My '01 Golf TDI with 400K+ miles!

K5ING

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
32
Location
Texas
Car(s)
2001 VW Golf TDI
I'll never give up the chance to show off my car, so here it is. Pretty much stock with no performance mods aside from a set of Koni Reds, but it's main attraction for me is that it not only still gets 50mpg on the highway, but it's got over 413,000 miles on it. It's never broken down on me, burns no oil, and still has most of it's original parts including the engine, trans, clutch, turbo, etc.

Can't say enough good things about it.

Jeff in Texas
lf-small-1705.jpg

rr-small-1702.jpg

400k-tdi-1701.jpg
 
Good car!
Pics of the interiors to see if it is also resisting as the mechanic?
Thanks :cool:

Ok, you asked for it, but keep in mind that this was/is a "working car", not a commuter or pleasure car. The interior is dirty in this picture, but everything works and there is no damage of any kind that a good washing couldn't take care of. More pictures are in my album page.

0805190005-1707.jpg


Jeff
 
Last edited:
For your one successful-ly long lasting car, there are 10000 VAG products that have failed.
 
Nice car! I would like to see a Toyota Prius last 400k miles and get such mileage.
 
413k on the original clutch?? :blink:
 
so, how many times have you overhauled it?
 
so, how many times have you overhauled it?

It's never been overhauled. The only major parts that have been replaced have been the injection pump (the original one was getting noisy, but it still worked), the nozzels/injectors just because I figured that at 350K miles they needed to be replaced, the two cooling fans, and the A/C compressor (at 181K miles). I've also replaced the major items in the suspension once at 375K miles (shocks/struts, control arm bushings, tie rod ends, etc).

Everything else is original including the paint. It's still shiny and there isn't even a single door ding in it. Like I said in my original post, it doesn't burn any oil, and still runs and drives like new. Part of the reason it's lasted so long is that I keep it in a garage, and almost all the miles are highway miles which are very easy on a car. I also maintain it according to the manual using only high quality fluids and parts.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztMzdk2KI6A[/YOUTUBE]
 
Last edited:
i feel sorry for those pistons. big BIG congrats on keeping a golf running for so long
 
A manual TDI in the states? From what we usally read in the Forums here, that?s two impossible things in one. :D

Don?t you have problems getting the quality Diesel-Fuel that a Injected Diesel is supposed to need? (from what I read here) I always was under the impression that modern Diesel engines don?t do well on "normal" american Diesel Fuel ...
 
A manual TDI in the states? From what we usally read in the Forums here, that?s two impossible things in one. :D

Don?t you have problems getting the quality Diesel-Fuel that a Injected Diesel is supposed to need? (from what I read here) I always was under the impression that modern Diesel engines don?t do well on "normal" american Diesel Fuel ...

Nice condition and a excellent automotive achievement, do you know if the car is a European import or locally built? :)
 
The 2dr Golf TDI's we get over here in the states are built in Brazil where mine was built. The 4dr Golfs and Jettas (The Golf and Jetta/Bora are the same car under the skin) are built in Mexico and have quality issues that the Brazilian and German built cars don't seem to have.

Yes, I know a manual transmission car here in the US is very rare. I think that only about 10% of cars sold here have manuals. The diesel fuel over here used to be bad, but it's getting better. Most all of the fuel sold here is the low sulfur stuff.

Most people living over here don't even know that there are some cars that have diesel engines. I can't tell you the number of times that people have tried to "warn" me that I was putting the wrong "gas" into my car! :lol:
 
Last edited:
Volkswagen are hilarious. Sometimes they last like an alfa and sometimes they last like a toyota :lol:
Lucky you getting the best kind, mine is somewhere in the middle where things break but they are only incontinent and never effect the drivablity of the car itself, which is pretty good considering I have a mexican one.
 
I agree totally. Some seem to fall apart right away, some don't. I think that much of that has to do with the way it's treated, however. Mine lasted this well because most of the driving I do is highway miles here in Texas. Not a lot of stop and go stuff on bad roads. For example, it's over 10 miles just to the nearest grocery store from my house, and when I was working, I did over 400 miles per day with it. :shock:

We don't get the extreme cold weather with snow and ice. It's kept in a closed garage when it's not being driven too, and that helps.

I also don't abuse it. I don't race it or mod it. Except for safety or comfort items, it's pretty much stock and I maintain it by the book. I think the key to it is to treat it like a German treats his/her vehicles. The average American just wants to put gas in and go. The average European takes the time to learn about their car and treats it accordingly. They don't worry about 0-60 times either. Seeing "how much rubber" you can get from a stop is wasteful and tears up a car. The emphasis is on high speed handling and maybe 50-80 times.

It's a German car, treat it like a German would.
 
Last edited:
I will admit to being abusive.
It looks much more impressively reliable when you have some dumb teenager driving it and, I don't know, putting it into park while still moving for example. Ooops. Sorry baby you have been a very good car to me considering what you have had put up with.:blush:
 
Volkswagen are hilarious. Sometimes they last like an alfa and sometimes they last like a toyota :lol:
Lucky you getting the best kind, mine is somewhere in the middle where things break but they are only incontinent and never effect the drivablity of the car itself, which is pretty good considering I have a mexican one.

VW over here in Europe are the benchmark for build quality and reliability that everyone else has to measure up to. Shame it has tarnished rep over in USA.

Also, Kat, as your beetle is a convertible, wasn?t that built by Karmam Ghia in Germany?
:)
 
you're thinking of the old beetle
 
Also, Kat, as your beetle is a convertible, wasn?t that built by Karmam Ghia in Germany?
:)
Almost correct, but Karmann Ghia was a specific model based on the old beetle, built by the company Karmann.
And as I understand it, they build the roof mechanism for the new beetle, but not the whole car (which they do for some other manufacturers/models, however). :)
 
That is indeed impressive! Looks so damn clean!

I admit I sometimes give my car a hard time (especially in the hills...), but I never miss a service and rather than spending money on wheels and lowering, it's all going towards maintenance. Driving my car hard sometimes is probably going to bite me in the arse in one way or another, but I figure if I go a bit overboard with maintenance it will at least save me from having to replace the vital parts, i.e. the engine or the transmission!
 
Top