Faults:
Seat heater pads were recalled. When we got the car back from the dealer, the driver's seat overheated. Too hot on the one side.
There was a recall with the water pump, which was replaced under warranty.
Radio failed. Bought an aftermarket one with Bluetooth.
Glow plugs replaced. Oil changes. Brakes. Tires. Windshield. Replaced headlight assemblies, which improved night vision as the old ones were faded and scratched.
The car has been driven mostly on the coast, but has also seen -20 Celsius annually.
No corrosion on any body parts or components.
General Comments:
The car has been excellent. Still has original clutch after 244000km. The only issues I had were electrical, and that was after I put a programmer in for extra fuel economy. Once I took it out, all was good.
We are in the process of putting new brakes in and detailing the car. Plan to keep it for another 244000.
Wish the back seat was a little bigger. A car seat installed equals the front seat being pushed forward a little more than I'd prefer.
Also the front end is low and heavy. I bought a skid plate, so when it bottoms out we won't damage the oil pan. It bottoms out leaving gas stations, even when going slow. A friend of mine bought a 2003 TDI sedan and had the same problem, except he broke 2 oil pans (he didn't buy the skid plate). The one I bought was aluminum and they sent it online. Works well.
Approximately 900km per tank.
13th May 2015, 08:29
Uh, you really should be changing cambelts at least every 100K km (62K miles). In the '90s, several European cars (I assume this is more the fault of the supplier) had a recommended timing belt change interval of 120K km - much longer than 80K km common at the time, but they started failing well before that.