Re: 03 tdi

Hi, I'm on the verge of purchasing an 03 Jetta tdi with 116k miles on it. The service records are clean, just had the car checked at my mechanic, and he gave it a clean bill of health. My concern is, how long can i expect this car to last? thanks for any advice!

If you are willing to maintain it - timing belt, fuel filter, belts/hoses (and fix the annoying minor things that will go out on it - alternator, starter, suspension parts, etc.), these will last until you wreck it or get tired of driving it. I sold my 86 Jetta diesel at 300K miles and it is still running. My 01 TDI Jetta has had no major issues (glow plug, timing belt, airflow sensor, recall on brake switch) and is going strong at 163K. It helps to be able to work on these things yourself and to purchase the Bentley manual (and NOT take it to the dealer). Support for TDI's is excellent on TDIclub. At 116K miles in 3 years, someone put ~35K per year on it. About the only way to get that many miles on a car in a year is on the highway - and highway miles not bad for a vehicle. If you can get a decent price for it, go for it. Timbo 01 Jetta TDI 85 MB 300D

Is $12,250 a good price for this year, with these miles. It's one owner maintained it well.

A quick search on cars.com shows asking price between 22K and 12K depending primarily on mileage. Remember these are asking prices. http://cars.com/go/search/fs_search_results.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&criteria=K-tdi%7CE-ANY%7CM-_48_%7CH-%7CD-_447_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CY-_2003_%7CX-popular%7CZ-22043&aff=national&searchType=22&pageNumber=0&largeNumResultsPerPage=1500&numResultsPerPage=100&certifiedOnly=false If it has the features you are looking for, and you are not afraid to get your hands greasy over time, make an offer. Timbo 01 Jetta TDI 85 MB 300D

In the bay area, all of the tdi's I see listed are going for between $15-20k. My only concern is the high mileage, but as you stated, you'd only get high miles in the short of time by driving highway miles. Since the mechanic gave it a clean bill of health and the carfax report is clean...this could be the biodiesel for me...Thanks for your response Timbo!

Find out when the timing belt was changed & by who. On manual transmission TDI's, AFAIK the timing belt interval is 60,000 miles. (definitely read up on timing belts at www.tdiclub.com to be sure). Looks like you might have a belt change coming up soon with this car. A trusted TDI mechanic will be an important ally.

The timing belt interval on a 2003 TDI is 100,000 miles. Make absolutely sure it was done. Also, try to find out if the tensioner, water pump, and stretch bolts were replaced as well. The timing belt is the weak point of a TDI. Make sure it was done, and done right. -Jesse 2003 VW Golf TDI 2003 MB Sprinter 1985 MB 300D Bio/WVO

Has anyone with the 03 jetta tdi had issues with airbags deploying? I've seen postings of this issue on some other car sites.

You mean the airbags deploy when they are NOT supposed to? I spend a lot of time on TDI Club... never heard of a problem like that. -Jesse 2003 VW Golf TDI 2003 MB Sprinter 1985 MB 300D Bio/WVO