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I've had diesels and turbo-diesels for many years and had to learn them the hard way after getting shafted by an "expert" over a water pump. They are wonderful cars to drive with a powerband that actually fits right if you have the manual transmission. As everyone else here has said they can be outright expensive to work on unless you can find a VW mechanic with long gray whiskers and can still see or you have the skills to work on a rather complex diesel engine with no room for errors. These things have rubber cogged drive belts for the overhead camshaft and injection pump, no index keys on the cam itself and must be timed with the proper tools, these alone can set you back half a grand alone should you buy them outright. Glowplugs come in 3 pairs and you need them all to start especially in michigan, even 2 cold cylinders will make it very hard starting at -10F.
Now for the good stuff
At 100k miles treated well it will go a LONG ways if you take care of it, that means a steady diet of Mobile-1 oil and change the timing belts. These engines like to rev and you get some serious kick after 2500 RPM when the boost comes on, the thing will go like a rocket to 5 grand and still get some good milage figures. Many here claim to get around 30-35 MPG, I get into the high 40's and have attained over 50 MPG a few times running skinny tires. I would expect nothing less than 30 MPG in mixed driving and if the car is a stick you're going to have a time keeping your foot off the accelerator as these things are fast for a diesel.
Things to do
Change that timing belt, I don't care what the previous owner says and I won't discredit him. They are cheap insurance any way you look at it. Also change the oil and go with Mobile-1 synthetic, if you can locate a Fram PH-977 filter use that one as its a monster filter with lots of surface area and doesn't bypass when cold as its internal bypass is set to around 35 PSI. It will hang down a bit further than stock so be sure to check if its going to become a road hazard. If the car starts without a plug-in heater right now without any blue or white smoke I would assume most of the glow plugs are working. Do a compression check and look for pressures over 500 pounds, anything less is suspect and under 475 I would consider a ring job in the near future. Last but not least change the coolant and flush that baby, give it a D24T enema with the garden hose heater core and all and when refilling DON'T use that Dex-Cool crap go with the old reliable antifreeze. A hose set if you're so inclined will set you back a few hundred bucks because of the special shapes and lack of demand. I had to make my own lower hose using copper pipe and rubber hose junctions to make it to the thermostat housing, it sits on the water return side. It was my fault for letting a clamp rub through in the first place but glad I did as I went to silicon hoses and made my own.
Starting out in the morning is going to take you longer if you really care about the cars engine. Don't just start it and take off, you should allow the temp to rise to the normal position on the gauge plus another 5 mins to make sure everything is oiled up and stable, these engines suffered badly from wall wear. Another thing that puts them in the grave fast is short commutes, if the oil never reaches operating temp it doesn't do its job and again you end up with accelerated wear so plan on at least a 15 minute drive on the highway, the longer the better and when you do get destinated allow another few mins to allow the turbo core to cool down so the bearings dont coke up. Other than that the D24T is an absolute blast to drive. The Brickboard FAQ regarding diesels means nothing if you have a passion for taking care of good machinery. I wouldn't put the D24T in the same leauge as a Mercedes diesel but then again you're going to win the race on a freeway entrance going against a MB 300TD if you're driving a stick. Automatics on the other hand I won't comment on, I had one and converted it to a stick!
There are several diesel owners on this forum myself included that can give you advice or help should you need it, first and foremost get the Volvo Green Book on the turbo diesel engine, they come up every now and then on flea-bay and they are about the most essential tool you will need for the car along with a GOOD breaker bar and torque wrench that goes to at least 350 foot/pounds. This one's for the crankshaft bolt and dont even think of using torque wrench wrists, its gotta be done right the first time!
Got any other questions Im sure someone here including myself will have an answer for ya!
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