I liked my 2004 TDI a lot . . . right up until it ate some teeth of a cam belt, jumped time and ate a valve. All at 148000 miles. Leather heated seats, nice tires, good shape, all became junkyard trash in an instant. The cost of repairing it outweighed any benefit. It will be parted out or crushed this spring.
BTW, car was well maintained. The cam belt had been changed as recommended about 20K before. No indications of trouble until it stopped suddenly.
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It was a Golf? Wow. Lousy installation?
Jetta TDI, actually. Upon post-trauma inspection, it looked like everything was in good condition but for the belt.
Who knows?
Oldplayer