FS: 2004 Passat TDI Wagon + BSM + timing + trans swap = $12,000

You can research my name for the story of me buying this car, but here is the short version:

Bought this 2004 Passat TDI GLS wagon for $6000 in early 2010. One owner, verified carfax, all maintenance done by dealer by the book. awesome condition interior and exterior. Glow plug light, 200k miles, drove great. Took it straight to local TDI guru, Meyerhoff Autohaus (runonbeer.com, Robby Plenge). Spent $3k on BSM, timing belt, miscellaneous services. Got it back and within 30 miles, the transmission went out. Robby changed filter and fluid before giving up (he doesn't do trans service), so we took it to another shop who said trans was bad. Had it triple checked by dealer before we committed to replacing it, then used Technical Diesel Innovations in Dallas to put in a trans from Atlanta with 65k miles in it.

Spent another $3k on trans, fluid, labor, filter, miscellaneous. Got it back and it drives great. Just today got the recall campaign notice for the glow plug, so we will have that done before we sell it. Vehicle is currently in HOUSTON.

Since buying it, we've moved to Seattle and I ride the bus to work downtown. Our other car had an engine meltdown, so we've had some bad luck with used cars. We're going carless or maybe a leased new car - haven't decided yet, but we'll get by without a car until we figure it out.

Only one picture right now, but wanted to get something posted now.

Kind of a weird comment but nice fence!

GL with the sale.

thanks, that means a lot! I built it myself, and spent months planning it. I stole various ideas from neighbors, created a design, bought the wood, had help from family to sink the posts, and spent a few weekends doing it. Spent about $1000 in materials instead of $4000 paying a fence company and got EXACTLY what I wanted. Learned a lot along the way and it was a great experience!

Very nice fence. Must have taken some time! Before you know it, the little nippers will have grown and the fence will no longer constain them.

It's in Houston? Please don't get the recall done there! Please!

You're just asking for it. Make sure you demand the ceramic plugs be returned.
You're better of taking it to a Toyota dealer.

yikes, good to know. i was going to ask our friend to get it done there while they are driving it. but i guess i could wait until it gets here to seattle if i don't sell it first. there's a good chance we won't sell it anyway, and we'll just drive it the rest of this year at least...i really like that car!

nuclear said:

It's in Houston? Please don't get the recall done there! Please!

You're just asking for it. Make sure you demand the ceramic plugs be returned.
You're better of taking it to a Toyota dealer.

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Dealer cannot return the plugs under the recall. Apparently they have to be sent to VWoA. Or at least that's the story I got from a Countryside VW in MN.

Just be certain to see the plugs to make sure nothing is left behind... Ask me how I know

I strongly recommend that one marks all 4 of their GPs somehow such as a dab of whiteout or a score mark so you can identify them once removed. Nicely demand that they show you these GPs after removal so you can see if any tips were missing. (If they produce GPs other than the ones you marked, you now have an excellent case of fraud against that dealer and you should immediately contact your local district attorney) If a tip (s) are missing, ask if the vehicle has been started after reinstallation of new GPs. If it has been started, not so nicely demand that they remove the head to check for damage because a new short block may be needed at that point. If they have not started the vehicle, demand that they remove the head and retrieve the GP tips.

WARNING: If you discover broken GP tips, absolutely under no circumstance take possession of your vehicle because once those GP tips start to grind their way into the cylinder walls and such, oil consumption will increase and cylinder compression will decrease in short order and you will have a tough, if not impossible time proving their incompetence at that point. If the dealer balks, start a small claims suit or have an attorney draw up a letter. Later!

Is it really that hard to remove the old glow plugs without a tip breaking off and staying in the cylinder? Sounds scary. Would a trained vw mechanic really not notice a glow plug come out missing a tip and say "what the heck" and button it up? I find that pretty hard to believe.

Ditto on the nice fence. But can't the kids just go around it on the patio in the foreground? haha.

Nice DSM too!

Wow, Ditto-- Great Fence !!

agreed that fence is superb

shizzler said:

Is it really that hard to remove the old glow plugs without a tip breaking off and staying in the cylinder? Sounds scary. Would a trained vw mechanic really not notice a glow plug come out missing a tip and say "what the heck" and button it up? I find that pretty hard to believe.

Ditto on the nice fence. But can't the kids just go around it on the patio in the foreground? haha.

Nice DSM too!

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A trained dealer "VW mechanic" in Houston knows next to nothing about TDI's, let alone glow plugs. Some of them will actually tell you using starter fluid/acetone is ok on these engines (Big mistake) The other mechanics around the area aren't that much better either.

Just in the past 3 months I've seen from area dealers
1) incorrect TDI oil use
2) a M&P timing belt job, done at the dealer. Oil hammer later fixed this
3) incorrect coolant

I agree with the GP comments. They do bust off and fall in.

We built a fence you guys might like. Bump

nuclear said:

A trained dealer "VW mechanic" in Houston knows next to nothing about TDI's, let alone glow plugs. Some of them will actually tell you using starter fluid/acetone is ok on these engines (Big mistake) The other mechanics around the area aren't that much better either.

Just in the past 3 months I've seen from area dealers
1) incorrect TDI oil use
2) a M&P timing belt job, done at the dealer. Oil hammer later fixed this
3) incorrect coolant

Click to expand...

There is a reason why us club members in the Houston area travel out of town for TDI service...

Sorry to hear about your loss because of incompetent mechanics in Houston! I was looking for a TDi for my younger brother who goes to college and bcuz of the maintenance voes, we ended up getting him an 01 bmw 325i convertible.

I think folks at the forum can help you buy a reliable car that requires very low maintenance. There are many cars that do not require to be maintained religiously, some don't! Get over your fear and some one from the forum would love to help you get a relible ride with minimal maintenance requirements.

Cheers