Got Another TDI

Mikey

Drag Racer
Jun 13, 2009
560
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Why the heck would I buy a Chevy.

Sorry, most around here know that outside of the Duramax, Im a German fan.







19k. Not the deal of the century but it was the best priced out of any others we looked at. Most of all, we agreed on the car. She is a Ford fan so when we agree on a car, price doesnt matter as much as peace in the house lol.








It is, handles really well, ride is much stiffer than the regular versions though.

They say you can be right or happy; but not both.
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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I think an Audi A8 TDI wouldn't be a bad choice either if I didn't have to pay for it.

2013-audi-a8l-tdi-02-opt.jpg
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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My ALH with a clean bill of health (as best we can tell - clean intake, fresh filters and fluids, fresh head, new inj. pump, new timing belt et al, fresh tires properly inflated) has a running average of about 42 mpg since I've owned. I hate to complain about that because that's still phenominal but when I continually see others reporting 20% better or more, it's a bit puzzling. Any ideas?

Oh yeah, it does have slightly larger aftermarket injectors but I can't remember which ones. They were already in there when I purhased the car. Also, it doesn't ever smoke unless I REALLY lug it hard. Not even a puff really.

At least 50% of my miles are interstate (70-75mph) and then ~ 25% hwy (55-60mph) and the remainder in city/stop-n-go (<45mph). I honestly think mine's lower because it's turning so many RPMs (2800+) on the interstate. Thoughts?

Its a manual right? I only get low 40s with mine but I literally drive with my foot to the floor all day and its all stop and go on country roads. On the highway though it will go over 50.
 

SmokeShow

Well-known member
Nov 30, 2006
6,818
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yep, 5spd manual. I hardly rev it past 2500, sometimes approach 3000ish when merging onto interstate or the occasional romp for the fun of it. :woott: I try to pay enough attention around stop lights to not have to come to a complete stop before it turns green again but that's not always possible, obviously.

I was over on compd and there again... "worst I've ever done is 41.9 and avg is 49" Ugh!!
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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Got 1k miles on it now. 46mpg by hand.

Only complaint so far is the radio. When trying to scroll through the music on my iPod it is insanely slow. It also doesnt update the screen with the track/title most of the time when I let it change songs on its own. Otherwise everything is fairly nice. Tires a chopped some and make a lot of noise but that can be fixed.
 

duratothemax

<--- slippery roads
Aug 28, 2006
7,139
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Wyoming
You should try loading a DSG on a trailer. Not very much fun its jerking and jumping but you want to control it so you tap the brake which disengages the clutch and off you roll haha. Its tricky.

I can imagine. I was driving my gf's A3 again this past weekend in stop-and-go traffic on some hills and it was cunky/jumpy. I actually thought to myself "how would you load this on a trailer???"

Its still always such a fun [welcome] change hopping into it coming from my truck though, regardless of the minor DSG nitpicks/quirks. :D
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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x2. I would drive one of those in a second.

Told my dad to buy an A6 TDI to replace his 06 A6, he said no. Oh well. The 56k price tag was not worth it to him, he opnly paid 17k for his A6 a couple years ago. End of the year, he just lowballed them, walked out, they called back, he had a cheap A6.


As for the TDI, liking it so far, the road noise from the LP tires is a little loud, but theres some cool features.

These are minuscule but neat.

When you turn the volume down on the radio to "0" it automatically pauses the song. The ACTUAL speed you have your cruise control set at is displayed in real numbers on the MFD (Multi-Function Display). When you cancel the cruise, the numbers get smaller, when you resume they get bigger. I really like that feature, no more guessing. Also shows your the KPH you are driving in case you go to Canada or something I guess. The Radio displays an old school analog tuner when you go to adjust the tuning manually. The Station list is a favorite of mine, they automatically pull in every station and display it on the screen, you just click which one you want. This is much nicer than the scan feature to me as you can skip everything under 92 that is generally talk/gospel/opera type stuff.

I still have not figured out what the voice command is for. Everytime I push that button I tell the lady something different, everything I say she replies "sorry" after a little while, she gives up and says "cancel".

The bluetooth is weird, there is no setup or anything you just search for VW on your phone and its there. Then it just works when you make calls and such. There is a button to hangup and accept calls. I was reading around and I guess I have to break out the VAG-COM and reprogram a couple things so the contact list and such shows up on the MFD.
 

408.Luke

Joined the DARKSIDE
Sep 19, 2009
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I still have not figured out what the voice command is for. Everytime I push that button I tell the lady something different, everything I say she replies "sorry" after a little while, she gives up and says "cancel".

The bluetooth is weird, there is no setup or anything you just search for VW on your phone and its there. Then it just works when you make calls and such. There is a button to hangup and accept calls. I was reading around and I guess I have to break out the VAG-COM and reprogram a couple things so the contact list and such shows up on the MFD.

In my 2013 Passat the voice command will call anyone in my phone's phone book, pause, play, next, and previous commands on the stereo. Not a whole lot except for the calling bit. With a VAG-COM you can set the voice command to control the NAVI as well which I plan to do. My Contacts show up on my MFD as well. You may need to "officially" connect your phone through the MFD and "download" your phone book. I know a couple times I've had to re-download it for it to work right. You should then be able to press voice command, it will beep, then say "call billy" or "call billy at mobile" if they have multiple numbers under the name. She will then ask you "do you want to call billy?" and you say "yes" and she calls the number.

Over all not a very good system, I was originally looking at an E-class Mercedes and that system was amazing but the car was double the price. My next car will be a Mercedes though, just cant beat german engineering, especially AMG and their more child like attitude towards performance than any Muscle car company.
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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In my 2013 Passat the voice command will call anyone in my phone's phone book, pause, play, next, and previous commands on the stereo. Not a whole lot except for the calling bit. With a VAG-COM you can set the voice command to control the NAVI as well which I plan to do. My Contacts show up on my MFD as well. You may need to "officially" connect your phone through the MFD and "download" your phone book. I know a couple times I've had to re-download it for it to work right. You should then be able to press voice command, it will beep, then say "call billy" or "call billy at mobile" if they have multiple numbers under the name. She will then ask you "do you want to call billy?" and you say "yes" and she calls the number.

Over all not a very good system, I was originally looking at an E-class Mercedes and that system was amazing but the car was double the price. My next car will be a Mercedes though, just cant beat german engineering, especially AMG and their more child like attitude towards performance than any Muscle car company.

I'll have to dig into it more, there is no phone or bluetooth menu in the MFD or the radio. I do not have NAV either.


The VW's are the entry level German car, still far more advanced than anything American, but many other German cars are much nicer if you can afford them.

FWIW our new Duramax doesn't even have express windows except for the drivers side window when going down. The bluetooth in that is nothing to brag about either.
 

408.Luke

Joined the DARKSIDE
Sep 19, 2009
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I'll have to dig into it more, there is no phone or bluetooth menu in the MFD or the radio. I do not have NAV either.


The VW's are the entry level German car, still far more advanced than anything American, but many other German cars are much nicer if you can afford them.

FWIW our new Duramax doesn't even have express windows except for the drivers side window when going down. The bluetooth in that is nothing to brag about either.

Dont get me started! I do wish i pulled the trigger on the Merc, but i couldn't resist the MPG's of the TDI (Ive gotten over 50 with the DSG). Even as "bad" as some things are with this car, it has pushed my patience with my duramax. My next duramax will be 100% built/swapped/frankenstein/one-off build to get it to function how I want it too.

Odd there is no bluetooth menu on yours, i guess because it has no nag or just that i only have experience with Passats
 

durallymax

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Apr 26, 2008
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Dont get me started! I do wish i pulled the trigger on the Merc, but i couldn't resist the MPG's of the TDI (Ive gotten over 50 with the DSG). Even as "bad" as some things are with this car, it has pushed my patience with my duramax. My next duramax will be 100% built/swapped/frankenstein/one-off build to get it to function how I want it too.

Odd there is no bluetooth menu on yours, i guess because it has no nag or just that i only have experience with Passats

I think its because its a 2010, its a little goofy due to the changeover to MKVI that year. I was reading about it on myturbodiesel and its confusing as all hell.
 

gassux

Member
Mar 14, 2010
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would you guys go with the manual or auto for say a 2013+? Im finding new TDI's down in Fl for around 21k. Im torn b/w the TDI or a Cruze gasser for a beater
 

durallymax

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would you guys go with the manual or auto for say a 2013+? Im finding new TDI's down in Fl for around 21k. Im torn b/w the TDI or a Cruze gasser for a beater

Buy the TDI over the Cruze. Honestly the only american vehicle I will buy is a GM HD pickup and the only reason I would buy one of them is due to the Duramax, which in itself is not really American either. I really do not like the rest of the truck, just like the Duramax.

I will say the F150s are nice and it looks like Ram is coming back, but I just love the German cars. After German I like the Japanese stuff, then maybe American.

To me the Americans only care about money. Europe (mostly Germany) and Japan are doing all of the innovating, the Americans simply follow suit and capitalize on "patriotism". Theres a reason that GM may have been the largest by volume, but VW was by profit. GM made only 7 billion that year while VW made over 25 billion. Innovation pays, when you have to copy it costs you dearly. Doesn't help that they have to deal with unions and BS lawsuits in the US either. In Germany when my family toured some of the factories after buying a new Claas chopper, safety equipment was optional. There were no safety regulations, however you also cannot sue the company because you got hurt not wearing safety stuff. Its a good system. Negligence laws are ruining our country.