Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Keep in mind this is sucker season for TDI's meaning nobody wants one until gas prices go up in the summer which in return pushes the resale value of TDI's up temporarily.
Like anything else that is cyclical you obviously want to buy a TDI when the market is low (fall/winter the last 3 years) and of course sell it when the market is high from fuel prices.
Keep in mind TDI VW's are only desirable to the general public when fuel prices are up but when they go down you have nothing more than a VW to sell. I mention this because the previous generation Mexican built Jetta was a known quality/reliability disaster and every car dealer you might trade it to knows this which is why their resale sux.
I know the new/current generation Jetta is light years ahead of the previous generation in every category because the finance has a Mexican base model 5cyl 06 with 6 spd auto. She wanted a cheap new commuter for her 8 mile r/t for work and the only reasons I went with this Jetta was because it had good initial reviews, excellent Insurance Institute crash testing and VW had a dirt cheap lease which shielded her from VW's notoriously crappy depreciation. I hate leases but I took the gamble for 0 down and $219 per month for 24 months.
I only mentioned the above to make the point that her new roomy 170hp gas car with plenty of power toys consistently gets 29mpg HWY @ 80 mph with the cruise on so it doesn't make a lot of sense pay $12K or more during 'high season' for an older high mileage Jetta diesel just because it gets 40+ on the hwy. I'm not trying to push anyone to buy or lease a new gas Jetta and the only reason we have one is while we were seeking new transportation VW had a dirt cheap lease at the right time on something that would work for her. I just wanted to show the math doesn't work on the overpriced old TDI's.
The previous gen Passat TDI's are better vehicles than the same gen Jetta because they were built in Germany however being the bigger TDI car of VW fleet coupled with the limited numbers brought to the US keeps their demand pretty high along with their resale. I bought a new loaded 05 Passat and took it from a 17. 9 to 14 second car while wasting 2 turbos in the process so needless to say its something I'm familiar with.
:-laf
Regardless of what you might buy used be sure to check craigslist.com which is where the vast majority of private individuals now sell their used cars because its free. The newspaper classifieds and AutoTrader.com have all but been abandoned with the only exception being dealers.
Sorry for rambling on but I know the market and the product and I don't want anyone to make a financial mistake they would come to regret.
Like anything else that is cyclical you obviously want to buy a TDI when the market is low (fall/winter the last 3 years) and of course sell it when the market is high from fuel prices.
Keep in mind TDI VW's are only desirable to the general public when fuel prices are up but when they go down you have nothing more than a VW to sell. I mention this because the previous generation Mexican built Jetta was a known quality/reliability disaster and every car dealer you might trade it to knows this which is why their resale sux.
I know the new/current generation Jetta is light years ahead of the previous generation in every category because the finance has a Mexican base model 5cyl 06 with 6 spd auto. She wanted a cheap new commuter for her 8 mile r/t for work and the only reasons I went with this Jetta was because it had good initial reviews, excellent Insurance Institute crash testing and VW had a dirt cheap lease which shielded her from VW's notoriously crappy depreciation. I hate leases but I took the gamble for 0 down and $219 per month for 24 months.
I only mentioned the above to make the point that her new roomy 170hp gas car with plenty of power toys consistently gets 29mpg HWY @ 80 mph with the cruise on so it doesn't make a lot of sense pay $12K or more during 'high season' for an older high mileage Jetta diesel just because it gets 40+ on the hwy. I'm not trying to push anyone to buy or lease a new gas Jetta and the only reason we have one is while we were seeking new transportation VW had a dirt cheap lease at the right time on something that would work for her. I just wanted to show the math doesn't work on the overpriced old TDI's.
The previous gen Passat TDI's are better vehicles than the same gen Jetta because they were built in Germany however being the bigger TDI car of VW fleet coupled with the limited numbers brought to the US keeps their demand pretty high along with their resale. I bought a new loaded 05 Passat and took it from a 17. 9 to 14 second car while wasting 2 turbos in the process so needless to say its something I'm familiar with.
:-lafRegardless of what you might buy used be sure to check craigslist.com which is where the vast majority of private individuals now sell their used cars because its free. The newspaper classifieds and AutoTrader.com have all but been abandoned with the only exception being dealers.
Sorry for rambling on but I know the market and the product and I don't want anyone to make a financial mistake they would come to regret.
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