 auto,and cannot beleive the diffirence.