I bought a thing!!

"jminer" (jminer) 12/31/2018 at 13:15 • Filed to: None

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So after a couple months of car hunting which involved endless cruising of Craigslist, Autotrader and Facebook I have finally purchased a vehicle. My wife is thrilled I will stop showing her ads and asking her opinion like 6 times a night on whatever random thing I’m looking at right then.

A 2014 Jetta Sportwagen TDI!

It is a 6 speed, has ~48k miles on it, a giant sunroof and I already love the damn thing even though I’ve only owned it for 4 days. It’s even CPO, which since it’s a diesel means it gets a bumper to bumper 2 year unlimited mile warranty in addition to the extended TDI emissions warranty which covers the entire fuel system, engine and emissions equipment for 120k miles.

Black isn’t my favorite color, but this was the only one with a stick and that sunroof for sale near me and it has light color interior so that will help it be less oppressively hot when left in the sun in Missouri summers.

I test drove a lot of cars and everything from a Prius C to a Frontier trying to figure out what I wanted right now and this checked almost all the boxes: small enough to daily drive a highway commute and park in a garage downtown, large enough for hauling gear, able to put a trailer hitch on, and comfy for long highway drives.

To do wish list for it in the next few months: put Yakima rack on it,  lift using Tiguan springs, install trailer hitch, replace factory radio, do something about the red interior lighting, maybe replace wheels and tires.

Welcome to the stable TDI, you will not be given a pampered life. You will see many dirt roads, haul on occasional trailer, be loaded down with gear, get parked in a terrible garage and drive many miles. You will be loved and we will have some fun along the way though!

PS- Thanks OPPO for the responses to my last TDI post, they helped push me over the edge on this purchase.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > jminer 12/31/2018 at 13:23

5

Brown

Manual

Diesel

Wagon

3/4, Pretty Good.

BobintheMtns > jminer 12/31/2018 at 13:25

0

Sweet ride! Big sunroof and a manual! You’re psyched...

Also.. that stock radio isn’t half bad... it’s got a nice sd card slot- go load ALL your mp3's on a card and you’re set....

jminer > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 12/31/2018 at 13:26

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Yep, nearly the perfect Jalop-mobile. I don’t fit in a Miata with the top up, so this is the best I can do :)

jminer > BobintheMtns 12/31/2018 at 13:29

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It’s better than some I’ve owned but I can actually replace it without losing features or replacing the entire dash w hich is awesome so I’ll probably be doing that.

I also hate red LEDs so that’s a handful I can get out of the center console without too much trouble.

OPPOsaurus WRX > jminer 12/31/2018 at 13:35

3

cool wagon but...

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > OPPOsaurus WRX 12/31/2018 at 13:42

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Yea, I did not even notice the Jetta 1st. I saw the 1/4 panel.

jminer > OPPOsaurus WRX 12/31/2018 at 13:45

2

That’s a 79 International Scout II Traveler that I’ve had about a year and a half. It was about to get on the road this vacation, but it decided that was a perfect time for the fan to eat the radiator...

I’ll put together a post on it in a few days.  The new radiator has arrived and I’m almost not too angry to work on it...

Svend > jminer 12/31/2018 at 14:10

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Congratulations. There's a lot VW Golf family love going on on OPPO at the moment from manual to auto Golf's, GTis to TDis, Golf's, Jetta's and Sportwagons. 

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > jminer 12/31/2018 at 14:25

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Nice! I’ve owned 3 TDIs and all have been great cars. I only gave up my 2012 because I have a 5 minute commute now and the mileage benefit is now lost on me. 

jminer > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 12/31/2018 at 14:50

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Yeah, it’s nice but with Diesel $1 more a gallon I won’t save much  money compared to my Focus, but it is still pretty efficient for a large and fun car.

CB > jminer 12/31/2018 at 14:51

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Nice! And sweet stripe.

jminer > Svend 12/31/2018 at 14:53

1

I’ve noticed that, I drove a GTI that I liked, but I only paid $12k for the wagon so I couldn’t pass that up.

It’s definitely nice on the inside and nice to drive, first European car I’ve owned and definitely like it so far!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > jminer 12/31/2018 at 15:05

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Yeah, diesel always goes up in winter when heating oil production cranks up. The RUG/Diesel spread should come down quite a bit in summer though. 

His Stigness > jminer 12/31/2018 at 15:26

1

Such a fantastic choice. You get to benefit from someone else selling themselves out to VW. The warranty for the TDIs is absolutely fantastic. I talked a fellow Opponaught into getting a MKVII Golf TDI. After he got it I looked at the extended warranty and it covers essentially everything.

From VW:

Parts Covered Under Extended Warranty

 The entire exhaust after treatment system, including the Selective

Catalytic Reduction converter (SCR), Reducing Agent (AdBlue®)

Injector, other Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system components, Diesel

Particulate Filter (DPF) including Oxidation Catalytic Converter, the

exhaust flap, and all sensors and actuators;

 The entire fuel system, including fuel pumps, high pressure fuel rail,

fuel injectors, vibration damper, pressure control valve, and all sensors and actuators;

 The EGR system, including EGR valves, EGR cooler, EGR filter, EGR

temperature sensor, all related hoses and pipes, and all sensors and

actuators;

 The charge air temperature sensor and air-mass sensor;

 The turbocharger, including the turbocharger damper;

 The glow plug;

 The On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system, any malfunctions detected

by the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system other than those related

to the transmission

The Extended Emissions Warranty period with this additional warranty extension will be the greater of:

• 10 years and 3 months or 123,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s original in-service date;

OR

• 4 years and 3 months or 51,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from date and mileage of the Emissions Modification, except for vehicles offered for resale, in which case, from the date and mileage of the first resale transaction after the modification to the first person who in good faith purchases the vehicle for purposes other than resale.

So... As long as you don’t modify it you can breathe a sigh of heavy relief.

One note for your car, though: keep an eye on the sunroof drain. While I have never had a VW with a sunroof, I know the drains can cause all sorts of problems. Get on the forums and check out what guys are doing to keep the drains clear so they don’t get backed up and cause a leak into the cabin.

But for the engine, I have the same powertrain in my Golf as you do, and I’ve had it for 60k miles now, done a timing belt, and have had zero issues. If you ever have any questions please feel free to find me here on Oppo or just email me on my work email smogcheckonly@gmail.com

Other bits of advice to keep your new car running smoothly:

Use two different Liqui Moly fuel additives on a rotating schedule.

I use Liquid Moly Super Diesel Additive (LM2002) and have been using it since day one since out diesel here in the States is low sulfur and can really eff up the high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP). Adding the LM 2002 adds lubricity to the fuel and it also keeps things nice and clean.

And then I also use Liqui Moly DPF Protector (LM2000). This will ensure the DPF doesn’t get clogged up and aids in the regeneration cycles.

I like to run those on rotating three tank cycles. So add one additive when you fill up from empty , drive, don’t add anything to your second fill up, then on the third tank switch additives.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > His Stigness 12/31/2018 at 15:39

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Hey it's you!! Where have u been

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > jminer 12/31/2018 at 15:56

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my BIL bought a CPO 2015. hes had a great experience with the car not so much with t he dealership.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > jminer 12/31/2018 at 15:57

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just remember that you’re saving WAY more money than some one driving a car that takes premium  

jminer > His Stigness 12/31/2018 at 15:59

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This reply is what makes Oppo so awesome! Thanks for the info, that extended emissions warranty is what sealed the deal. I almlst bought a golf but the wagon was a lot nicer on the inside.

I’ll pick up those additives, my main concern is the car was bought back so it sat for a tad over a year. I’ve almost burned through 1 full tank so I’m making sure all the cobwebs get blown out of it now.

I'm not planning on any drive line modifications so that warranty stays untouched. The breaks seem a little soft so I'll probably put new pads on it soon.

jminer > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 12/31/2018 at 16:05

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Or over any other vehicle this sized!

MossInTheUSA > jminer 12/31/2018 at 17:24

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I’ve got a 2017 Alltrack that I scored a crazy deal on. I love it.

I plan on lowering it this spring - so if you find out you can use my stock suspension, I’d be happy to give you an Oppo discount on my parts.

They’ll likely have about 41k on them. Mostly highway due to the previous owner.

His Stigness > jminer 12/31/2018 at 17:32

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The stock brakes on Golfs are kind of crap. I finally got around to replacing the brakes on my Golf because they scare the ever living shit out of me when during an emergency braking maneuver. I only got around to it because I want to take it to Streets of Willow in March. I ended up going with Hawk HP Plus in the fronts, which are pretty close to full race pads, and in the rear, I could only get their street pads, the Street 5.0. They’re both great pads for street driving. I would probably recommend just the Street 5.0 front and rear. The dust from the 5.0 is only slightly more than stock, with no noise. The HP Plus put out a ton of dust, and they’re slightly noisy, but now where near the noise or dust levels of my Porterfield R4s, but those are even more aggressive than the HP Plus.

Replace the rotors while you’re at it, or at the very least machine them, otherwise, you will get vibration from the previous pad material. I was dumb and lazy and didn’t do either because I forgot, so I had to waste another two hours replacing the rotors a few days later.

Get Zimmerman rotors, or at least Textar, which are OEM. I can send you either at my cost from WorldPac.

jminer > His Stigness 12/31/2018 at 19:15

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According to the dealer they turned the rotors and replaced the pads. I was worried they replaced the pads with super cheap ones so I was hoping just a pad upgrade would fix it. It’ s on my list to pop off the wheels and check the rotors though to verify they did it. I f they’re always bad with OEM quality though   that explains a lot  of it.   While the wagon is a little heavier than my focus it brakes way worse and the focus had rear drums.

I was thinking EBC pads, as they’re what I’ve always used on motorcycles when I wanted to step up the performance compared to OEM. I have a couple friends who run autocross and they swear by the hawk pads though.

His Stigness > jminer 01/01/2019 at 01:34

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I think because it’s the estate the brakes are going to suck a little more than my Golf. But I haven’t driven the estate enough to know that for sure. The Golf brakes weren’t terrible, just at 9/10ths.

I have EBC Yellowstuff on the rear of my Mercedes, again, because that’s the most aggressive pad I could get. Holy shit do they put out a lost of dust. When I need pads in the rear I will get the Hawk 5.0.