Purchased: 9/20/2001
From: Mohegan Lake VW - Mohegan Lake, NY
Mileage at Purchase: 51,150
MPG - 1st Tank = 43 - Mixed with some A/C
Total Miles 1st Tank = 703

Pre-Accident

    This car has been long sought after.  I have been interested in the VW-TDI diesel engine for a while.  The wagon stipulation on my, then, next car came from the dogs.  They have been riding in the back seat of Claire's 1995 Saturn SL1, leaving their hair every time.  I decided that they needed a place of their own.
    A diesel car has been in my thoughts ever since a friend and I broke down in my 1978 Accord on our way from Kutztown, PA to Bowling Green, OH.  The short version finds me towing the Accord to my Uncle Joe's house outside of State College, PA with his diesel Volvo (4spd w/ electronic overdrive).  I was very impressed with the Volvo.  As a side note; For all who have ever heard "Why do you keep all of that junk?!?", the manual transmission case had cracked on the Accord, Uncle Joe happened to think that that exact transmission from a cousin's car was too good to throw out, Lucky Me! (Thanks Uncle Joe!).  Also a couple of  thermodynamics classes supported my interest in having a diesel with explanations of the inherent efficiency of the compression ignition cycle.  Then to firm things up, there is Biodiesel.  On several levels Biodiesel sits well with me!
    So, the search for a diesel wagon was on.  Finding the model was pretty quick, there is only one recent choice in the USA - a 1996 or 1997 Volkswagen Passat Wagon TDI.  Finding this car was not so quick!  I looked on Autotrader.com and Cars.com for about a year to see what was out there and how much it would cost.  I would average about one per month in the country.  About three months ago I decided that if I wanted one of these cars I really shouldn't wait much longer.  I found one in New Hampshire, was second in line, then one in North Carolina, again second.  Then I decided the above web sites weren't going to do it for me, so I did a general search on Google.com for Used Cars and Passat, I think.  Dealernet.com came up as a possibility, a VERY tedious possibility as it turned out.  A person must look at each vehicle to even determine the trim level.  I found this one and called right then!  I had learned that being second in line for this model means looking for another car.
    So, after a two and a half hour drive (with the help of my father), I got to drive a VW Passat Wagon TDI for the first time.  Luckily what I have read on the TDIClub's web site (I login as MORE_MPG) turned out to be accurate, so there were not too many surprises.
    I really enjoy this car!  So far so good!
 
 

I-80w PA mile 267 Accident Friday 12/28/2001

 
Post-Accident

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    I dropped the Passat off at Engelman's Auto body in Maxatawny, PA on Janu