SVO stands for "straight vegetable oil," "WVO" is the commonly used acronym for "Waste Vegetable Oil."

I'd comment on the part about your "3 stages of cleaning" and "boiling off" and all that, but your knowledge obviously pwns all.

 

Youre the man.

 

Boo for the ninja edit, I liked your hippie comment better.

C

 

No point in indulging him, the thread has derailed enough already.

 

+3 on the electrical probs mentioned previously by others. Power windows fail early and often at ~$300 apiece. CELs aplenty. Switches, relays, etc. And I don't believe that the newer high pressure common rail injection system will let you run the filtered fry oils. That's why the fry oil geeks love the older models with the injection pumps. Regular diesel won't kill you with that kind of mileage.

Why do you want to lose money on a new car anyway? Get something 4 years old at one third the price instead. Let the other guy take it in the shorts so you don't have to.

 

I want a new car. I have lived with three used cars so far and its time for a change. I don't want to play guessing games with it and I dont want surprises. If something is wrong I take it to the dealer under warranty and they sort out the problems, not me.

Ill pay the depreciation for piece of mind.

P.S. Id also consider leasing.

 

you can buy used which still have nice fat warranties. that's what i did with my miata.

 

The difference in money for an 09 TDI that has 10k miles on it vs a new one is not that much over time. It also reduces the guess work about the car you are buying.

The main problem I have noticed from buying used, unless you are buying from a private party, which sometimes can be just as bad, is that people lie about the condition of the car. They lie about the history of the car, and while the car may look mint and have all the signs of being mint, after you buy it you quickly realize that there is something wrong with it.

I just want a new car.

The cheapest new car > the best used car for the same money.

 

I dunno, man.

I bought a new car once, about nine years ago. My Grand Am had just cracked its third cylinder head, and I'd recently gotten a new job and was rolling in money (relatively speaking). Bought an Integra.

It was a fine car. I mean, it started every morning, never acted up, ran like a champ and got good mileage. And it bored me to tears. The car was just so emotionless, so without character.

Not long thereafter, I bought a complete piece-o-****, rusted out '87 Celica GT convertible. It ran like hell, you had to double-clutch into second, the A/C didn't work, and it looked like it'd been involved in the beach landing at Normandy. I loved it.

 

^ We have a saying in Russian, everyone *********** differently.

 

The Mk5 Jetta is made in Mexico, unfortunately it has been made there exclusively since '94. Some models are indeed made in Germany, the Golf/Passat/Jetta Wagon for example. If you are unsure, look at the VIN. If the first number is a 'W', it's German or made in Europe at least (the Touaregs are made in Slovakia, along with their cousin the Cayenne, and they have a W), if they have a '9', that is made in Brazil. If it is a '3', it is Hecho en Mexico. If it is a '1', then it is American, and you are looking at an -old- VW (nothing has been made here since '89).

All the issues with VWs mentioned in this thread were with the MkIIIs, and the MkIVs; VW has done a good job improving a lot of quality control issues. Joe Lopez (formerly of GM) went to VW in the '90s, and he -always- pushed for a cheaper product. He got it, and VW got hammered. Also, good notes on TDIs in one of the previous posts, on indirect injection. The Turbo Direct Injection engines began in '94 and are still in production in some markets. VW went to Pumpe Dusse engines in about '03, depending on which model you talk about. These engines use a pump on the end of the camshaft to pump the fuel up to something silly, like 210 bar. These engines have been replaced by common-rail injection, IE electronically injected. I know little about these engines except what I have read, they are more efficient.


I would buy a Jetta Wagon, as AFAIK they are still made in Germany, and the resale on them should be great. Only car that might have better resale might be the Jetta Wagon 1.8T, those are hard to find. Keep in mind, I have never bought a new car, but if I were, I would consider the JW TDI a great idea.


<--- Former VW dealership parts slinger.

 

New cars are nice to have, I bought my WRX new in 02. 110k mi of no hassle fun.

Back to the subject, my engineer here at work has an 09 TDI Jetta. Paid $24 grand for it, and it's loaded, leather the whole nine yards. He gets 30+mpg around town, and 50mpg hwy. Ive taken a ride in it, and the torque is NICE. Longevity...who knows? He has only had it for 6 months.

 

Winding Road just did a very complimentary writeup on the TDI wagon.
Winding Road Magazine | Issue 46

C

 

You mean the Touareg TDI?

Previous TDI Touaregs were V8s, it's interesting they have a V6 now. The V8 had over 500 ft/lb of torque!

 

Me?

They reviewed both the Touareg TDI and Jetta TDI wagon in the current issue.

V10, not V8.

C

 

 

Sam; 2 quick comments:

1) I would pass on buying any VW at this particular time. I must say I like the brand but I don't think their quality standards have been up to par for a long time.

2) Going back to your question about automatic or manual transmission: does your GF drive a stick? If I were in your shoes, I'd buy a car with an automatic trans. You already have the Miata to enjoy the feeling of a manual trans car. An automatic will be a good change of pace once in a while.

 

This reminds me of something I meant to offer before; VW is not known for a robust automatic, I would steer clear of an auto. The DSG is new technology and might be better, but they weren't when they first came out. We had several that had to have the electronic-hydraulic pump bodies replaced, but I think they might have sorted that out...



On the TDI Touareg being a V10, you're right Chris, I forgot.