That's not a fair comparison. VW makes much nicer cars than the Neon.

Sure you will pay more for the diesel but that's always been the case. If I were to justify my truck that way I would be driving a Chevy 1500 right now. There are lots of pros and cons to the choice. Cost is only one of them.

 

I know when I switched from my Cummins to this TDI it was a lot to do with cost. I figured that with my monthly payment for the truck plus fuel cost for a 100 mile round trip 5 days a week, compared to the same with the TDI it came out ahead for the TDI. A lot has to do with how many miles you are actually traveling and how often.

 

You may also want to consider a Honda Civic HX.

The HX trim had a high-efficiency engine and tall gearing.

My 2000 Civic HX was rated at 35 city / 45 highway.
I drove it really hard and averaged 35 combined...but if I baby'd it I could get over 40, just didn't have any fun doing it.

 

I daily drive a 93 Accord that just turned over 190k miles. It is a 5 speed EX model that I bought last January for $1250. The previous owner had changed the timing belt and water pump 15k miles before selling - and the car was generally well maintained but had some rust on the rear quarters like all Accords do. To date I have averaged just over 27 mpg with mixed cummute driving and I only carry basic liability on it for $25 a month. On straight highway runs at 75 mph it does almost 32 mpg. I would love to have a TDI VW and I have actually looked at buying them on several occassions beginning 5 or 6 years ago. The problem with them is just like the trucks - they demand a much, much higher price than their gas counterparts. Even really old TDI Jettas from the late 80's/early 90's fetch $2000+ nowadays due to the WVO craze. The decent ones seem to be $7000+ and the price seems to continue to climb. Now diesel is 3.50 a gallon - and $.60 more than unleaded. Figuring the diesel gets 40 mpg and the gas gets 30 - after 1 year of 12000 miles of driving you saved yourself $110 in fuel. I just don't know that it is worth it?

I had a contractor at my house a few months ago that drove up in an 06 VW Jetta TDI that he told me he paid $27000 for! That is just insane in my opinion. Anyway....

 

Your story makes perfect sense from a purely economic point of view.

In my case I was ready for a new car and I was not going to part with my Dodge. I love diesel vehicles and had been wanting a Passat for a long time. They were not very easy to find.

I wanted a good car I could keep for a long time and take long trips in. One I would enjoy driving. And, for some reason, I don't seem to mind initial cost as much as paying for poor economy on trips. So when I found my Passat I grabbed it and have been happy with it. It's not as cheap to drive as a Jetta and the maintenance is harder than a Honda, but it's a nice car with some excellent features and a great engine. So I chose to pay more for something I liked better. After about 2 1/2 years I'm convinced I'll never sell it. I want to re-power my Samurai with VW diesel one of these days. But it gets used mainly on old mining roads and is so cheap to drive already that the main reason is just for more low end torque and better driveability off road.


John

Things are so uncertain with fuel prices, and possibly even availability at some point, that it's good to have a car that does so well on mileage. I just can't imagine people buying Hummers or gas powered pickups.

 

Raspy,

The reason you bought your car is a perfectly good one. Same reason I bought my truck pretty much. I didn't *need* diesel since my dad has a 3500 with a diesel, BUT it was what I wanted and even though the initial cost is more and I'll probably never recoup it, I just don't care.

Then again, my purchase wasn't based on fuel economy either.

 

i'd take my jetta over pretty much any other car for sheer driving pleasure.it is a blast to drive AND gets over 50 mpg's.where you at in iowa.if your not too far away i have the timing belt tools i can loan you.no need to buy them as if your only putting on say 20,000 miles a year you won't need em again for another 5 years,why have em setting in the tool box rusting away.i also have a vag-com.i will say if you have 2 kids in car seats a jetta will work just fine,but if they are bigger and out of the seats then it's time for a passat.

 

I bought one of those VW Rabbits for $250. Next spring I'll probably start on it to get it running again. Spending $60. a tankful for gas gets old real quick.

These things are supposed to get 40-45 MPG.

Edwin

 

My 2000 jetta has 307,000 mls and has had nothing but scheduled maintance and still drives great and gets 50 mpg. If you can do your own maintance I think these cars have the best cost of ownership for high mile commuting. And as mentioned are fun to drive. I 'm still stumped as to why more people aren't driving them.