Buyback Car Availability

davidlp

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
Location
Suffolk, VA
TDI
Golf Sportwagen 2015 Blue Silk
Are dealers still able to order cars from VW, and if so, is there much of a selection left? My 2015 GSW got totaled this week, and I've seen a couple of dealers list TDIs that were evidently buybacks. The CarFax showed the last mileage records in like 2017, then resumed a few miles later in 2020, obviously sitting for a few years, and also being CPOs. I called a few dealers and they acted clueless about it.
 

Quincy

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Location
Arlington, WA
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI, 2007 Dodge Cummins QC 4X4 6 sp, 2007 John Deere 3120
I think they all go to auction for anyone with a dealer license. Since buybacks stopped last year, my guess is they are all where they are. Just because I run a search on craigslist every so often for "2015 TDI", I know there's a number of low mileage GSW in Seattle/Portland. They tend to be very proud of them, but there's a few with less than 20k on the odometer.
 

davidlp

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
Location
Suffolk, VA
TDI
Golf Sportwagen 2015 Blue Silk
Yep, have seen quite a few with <20k, obviously having sat a while. One thing I thought of, aren't the timing belts supposed to be replaced every five years, regardless of mileage? Most of these cars would be due for a $1k belt job.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I think they all go to auction for anyone with a dealer license. Since buybacks stopped last year, my guess is they are all where they are. Just because I run a search on craigslist every so often for "2015 TDI", I know there's a number of low mileage GSW in Seattle/Portland. They tend to be very proud of them, but there's a few with less than 20k on the odometer.
VW originally re-sold these cars on their own auction site, open only to VW dealers. However, I think that site is gone, and now they are going to open auctions. There are still a few cars showing up, but far fewer than previously, and a lot of them are 12-14 Passats, as for some reason VW designated these as last to get fixed.

If you're looking for another GSW it may be that what's on the market is all there is. Here's one at our local dealer: https://www.coastalvw.com/used-Hano...n-TDI+SE+w+Lighting+Package-3VWCA7AU4FM510780 Price seems high.

Regarding the timing belt, I've decided to let mine go for 10 years.
 
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3turboz

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Location
Tempe AZ USA
TDI
2000 Golf GL Wolfsberg
The used car lots and auto dealers are chock full of them now. I have been using Autotempest to search as it shows you cars.com, truecar, ebay, and craigslist.

Here is a search for GSW diesel from your location, sorted by distance.

https://www.autotempest.com/results?make=volkswagen&model=golfsportwagen&zip=23434&fuel=diesel

You can refine by color, transmission type, etc. You might get different results by searching for Golf instead of GSW, then select wagon under body type. It just depends on keywords used in the ad.

I have been looking for a Jetta. Common theme with the cars I have looked at is they all have cheap tires. I'm sure they all sat for a long time so tires had to be replaced.
 

davidlp

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
Location
Suffolk, VA
TDI
Golf Sportwagen 2015 Blue Silk
The used car lots and auto dealers are chock full of them now. I have been using Autotempest to search as it shows you cars.com, truecar, ebay, and craigslist.

Here is a search for GSW diesel from your location, sorted by distance.

https://www.autotempest.com/results?make=volkswagen&model=golfsportwagen&zip=23434&fuel=diesel
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Thanks for that site, although I didn't see your post until this evening - not sure why the auto-notification hasn't been working. It so happens I bought one of the cars on your list this afternoon, 13.3k miles, CPO, for about $14.2k. I was disappointed it wasn't in better cosmetic condition, with a bunch of small scratches and a bend in the edge of the tailgate spoiler which they're going to fix. Also, readily visible rust on the hub part of the rotors, which I may clean off. Paint is a touch faded compared to my car of the same color, probably from sitting three years on a lot without wash and wax. I hope a good wax job helps, but the paint still looks good and it will spend most of its life in a garage now, since I work out of home. I will find someone with a good rep for buffing out the scratches. I don't like the black interior as much as my old beige, but I didn't have the luxury of a lot of cars to choose from without going up a lot in price, and didn't want this process to drag on.
 

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
The faded paint can be fixed by a good paint correction expert, and then either a good synthetic sealant (wax) or ceramic coating ($$).

Check with the body shop fixing the scratches, they probably can provide a price or recommendation.
 

3turboz

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Location
Tempe AZ USA
TDI
2000 Golf GL Wolfsberg
Glad you found one. Sounds like a great price for the miles.

Hope you can avoid flying animals in the future.
 
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