2012-14 jetta sportwagen tdi

ktm500mx · May 31, 2019

I am looking at several jetta sportwagens all tdi's all automatics
what a the problems with the car? how dependable is it?
What does the VW tdi warranty cover and do they fight you tooth
nail to get things fixed? are there anythings to look for when making
a deal on the car?
thanks Mike

wagon92x · May 31, 2019

I just went through this exact search, and the main thing I would say to look out for is how long the vehicle sat in VW's holding lot. The absolute worst thing you can do to a car is let it sit for a prolonged period of time, so I eliminated any JSW's I found that sat for longer than 6 months. Luckily, I found one with the exact specs/color I was looking for and the previous owner waited until the very last minute to turn it in (December 2018), so it only sat in VW's lot for 2.5 months.

As far as what VW's emissions warranty covers, I would take a look at VW's diesel-gate website, it explains everything very clearly: https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/

Geordi · May 31, 2019

VW is flooding the market with them right now, so there are lots of options to choose from.

I don't know that I would have a problem with how long the vehicle sat with VW - Look at every unit as an individual. Let the car tell you how it was treated. Pull the carfax / get dealer records if you can. Obviously drive any candidate, but also get under and look at the underbody, the crevices in the engine bay, places that are a bit harder to get a detail rag into. Lift up the rear cover and look at the spare well. LOOK FOR DIRT / GRIME / GREASE. If it looks like it hasn't been maintained where the detailer's rag didn't go... Think about moving on.

Feel the seats. Press on the dash / panels / doors, looking for looseness or squeaks or things that maybe don't fit right or feel solid. VW's interior fit and finish is quite good in these, they should still be quite solid.

LOTS of owners, knowing that they were going to give the car back to VW and NOT knowing what would happen to it... They simply stopped doing maintenance on the cars. Your new purchase SHOULD include a plan to replace ALL the fluids as soon as you get it. It SHOULD include a plan for new tires. VW will NOT have done either of these. They "MIGHT" have replaced the DPF, but if their scan showed that it wasn't full... Then they might just have passed it right through for sale.

Beyond that.... Every one of these should be under warranty for every part that touches fuel or exhaust. So that is a LOT of expensive components. Interestingly and notably, the transmission is specifically excluded from the extended warranty, although with proper maintenance the DSG has been a good performer. I also have not had issues with the 01M on the older MK4 cars b/c I did the unthinkable... I changed the fluid on a schedule and kept it from running hot!

For these, the new warranty is the LONGER of (4 years / 48k miles from date of modification) OR (10 years / 120k total miles from original in-service date)

So if the car already has over 120k miles, it will be covered for an additional 48k. If it has less than 120k, then it will still get another 48k if it has more than 60k, or up to 120k if you find one with about 20-40k on it.

JELLOWSUBMARINE · Jun 1, 2019

Well covered Geordi
I would definately focus on the CPO covered units. I've noticed prices dropping but so has supply of lower mile, manual 6 speed & color selection. The 11-14 seem very comparable year range IMO. Alyhough my 69k CPO did have several 2 years of sitting in VW pergatory issues it has been an awsome car. The CPO handled these issues I was sure non covered items like tires and battery were fresh before sale @ dealer. At least on west coast it seems to be a buyers market. My 2/19 purchased CPO price had just been lowered from 12k to $10,500. They agreed to $10k OUT THE DOOR over the phone

Some of the otherwise expensive but CPO covered problems these JSW TDI's seem to experiance are
* a/c... Warm air, 2k rpm & up slightly cooler... Almost gauranteed bad RCV in comprsssor
* Cracked DPF... Search swipe test or DBS (diirty butt syndrom)
* If a DSG (auto) is your choice the 40k service is a must.
* (my own standard) past ownership and records are EVERYTHING

S1C EM · Jun 1, 2019

JELLOWSUBMARINE said:
Well covered Geordi
I would definately focus on the CPO covered units. I've noticed prices dropping but so has supply of lower mile, manual 6 speed & color selection. The 11-14 seem very comparable year range IMO. Alyhough my 69k CPO did have several 2 years of sitting in VW pergatory issues it has been an awsome car. The CPO handled these issues I was sure non covered items like tires and battery were fresh before sale @ dealer. At least on west coast it seems to be a buyers market. My 2/19 purchased CPO price had just been lowered from 12k to $10,500. They agreed to $10k OUT THE DOOR over the phone

Some of the otherwise expensive but CPO covered problems these JSW TDI's seem to experiance are
* a/c... Warm air, 2k rpm & up slightly cooler... Almost gauranteed bad RCV in comprsssor
* Cracked DPF... Search swipe test or DBS (diirty butt syndrom)
* If a DSG (auto) is your choice the 40k service is a must.
* (my own standard) past ownership and records are EVERYTHING

Agree with pretty much all of this. I will say, my tires were replaced during the CPO certification by the dealer. The only thing they didn’t do was the DSG service. Since I bought with 34k, I figure I will wait and do it as soon as I hit 40k. Dealer assured me that they did check the fluid and it was good. I insisted as I was trying to get the DSG service as part of the purchase. If anything happens, the CPO warranty has it covered, so not really concerned.

I would say the time sitting in VW holding shouldn’t be as big a deal as the overall history and service records. Very, very few of the cars on the market are going to meet any sort of six-month limit on sitting. That’s a needle in a haystack and it’s just not a dealbreaker for me.

ktm500mx · Jun 5, 2019

thanks

I wish to thank you for the detailed responses there are 45 units within
50 miles of me. price are moving down slightly. most of the cars are A- to
b level cars. its just a mater of finding the right one for me.
thanks Mike

Mateo92807 · Jun 6, 2019

Geordi said:
VW is flooding the market with them right now, so there are lots of options to choose from.

I don't know that I would have a problem with how long the vehicle sat with VW - Look at every unit as an individual. Let the car tell you how it was treated. Pull the carfax / get dealer records if you can. Obviously drive any candidate, but also get under and look at the underbody, the crevices in the engine bay, places that are a bit harder to get a detail rag into. Lift up the rear cover and look at the spare well. LOOK FOR DIRT / GRIME / GREASE. If it looks like it hasn't been maintained where the detailer's rag didn't go... Think about moving on.

Feel the seats. Press on the dash / panels / doors, looking for looseness or squeaks or things that maybe don't fit right or feel solid. VW's interior fit and finish is quite good in these, they should still be quite solid.

LOTS of owners, knowing that they were going to give the car back to VW and NOT knowing what would happen to it... They simply stopped doing maintenance on the cars. Your new purchase SHOULD include a plan to replace ALL the fluids as soon as you get it. It SHOULD include a plan for new tires. VW will NOT have done either of these. They "MIGHT" have replaced the DPF, but if their scan showed that it wasn't full... Then they might just have passed it right through for sale.

Beyond that.... Every one of these should be under warranty for every part that touches fuel or exhaust. So that is a LOT of expensive components. Interestingly and notably, the transmission is specifically excluded from the extended warranty, although with proper maintenance the DSG has been a good performer. I also have not had issues with the 01M on the older MK4 cars b/c I did the unthinkable... I changed the fluid on a schedule and kept it from running hot!

For these, the new warranty is the LONGER of (4 years / 48k miles from date of modification) OR (10 years / 120k total miles from original in-service date)

So if the car already has over 120k miles, it will be covered for an additional 48k. If it has less than 120k, then it will still get another 48k if it has more than 60k, or up to 120k if you find one with about 20-40k on it.

YEP I agree 100%. I just bought a 2013 at auction for a great price. Had to put a new battery in her but I didn't look at the service records until I got her home. Come to find out they got the first three free services then when the Dieselgate scandal hit, they quit servicing it. Lucky for me they only drove it 15K past the DSG service date, so I think I'm okay. They went cheap on their last oil change too, so who knows if they used 505.07 spec full synth (doubt it). So both of those had to be done along with a new fuel filter.

mcclurken · Jun 6, 2019

I just purchased a 2014 JSW from the local VW dealer (VW Cool Springs). I have been watching prices over the past couple of years and recently been shopping Carvana. The VW CPO cars are cheaper than Carvana and come with a 2 year unlimited mile warranty, so I thought CPO was the better deal hands down. What I noticed only after going to the dealer and looking and driving some is you still need to watch over CPO cars carefully. I drove one with a manual, which I would prefer, but 2 wheels were badly curbed, there was a chunk taken out of the driver door handle, some big deep scratches and the car felt 'loose' or sloppy. I think it had somewhere around 40k miles.
Then I drove a DSG car w/29k that didn't have the sunroof and it was like new, felt tight. I bought it. I'd like the sunroof today but probably not in a few years.

Having said all that, it seems to me if you are really picky and want, say, a 2015 Golf manual and optioned how you want the place to go is Carvana. They seem to be getting a lot of nice ones. But the prices are thousands more than CPO usually and no warranty besides dieselgate. Of course I'm only speaking about my part of the country, probably a different selection elsewhere.

ktm500mx · Jul 16, 2019

2012 Jetta Sportwagen tdi

I ended up buying a 2012 Jetta Sportwagen tdi with 72k on the clock it is
a one owner car that is in great shape. getting used to driving the dsg transmission. its white with a palomino interior. I'm really enjoying the car.

Mike

JELLOWSUBMARINE · Jul 16, 2019

Mateo92807 said:
. I just bought a 2013 at auction for a great price.

mcclurken said:
I just purchased a 2014 JSW from the local VW dealer.

ktm500mx said:
I ended up buying a 2012 Jetta Sportwagen tdi with 72k on the clock it is
Mike

Here's kind of a newbie JSW registry if your interested.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=496462
Mike

2012-14 jetta sportwagen tdi

ktm500mx

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Geordi

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S1C EM

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ktm500mx

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