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2010 Jetta TDI buying checklist and FAQ- page 1
includes invoice / MSRP price for sedan and Jetta sportwagen / Golf wagon (Canada)
For page 2, see 2009 2010 Jetta TDI buying checklist page 2
For the 2010 VW Golf TDI, see 1000q: 2010 Golf TDI buying checklist
For the 2010 Audi A3 TDI, see 1000q: A3 TDI buying checklist

Introduction

I've underlined the most common answers if you want to skim.  This article shows the most up to date invoice pricing, available options, and other misc info specific to the 2009 and newer VW Jetta TDI sedan and station wagon.  Because there are many other diesel VW models and trims available in Europe and Asia, this article is written with a focus on the North American market and the TDI.  Since the 2010 are coming out fall of 2009 and the Golf is now using the 6th generation bodies, here is an article showing what's new on the 2010: 1000q: differences between the 2009 Jetta and 2010 Jetta.   

Recent updates as of 1/22/2010: tax info for 2010 updated, official TDI sales numbers confirmed for tax credit, Jetta TDI cup edition information added, suspension blocker warning added, note about the DPF filter added

The basics
The 5th generation (mark5/mk5/mkv) VW Jetta TDI is the most luxurious, largest, safest, and powerful generation of Jetta TDI that VW has offered.  It is sometimes called the A5 body style (Jetta-5th generation).  It is 50 state emissions legal and available in Canada.  However, the added weight and features raised the price and decreased fuel economy compared to earlier Jetta.  The 2009 Jetta TDI was slightly decontented compared to the earlier A5 TDI due to foreign exchange rates, manufacturer profitability, and marketing goals.  The engine is all new for the North American market and makes more power and efficiency than earlier TDI and makes cleaner emissions.  The only TDI wagon available new or in the 5th generation is the 2009+ sportwagen (this is the correct spelling of the station wagon model).  There is a Passat wagon but it's not available in North America with the TDI engine.

Note: while there may still be stock of 2009 VW Jetta TDI, the 2010 cars started arriving at dealers in Sept 2009.

Jetta vs. 2010 Golf TDI and 2010 Audi A3 TDI

The Jetta station wagon got a major cosmetic refresh for 2010 - the bumpers, headlights, and interior are different but the engine and the rest of the body are about the same.  In Canada it's called the Golf wagon.  Please refer to 1000q: differences between the 2009 and 2010 TDI for a detailed list of updates and differences between the 2009 and 2010 models.  This is because of rolling changes to the mk6 generation.  For the Golf, see 1000q: 2010 Golf TDI buyer's checklist.  For the Audi A3 TDI, see 1000q: 2010 Audi A3 TDI buying checklist, reviews, and FAQ.

*Front head, leg, shoulder room are all very close.  The A3's specs state that it's 7" wider because Audi's spec includes the width of the side view mirrors, the Golf and Jetta specs do not.  Front and rear wheel tracks are all the same.  Jetta has interior choice colors, Golf is black interior only.

Why not a hybrid like the Prius?
The Prius is often compared with a Jetta TDI because of fuel economy but I've found that there isn't a lot of cross shopping.  I've driven the Prius and many TDI and I can understand why - driving feel and handling, design, and size (station wagon) are all very different.  The Jetta sportwagen has 67 cu ft of maximum cargo room plus a roof rack vs. the newest Prius with 40 cu ft.  For more details on why a Jetta is a good choice and why not a hybrid, see 1000q: general TDI buying guide and checklists.  If you are totally new to diesels and would like some basic information on how a different from a gasoline car, see 1000q: how a diesel works.  Since the introduction of the TDI in 1996, the EPA fuel economy ratings for TDI tend to be slightly low compared to real world driving.  Even after accounting for variation between cars, drivers, and test conditions, TDIs really shine on highway mpg.  But a diesel isn't about the best fuel economy or lowest cost per mile!  I believe that the Jetta TDI sedan and wagon are an excellent choice for most people due to the combination of safety features, fuel economy, resale value, handling, and cost.  Ultimately, the best car for you is a car that matches your needs, not mine.  It comes down to your values of what you want in a car and economy.  Even still, Autoweek magazine said, "For comfort, quiet and highway handling, our drivers found the TDI had significant advantages over every other car in the test.  It would have been our choice, in other words, for an easy daytrip on the interstates, regardless of fuel economy. And we topped the hybrids by driving with just a little attention to fuel economy, not making it an obsession."  Ultimately, your mileage and experience may vary depending on your driving style and other factors.  If your choice of car were based solely on money, buying a well maintained, used, compact car like a Civic will cost far less in depreciation, sales tax, and lifetime fuel costs compared to buying any new car!  And if fuel economy were everything then ride a bike!

Another reason: There is no Prius sport but there is a Jetta sport - it's called the Cup edition and features the GLI (like a Golf GTI but the Jetta) sport suspension/seats/brakes.  The other main difference is the multifunction steering wheel with paddle shifters and standard side decal.  

Below is a video review of the Jetta TDI and Audi A3 TDI vs. the Insight and Prius.

Below left is a video review of the Prius vs. Jetta TDI (diesel fuel is now less expensive than gas, the video was made when diesel was more expensive).  
 
Video reviews of the TDI from edmunds.com and cars.com
 

Some customers have taken delivery at $1500 UNDER invoice + delivery (+ local tax, license, fees, added options, etc) on 2009 models.  Due to worldwide economic conditions, the dollar has risen in value and the car market has slowed.  Don't worry, they still make money even if they sell below invoice because invoice isn't normally what the dealer ultimately pays for the car.  

On the dealer end, they can "order" as many cars as they want but they are only allocated a certain number of TDI.  Otherwise every dealer would stockpile all the high demand cars.  This is why some dealers won't accept deposits - they already have many more orders than they are allocated and enough to cover buyers who back out of the sale.  However, if you keep calling something might happen and if you're standing there with cash most dealers would accommodate you.  If there is some delivery delay like "sorry, the car fell off the transport truck and we'll get you a replacement in 3 months", ask the salesperson for a inventory commission number and VIN.  Knowing this information will ensure that your car isn't sold to someone else who was willing to pay more.

Average prices out the door after everything have been in the $21,000-28,000 US dollar range.  VW only builds cars to your order for the European market.

Jetta TDI (and all 4 cylinder light diesel passenger car engines) do not use urea injection like Mercedes Benz adblue additive to meet emissions.  No pee jokes, please!

2009 pricing
Invoice price on a 2009 base Jetta TDI sedan is $21,004 w/manual transmission, $22,103 w/DSG transmission.  MSRP is $22,270 w/manual, 23,370 w/DSG.  
Invoice price on a 2009 base VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI is 22,503 w/manual, 23,602 for w/DSG.  MSRP is 23,870 w/manual, 24,970 w/DSG.
Delivery is $650 (all prices are in US dollars).

Official pricing for 2010 VW Jetta sedan TDI Add $750 destination to car price (mandatory) (prices for US only)

The TDI costs about $2200 more than a similar gasser Golf.  The TDI has additional features over the gas model and has a $1300 income tax credit.  In CT and other states (see tax info below for qualifications) with a sales tax exemption for high mileage cars, you also save about $1400 in sales tax.  Depending on options, etc., this could make the TDI cost less than a gas VW.

Bluetooth, heated seats/windshield washer nozzles are standard and included in the MSRP on 2010 VW Jetta TDI

Official pricing for 2010 VW Jetta sportwagen station wagon TDI Add $750 destination to car price (mandatory) (prices for US only)

Bluetooth is standard on 2010 VW Jetta sportwagen TDI, no foglights

Below is a table comparing MSRP of the VW and Audi TDI.  The MSRP of the Audi includes the $825 destination fee so all VW MSRP are 4 door, DSG transmission with $750 VW destination fee included to make a direct comparison.

All cars come with 3 years/36,000 miles of free maintenance in the US.  Just remember that nothing is free, this cost is shifted into the purchase price.

Make sure to tell all drivers of your car to only put diesel in the fuel tank!   If you accidentally put gasoline in it, immediately stop and tow it to a mechanic!

Tax credits and sales tax exemptions with the VW TDI

See 1000q: Tax credits and exemptions with the VW Audi TDI for detailed examples and explanations.  These are rough summaries only.  If you are subject to AMT you can use the credit for the 2009 tax year.  This was not the case for the 2008 tax year.  For 2010 Jetta specific info, see below.

The 2009 and 2010 Jetta TDI qualify for a $1300 federal income tax credit for the US.  This is not a deduction, it's a credit towards federal income tax.

In CT, the 2009 and the 2010 Golf and Jetta TDI are exempt from sales tax.  Also check for local property tax exemptions from your town.  Possible tax exemptions vary by state and expires by a certain date so please check your local laws.  The expiry of the exemption may also overlap hybrid exemptions so ignore the hybrid exemptions.  I went to the DMV and even the manager had no clue about it, so print it out and take responsibility for yourself on this one.  This exemption doesn't mean you can buy a car in CT and then register it in your state, you must be a resident.  See the above linked article for more details and requirements.

Biodiesel in the new TDI
The engine will run fine on biodiesel in all years of TDI.  However, VW only allows up to B5, or 5% biodiesel.  They cannot void your car's warranty because of biodiesel use!  Laws vary but generally speaking, if they refuse a warranty claim on the engine or exhaust system claiming the fault was caused by biodiesel, you might have to fight the manufacturer and prove that they are responsible for the problem and/or that the fuel is not responsible for the problem.

The 2009 2010 TDI common rail engine and emissions system has not had long term real world tests with high percentages of biodiesel and the main concern is compatibility with the emissions treatments and engine oil dilution.  Regular diesel easily evaporates out of the engine oil whereas biodiesel tends to accumulate more.  After combustion, a little extra fuel is injected during the "self clean" post injection regeneration cycle which is burned up in the exhaust filters and catalytic converters.  Burning this fuel in the exhaust filters raises their temperatures and burns up the captured emissions.  This is one of the reasons why the new TDI has very little diesel odor and low emissions.  It's possible that biodiesel use could cause excess regeneration cycles and it is not known how this will effect the car.  For more basic information about biodiesel and VW, see 1000q: intro to biodiesel.

Because the self clean cycle injects this extra fuel after combustion, there is also some concern that the biodiesel will get into the engine oil and dilute it.  Regular diesel evaporates easily out of the engine oil whereas biodiesel tends to accumulate.  A little biodiesel can be easily tolerated but the long term effects of this are not yet known on the new common rail TDI engine only.  If you are going to use high percentages of biodiesel, the 1999-2006 TDI has a long track record of safely using biodiesel and has no particulate emissions filters or post combustion fuel injection. 

This post combustion injection will also slightly lower fuel economy.   It's hard to tell exactly how much fuel economy is lowered but it does occur every 400-600 miles, or about once a fuel tank.  Future aftermarket modifications will most likely include disabling this injection and removing the emissions filters.  Check your state and federal emissions laws before modifying your emissions equipment.

More FAQ, options, and ordering info

DSG transmission is the only "automatic" transmission available.  It's often called tiptronic but almost all non-manual transmission mk5 TDI are DSG.  The exception is the Tiguan (if they release a TDI version in the US).  A DSG is an automatically shifting manual-like transmission.  Towing is limited to 1000 lbs in the TDI, 200 lbs tongue.  For unknown reasons, the original weight limit for towing a trailer without brakes (wagon only) was 1650 lbs but was lowered.  The gears inside the transmission look somewhat like a manual transmission instead of an automatic transmission's planetary gears and torque converter.  Compared to a manual transmission, everything else being equal, expect slightly lower fuel economy due to greater weight, DSG fluid parasitic losses, and other factors.  Ultimately, the difference in fuel economy will probably only cost about $12/month more for the DSG, so don't let a small mileage difference dissuade you from state of the art transmission technology.  See a video explanation and pictures of the DSG transmission at 1000 answered questions: DSG FAQ.

Jetta TDI sedans get 9w3 bluetooth which has outgoing call, phone book, and voice control capability.  Jetta/Golf wagons get 9w2 bluetooth which is like Volk-L which can only pick up incoming calls.  You may be able to use voice control if your mobile phone has voice control capability.  *NOTE Canada wagons do not get bluetooth even though the price list says it.  Because of this discrepancy, VW Canada has been discounting the price of adding bluetooth.

The Jetta sedan and wagon are made in Puebla, Mexico and shipped by cargo ship or train to the US and Canada.

Note about the 2009 vs 2010 EPA fuel ratings
The engine/transmission is the same in all 2009-2010 TDI but the EPA has revised the fuel economy rating from 29/40 for DSG and 30/41 manual in 2009 to 30/42 for DSG and 30/41 for manual (for all 2010 TDI).  This is most likely due to software changes in the DSG but the estimates were always low anyways.  Your mileage may vary!

The biggest change on the 2009 Jetta is the new 2.0L 140hp, 236lb-ft torque common rail TDI engine.  This engine is comparable in torque to a 6 cylinder engine in daily driving with the fuel economy of a small 4 cylinder engine.  See 1000q: direction injection, pumpe duse, and common rail for a comparison to older TDI technologies.  This common rail and emissions technology is state of the art for passenger car diesels and results in more power, more efficiency, better emissions, and quieter, smoother engine sound than ever before.  Although diesel fuel prices are higher than gasoline prices, you will still save money over the long term compared to a similar new car. 

The loyal edition TDI was a low production number, limited edition 2009 VW Jetta TDI that is sedan only.  The loyal edition was ordered as a regular customer.  They stopped production in July 2008 (in the 27th week of production) and I'm pretty sure they've all been sold by now.  The main difference is that it has the premium sound system, sunroof, and front lower lip spoiler, and costs an extra $450 over the regular TDI.  This is a good deal since the sunroof alone is $1000.  However, if you order the navigation system on the loyal edition, you get the older disc-in-the-headunit MFD2 system without the touchscreen.  This older navigation system won't let you listen to music and use navigation at the same time.  See 1000q: RNS 510 FAQ for more info on the touchscreen headunit.  Loyal editions were built in both 6 speed manual and DSG, some became demos.  The loyal and demo also have a TDI badge insert on the steering wheel, later non loyal/demo have a blank spot in the insert position (see below pictures for more details).

The demo is pictured below.  Demos are DSG only and white with stickers on it.  These were early build 2009 loyal editions because it has the front lip spoiler, rear trunk lip spoiler, and premium radio.  By now it's rare to see any demo/loyal editions on dealer lots anymore because almost all have been sold.

Here is the sales brochure for the sportwagen in .pdf format.  Click to open in adobe pdf viewer or right click, save as.

Delivery inspection

After leaving the dealer, tell all drivers to only put diesel in the fuel tank!   Some dealers will fill up your fuel tank as a favor, make sure they put diesel in it!  The car keys will get passed to a few people like the car washer or tech when it's in for service so it's not necessarily the salesperson's or mechanic's fault.  I suggest a note taped to the "gas cap" while it's at the dealer. If someone accidentally puts gasoline in it, stop as soon as safety allows and tow it to a mechanic!  The owner's manual should say to only use Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (USLD).  All retail pump diesel sold in the US is USLD, you will find non USLD in Mexico or at biodiesel stations/blends.  A maximum of 5% biodiesel is recommended by VW.  The law says that all retail pumps must have USLD by Dec 2010, all major refineries in the US have stopped producing any non USLD for a while now so the only non USLD would be from leftovers in the system which has since been diluted.  Even stations which still don't have the USLD sticker on the pump will almost certainly have USLD. Some new cars are damaged at the dealer or during transit.  It happens.  Carefully inspect your new car for dents, scratches, misaligned panels, haloing or spiderwebbing of the paint (see 1000q: polishing your paint for more details and pictures), or other damage.  This is not acceptable on a brand new car.  Don't let the happy ether from new car delivery interfere with overlooking possible defects or damage.  A professional detailing will remove any rail dust, sea salt/sand, or road detritus accumulated during transport.  Waxing the car will only coat over these paint impurities and seal them in.  Look through the detailing index linked above or see below in non-priority items for more detailing tips.

Very minor and consistent orange peel (a slight/wavy texturing of the paint surface) can be normal.  Inconsistency across panels indicates bad paint and possibly damage cover ups.  Pictured above right are thumbnails (click to enlarge) of orange peel from glossycar. com.  The first one shows severe orange peel and then the repair.  I would not accept delivery on that car and I even doubt the picture is really of a new car due to the severity of the orange peel.  The second shows a brand new car with heavier than normal orange peel.  This would probably be considered normal by some dealers but can be corrected with a very light wetsanding and polish that can be done by any detailer.  The paint finish on a new car should be clear of swirl marks and other defects.  

Don't worry about waxing your new car.  New cars from the factory are baked in an oven after painting and they had plenty of time during delivery in case you feel you want to wait before waxing.  Body repair or body shop paint needs to cure for at least a month before waxing because it's slightly different and can't be baked in an oven or else the interior and all the plastics on the car would melt.  High quality body shops can do a better paint job than the factory, so don't worry that they don't bake the paint. 

There have been a few questions about how to break in the new engine, just follow the recommendations in your owner's handbook.  Don't listen to the salesperson!  Some general tips about engine break in and busting myths can be seen here: 1000q: engine break in and busting break in myths.

It's normal for the speedometer to read slightly higher than actual speed.  German cars tend to have fast speedometers to account for build variations and so that they don't read lower than actual speed.   See 1000q: speedometer fix for the repair.  The odometer reading should be correct and is a separate display from the speedometer for warranty and maintenance purposes.  Most report that the 2009 and newer fuel economy meter are accurate.  Even still, the best way to calculate fuel economy is to fill the tank all the way, drive, and then fill the tank all the way at the same exact pump.  Different pumps may shut off at slightly different points which can change your calculated fuel economy.

Double check your owner's manual.  Many are reporting getting an old owner's manual with their TDI.  Your dealer should give you a correct one for free.

Double check your insurance coverage.  The 5th digit of your VIN is "L", indicating diesel.  Some insurance setups may incorrectly see your car as a gasser.  Remember that your car has 3 sets of airbags and may have optional rear lower side airbags.  It also has an immobilizer anti theft, anti theft alarm, shoulder harness seat belts, ABS, and stability control, so see if insurance discounts apply.

Make sure the dealer removes the front suspension blockers.  These are black or orange bumpers that lock the springs for shipment.  It's on the delivery checklist but the box often gets checked off even though they didn't do it.  If the front rides hard and high or you hear a noise from the front, check for the bumpers.  This is what they look like before removal (on right) and after being mangled from driving around (orange, on left) because the dealer didn't remove them.  It can dislodge the shock boot.

Here are some more video reviews of the new 2.0L Jetta TDI.  The video on the right is a virtual walkaround by a dealer.  See below for another virtual walkaround and a video of the panoramic sunroof on the sportwagen.

Review of the Jetta sportwagen TDI vs. the sedan.

Continued on page 2 - includes the engine oil TSB, bluetooth info, dealer initial computer settings, and color samples

Have another question?  Post your question at the myturbodiesel.com forums.