Looking at a 2006 Jetta TDI

[sputnik]

My wife and I are considering picking up a new 06 Jetta TDI and I have a few questions considering it will be my first new car and my first newer VW.

- Which dealership should I go to in the city? I've heard good things about Fifth Ave and bad things about Northland and Southcenter Fine Cars. Should I just stick with Fifth Ave? Is there anywhere out of the city I should consider?

- How much should I be able to bargain down the price? I understand that its a new generation Jetta and that they havent been on the market for long; but I feel that I still shouldnt pay the sticker price.

- Does anyone recommend a specific sales person? How did the sale(s) go with that person and were you able to swing a favourable deal?

- Anyone have any details on leasing a VW? What rate do they usually give and what percentage of residual do they usually leave you with?

- I understand a number of people have had service issues in the past. How bad is it really? Especially when the vehicle is still under warranty (off warranty work will be done by Concept 1).

Anyone have any other advice that I might find useful? Any information from people that actually work for a VW dealership would be GREATLY appreciated.

[nismodrifter]

might want to post on newveedub.com, there are a couple sales men on the board who will be able to help you out :)

[rnd121]

How about don't. New VW's have a terrible reputation for reliabilty over the long haul. See the link for a recent article about someone who has experience trying to fix them.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enthusiasts/Mechanics_Tale/Mechanics_Tale_VW_Heal_Thyself.S281.A9081.html

[Weapon_R]

VW consistently ranks below GM, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, and most other manufacturers in terms of reliability. They really *are* that bad, but they are beautiful cars so people live with it.

http://www.jdpower.com/pdf/2005089.pdf

[Aleks]

I can see this thread turning ugly. The overall concensus is that they are less reliable overall than other manufacturers' products. However if you're set on one the only advise I have is to be wary of NL. Lots of friends at work have horror stories about service there.

[T5_X]

On a related note, were you thinking of getting the wagon? I notice the wagon is still the old style for 06, anyone know when the new jetta will be coming out in wagon form?

[sputnik]

If anyone else is interested. Here is the dealer invoice costs for the 2006 Jetta TDI


Volkswagen
2006 Jetta 1.9L TDI Sedan

Vehicle Pricing
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price ........... $26,650
Dealer Invoice Cost ............................. $24,225
Dealer Mark-up .................................. $2,425

Optional Equipment Pricing

MSRP Dealer Cost
electronic stabilization program (1AT)* ......... $450 $382

transmission - six speed automatic tiptronic .... $1400 $1355

luxury leather package - incl. luxury package PAW,
plus leather seating surfaces, leather
wrapped wheel, shift knob, handbrake grip,
rear center armrest w/passthrough (PLE) .. $3300 $2800

luxury package - includes 16 inch alloy wheels,
power sunroof and chrome exterior
trim (PAW) ............................... $2075 $1761

premium luxury leather package - incl. package
PLE, plus multi function leather wrapped
steering wheel, homelink, pwr driver seat
w/memory, manual rear sunshade, trip
computer/compass, premium stereo
w/in-dash 6-disc CD changer (PPQ)* ...... $5125 $4349

side curtain protection (4X3) ................... $250 $212

air tax ......................................... $100 $100

freight ......................................... $1395 $1395

[nismodrifter]

Mainly all the crap that goes wrong is little shit (IE MAF etc)

2001 TDI 158k - oil changes every 16k, 1 bad MAF... thats it

2000 TDI 140k - same oil changes, 1 bad maf, window regulator

Go to www.tdiclub.com

theres people with over 300k miles on there tdi's already.....

[lastprodigy]

the bad service/reliability may be worth the gas milage:eek:

[FiveFreshFish]

Not a good idea to buy the first model year of a new generation, regardless of the manufacturer.

[nismodrifter]

Originally posted by T5_X
On a related note, were you thinking of getting the wagon? I notice the wagon is still the old style for 06, anyone know when the new jetta will be coming out in wagon form?

They're not making a new wagon :(.
I want an MK4 wagon soooooooooo bad.

[hjr]

our 04 tdi wagon is having minor issues. there is a coolant leak that cant be sourced, and there is a bunch of oil on the joint of the charge pipe to the hotside of the intercooler. quite minor i think. we are off warrenty now though (over 80 000) so well see how it goes from here

[hockeybronx]

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99979

Here's a thread where I talked about a bad experience with my Jetta at Southcentre Fine Cars. HOWEVER, after my dad spent two weeks talking back and forth with the manager I was refunded my money and finally satisfied.

They wouldn't let me talk to the manager. Also good luck any time you have to deal with the 1-800 number for VW customer service. I talked to three different people there and have come to the conclusion that they are absolutely useless.

The basic trade-off that you are getting is:

The bad:
- unpredictable quality of customer service
- extremely high service, parts, and labor costs
- a shoddy maintenance schedule that nobody really knows what's going on with
- a customer service system full of closed doors and dishonest customer service reps
- a "good will" reimbursement system that gives some customers free repairs and parts and not others
- a dealership customer service staff that refers you to the 1-800 number for all problems
- a 1-800 number that refers you to the dealership for all problems
- a 1-800 number where the staff there are completely useless

The good:
- fuel econmy
- engine life
- an owner at Southcentre Fine Cars who finally honored my dads business after my dad spent two weeks trading phone calls with him and wrapped up a deal on buying another VW

[20incheyes]

Talk to ed robertson at 5th Ave, there is quite a wait for one and $500 under MSRP is about allyou'll get off. If he isn't there talk to cory herle, the sales manager.

[Zero102]

Yep, $500 under MSRP is doing really well.

I just bought an 05 golf from fifth ave 2 weeks and 1 day ago, I have only put 1500km on it so far, but there have been absolutely no issues at all so far. Very impressed with the staff there, quick delivery time, and everything went really smoothly, until the very end, when I saw a little display on somebody's desk, and realized that the car doesn't come undercoated. That's the only thing that has been a problem so far. That kind of pissed me off.

It goes in for a block heater on friday, so I guess that will be the first service, hopefully it goes well too.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by hockeybronx
The bad:
- unpredictable quality of customer service
- extremely high service, parts, and labor costs
- a shoddy maintenance schedule that nobody really knows what's going on with
- a customer service system full of closed doors and dishonest customer service reps
- a "good will" reimbursement system that gives some customers free repairs and parts and not others
- a dealership customer service staff that refers you to the 1-800 number for all problems
- a 1-800 number that refers you to the dealership for all problems
- a 1-800 number where the staff there are completely useless


Are all 9 of these bullet points from your "broken window clips" experience?

[max_boost]

This the best car in the sub $30K segment. I absolutely love the new look of the Jetta, sexy european styling alone makes me want to buy this car instead of the Camry or Accord, those are just boring to look at.

There are going to be quality issues with every manufacturer and service problems with every dealer. Maybe it's just me, I don't worry too much about those things, especially when the car is under warranty.

PM Ben, his dad works at Fifth Ave Auto, very nice guy to deal with.

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by sputnik


Are all 9 of these bullet points from your "broken window clips" experience?

5 of them from the broken window clip, 2 from a $700.00 bill where all they did was flush things on my car after I changed my own oil and changed my own spark plugs to try and keep costs down, 1 from the amount of "super good" and "super bad" service stories you hear about on forms like this, vortex, and newveedub, and 1 after finding a new passion for "do it yourself" jobs, or when you have Volkswagen employees telling you other shops that will do the same job but for up to 50% less money.

There were only 8 points not 9.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by max_boost
This the best car in the sub $30K segment. I absolutely love the new look of the Jetta, sexy european styling alone makes me want to buy this car instead of the Camry or Accord, those are just boring to look at.

There are going to be quality issues with every manufacturer and service problems with every dealer. Maybe it's just me, I don't worry too much about those things, especially when the car is under warranty.

PM Ben, his dad works at Fifth Ave Auto, very nice guy to deal with.

We are actually looking at getting an Accord coupe instead. The wait time for the TDIs are 4-5 months and we dont really have that much time (as all of our cars are on borrowed time) and the lease terms from Honda keep our payment more manageable (necessary with my wife still in school this year). The sales people were actually willing to aggressively price an 06 out for us that is pretty close to invoice, whereas the Jetta we would be stuck paying full MSRP.

I really dont mind the Accord EX coupes and their looks are growing on me. The 06's come fairly loaded (leather, moonroof, heated and backlit everything) and the 4cyl iVTEC has some pretty good gas mileage. That on top of Hondas rather bulletproof service and reliability ratings make it a bit more appealing at this time for Stacey and I. Originally we were looking for an 05 Civic LX coupe but they apparently were gone by the middle of Sept due to a 1.9% financing deal. Its a shame that Honda decided to completely destroy the interior and exterior stylings for the 06 Civics.

Dont get me wrong. I still think the 06 Jetta TDIs are kick ass cars. Unfortunately we probably wont get one until 07/08 once my wife is out of school and working. Hopefully by then I will be able to get a 6spd standard 4motion Jetta TDI wagon by then.

:D

[sputnik]

Originally posted by hockeybronx


5 of them from the broken window clip, 2 from a $700.00 bill where all they did was flush things on my car after I changed my own oil and changed my own spark plugs to try and keep costs down, 1 from the amount of "super good" and "super bad" service stories you hear about on forms like this, vortex, and newveedub, and 1 after finding a new passion for "do it yourself" jobs, or when you have Volkswagen employees telling you other shops that will do the same job but for up to 50% less money.

There were only 8 points not 9.

How did changing your own oil and sparkplugs turn into a $700 bill? Clearly there must be more to this story.

Personally I would never take an off-warranty car to a dealership for work. There is a reason that there are several far cheaper and more capable independant VW shops here in town.

[5hift]

Originally posted by max_boost

This the best car in the sub $30K segment. I absolutely love the new look of the Jetta, sexy european styling alone makes me want to buy this car instead of the Camry or Accord, those are just boring to look at.



First of all the Jetta isnt even in the same class as the Camry or Accord. Secondly, are you kidding me? the Jetta styling is a complete rip-off of the new corolla styling. And sexy? I dunno too "cute" for me.

[heavyD]

VW's are hard to recommend. On one hand their cars are generally more handsome than Japanese or domestics, the interiors especially are much nicer and luxurious and they drive very nice. Unfortunately these cars have been proven to be unreliable. I know some guys say "It's only small electrical glitches" but the problem is that these small glitches don't happen in most other cars and anytime you have to take an unscheduled visit to the dealer it's time your car is in the shop & many VW owners cars spend far too much time in the shop.

Go to trader.ca and take a look at the 20+ pages of newer used Jettas for sale. People get sucked into buying the car based on its style and soon find out that the car isn't near as reliable as the previous car they owned. There are so many for sale you can pretty well pick & choose your color and trim.

I was actually considering a 2002+ Jetta GLS and looked at a couple but both sellers told me about all of these warranty repairs that they had paperwork for and I just lost confidence in the car and got the feeling that the sellers were just trying to unload these cars & the constant problems on someone else.

For almost the same money I bought a new Dodge which will probably end up being alot more reliable. That's kind of sad.

Also of note is that if sales of the new Jetta's & golfs don't take off in North America, there is the possiblity of VW pulling out of this market all together. I read that in Motortrend so please don't flame me VW boys.

[sputnik]

The uncertain reliability has moved my sights from VW to Honda. My family has owned several of them and a couple surpassed 400,000 km before they got rid of them. I will agree that the Jetta is a better looking car with a nicer interior, but the "mysterious" minor issues with VW concern me.

My wife and I signed the papers for a black 2006 Accord Coupe EX-L last night.

[Aleks]

Congrats on your purchase

[t-im]

Originally posted by sputnik
The uncertain reliability has moved my sights from VW to Honda. My family has owned several of them and a couple surpassed 400,000 km before they got rid of them. I will agree that the Jetta is a better looking car with a nicer interior, but the "mysterious" minor issues with VW concern me.

My wife and I signed the papers for a black 2006 Accord Coupe EX-L last night.

Are 06 coupes in yet? My friend was looking for one but Honda told us they weren't coming in until November.

[sputnik]

They had a several of them at Calgary Honda this week (test drove one on tuesday and again last night). I am getting a number of accessories (MP3 capable disc changer etc) and will have to wait a couple of weeks before my car is ready.

[lastprodigy]

i know they changed the sedan, but any changes on the coupe?

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by sputnik
The uncertain reliability has moved my sights from VW to Honda. My family has owned several of them and a couple surpassed 400,000 km before they got rid of them. I will agree that the Jetta is a better looking car with a nicer interior, but the "mysterious" minor issues with VW concern me.

My wife and I signed the papers for a black 2006 Accord Coupe EX-L last night.

Congratulations. Although VW styling is far nicer than Hondas, you will enjoy years of excellent reliability from your purchase.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Weapon_R


Congratulations. Although VW styling is far nicer than Hondas, you will enjoy years of excellent reliability from your purchase.

Yah man, in the end, Honda owns you. Great cars!

Congrats on the purchase, it's about time :D

[sputnik]

Originally posted by max_boost

Congrats on the purchase, it's about time :D

LOL! No kidding.

Once I get the underglow, wing and eBay CAI on... along with 2 15" XS cargo subs I will be sure to drop in on a Beyond meet.

:D