I have a couple of things to report on my Bluemotion after 1.5 years of regular driving.
The DPF was not actually causing any issues, the issue seems to be with the fuel injectors. I mentioned the DPF because the car would run really rough in DPF mode, and sometimes it would only do 1000RPM and "burble" as if misfiring with foot flat to the floor, but in winter last year it got worse and was happening even when not in DPF mode. Quite dangerous if it happened at an intersection. It went to the mechanic (not the dealer, took it to a guy who is a reputable VW specialist here in Canberra) and he could not find an issue. Took it to a dealer to see if they could diagnose the fault. The computer didn't report anything, and they didn't have the symptoms occur, at that point I still thought there was a DPF issue so both workshops did a DPF forced regen. When the VW dealer said there was nothing wrong, I described the issue in detail to the workshop manager who said he'd test the injectors. The test came back with all four injectors failing the test. The repair cost was $4800. I didn't get it done as I could not afford it at the time. The problem is still there, intermittent but I also found that resetting the car by turning the ignition on and off again fixed the issue, and it would rev normally. I'm going to get the injectors replaced by the non dealer mechanic. He reckons that some petrol or at least bad fuel might have been put through the car at some stage and did some damage. Another symptom is poor fuel economy which has become worse over time, ~6.2l on highway/freeway, 7.2l around town.
I had the boot latch replaced late last year as it failed. The front power window switch is also dodgy and will need replacing soon. Disappointing with only 100k km on the car that these parts have failed.
I recently had the timing belt replaced as per book service, and I am not 100% sure if before or after that we started to experience the stop/start not keeping the engine off for more than 30 seconds so it is going back in to have that checked out when we get the fuel injectors replaced.
The last thing is some play that has recently developed in the steering, there what I can only describe as a small loose or dead spot at the center of the steering which is noticeable when the car is doing freeway speeds.
Needless to say my experience hasn't been great with this car. Most of it can be put down to the perils of buying a used car. The previous owner claims the engine problems weren't happening when he had the car. I'm stuck with it now and we'll do the work to it, as we want to keep driving it for some time yet.