Se vs. Sel. Is the Sel worth the approx. $3,000 more?

Only1Z

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 5, 2012
Location
Westchester, IL
TDI
2012 VW Passat SE TDI 6-speed manual
I would never spend over 26k on a sedan that wasn't a Automatic or DSG. It's a family car not a sports car. & when you do sell it your market is going to be so small, most younger people don't know how to drive a stick. Just my opinion if you plan on keeping it forever and you like to shift then get the 6m, but don't not get the DSG because some writer didn't like it, most will notice no difference from a regular automatic.

This is my first DSG and it's one of the best auto shifting cars I have had. I drive a ton of hills and the DSG doesn't do the annoying shift up, shift down, shift up again.

My vote SEL with DSG!
Depends on how you look at it. The national search on cars.com when I bought my car showed 33 manuals in the entire country. So I don't need a huge crop of people to choose from when I sell my car and I won't have much competition from other sellers. There just aren't many of them and you just need 1 person that wants manual and I'd potentially have 1 of about 3 cars in the entire country available used in a manual. Whereas there will be much more competition with other sellers if you have a DSG car.

All I know is that in the past, manual TDI's have held their value EXTREMELY well. I don't think that's breaking news to anyone.
 

TSK

Active member
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Location
Manitowoc, WI
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
I prefer an automatic in any car vs a manual. Had several manuals, was fun, got over it fast when sitting in stop and go traffic for an hour or so, numerous times. Clutching sucks at that point. Love my 2012 SEL with climatronic, Kessy, Fender, 18", wood, sunroof, DSG auto, large NAV w/weather, Leather. Maybe it is worth the extra money over the SE after looking at the list. Should not have dropped the auto A/C in the 2013 models.
 

APT

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Location
Metro Detroit
TDI
2012 Passat SEL
Take a look at www.truedelta.com to compare the market value of the features between the two trim levels. There are some obvious things like the upgraded radio in the SEL, Homelink, etc, but there are some details too. While for me the value of the SEL is not quite what I would pay for, the extra would make it more likely to drive instead of our other vehicle, which offsets the extra cost by saving fuel.
 

TSK

Active member
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Location
Manitowoc, WI
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
You are correct APT. I got the SEL due to it being on hand ready for the sale. I traded my 2012 Wrangler for the VW for increased mileage. I also have a 2011 Denali Yukon XL and 2011 GMC Acadia. Nice to see the fuel tank not deplete as quickly. I need the Yukon XL for towing boat etc. so I will always have something in that class.
 

usarmy132

Veteran Member
Joined
May 12, 2012
Location
NW subs Chicago
TDI
2012 Passat
I had same question before purchasing SEL. For me having memory seats, larger screen and silly chrome molding around outside made all the difference. Now when my wife need to drive a car, all she has to do just open a car with her key and seats adjust to her memory :) and I use my key and never have to adjust seat again. Now after adding reverse camera glad I got SEL 2012, if you can afford an extra $3000 you should get SEL
 

pparks1

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Location
Westland, Michigan
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
I recently too went through this internal debate. I was coming from a 2002 Passat GLX, which had all the bells and whistles. It had power seats on both sides, it had the memory seats and the mirrors that tilted down automatically. It had the rain sensing wipers. It had the Climatronic system. It had the monsoon premium audio, it had a sunroof and it was also a manual transmission.

Skip forward to 2013 and I'm looking at the new TDI's. There was around ~4k difference between the SE with Nav and Sunroof and the SEL. That works out to around (16.67 x 4 = $68) each month.

As far as the push button start goes...it's a nice feature. My wife's car has it, and it's great not having to take your keys out, at all. Just grab the handle and the doors unlock, push the button and it starts, and you are on your way. Same thing with the backup camera, she has that and it's great. You can easily see exactly how much room you have, you can see children easily behind the car, it's just flat out convenient. The memory seats and mirrors is something that I truly do miss from my 2002...that was super convenient.

With all that said, I'm actually preferential these days to the non-climatronic system as I had climatronic problems with my 2002 and it was EXPENSIVE. I didn't really care for the woodgrain look in the 2013...even though my 2012 had it. The difference between the seats wasn't a bit deal to me between the two...nobody that rides in my car says, "oh you didn't get leather". it looks like leather to them.

At the end of the day though, I went with the SE with NAV and Sunroof because it did save me money. They were nice features, but ones I could live without. I love the room inside the car, loving my ~44mpg average, loving not having any mechanical issues, and love the fact that it's costing me $100 less each month than my 2002 Passat did and also costing me less than my wife's lease.

This late in the game though, the 2014 would have been compelling to wait for though as the backup camera is now standard.
 

xxl

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2002
Location
Midway Airport Chicago
TDI
2000, red, Jetta.....2013 Passat SE TDI
Se VS SEL....

did I need...
Wood Grain=no
Kessy=no
Dual Climate control=no
Back up camera=no
I got the sun roof on my SE
Do I need the nav=no---- I have a Garmin
Power pass seats=no
Bigger screen=no
Garage door opener=no
What else...hmmmmm=no
Leather seats=no
$4k price=no
Chicago driving 50/50 close to 40 MPG=yes.
 

tdireader

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Location
USA
TDI
TDI
SE vs SEL my take

I've got a a SEL and have had a SE for a 1 month rental.

SE:
+manual available
+can delete sunroof
-no wood grain
-no passenger power seat
+no rns 510
-no kessy security issues**

SEL:
+wood trim
-I like SE seats better
-RNS 510
+NAV standard
+higher trim feel
-Must have sunroof
+kessy keyless convience
-kessy may have been cracked** (will automakers EVER fix these things?)


**see:
http://www.autonews.com/article/201...why-vws-court-win-helps-hackers#axzz2cu03l5mX
The actual paper is supposed to be on line elsewhere.
 

cmarcho

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Location
DFW Texas
TDI
2015 Corvette Z51 7spd / 2016 ATS-V (was '13 passat sel)
I purchased the SEL because it was for my wife. She liked the leather seats, kessy, larger screen, memory seats (I drive her car a lot when we go somewhere together), dual climate control, and back up camera. When she drives and I'm with her I like the power passenger seat and dual climate control.

In the end, if it's what she wants, I just get the best deal I can and make her happy.
 

Rico567

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Location
Central IL
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium (Turned in 7/7/18)
Cases vary. We were coming off 42 years of driving SAABs, the one next to our nice new Passat in the garage being an '04 9-5 ARC wagon. These are pretty well equipped cars...we weren't going to get that close to the SAAB in a Passat SE. The only thing that rankled was not being able to get a car that well-equipped with the manual transmission. In the end, we just pulled the trigger for the SEL Premium.
 

nord

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Location
Southern Tier NY
TDI
All turned back to VW. Now a 2017 Hundai Tuscon. Not a single squalk in 10k miles.
As shown in my bio, we have both. The SEL Premium in April and the SE in July. The SEL has all the goodies of course. Actually more than we use. The DSG is great for my wife and acceptable for me. The minor complaints about the radio, backup cam, and nav are just that. With just a little patience they work well. (That is after the learning curve.) Comfort level is superb. The SEL is one fine vehicle!

And the SE? I prefer the manual transmission. Complaints I see leave me questioning those who post such. I have no problem matching revs between gears. No vibes through the clutch pedal and none in the stick either. Shifting is butter smooth. The worst problem is remembering that I have an extra gear.

Seats? Very good, but not as good as the SEL. Then again I can load two dogs in the back seat without a second thought. No memory seat? Not a problem because only I drive the car.

Radio? I'm really beginning to dislike Sirius. A lot of money for very limited value. Maybe not the Fender but a good system all the same. For my purposes the SE radio is just fine.

The lack of a backup cam? I've driven for almost five decades and done nicely without. Even with the cam on the SEL, I don't trust it completely.

Nav? I have a nice little Garmin which I don't really need. Most times it only confirms what I already know. I do, however, appreciate the weather maps on the SEL.

Moon Roof? Who cares? I suppose it's nice but the A/C is nicer.

Tires? Before we purchased the SEL we drove a SE with the Hankooks. This was part of the reason we bought the SEL. I purchased the SE and gritted my teeth about the tires. Surprisingly this set is somehow different. In any case nothing to complain about... Yet.

My conclusions? The SEL is a more luxurious and slightly more comfortable car. I have nothing to say against the car. It's been flawless in all respects. The SE is only very slightly less comfortable. The trim level is on par with the A5 that it replaced. Not much bad that I can think of off hand but not the SEL Premium either. Really not a bad thing as the SE interior may well be more durable.

Economy? The SE beats the SEL hands down. Usually by a fair margin. This isn't to complain about either as both are between 10% and 20% more efficient than my A5 was at about 44 mpg. How can you hate a large comfortable car that regularly turns in over 50 mpg? This in hilly country where we often see roads climbing to 2200' above our valley floors which average about 900'.

Buy the car best suited for your needs. The price difference between our two cars represents a few bells and whistles along with a moon roof and a DSG. Since I could have opted for the roof and DSG and chose not to, the real difference between cars amounts to interior trim, wheels, tires, and some other neat but unneeded trinkets.

The price difference? Probably the SEL Premium is a better deal when all is said and done if you happen to have the extra money in hand. If not, or if you have no desire for the extras, then the SE is a stunningly good car at a great price!

That is as long as both trim levels end with TDI!
 

Roishe Cheng

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
South Bronx, NYC
TDI
2013 Passat
After coming from two Inifinitis, the push button start and keyless entry was just expected so I got the SEL. Not having to deal with keys especially when lugging two toddlers around is a big deal for my wife and I.
 

phlfly

Banned
Joined
Dec 20, 2012
Location
N.VA
TDI
Passat SEL
I got SEL is just seats with faux-suede inserts or Dynamica ( or whenever called).

Actually I like brush aluminum better then wood but I can live.
 

drcoopster

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Location
DFW
TDI
EcoDiesel
Having a manual was important to me, and I specifically didn't want a sunroof or nav, so the choice was easy: SE. It was an added bonus to find out that the backup camera was standard on all of the trim lines.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
Trying to decide between the se and sel. I know I the difference between the two for 2013. Do not like the sel seats, like the smooth seats on the se. No dual temp and different nav on se. Remote start is cool on sel and could always add faux wood trim to se. Are the nav systems so different? Will resale be so different? Wife likes tan interior but we hav a 7 and 10 year old girls. I want black not to show dirt. For those with tan int., is tan hard to keep clean? Opinions wanted to make decision.
I would say what you get as "upgrades" are not worth the $3k price difference, unless any to all are a must have.

We actually use the car for commuting, so $3 k buys a LOT of diesel fuel. In our case, it buys 750 gals or 31,500 extra commute miles or 2.25 years of commute miles. Almost NONE of those upgrades affects the commute.

I have gotten three diesels with NO oem NAV. A portable navigation system is not only WAY cheaper, it lets you keep with with all the latest and cheaper again also.

We have cornsilk, (lighter) grey, black interiors. It is as what one would expect. However, having an interior that shows dirt LESS is NOT a good reason to put off scheduled to periodic cleaning !!! So in that sense tan is not harder to keep "clean".

Something that I have noticed over time is the interior color can affect mood and whether the vehicle holds heat/sheds it faster/slower. Another is lighter colors perceptually make the car seem larger.
 
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APT

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Location
Metro Detroit
TDI
2012 Passat SEL
I have a PDF of 2012 SE DSG vs. SEL content/$ value from Truedelta when I did the evaluation. There are a lot of little things the SEL has that are not as obvious.

Chrome lower exterior trim
RNS510 plays DVDs, HDD, voice control
Rear pass through
Remote start
Homelink
Fender sound system
Fog lights/Conering lights
interior ambient footwell lights
leather/suede seats
memory seating positions
And for 2013+ dual zone auto climate control

$5k-ish seems like a lot and I'm not sure all the features are worth it, and Truedelta came to a $3500 market based value for the SEL content. But I love my SEL and some of the smaller things the package includes. To me those things make it more enjoyable every time I or my wife drives it.
 

allipki

Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Location
Chicago
TDI
Passat tdi sel 2013
I 100% agreed with APT, I was also battling if I should spent extra $2.5~2.8k for sel depends on how well you negotiate with dealer, and after spending some time in both trims had no questions that sel way to go.
Add keyless entry, keyless start/stop and all above convenient very useful features , its not that vw just added wood trim for 3k and put a sel label on the trunk.
Fender sounds very well, I can compare to JBL I had in Toyota and Harmon kardon in merc, se screen small and blurry due to low resolution. Leather seats have better side support and more comfortable. After last two cars I had with climate, cant have car anymore with manual temp settings.
 

Brad95

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Location
Arizona
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE Manual since 09/28/12-04/05/18, 2015 Passat TDI SE Manual Since 03/29/2018
if VW have offered SEL with Manual Trans and no sunroof, i would have gotten SEL and VW have earned 3k of my business!
 

bigredopie

New member
Joined
Aug 21, 2013
Location
Missouri
TDI
2013 Passat SEL
We looked at both and for us the SEL was the only option. Due to physical limitations, the manual would not be an option for us, as much fun as they are to drive! We really felt he silver metallic trim in the SE made it look "cheap" and unfortunately there seem to be fewer vehicles each year that carry a true wood grain interior. I have been surprised at the number of unexpected options the SEL has, including rain sensors, RVC, DVD player that keeps the grand kids occupied, programmable keys that move the seats and mirrors for us as there is a good 12" difference between my wife and I (which has caused me countless painful moments when getting into a vehicle). With the new 2014's coming onto the lots, you might be surprised at how cheap you can find an SEL for, depending on what stock they have on hand. The up charge for us was only 2k and for us it was worth every penny.
 

barshnik

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2013 Passat SE w/roof, nav
Was at the dealer, checked out a 2014 TDI SEL Premium. Guess what - no rain sensor, no auto wiper! Really? My '13 TDI SE has the sensor and was easily enabled with VCDS, but the new SEL P can't' even do it? So, what else is the top of the line 2014 missing I wonder?
 
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