Honda Accord vs VW TDI?

Lurch830

Lurch830

messin' with sasquatch
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Location
Albemarle, NC
So about 1.5 weeks ago my '94 Accord was totaled by an uninsured driver...fun times. She failed to yield to me doing a left turn in a '93 Cadillac Fleetwood & my little gas sipper didn't stand a chance at 45 MPH. The good thing is nobody was injured severely, just a few bumps/bruises/minor cuts.

While I'm waiting on insurance to get through all the paperwork/red-tape, I've been looking for a DD. I'd like a 4-door, 5-spd but my main requirement being 30+mpg. I've got a lead on another Honda Accord ('92 w/ 300k+) for cheap that I know has been babied for years, but I've also seen 2-3 VW TDIs ('00-'01 w/ 250k-325k) that are known for getting 45-50mpg. The only thing I've heard about TDIs is the 99.5-03 range is the better motor & 02/03 has some redesigns that were done to make the timing chain a 100k change interval. Is that correct? Anything else to look for?

So this post is basically for anyone to weigh in a voice their opinion. I'm pretty competent with Honda maintenance & there is a Honda/Toyota shop nearby in case something pops up that requires specialty tools or that I just don't have time to fix. I've looked around and there is a TDI shop in Kannapolis that I could use for the same reasons, but I've never worked on one. How complicated are they to work on? Just follow the maintenance schedule & I'll be fine or is there stuff to be on the look-out for?

TIA,
Brandon

pics of the damage...
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Not that I have any firsthand experience with TDI's, oh wait...
I've got an 04 Passat TDI that I've had since 07 and it has been a fantastic car. It was basically problem free until about 1k miles ago. It currently has 197k miles, and I just completed a major service. The torque converter bushing wore out after 196k miles (fairly normal failure for a brass bushing :) ), so I had to go in and replace that. While I was there, I put in a new torque converter, did the 200k mile timing belt service, changed out the fuel/vacuum pump, and did what's called a balance shaft delete (basically internal engine work, but not quite). None of this was any more difficult than any other car I've worked on. The hardest part is figuring out how to unsnap which plastic thingys in what order. Putting it back together was a snap (harhar). I assume the other TDI's are similar. The 04-05 Passat was a little more limited production, but shares a lot of components with other VW/Audi cars. Also, VW has a nice software package called VAG-COM which works through OBD-II port, but is super in depth and allows you to find out pretty much anything about the electronics of the car, and manipulate many of the values and functions of the car.

As far as 99-03 TDI's go, I test drove a 5spd TDI Jetta, and swore I'd never buy one because it was so slow. The 04-newer cars have a lot more enthusiasm under the hood, especially the Passat's with the 2.0. Unfortunately, the Passats are only available with an automatic, but the automatic paired with the diesel really is a great combo because it allows the turbo to spool a little quicker and really pile on the torque.

My car averages in the upper 30's around town, and 40+mpg highway. It has a sweet spot at 85mph where I can average about 45mpg highway (in states with 85mph speed limits of course).

And I'm thinking about selling it because I need money for another pursuit ;)
 
I used to work with a guy that loved his TDI 2000 5 speed Jetta. Some stuff is a little more expensive but he went 10k on oil changes so there was less money there. It was slow but pretty fun when he started tinkering on it and it would smoke like a Cummins truck. I looked for a 5 speed TDI golf for a while. I settled on a two door civic. I average 36mpg. Good enough I guess.
 
You should buy my sister's tdi I have posted on here. Killer fuel mileage and they are not that bad to work on. I've parted one out and done a little work on done my stepdad has put together. Are you talking about German imports in kannapolis? That's where I get most of my parts at. They are good guys.
 
jeepinmatt said:
As far as 99-03 TDI's go, I test drove a 5spd TDI Jetta, and swore I'd never buy one because it was so slow. The 04-newer cars have a lot more enthusiasm under the hood, especially the Passat's with the 2.0.
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Slow as in de-tuned from the factory or just falls on its face? I'd say my stock 7.3l was slow, but after a few bolt-on mods, its opened up.

tireburner1975 said:
I used to work with a guy that loved his TDI 2000 5 speed Jetta. Some stuff is a little more expensive but he went 10k on oil changes so there was less money there. It was slow but pretty fun when he started tinkering on it and it would smoke like a Cummins truck. I looked for a 5 speed TDI golf for a while. I settled on a two door civic. I average 36mpg. Good enough I guess.
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Do you know what was done? I'm assuming there are chips/programmers/tuners for a TDI like there are for Cummins/Powerstoke/Duramax?

2010nctaco said:
You should buy my sister's tdi I have posted on here. Killer fuel mileage and they are not that bad to work on. I've parted one out and done a little work on done my stepdad has put together. Are you talking about German imports in kannapolis? That's where I get most of my parts at. They are good guys.
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I saw it listed here & on craigslist. Where in Concord is it located?
 
It's over on rainbow dr in kannapolis. She is in vegas this week, but I could meet u over there to look at it.

As far as chips look up tdiclub forum. Lots of info there.
 
Lurch830 said:
Slow as in de-tuned from the factory? I'd say my stock 7.3l was slow, but after a few bolt-on mods, its opened up.


Do you know what was done? I'm assuming there are chips/programmers/tuners for a TDI like there are for Cummins/Powerstoke/Duramax?


I saw it listed here & on craigslist. Where in Concord is it located?
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He had injectors, dump switch on the injector pump (resistor or something I don't remember) straight exhaust and he had bought the laptop program to do his own tuning. He wanted bigger injectors and bigger turbo but hasn't got to that yet.
 
Lurch830 said:
Slow as in de-tuned from the factory or just falls on its face? I'd say my stock 7.3l was slow, but after a few bolt-on mods, its opened up.
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Slow as in just not enough power. And I wasn't expecting it to be fast. It ran fine, didn't fall on its face or anything, just was very disappointing. Similar to a stock truck compared to one with a programmer, only slower, haha. But it was the only one I drove before I bought the Passat. The Passat is by no means "fast", but it's plenty quick to scoot around traffic or pull out.

There are programmers/tuners/chips out there for these cars, some are cheap and some are expensive. I have no idea if you get what you pay for, as I've left mine stock since it was the DD.
 
I had a 2001 VW tdi beetle 5 sp. It had 250k when I sold it last year. 100k timing belt changes and full synthetic oil changes. Drivetrain was great, the accessories were starting to break and getting expensive. Otherwise very reliable.
 
for vw's, some are definitely better than others, ones I would avoid in particular are: anything with high miles on an automatic ($$ for trans repair) and any 2004-2006 tdi's with a "pumpe duse" injector pump ($$ for injector pump repair/replacement). either of these items gone bad usually kills the car, since it's not worth the cash invested to fix the problem. most of the passats in those years are cheap for a reason-the vw enthusiasts won't touch them for the automatic, I have a friend that has built a very good business on specializing in vw automatics- he loves them for the cash they bring in, but won't own or drive one himself.
 
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