Vw Golf 2.0 tdi or Audi A4 1.9 tdi or Audi A4 2.0 tdi??

gollywog

Hi guys,
I'm buying a new car and these are the 3 I'm interested in.
I'd be looking between 05-06 in years.
I know basically nothing about cars so if anyone has any advice, pros/cons of each i would be very grateful indeed!
Thanks very much

Nissan doctor

The 2.0tdi models regularly suffer injector failure but its now being covered under warranty/recall. The 1.9tdi is much more reliable but is normally less powerfull and not as smooth or quiet as the 2.0tdi's.

Dual mass flywheels are also regular failures on all the models you mentioned which can be an expensive repair too.

Other then that, they are all from the same company so reliability issues of other area's of the car as mostly all the same.

markoire

gollywog wrote: »

Hi guys,
I'm buying a new car and these are the 3 I'm interested in.
I'd be looking between 05-06 in years.
I know basically nothing about cars so if anyone has any advice, pros/cons of each i would be very grateful indeed!
Thanks very much

Hi Gollywog, I used to own a 2006 Audi a4 1.9tdi S-line. Was a comfortable cruiser, very reliable but pretty slow. The 1.9tdi has been around for years and shouldn't give too much trouble. The 2.0tdi in the A4 is known to be a more troublesome engine and could easily land you with a huge repair bill. (Some info here : http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/general-automotive-chat/86907-vag-faulty-blb-engine-thread.html )

I now have a 2008 2.0 tdi golf and find it a lot faster than the A4, but not much more economical and not as comfortable!! You should see 45mpg form both, more on long runs and less on short runs. The 2.0 tdi in my golf is pretty much the same engine as is in the A4 but it has a slightly different set up and is not likely to cause nearly as much hassle as the one in the A4!

What sort of mileage are you doing per annum?

gollywog

markoire wrote: »

Hi Gollywog, I used to own a 2006 Audi a4 1.9tdi S-line. Was a comfortable cruiser, very reliable but pretty slow. The 1.9tdi has been around for years and shouldn't give too much trouble. The 2.0tdi in the A4 is known to be a more troublesome engine and could easily land you with a huge repair bill. (Some info here : http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/general-automotive-chat/86907-vag-faulty-blb-engine-thread.html )

I now have a 2008 2.0 tdi golf and find it a lot faster than the A4, but not much more economical and not as comfortable!! You should see 45mpg form both, more on long runs and less on short runs. The 2.0 tdi in my golf is pretty much the same engine as is in the A4 but it has a slightly different set up and is not likely to cause nearly as much hassle as the one in the A4!

What sort of mileage are you doing per annum?

I was dead set on getting an audi because they are so comfortable but after driving some im not totally happy! Just came across a good looking Golf 2.0 tdi with service history and one middle aged owner that seems good, but im just concerned about the low spec on it, its a sportsline?? Any info on that?? Id drive quite a lot, mixture of long and short journeys, maybe 25k miles a year?? And the golf has 138k miles, is that alot on it??
Thanks guys!

Tea 1000

gollywog wrote: »

I was dead set on getting an audi because they are so comfortable but after driving some im not totally happy!

Why not?

Nissan doctor

Any particular reason for not considering anything outside the VAG group?

gollywog

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Why not?

I'm just being really fussy, but as solid and smooth as it was, it just felt heavy and sluggish.... but as i said, i dont know much about cars and it might have been just a bad example!!
I currently drive a peugeot 307 2.0 hdi incase your curious

Tea 1000

gollywog wrote: »

I'm just being really fussy, but as solid and smooth as it was, it just felt heavy and sluggish.... but as i said, i dont know much about cars and it might have been just a bad example!!
I currently drive a peugeot 307 2.0 hdi incase your curious

My reason for asking is that you may have discovered that you just don't like the way the A4 drives, hence I'm wondering why you're dead set on one. There are many good brands out there that will offer you a different driving feel!

gollywog

Tea 1000 wrote: »

My reason for asking is that you may have discovered that you just don't like the way the A4 drives, hence I'm wondering why you're dead set on one. There are many good brands out there that will offer you a different driving feel!

Yes i think you have hit the nail on the head there! It was the 1.9 i drove.
I would imagine the golf to feel lighter and nimbler??
Im going to test drive one Saturday so maybe i'll prefer that?
Im sorry i just realised i'm very confused and im peobably irritating you all!
And just how much power would the golf have?

Tea 1000

gollywog wrote: »

Yes i think you have hit the nail on the head there! It was the 1.9 i drove.
I would imagine the golf to feel lighter and nimbler??
Im going to test drive one Saturday so maybe i'll prefer that?
Im sorry i just realised i'm very confused and im peobably irritating you all!
And just how much power would the golf have?

The Golf will feel a good bit quicker alright. On long trips though a car from the class up will be more comfortable. You could consider an Accord diesel.

gollywog

Tea 1000 wrote: »

The Golf will feel a good bit quicker alright. On long trips though a car from the class up will be more comfortable. You could consider an Accord diesel.

Ya that makes alot of sense! Looks like im going to have to decide which is more important... hate decisions like this!!

declan_8

gollywog wrote: »

Ya that makes alot of sense! Looks like im going to have to decide which is more important... hate decisions like this!!

Or even consider an A3 if its a nimble but classy car your after. Just an option and plenty on donedeal.

bazz26

OSI wrote: »

2.0 TDI is the newer, quieter and more modern engine. Both the A4 and Golf share the same engine, the 1.9 is older, noisier, rougher but more reliable.

Beyond that it's really down to what spec you are getting in either car.

The 2.0 TDi from 05/06 which the OP is looking at is a PD engine, they sound as noisy as the 1.9 TDi. More powerful yes but they have a similar narrow power band as the 1.9 TDi.

The newer 2.0 TDi CR engines did not arrive until 2008.

gollywog

Hey guys,
I have an update, i bought an audi a4 s line from a garage, uk specs, has everything and drives sweet as a nut! very happy! and since found out that the other a4 1.9s i drove must have been dodgy because i drove my friends one he had from new and its a lovely car to drive also! Not near as sluggish feeling as the two i drove

jimbomalley

gollywog wrote: »

Hey guys,
I have an update, i bought an audi a4 s line from a garage, uk specs, has everything and drives sweet as a nut! very happy! and since found out that the other a4 1.9s i drove must have been dodgy because i drove my friends one he had from new and its a lovely car to drive also! Not near as sluggish feeling as the two i drove

Congrats. Just bought an a4 2.0 TD and I love it, amazing to drive, my first proper car!

gollywog

jimbomalley wrote: »

gollywog wrote: »

Hey guys,
I have an update, i bought an audi a4 s line from a garage, uk specs, has everything and drives sweet as a nut! very happy! and since found out that the other a4 1.9s i drove must have been dodgy because i drove my friends one he had from new and its a lovely car to drive also! Not near as sluggish feeling as the two i drove

Congrats. Just bought an a4 2.0 TD and I love it, amazing to drive, my first proper car!

Congratulations, best of luck with it :-)

bemak

i'm in a similar position. i had a 97 a4 which was bullet proof but now i have a deposit on a 2005 2.0 tdi one. i've been hearing stories that they're not as reliable as i was hoping and can be costly if things go wrong. I'm second guessing putting my deposit on it now!

i did a check as well and it's on its 6th owner! it is an english import which i knew as it is very high spec. has the works. i took it for a spin and seems lively and nice to drive to be honest. hard to know though what you're buying!

gollywog

bemak wrote: »

i'm in a similar position. i had a 97 a4 which was bullet proof but now i have a deposit on a 2005 2.0 tdi one. i've been hearing stories that they're not as reliable as i was hoping and can be costly if things go wrong. I'm second guessing putting my deposit on it now!

i did a check as well and it's on its 6th owner! it is an english import which i knew as it is very high spec. has the works. i took it for a spin and seems lively and nice to drive to be honest. hard to know though what you're buying!

It's a horrible feeling isn't it?? I've had the car three months now and nothing yet anyway, seems grand. Unfortunately that's as much as I can tell you yet!

okiss

Get a machinic or the AA to look at any car before you buy it. Also get a hp check to make sure that no money is owed on the car. I know of one guy who brought a car which was still on hp and the seller had no right to sell this car on due to owing hp (hp means the car is owned by the finance company until the hp is paid off). Another person I know did this check before buying a van & found the van was on hp.
I know some one who got a Golf tdi with this type of millage and they ended up spending a lot on it.
This car let them down a few time and one day it just cut out on a main road.
The owner of this car would get the car serviced on a regular basis and had a old car for years as a result of doing this.

bazz26

I'd find a 1.9 TDi and get it remapped. A remapped 1.9 TDi will give you around 130bhp which is not that far off the standard 2.0 TDi of similar age. The 1.9 TDi is a tried and tested unit.