On 12 Feb 2008 at 20:06, Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> is, YOU   taking care of your car  are a   'Keep it working safely and well for
> the most reasonable cost'  Machine. Most professional car shops are
> money-getting machines.  A whole other world. You could have taken car of her
> car is efficiently and practically as you did yours, So, not comparable Charlie
> !

Actually, I did take care of her car - that's why I said her costs were for parts only. Mostly
electrical stuff - distributor, fuel pump, alternator, tuneup parts, etc, etc. We've had over a
dozen VWs in the family since 1980, about half gas, half diesel, and the diesels have been
far more economical in repair costs over this time, even though they probably account for 2/3
the total miles driven.

73 Audi Fox
73 Audi 100GL
77 Rabbit gas
81 Rabbit D
82 Scirocco
90 GTI 8V
90 Corrado G60
89 Westy 2.1L
88 Westy 2.1L
82 Westy D
85 Jetta TD
85 Jetta D
86 Jetta gas
87 Jetta GTX
90 Jetta GTX
99 Jetta TDI
01 Jetta TD

I think there's a few more I've forgotten, but you get the idea. Only the 90 GTX and the
'88&89 Westys went over 300k kms, while all of the diesels are between 300k and 600k kms.
The '89 Westy is nearing 700k, but it's on the 4th 2.1L engine... :-)
The I-4 gas engine is great, but some of the support systems are very trouble prone, just like
the WBX systems. The most reliable gas engine was the '82 Scirocco with mechanical
injection. The '73 100GL engine was bulletproof too.

I expect the electronics in the TDIs to be more costly as they start to fail and even things out
a bit, but gas engines are also getting even more electronics. But comparing say an 80s/90s
gas engine with an IDI diesel, there is no contest - the diesel is way cheaper to maintain;
there are only a few parts to wear out besides the engine itself, and properly cared for, these
parts last a *long* time.

Shawn Wright
http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels
'88 Westy 1.6TD 5 speed
'85 Jetta Diesel 1.6NA