Prius Costs vs Jetta TDI Costs?

Nice, someone is questioning the reliability of Prius vs. VW Jetta TDI in terms of costs?

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/12/it%E2%80%99s-official-toyota-prius-and-porsche-911-are-germany%E2%80%99s-most-reliable-cars/

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Here's just SOME of the things that are required for maintenance ....

7) Maintenance

a. Engine Oil and Filter Maintenance
b. Fuel Filter / Water Separator Maintenance
c. Air Filter and "Snow Screen" Maintenance
d. Timing Belt Inspection and Replacement
e. "Supplementary injector" on 1996 Passat TDI models - North American specification only
f. Intercooler Cleaning
g. Intake Manifold and EGR Cleaning
h. Solving the "Slow-down Shudder" and Other Shudder Issues - Recalibrating the Fuel Quantity at Idle
i . Engine Power Supply Relay a.k.a. "Relay 109" Replacement
j .Avoiding the Need for Intake Manifold Cleaning - Recalibrating the EGR System
k. Setting the Injection Timing - Injector Pump Mechanical Adjustment
l. MAF sensor - checking and replacement


Just a 'little' more than an oil change every 10, tire rotation every 5, and filters every 30 for the first 100K miles .... then 4 plugs and a few flushes.


REV
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Anyone who would pick a diesel over a conventional gas engine probably lives on a farm or in an area where diesel is available. Move to a larger city & it's difficult to find it at times.

PLUS there's always the danger of not paying attention and accidently putting gas in your diesel tank by mistake (which is easy at a BP station because they use the green handle for gas and black for diesel, while every other station does the opposite). Personally, I've never done it, but I'm pretty aware of my surroundings. It would be easy for someone to do.

I went from a Duramax diesel-powered 3/4 ton Chevy truck to the Prius (big change, I know). While I loved the diesel, the nightmare costs of maintenance was always in the back of my mind. I never had a problem, but on the duramax forums, there are some VERY scary stories!

 

You are listing maintenance items for various different TDIs, many of which detail procedures related to parts that haven't been used in the cars for 5-10 years.

 

Also, take a look at the CEO of VW while checking out Hyundai i30 at the Frankfurt Auto Show!

Volkswagen

 

No way you can match reliability between the two. The jetta still has a performance element... the prius.... well its performs soley on MPG with nice but minimal ammenities.

 

Well since your on a Prius forum, you already know the responses you will get.

Get the Prius.

"I THINK" Prii look better, hold higher resale value, and are more reliable.

I never rode the Jetta, but I bet it has less Rattles than the Prius. The Prius has alot of rattles.

 

Houston is something like the 4th largest city in the country and you would be hard pressed to find a gas station that DOESN'T have diesel at every pump around here.

 

As with everything else you need to drive both and compare costs - they are very different cars and the TDI will perform very well under certain driving conditions.

If I had a long ......... higher speed daily commute -- the TDI would have the edge. But - I work from home

The Prius is ..........IMO the best second car you can have.

The TDI is going to require more general maintenance and history says -- more repair costs. The TDI was quite a few thousand dollars less than my five w/o T package .. and they have very high resale.

 

I bought a '12 III. Fuel cost should be better for my driving habits. Not sure about actual ownership cost because it is a apples to oranges.

Shopped both the Prius III and VW Jetta TDI with convenience package. Both cost about the same new, about $26K MSRP. Both were discounted to below invoice. Actually you get a little more options like heated seats, lumbar support, sunroof, better stereo with the VW for about $26K. Toyota pays for 2 years service, VW pays for 3 years.

It depends on your daily driving habits if you are looking at mpg. The Prius is better for City driving and shorter trips. I took the VW off my short list after a factory VW Rep told me TDI needs about 15 miles of highway driving to warm up to be efficient. The VW Rep also said the VW gas car is a better choice for trips less then 15 miles. The VW Rep even said the Prius was tough to beat for my daily driving habits. I appreciate the VW Rep was so honest.

The TDI is hands down the more fun car to drive in terms of driving dynamics. I think this is where VW has a huge advantage if someones driving habits are a good fit for TDI technology. I have another dedicated fun car so this was less of a concern for me.

I'd have to give the Prius the advantage if you decide to keep the car after the warrant expires. I have had VW before and repairs are a concern. Be ready to pay once the warranty is over if you decide to keep the car after warranty. I would think the cost of ownership for the VW would rise over the Prius as the car needs more repairs out of warranty.

I have never seen a car that was so tied in to gas prices. Not sure about resale values between the Prius and TDI? I think the Lease Value Guides that predict resale values has them listed very close. The VW Jetta Wagon TDI is a high demand model and probably has higher resale values.

Bottom line, one technology might be a better fit then the other depending on your personal driving habits. What people are willing to pay for driving "fun" is a tough call. VW is the winner there. Once again, I have to give credit to the VW Rep for being so honest.

No regrets with the Prius so far. Unbelievable car.

 

autopc -- I believe you have it about right. And the TDI wagon does have a high resale value.

If you read the reviews on the TDI the 15 miles refers to a commute -- one of the car magazines did a comparison of he costs .....TDI vs the Gasoline model. They said that unless you did more than 30 miles a day the TDI would not pay for itself since it is more expensive to purchase.

So I bet that is what the salesman was talking about - but did not get the story quite correct. Also - I can't see haw it would take anywhere near the 15 miles to warm up.

 

One thing we are not looking at here comparing the two... I think the Jetta would be more inline with the Camry, not the Prius. The Camry is the family sedan... as is the Jetta. The TDI is probably quicker, better handling and a little more sporty. It may get better MPG. The camry is less exciting, but comes with all the options, more reliable with a lower total cost of ownership. We are just saying the TDI vs Prius becuase they are both 40+ MPG cars or so.... and we happened to be in the Prius forums... or I wonder if the comparison would be different.

 

One is midsize, the other is compact.

 

with any analysis, several things are discounted

1) future price of gas
2) maintenance etc.

leaving both out only benefits the TDI

once again. this is information only. it does ignore the basic tenets of real life

Gas, Hybrid, Diesel, Electric: What Do They Cost Over 5 Yrs?

now if looking at the Leaf, let me tell you, TCO for Leaf is less than all but the Cruze. their math is suspect and if we increase the price of gas, the Leaf wins easily.

obtw. i got a 2011 which somehow reduced my "out the door cost" to just over $28,000. as far as electricity cost?? i could reduce that significantly by taking advantage of the "still FREE" public charging more often

as an experiment i tried one month of public charging as much as was possible without inconveniencing my life. i drove 1200 miles and saved about a penny a mile. so reduced my electricity cost $12.00

as you can see, it would only be done with a minimum disruption of my life.

 

I did not talk to a salesman. I spoke with a actual factory VW Rep. She was talking about operating temp. Diesels in general take a lot longer to warm up compared to a gas engine. The WV TDI takes much longer then a VW gas engine to reach optimum operating temperature. It takes a long time for a TDI to even heat the interior cabin. Many TDI drivers keep their cars plugged into a engine block heater also.

 

Anecdotal reports from owners seem to agree with this statement. I know diesel engines are pretty heavy compared to the Prius ICE or even conventional OTTO engines, and it may be that airflow inlet is sized for the autobahn

 

Most of the time people compare the Jetta Sportwagon TDi to the Prius. They don't usually compare the Jetta TDi sedan.

 

This was not my experience with a mercedes TD - and that was 25 years ago -- they may take a little while .. and the efficiency may drop somewhat.. But 15 miles is a long time.

Now I'm in the mid atlantic - not zero very often.

 

15 miles is pretty far. It takes longer than a regular gasoline vehicle to warm up but not that much longer. The diesel cycle is more efficient so there's less waste heat. Blocking off the grille and a block heater make a big difference.

 

I doubt it is 15 miles. I have test driven a couple Passat TDI's and my test drives were not close to 15 miles and I averaged 44 mpg. These drives were on a snowy, cold day and also a warmer day. We also have Mercedes GL diesel and it seems to optimum operating efficiency in a couple miles. I was extremely impressed with the Passat TDI. I am just not confident on owning a first year car and vw reliability.