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VW Golf

1529 messages,  Last post on Nov 04, 2012 at 3:48 PM

You are in the Volkswagen Golf Forum.

What is this discussion about? Volkswagen Golf, Hatchback

Messages Page 14 of 154

#128 of 1529 vw tdi carboning problems by fisher6

Nov 26, 2000 (3:20 pm)

i have looking seriously at the new vw tdi in the golf body style until i encountered the dreaded carboning problem with these engines in the midwestern u.s.. the problem is that our fuels are high in sulfur and after 15,000 to 30,000 miles depending on the style of driving. (lower reving drivers goes fewer miles when this occurs.) the exhaust gas recovery system builds up with carbon from the sulfur and soon plugs up the system until fuel mileage and driveablity problems occur until the engine literally stops. the real problem occurs when the car is out of its poor 2 year/24,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. this problem is not covered by the emissions warranty. if it is out of warranty, the cost is about $800 to repair. After market service agreements do not cover emissions so you are out in the cold. VW does not seem to be too cooperative do anything about it. in germany, low sulfur fuels are required and on the west coast of the U.S., the fuels are are low sulfur. the problem occurs in the small tube feeds exhaust gas back into the engine and sulfur produces carbon ash when burned and with low reving drivers, the back pressure produced is lower and therefore more material (carbon) builds up in these small tubes and over time will completely block the system. I learned all this from the vw service manager. the salesman with whom i have been dealing with just discovered this with his own 2000 golf tdi with 20,000 miles on it and is still under warranty, but plans on selling it as soon as it repaired. the car of choice is the 1.8 turbo. its been the most reliable and lower gas mileage is ok because $800 will buy you a lot of gas every year or so if you have to fix the egr system in the diesel. Now i know why Mercedes Benz has stopped selling diesels in this country along with the fact that you cant sell them in the special low emission states in the Northeast and Califormia. I have not seen any postings yet on this problem and it should noted asap. the older bodied tdi did not have this problem since emissions for diesels has been greatly reduced with the 2000 model year in the U.S.

#129 of 1529 Carboning Problems by dasteph94

Nov 27, 2000 (7:50 pm)

Thanks a lot for the info--we were considering
buying one but not after reading your post--
plus, VW of America makes getting on like
pulling teeth--dealers want a huge deposit
and when pressed say they can't guarantee
getting you one even after SIX months of
keeping your $500!!!!

#130 of 1529 Braking noise by mnn

Nov 28, 2000 (3:08 pm)

Recently I realised that when I brake, the rear brakes give a funny "iik" sound, almost like the kind of noise you would hear on a bicycle when you press the front brake. I wasn't driving that fast, only about maybe 40km/hr when I brake, and the noise only happen when the car is almost at a standstill, and yes, there is a "jerking movement" (the one that you first dive forward and then flip backwards, but not in an emergency situation, nor is it at high speed, just very subtle) that comes with the noise.


My car has only 10000km on it so I very much doubt that the pad has worn off. Any insight anyone? Thanks.

#131 of 1529 Availability problems by Aaron

Nov 29, 2000 (6:21 am)

Hi there fellow Golfers.. Much quieter over here than in the Jetta forum. Went to a VW dealer last weekend to test drive a Golf. Wanted a 1.8T with manual transmission. Apparently that is a hard combination to find. The Jetta/Golf ratio seems to be 5:1, which is confirmed by an inventory search of dealer.vw.com. Drat! Whenever VW comes out with something I might want to buy, you cannot get it. I had an 87 Jetta once, and stayed away from the Golf/Jetta because I thought the 2.0L was not a very good engine when compared to other "economy" cars. Can anyone tell me what you get for paying ~1300 more for a Jetta? It seems to me you are losing because you dont get the practical carrying space the Golf has. Why the price disparity when the Golf and Jetta are largely identical save a few body panels? Anyway, the Golf seems somewhat worth the extra you pay compared to a Civic/Corolla/Sentra given the better engine and the fact that it is one of the only hatchbacks on the market right now. If there were a 4 door Civic hatch sold here in the US, I would be giving that a serious consideration....

#132 of 1529 Golf Price by catherine9

Nov 29, 2000 (4:11 pm)

My dealer will sell me a 2000 automatic 1.8 Golf with the sunroof, monsoon sound system, cold weather package, and chrome tires for $19,400. Do you think the price is appropriate? I really didn't want all the options, but there were no other 2000's available at this dealership.

#133 of 1529 Aaron... by vocus

Nov 29, 2000 (6:54 pm)

Don't know how close you are to Maryland, but there is a dealership in Aberdeen here called Cook Motors. They have at least 2 5-speed 1.8T Golfs, at least they did last weekend.


With the price you asked for, Catherine, I think it's pretty good. I test drove a 2.0 Golf with automatic, Monsoon, and Cold Weather Pkg. that stickered for $19,400. The dealer told me it would be pretty close to sticker price because of their popularity. I told him $500 over invoice or goodbye. It was goodbye.

#134 of 1529 vocus by Aaron

Nov 30, 2000 (2:41 am)

I live in the Chicago area. The dealer that gets all the cars in this area is the Autobarn. I dont know why VW has given them two more franchises in the last 2 years in addition to the one they had in Evanston. Maybe because they are freestanding and sell only VW? They just opened the third location in Countryside a couple of months ago, but havent been there yet. Searching the database at dealer.vw.com shows that the Evanston Autobarn has way more cars than anyone else in the area. I used to live near the location in Mt. Prospect, and they added $900 of "dealer installed options" to every new car on their lot (Pinstriping, rubber strips on the wheelwells, etc.). Dont know if they do this at the other 2 locations.

#135 of 1529 2000 or 2001 by opq

Dec 01, 2000 (2:43 am)

I think good deals are possible on 2000 Golfs. I just got mine GLS for 1500 under invoice (MSRP 18.4k). I know a dealer in columbus OH had a bunch of golfs about a couple of weeks ago. At least one was 1.8t.

#136 of 1529 I was... by opq

Dec 01, 2000 (2:48 am)

talking about a 2L version which are not as hot as 1.8t. Catherine9, how does 19.4k compare with msrp and invoice.

#137 of 1529 Thanks by catherine9

Dec 02, 2000 (12:16 am)

Thanks OPQ and Aaron for responding to my message. I purchased the 2000 1.8t with all the options for $19,200, a little below the invoice price of $19,495. I didn't have much time to decide; the dealer said the incentive to sell at reduced cost ended November 30th. I've only had the car a few hours, but I'm really impressed with the car's smooth ride and strong pick-up. Hopefully, the car will prove as reliable as it is beautiful.

Messages Page 14 of 154

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