[Vwdiesel] OT: advice @ buying diesel for friend

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/20/2010 4:29:57 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
rbp at 4u2bu.org writes:
> 
> 
> questions:
> 
> - is this a dumb idea (buying the car, I mean)?
> is she really better off renting and letting the rental company deal with 
> the hassle of owning it?

  Kinda depends, will the car sit out, in a garage, can it be "rented" to 
someone trustworthy part of the "off season?"

> 
> - is a diesel a good choice for her? (auto tranny limits choices)

  Yes/no.  If she knows how to drive one then my experience has 
been that diesel holds up better than gasoline when sitting.  The 
tank would need to be full when parked though, ESPECIALLY if it's 
a high humidity area.

> 
> - do VW automatic tranny's suck? (I seem to recall something about this)

  Yeah, they seem to.  Limited driving, not driving it hard and so on 
and it should survive fine though.  In the long haul they do seem to 
have a higher failure rate but not necessarily across the board.

> 
> - is a mid-2000s Golf/Jetta TDi automatic a good candidate?

  Jetta or NB would probably be the best bargain, a Golf would 
likely hold a little more value at a higher initial cost.

> 
> - any other marque I'd want to consider?

   For diesels?  Are there any?  :-P

> 
> - aren't M-B auto tranny's good? any model in that price range I'd want to 
> look at?

  Well, if you want a MB diesel then look at a 300D '85 and later.  The 
earlier trannys tend toward failure at 150K or so, then again a lot of 
those have been replaced with good, used '85 trannys or rebuilds.

> 
> - should I give up on the diesel idea and just find her a nice reliable 
> girly Honda?
> maybe hybrid?
> 
  Could be better.  A good Honda or Toy is hard to beat for someone 
that just wants to turn a key and go.  Heck VW DOES make gassers 
too!
  Stay away from the hybrids.  Higher operating costs, maintenance, 
etc.  A friend traded off his Civic Hybrid for a straight gasser.   Lost 
2mpg but didn't have to replace a cat and battery at $2500 and 
$1500.  That was with about 80K miles on it.
    Loren