Topic: Replacing 2002 CRV with?

[johngenx]

What’s happening with the CR-V when you buy something else?

[PJungnitsch]

Neighbour is looking at it. He just bought a new Camry but wants a beater to go back and forth to work

[valuator]

Neighbour is looking at it. He just bought a new Camry but wants a beater to go back and forth to work

Is anyone really worried about putting miles on a Camry or getting it wet?  It's gonna last a million miles anyway, drive the thing!

[Fobroader]

Neighbour is looking at it. He just bought a new Camry but wants a beater to go back and forth to work

Ummm...so the Camry is his fun, weekend car?!?!?!?! Oh that poor, poor man......

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Suddenly, I feel like a wildman in comparison! 

[PJungnitsch]

Heh, don't entirely understand completely either. It is a nice looking car though, pearl/black V6, more or less like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzFri30x0-4

Their other daily driver is a ES350, both are spotless

[PJungnitsch]

Will likely be looking at AWD Sportwagens/Alltracks this evening. A few questions for those of you who have them

-how do the trims compare for you? Especially seat comfort. Comfortline fine, or Highline/Exec worth the jump? We don't care about a sunroof, but seat comfort on long trips is important

-does the driver assistance features (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise) work well? Seems to be the only option, how do you tell if the vehicle has it or not?

-I see the new 1.8 TSI is chain drive to the valves, which is good, and comes with 4 years/60,000km maintenance, good too. What is the DSG maintenance cost after that, and is carbon buildup on the valves still an issue?

[JohnnyMac]

I don't have a wagon but I do have a VW.  I have a brochure that has some prices for certain maintenance.  Looks like 60,000 kms is where the big service is usually done, that being DSG and 4Motion services.  Just to give you an idea, for my old Golf R I was looking at $339.95 for Haldex Fluid Change (4 Motion system) and if I had the DSG it would be $629.95.  I'd assume the 1.8T with DSG and 4Motion would have a similar service interval and price for service. 

[dirtyjeffer]

, and is carbon buildup on the valves still an issue?

this is a possibility with any DI engine (unless it has some sort of port injection added like the Toyota D4S system for example)...a coworker's Rio had an issue after 18 months (hard starts, stalls, etc)...mine did it after 8 years...the difference there is fuel...i only use premium fuel to avoid pinging under load whereas my worker was filling up with the cheap gas at the grocery store...i was fortunate in that my indie cleaned it for about $125 whereas the dealer wanted something like $450 (i mentioned it in my Moan and Whine post)...in all, don't let the DI issue prevent you from getting a vehicle, just use quality fuels, change the oil on time, and know about it...an indie can clean it for minimal cost, and it may not need it for many years (if at all).

[ArticSteve]

^^  DI will always carbon up.  Catch can would help.  The good things in the Driver's assistance package are the blind spot and rear traffic warning.  Mandatory.  Follow cruise in city useless, highway just so so and without active steering pointless.

VW free maintenance is essentially 4 oil changes too far apart. 

If you're going to drive this into the ground get the all track excel.  Take the 0% and get the good one.  Looking forward to the show and shine END OF WEEK! 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

, and is carbon buildup on the valves still an issue?

this is a possibility with any DI engine (unless it has some sort of port injection added like the Toyota D4S system for example)...a coworker's Rio had an issue after 18 months (hard starts, stalls, etc)...mine did it after 8 years...the difference there is fuel...i only use premium fuel to avoid pinging under load whereas my worker was filling up with the cheap gas at the grocery store...i was fortunate in that my indie cleaned it for about $125 whereas the dealer wanted something like $450 (i mentioned it in my Moan and Whine post)...in all, don't let the DI issue prevent you from getting a vehicle, just use quality fuels, change the oil on time, and know about it...an indie can clean it for minimal cost, and it may not need it for many years (if at all).

Using Premium Fuel instead of Regular fuel represents a 15% increase in fuel costs, though.  Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of buying a car with D.I. that supposedly gets better fuel economy than a car that doesn't have it?

[quadzilla]

Using Premium Fuel instead of Regular fuel represents a 15% increase in fuel costs, though. 

In Ontario premium fuel is a 20-25% more than regular right now.

[quadzilla]

Looking through VW's maintenance schedule the AWD fluid change is at 45K and the DSG fluid change is at 60K so both first changes will be "free".

After that find an indy to do the work. I think I'm paying around $350 for my DSG changes.

Carbon build up will happen and probably varies due to fuel quality, driving patterns, etc. I'd think you would be good for at least 120K before it would need to be looked at.

[PJungnitsch]

Thanks all. There certainly are some costs and fiddling around that us with older Toyota/Honda are not used too

Looks like it is doable though, will see how the drive goes. Sounds like the maintenance pack does add some real value to a new buy

[dirtyjeffer]

, and is carbon buildup on the valves still an issue?

this is a possibility with any DI engine (unless it has some sort of port injection added like the Toyota D4S system for example)...a coworker's Rio had an issue after 18 months (hard starts, stalls, etc)...mine did it after 8 years...the difference there is fuel...i only use premium fuel to avoid pinging under load whereas my worker was filling up with the cheap gas at the grocery store...i was fortunate in that my indie cleaned it for about $125 whereas the dealer wanted something like $450 (i mentioned it in my Moan and Whine post)...in all, don't let the DI issue prevent you from getting a vehicle, just use quality fuels, change the oil on time, and know about it...an indie can clean it for minimal cost, and it may not need it for many years (if at all).

Using Premium Fuel instead of Regular fuel represents a 15% increase in fuel costs, though.  Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of buying a car with D.I. that supposedly gets better fuel economy than a car that doesn't have it?

it's a complex answer...the premium fuel can prevent the timing from retarding, providing you with maximum power (when needed)...the better fuels can also extend the time it takes to get the valves cleaned...if you are a person who goes to the dealer, and you need to pay $500 every two years for a "fuel induction service", that cost adds up over time...that's an extra $1500 in an 8 year period and i would imagine the extra fuel cost was maybe half that?...also, the better fuels will provide better fuel economy, so you will get some of that premium back on each fill up...DI has it's benefits (more efficient, more HP/TQ), but it does add a layer of complexity to the engine that traditional port induction systems don't have...some brands (Kia included) are even ditching DI on their lower priced cars since the lower cost, simpler systems are more suited to their lower priced cars where you don't really need to have the most HP on paper any more...i bought my car in 2012...the 1.6L has 138 HP...Nissan Versa's 1.6L had 106 HP(?), Honda's 1.5L in the Fit had 118 HP as well as Ford's 1.6L in the Fiesta...to the marketing department, a 20-30HP advantage over the competition is good to have...as i said though, they have dropped that on many of their smaller cars now as having the most power in these cars isn't really what people are buying them for now.

[Factger]

We have the basic comfortline sportwagen. The main issue with the wagon are the sunroofs. They tend to get clogged up and leak even after a year . I wanted to keep this car simple and basic, so I did not want any of the electronic nanny items Would be nice to have leather for the dog but ...

I am just in the process to change the DSG and the haldex oil. I am also going to change the oil in the front and rear differential. The stuff is not cheap especially the haldex fluid. This is the added cost of AWD.  Direct injection in any engine is going to have carbon build up on the valves.  If it does not have secondary port injection like toyota and ford there will be carbon build up. I walnut blasted the valves on my focus 2 times so far (takes 45min) and I soon will be doing it to the sportwagen.

The 1.8 tsi engine is sweet but sounds like a sewing machine.  I really love the dsg tranny (coming form a manual)so far especially for an economy car. It is really a spunky car , good on gas, and allot versatility. Really good bang for the buck vehicle

Will likely be looking at AWD Sportwagens/Alltracks this evening. A few questions for those of you who have them

-how do the trims compare for you? Especially seat comfort. Comfortline fine, or Highline/Exec worth the jump? We don't care about a sunroof, but seat comfort on long trips is important

-does the driver assistance features (automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise) work well? Seems to be the only option, how do you tell if the vehicle has it or not?

-I see the new 1.8 TSI is chain drive to the valves, which is good, and comes with 4 years/60,000km maintenance, good too. What is the DSG maintenance cost after that, and is carbon buildup on the valves still an issue?

[micha]

Comfortline seats are comfortable in my opinion.

+1

I find them more comfy than the seats in my R. I drove the wagon 1,400km to MB without problems and I have back issues.

[PJungnitsch]

We have the basic comfortline sportwagen. The main issue with the wagon are the sunroofs. They tend to get clogged up and leak even after a year . I wanted to keep this car simple and basic, so I did not want any of the electronic nanny items Would be nice to have leather for the dog but ...

I am just in the process to change the DSG and the haldex oil. I am also going to change the oil in the front and rear differential. The stuff is not cheap especially the haldex fluid. This is the added cost of AWD.  Direct injection in any engine is going to have carbon build up on the valves.  If it does not have secondary port injection like toyota and ford there will be carbon build up. I walnut blasted the valves on my focus 2 times so far (takes 45min) and I soon will be doing it to the sportwagen.

The 1.8 tsi engine is sweet but sounds like a sewing machine.  I really love the dsg tranny (coming form a manual)so far especially for an economy car. It is really a spunky car , good on gas, and allot versatility. Really good bang for the buck vehicle

Thanks. Looked up the sunroof issue, and that seem like a significant problem. My wife would be especially pissed as she doesn't like them anyway. Looks like the base comfortline would be the way to go

[tortoise]

Comfortline and Highline have the same seats, bit Highline is synthetic leather. I have the base cloth seats and they're fine. Not great, not bad.  4-6 hour stints don't bother me.

The Execline has the better seats (from the GTI maybe?). By all accounts they're way better.

I second avoiding the moonroof.

DSG service at the dealer was around $400.  Oil changes are $110.

[ArticSteve]

Sounds like the maintenance pack does add some real value to a new buy

VW Canada site refers to oil changes and some inspections in the "free" maintenance offer.  Get the DSG change in writing.
Also states that spark plugs are included "if needed"   Why would you need a spark plug under 60K km?  Are they prone to fouling.  Why would they list that?  Is that a warning sign with these engines?


Panno Sunroof seems like a real liability and personally I don't like them.  Way too much glass.  Unfortunately with the comfort-line you miss some basic goodies, but the price is right (sport wagon).  Strange packaging, but VWs are strange vehicles.  Premium gas sucks if that is really the case?

Never easy.