I need to replace Marge pretty soon. Marge is my legendary daily driver, a 1991 olds cutlass ciera that my grandfather bought new. I've been working on it since I was 14, it curently has 247,000 miles. It will do anything you ask of it including hauling greasy Cummins parts and it has some decent off road capabilities due to the heavy front end weight.
So for those who own vw tdi's a question. What are the pros and cons of 02-03 tdi's? I am leaning toward a jetta, but beetles go cheap. I would consider the older 98-99 models too. I am going with the 5 speed for sure. I don't give a crap about cupholders, electronic bull pudding, and other hackey sack crap. How long will it run if I take as good of care of the vw as I have of Marge. FWIW Marge as the 3300 Buick V6 gas engine and gets 32mpg.
FWIW I won't even consider a newer model anything, there is too much emphasis on electronic sh-t, the EPA, and durability / cost effective maintenance isn't even on the radar. I really wish I could find a BMW 524 Td from 84-85 on the cheap.