Hi
The auld petrol Vectra is becomming tired and I am seriously considering replacing it with an A4 TDi 130.
I have always prefered oil burners, but have never owned any of these new fangled PD engined cars. I usually buy at 2-3 years old and keep for another 5 years moving on when I get a good 160k on the clock.
How realistic is this to do on the new generation of PD engines compared to the older style I am used to? Am I going to be hit with higher bills due to the need to replace injectors etc on a more regular basis / or just much more expensive per set than I am used to ? Can they cover the distance of the old sterotypical engine?
Thanks
Vern
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Vern
If you really must have a diesel, the A4 is not a bad choice. [Avoid the 2.5 TDi.] Unlike the modern "common-fail" diesels, it currently uses "unit-injectors" not mega-high pressure pumps. The wiring to them suffers from lying in hot oil; [brill idea that was!] but they're quite capable of covering the sort of mileage you mention if exactly the right PD-spec oil was always used. [Despite what Audi say; stick to the VW 506.01 - or now 507 - spec on these; around £80 for 4 ltrs from your smiling dealer.] Similarly, stick to good fuel and you won't have to routinely change injectors anymore - probably just as well as a new set is well over £2000 plus £400 fitting. [No "bio-diesel" - OK?]
Frankly; with the silly-money cost of running these diesels now, what's the great attraction? All the hung-on emissions rubbish has killied the MPG advantage; it'll cost more to buy but be worth squit when you're done with it and it will cost far more per mile to run than an equivalent petrol. Why not save your brass and get a factory-built LPG car - I have heard that if you get one of those naughty LPG pumps off e-bay, you can run it at 27p/ltr from your own tank; [not that I'm suggesting any such thing - of course...] Even bought at forecourt prices; LPG still makes running on DERV look positively extravagant. Just stay away from any hideous bodge-up "conversions."
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[brill idea that was!] but they're quite capable of covering the sort of mileage you mention if exactly the right PD-spec oil was always used. [Despite what Audi say; stick to the VW 506.01 - or now 507 - spec on these; around £80 for 4 ltrs from your smiling dealer.]
Humm... makes the 5000 mile oil & filter change a bit steep.... I am not a big fan of long life oil and extended service intervals....
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I have not seen any evidence that short OCI do any good at all unless you are doing silly short trips. For which employ Shanks pony where possible. No evidence means that 5000 intervals for the working car are old wives tales. I know HJ doesn't like them, but I suspect he likes the business to his pals,. The reality is that better oils mean fewer changes.
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The Castrol oil for PD engines is about £40 for 4 litres. I cannot believe new injectors could cost £2000. The PD engine will do 45 mpg quite easily. I would not touch LPG after listening to friends experiences.
Yes get a A4 130, you will be delighted, unlike me after the penalties.
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£80 for 4 litres? I know its dear but even at halfords its only £13 in litre bottles.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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quizman
You put Castrol oil in your engine if you want to... The £80 for oil was on a London dealer's service invoice left in a customer's car. [They likely charge it out by the half litre - even though it comes out of the bulk tank.]
The last time that I priced-up a PD unit injector it was £448+vat. To fit it entails taking the cam out and the whole front off the car; so, thinking about it, I may have underestimated that £400.....
Bad experiences of LPG were probably down to the aforementioned "horrendous bodge-up" installations. Factory fitted sole-LPG [or dual-fuel] cars seem a lot better. [I had to extinguish my neighbours Disco last week after it blew back and set the engine bay alight. A single-point installation on a EFI V8!!! I know; I know - shoudda let it burn...]
45 mpg; but is that with all the Euro 4 kit grafted on? How many people have been whinging on here about the low mpg of the latest diesels...?
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Screwloose, I will continue to use Castrol oils, they are very good. I change the oil on my PD 130 Passat every 10,000 miles myself, with up to now SLX Longlife II, and soon Castrol Edge 5W/30. I do not really trust garages to put the correct oil in, they all seem to know "better" than manufacturers or customers, and it would be easy to just use the stuff in the barrel in the corner.
In my car I get aroung 43 mpg on local runs going quite fast, it is easy with a light right foot to get well over 50 mpg. On touring France last year I averaged 47 mpg, and I got up to 130 mph on a new autoroute near Amiens!
Oh and by the way, I work the mpg out properly using a calculator.
Please don't tell me what a fool I am to go so fast, but I really enjoyed it, there wasn't any other traffic, or Gendarmes.
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Hi i don't know were you boys are buying your oils but a highly recommended oil for the pd engines is MILLERS OIL - XFE-PD 5w40 HI SYNTHETIC OIL, formulated specificly for the pd engined marks, vw audi seat skoda approx £25 for 5 litres.
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Screwloose is right about the price of injectors, I know of a car that had to have 4 a few weeks ago due to the owner filling up with transformer cooling oil, and that's just the parts price.
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Screwloose is right about the price of injectors, I know of a car that had to have 4 a few weeks ago due to the owner filling up with transformer cooling oil,
Not good stuff then?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Amy - beware the complexities of VAG diesel oils...
XFE-PD is for the fixed interval servicing regime (£26.36 + vat for 5 litres on Millers website).
The Millers oil for PD's on the variable interval servicing appears to be XF- Long life (£42.55+ vat for 5litres)
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Amy - beware the complexities of VAG diesel oils... XFE-PD is for the fixed interval servicing regime (£26.36 + vat for 5 litres on Millers website). The Millers oil for PD's on the variable interval servicing appears to be XF- Long life (£42.55+ vat for 5litres)
Well I am now armed with the aforementioned A4 TDI 130, and the Vectra was disposed of to a local guy who really did not seem to appricate the extensive service history... but hey his cash is as good as anybody elses I suppose.
Anyways, the A4 has been on variable servicing up until now. As I have no intention of darkening Audi's doors for servicing, is there any danger in switching to fixed interval servicing at 5k miles just using the XFE-PD style oil? I assume that I can just re-set the service indicator as per the handbook... Is there anything else I should be aware of?
Thanks
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Frankly; with the silly-money cost of running these diesels now, what's the great attraction? All the hung-on emissions rubbish has killied the MPG advantage; it'll cost more to buy but be worth squit when you're done with it and it will cost far more per mile to run than an equivalent petrol.
I cant understand your rationale ?
I get 50+ MPG from my A4 TDI 130 consistently and 20K miles between services, also diesels have consistently higher residuals than their petrol equivalents to more than make up for the slightly higher service costs.
So if you want to make a comparison with say a 2 litre petrol which would do say 33-34 MPG on the same driving and frankly have poorer performance where it counts, the diesel is still a good financial bet.
LPG does seem attractive to a point, but there is still limited choce of factory built models and their filling stations also, not to mention the performance deficit of using LPG, as well as the space taken up by the tank, assuming a dual-fuel design.
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