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a used TDI Golf. Have a couple of friends who have them and fill up once a month . they bought theirs way before gas prices went up and even though diesel fuel isn’t cheap at 50-60 MPG they aren’t feeling it as much as the rest of us.
I've seen for-sale ads on Craigslist and FB Marketplace for various models of VW TDIs. Typical fuel mileage for these cars is about 40 mpg. Some get a lot better but they are a minority. My family has a total of four TDIs, all with manual gearboxes; the one I drive for work every day is getting about 43-44 mpg right now, but the others typically get around 40 mpg. If an advertisement claims 50 mpg, it's probably not true. And TDIs with automatic transmissions, especially 2006 and earlier, tend to get worse mileage, often not much better than 35 mpg.
JB ... Assuming that your cars are in proper tune and good condition, 50-ish mpg is not an unrealistic fuel mileage for one of these cars. The qualifier, of course ... is proper tune and good condition. Many of these cars engines did not age well with deposits in the intake tract and cylinder head. Modifications/re-programming/component aging failures of the electronics/emissions controls further degraded the fuel economy. Aging injectors not delivering normal fuel pressure or spray patterns will also lower fuel mileage.
As well, the driving cycles and how the car is driven will greatly affect the fuel mileage. I've got neighbors here in Wyoming that rely upon their TDI's for 50+ mpg driving the distances around the state, frequently 150-300 miles per day, cruising 75-80 mph on the interstates (as long as they're not getting a headwind ... which can really knock down fuel mileage around here).
Another factor that may be lowering the TDI fuel mileage is the quality of the diesel fuel available in your area. Especially if they're selling a bio-diesel blend instead of a high quality good Cetane rated #2 diesel, the fuel economy will be lessened ... much like alcohol in gasoline fuels has lower BTU/lb, so delivers less fuel mileage in most vehicles than when they run on non-alcohol blend fuel.
These cars were designed to run on the high quality Diesel fuel available in Germany, not the lesser stuff we get here in the 'states. By way of reference ... I had a customer air freight a Euro delivery US spec 123 chassis MB240D to Denver from his last tour stop in Germany. The car was allowed only a few gallons of fuel for the shipping overseas so that the air carrier could drive it as needed to load/unload the car. I picked it up at the airport for my customer ... and it sounded and ran almost like a gasoline-powered model; much quieter, much smoother, and much quicker in the around town driving I did until I stopped in to fuel it up. A full tank of US spec fuel totally changed how the car sounded and ran ... with an idle clatter that hadn't been present before fueling it.
Sunsprit: when my daily driver was new back in 2003, I was lucky to see 40 mpg. (They take a long time to break in.) As time went on and parts wore out and were replaced with upgraded ones, it gradually increased to about 45-46 mpg in the summer and somewhat less in winter (cold starts). All the fuel here is B10 in the winter and B20 in the summer, so maybe it could be better with pure high-cetane diesel.
But my point was: folks who believe the "50 mpg" claims in the ads are almost certain to be disappointed. If you expect 40 mpg, then you might be pleasantly surprised.
First of all, the title should read "I wish I would have." Basic grammar.
Second, VWs are among the worst-performing cars on the road and among the worst in reliability. A used one? Even more so.
Some consider Moreso the correct usage.
I agree on the assessment of VW as a whole...... hummm or wood that be hole? LOL
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they bought theirs way before gas prices went up and even though diesel fuel isn’t cheap at 50-60 MPG they aren’t feeling it as much as the rest of us.
