I too like the ALH, however I never had anything newer either. ALH has the same emission issues any diesel has except for DPF. If the EGR is present expect the intake track to be choked off. When the intake is choked off the turbo tends to over speed until you need a new turbo.
Best thing I did was the EGR delete, performance turbo, and performance tuning. Front wheel bearings can be a challenge. Seems like some guys get lots of miles, others not so much.
Frankly nothing was that cheap to repair. Specialty tools to change timing belt, vag com to talk to the damn thing, etc. Good news is I sold all of that specialty stuff for 95% of what I paid new. I liked the car overall. Just a different animal to maintain.
Best thing I did was the EGR delete, performance turbo, and performance tuning. Front wheel bearings can be a challenge. Seems like some guys get lots of miles, others not so much.
Frankly nothing was that cheap to repair. Specialty tools to change timing belt, vag com to talk to the damn thing, etc. Good news is I sold all of that specialty stuff for 95% of what I paid new. I liked the car overall. Just a different animal to maintain.
I daily a 2013 Volkswagen golf tdi that I deleted and tuned on 2/2/15 with 17,000 miles on it. It now has 35,000 miles on it and enjoy the extra power that it has now. I add additive every fill up hoping to lube the pump. Have to perform a DSG flush coming up on 40k.