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VW "Clean" Diesel not really clean

tzrider said:
:laughing
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BMW has gone so far down hill since MBZ bought them. :p

Srsly, I drove the Acura TLX and it was a nice drivable car. They still need to work on their fit and finish. Comfy, but still felt 'plasticy' to me.

Didn't consider the BMW 3 series (my sister had one lemon lawed and woes w/ the replacement) and didn't consider the poor mans MBZ- CLA-250 since they put the huge ass MBZ emblem on the front, which to me looks like, anything but subtle.

Took the new car up into the foothills today. I didn't have the opportunity to fully push it, but did find out I was doing 90 uphill on Hwy 80 and had to slow mah roll. Didn't feel like 90+ and it was quiet.:laughing
 
Ken, the 335d is a blast of a car. It's one of the few BMW's that's been trouble free and is a massive torque monster.
 
2nsane said:
she told me she wanted a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit with a diesel. $62K shut her down pretty quick:laughing as long as I am staying 40K or less Ill be good to go on a rig.:thumbup
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Find an older 2007-2008 Grand Cherokee CRD!

They're basically the same chassis... Live rear axle vs. Independent is the only major change. Everything else is just modernising electronic googaws.

Better engine... Mercedes 3.0 turbo diesel vs. VM Motori 3.0 turbo... The merc is the same as the sprinter vans, without the extra emissions stuff that causes the majority of issues.

Way!!! Cheaper. I bought my 54k mile one for $16k.

The only real downside? (And yes, it's a big one) Never CARB certified. They were only sold in 43 states and Canada, due to the lack of emissions equipment. So getting them registered in California can be quite tricky.
Edit: i just saw your location... You may have no problems at all...

Pity, because it's a great package. 378lb/ft @ 1800rpm, 7200 pound towing capacity. I get 17mpg city/ 22mpg hwy with a 3" lift and 33" tires.:thumbup
 
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}Dragon{ said:
I'm glad I got the Audi to replace the TDI. I just wanted to send a big FU to VW- I'm not buying one of their cars again!
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I'm wondering if you know just how ironically funny this statement is! :rofl
 
Charles R said:
Find an older 2007-2008 Grand Cherokee CRD!

They're basically the same chassis... Live rear axle vs. Independent is the only major change. Everything else is just modernising electronic googaws.

Better engine... Mercedes 3.0 turbo diesel vs. VM Motori 3.0 turbo... The merc is the same as the sprinter vans, without the extra emissions stuff that causes the majority of issues.

Way!!! Cheaper. I bought my 54k mile one for $16k.

The only real downside? (And yes, it's a big one) Never CARB certified. They were only sold in 43 states and Canada, due to the lack of emissions equipment. So getting them registered in California can be quite tricky.
Edit: i just saw your location... You may have no problems at all...

Pity, because it's a great package. 378lb/ft @ 1800rpm, 7200 pound towing capacity. I get 17mpg city/ 22mpg hwy with a 3" lift and 33" tires.:thumbup
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we had a 2010 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 limited and had nothing but a nightmare of issues till we traded it in on another VW.
 
2nsane said:
we had a 2010 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 limited and had nothing but a nightmare of issues till we traded it in on another VW.
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Yeah, technically that's the other big downside. Their quality is very spotty. If you get a good one, they're awesome. If you get a bad one, you never really get it fixed.

I do have to admit that i get to cheat a bit on that, as I'm a mechanic myself. So i don't really have to rely on someone else to fix any problems that come up.
 
Charles R said:
Find an older 2007-2008 Grand Cherokee CRD!

They're basically the same chassis... Live rear axle vs. Independent is the only major change. Everything else is just modernising electronic googaws.

Better engine... Mercedes 3.0 turbo diesel vs. VM Motori 3.0 turbo... The merc is the same as the sprinter vans, without the extra emissions stuff that causes the majority of issues.

Way!!! Cheaper. I bought my 54k mile one for $16k.

The only real downside? (And yes, it's a big one) Never CARB certified. They were only sold in 43 states and Canada, due to the lack of emissions equipment. So getting them registered in California can be quite tricky.
Edit: i just saw your location... You may have no problems at all...

Pity, because it's a great package. 378lb/ft @ 1800rpm, 7200 pound towing capacity. I get 17mpg city/ 22mpg hwy with a 3" lift and 33" tires.:thumbup
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I was unaware this existed. And now I want one.
 
I'm still thinking Range Rover. Someone kick me in the nuts, I'm sure that would be less painful than RR ownership. :laughing
 
I REALLY like mine.

As 2nsane pointed out, they can have problems. But they're also fairly well known. To me, there's only two big scary ones though.

The first was a somewhat recall related transfer case actuator issue... This one was a software update that ended up occasionally revealing a hardware fault that the Fiat reps try not to warranty. A good dealer can still get this $900.00 part comp'ed though.

The second is a condition lovingly known as, "black death".(common to all vehicles the OM642 merc engine is in) This is actually nothing more than a leaking injector seal, but it can create a situation that makes the injector extremely hard to remove. Try to force it, and it can become quite expensive, quite quickly. Mine had it. It cost me about $50.00, but a lot of patience, to fix.

Keep me in the loop if you decide to seriously look for one. I've looked through a number good informative websites.

"And now back to our regularly scheduled TDI programming"...
 
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wazzuFreddo said:
I'm still thinking Range Rover. Someone kick me in the nuts, I'm sure that would be less painful than RR ownership. :laughing
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Because you want to take it actually out into the woods. And when you do that, stuff breaks sometimes.

Go price RR repair parts and see how that 4Runner looks when you're done.
 
cycle61 said:
Because you want to take it actually out into the woods. And when you do that, stuff breaks sometimes.

Go price RR repair parts and see how that 4Runner looks when you're done.
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I've already had two 4Runners, a 1986 and a 2007. Loved them both but want to try something a little different.

Plus an '08 RR is far removed from the days of the blown head gaskets and dropped sleeves of the 4.6L. I hear 2007-2009 is the sweet spot for a reliable L322.
 
The Jeep is too short coupled to tow anything with weight anyway...I don't understand why a diesel. Besides, the mechanicals in the Jeeps weren't the issues, it's the electronics. Of course, that can be said for pretty much any modern vehicle operating with a shit ton of electronics on a system invented in the 1800's.
 
The tow rating is more of a byproduct that this generation was kind of a parts bin special. The drivetrain is basically the same as the dodge half ton pickups. They're also pretty heavy at a 4700 lb. curb weight. So they won't be pushed around that easily. That said, they state a load leveling hitch is required over 3500 trailer weight.

Why diesel? Tough to say. But back in the early 2000's, European passenger car diesels were proving themselves very competent competitors to the Asian hybrid movement. Fortunately, Daimler/Chrysler decided they were not going to go ape crazy like VW did with the V10 diesel Toureg, and put a smaller mileage minded engine in this SUV.

For my goals, the diesel makes a HUGE difference...

I have a hemi grand Cherokee, and a CRD one. On the freeway, my hemi is very acceptable. I get around 18mpg, to the CRD's 22. In the city it's more pronounced... 12mpg vs. 17mpg...

But off road? That's where i made my decision to buy the CRD. I did a trail that took about 5 hours, and covered 33 miles. I got 4.3mpg with the hemi. That's a total tank range of about 90 miles....

I copied that trip after i got the CRD just for pure comparison... 11mpg for a tank range over 200 miles.

I can't even imagine ever taking my hemi off roading again.
 
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I'm pretty happy with my '16 durango. The new '14+ JGC / Durangos have the ZF 8-speed in them. I get 24 mpg cruising at 70+ with the Hemi, the V6 version gets around 30. If you do more city driving than long trips, the V6 is definitely the more efficient version though because they gave it the auto start/stop where it shuts off at stoplights and stuff. Don't know if/when they'll be bringing that feature to the V8. Rumor has it the Durango will be getting the diesel option for '18, but it doesn't look like it's an option for '17.
 
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