Potenial 2014 Passat TDI SEL

BrilliantBrice

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Location
Oak Harbor, WA
TDI
None
Hello TDI-ers. first off I want to say that this is a very informative forum and so glad I stumbled upon it. At the time this is posted I went through all 108 pages of this model and read through all the of threads with titles that would have me concerned being an owner. I used to be a VW gasser with a 2009 Jetta (named him Victor The VDub)that unfortunately was totaled in an accident back in 2016. my replacement for that is a 2009 Honda Pilot Touring. Don't get me wrong I love that features that car has to offer but I honestly have had buyers remorse for that car cause I hate how much I spend on gas and the lack of mileage I get from a tank. It's also so much car for a single 24 year old male. I have 8 seats and typically that third row is folded down. So I've decided that I need an upgrade for myself and that once I return from my deployment I'm going to get rid of the Honda and go back the VW and looking at a Passat TDI and transfer to Maryland for my next duty station with a new to me car.

I've come across several CPO TDI's here in WA and even considering driving the 5 hours to Portland, OR. I don't know what you all would consider to be a good deal but there are some low mileage ones and then there are some that are just asking for less due to them having more miles. The one that really catches my eye is a 2014 SEL Premium DSG with 36,169 miles and they're asking $15,995. As the subject matter experts is that a good baseline to start using that as a comparison moving forward since I don't think that car will last 2-3 months till I get home?

Thanks in advance for any tips/recommendations/advice you all can provide!

-Brice
 

06bluebeetletdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Location
Middlesex, NC
TDI
'14 Passat TDI SEL and '13 Beetle TDI
Welcome! I love my 14 passat tdi sel premium. Mine is gray with black interior. Most of the tdis don’t last too long at my local dealer especially passat sel premiums. I prefer black interior especially if you like to wear blue jeans. I would want the dsg service to be done if it is due by mileage on the car you purchase. Good luck with the hunt and thank you for your service.
 

Lex Tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Location
Lexington ky
TDI
2013 Passat
Welcome aboard... Good job on reading that much... I flew to new york because i found a great seller on this board. But just to put it in perspective i bought a used SL 2013 in 2014 for $18k and I ended up getting 5 grand back and have driven it 150,000 miles.

So in regards to my personal experience and I guess based on what i have heard on here, that still seems a bit high. Mileage to me just doesnt matter (i'd rather buy a high milage care for 10 grand than low milage for 16 grand), these cars minus the emissions system are top notch machines. Once the emissions system has lost its warranty through the dealer i plan on adjusting my car to run as efficiently as possible but not need thousands of dollars for a known faulty system. **just reread your post, i was thinking about washington state emissions test... dont know about maryland's**

The other thing to consider is finding a good quality mechanic in your area, or be willing to learn as much as you can. There are VERY few vw dealers who understand how diesels work.
 
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BrilliantBrice

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Location
Oak Harbor, WA
TDI
None
Welcome aboard... Good job on reading that much... I flew to new york because i found a great seller on this board. But just to put it in perspective i bought a used SL 2013 in 2014 for $18k and I ended up getting 5 grand back and have driven it 150,000 miles.

So in regards to my personal experience and I guess based on what i have heard on here, that still seems a bit high. Mileage to me just doesnt matter (i'd rather buy a high milage care for 10 grand than low milage for 16 grand), these cars minus the emissions system are top notch machines. Once the emissions system has lost its warranty through the dealer i plan on adjusting my car to run as efficiently as possible but not need thousands of dollars for a known faulty system. **just reread your post, i was thinking about washington state emissions test... dont know about maryland's**

The other thing to consider is finding a good quality mechanic in your area, or be willing to learn as much as you can. There are VERY few vw dealers who understand how diesels work.
Good to know that the price still seems high. I'm hoping that I'll return shortly after the new fiscal year starts so maybe new year models will be on the lot and that'll drive prices down to get cars off the lot. In the end I'll pay for money to just get rid of the Honda.

WA is doing away with emissions testing come 2020, and because of the model year still wouldn't require emissions testing. Maryland on the other hand is the worst state to do anything with vehicles/licensing. They require the promise of your first born and ask to be put into your will just to renew your license; and their website is poorly made (might be due to the amount of bandwidth on the ship). I loved my Mk5 Jetta, so I'm ready to be a "grown up" and make a get a more sensible car for my needs.

I know one of the forums mentioned about a reputable diesel mechanic in MD, I just need to try and find one in WA for the last 2 months I'm supposed to be there so they can help make sure the car is ready for a 3,200 mile trip.

-Brice
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
I wouldn't worry about the car making the 3,200 mile trip. I know I wouldn't hesitate to take my 2013 Passat TDI DSG across the country now, and it has 32,000 miles on it.

Zahntech repair shop in Redmond WA would be a place to have it looked at if you were concerned.

One thing I would check (since you are going to making the trip in fall/winter) is making sure the heater core is not plugged up. Once the engine is warmed up, with the temp setting on max heat, the temperature of the heat outlets in the cabin should bake you out of the car if the heater core is in good shape. Mine failed with less than 30,000 miles and cabin could not stay warm in temps below 30 degrees.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
^^^this...note the heat out of all the outlets...it should be the same from side to side!
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
^^^ Yep, and the passenger side feels colder than drivers side when the core is plugging up. If you look at the inside of the coolant reservoir you can get a sense of how bad things are in the system, you might even see particulate matter coating the sides of the coolant bottle.

By the way, VW has a warranty extension for plugged heater cores, if you have that situation and can demonstrate inadequate heat in the cabin they will replace it free. I think the extension is like for 10 years or something like that. I had to twist the service advisor's arm and be very insistent to have the heater core replaced since there were no codes. Sometimes there is an EGR related code thrown, other times not.
 

BrilliantBrice

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Location
Oak Harbor, WA
TDI
None
I wouldn't worry about the car making the 3,200 mile trip. I know I wouldn't hesitate to take my 2013 Passat TDI DSG across the country now, and it has 32,000 miles on it.

Zahntech repair shop in Redmond WA would be a place to have it looked at if you were concerned.

One thing I would check (since you are going to making the trip in fall/winter) is making sure the heater core is not plugged up. Once the engine is warmed up, with the temp setting on max heat, the temperature of the heat outlets in the cabin should bake you out of the car if the heater core is in good shape. Mine failed with less than 30,000 miles and cabin could not stay warm in temps below 30 degrees.
When you say plugged up do you mean clogged? Or am I misinterpreting what you're meaning?

^^^this...note the heat out of all the outlets...it should be the same from side to side!
How do you recommend testing the heat coming out of the vents?
 

06bluebeetletdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Location
Middlesex, NC
TDI
'14 Passat TDI SEL and '13 Beetle TDI
When the heater core has failed, it is obvious, you will have warm-hot air on the drivers outer vent, passenger outer vent will feel like the ac is on.
 

Strykeviper

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Location
Orlando, FL
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS 5 speed swap, 2002 Jetta Wagon, 2015 Passat SEL, 2013 Jetta Sportwagen
Price seems steep. We bought a 2015 SEL Passat last April. One owner, never wrecked, 36k miles for $15k. Last 2015 SEL at the same dealer sold for $14k with even less miles
 

Outlier

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2015
Location
Savannah, GA
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SEL
I wouldn't say that price is outrageous but is on the high side. The dealer either paid too much for the car initially or they spent too much trying to certify it when they shouldn't have. Location plays a role too but that is a $13k-$14k car all day.
 

LabGuy

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Location
Near Savannah, GA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL
First post and glad to be hear!

When talking price on these cars it can be confusing what we are saying. For example, there are 2 VW dealers in Fl that advertise very low prices for their CPO TDIs on cars.com and other internet auto websites. Cars.com will add "GREAT DEAL" to the posting. The confusion becomes apparent when you ask for the "out the door" price. This is where I discovered that they were adding a dealer fee, service fee, non-gov fee, etc... that amounted to over $2,800.00. Now, this did NOT include Tax, title, and registration - just extra fees. Other dealers only charge a dealer fee of $700-$800 to the advertised price. All of this makes it difficult to compare unless you ask for the "out the door" price.

So, when we are throwing out prices for cars, what are we saying? In my example, the advertised price for my 2014 CPO Passat TDI SEL with 47k miles was $11.9k. The "out the door price" was $14k.
 
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