V6 TDI

I was recently disappointed to find that the Passat was no longer being sold in North America with the TDI. I emailed VW asking about the possibility of custom ordering a TDI Passat and their response, in a nut-shell was no.

The only other real option for me is the Jetta. The Jetta will work, but being 6’4” I would prefer a somewhat larger vehicle. So…I started thinking, usually a dangerous thing according to my wife; I went to Germany’s VW website http://www.vw-online.de/home/index_.htm and discovered, not only can you get the Passat with the TDI, but you could get a V6 TDI in the Passat! I haven’t seen the V6 TDI offered at all, in anything in the U.S.

Well…my wife graduates from college next year and the plan is, after her graduation, to take a trip somewhere nice. I’m now thinking Germany may be the destination of choice. The idea would be, before leaving on this trip, we buy a V6 TDI Passat from a dealership in Germany and have the car waiting for us when we arrive. Then drive it for the two weeks or so while we’re there, put a few hundred miles on it and have it shipped home as a “used” car. (The “used” car idea came from friends at work, to save money on import fees.)

The major problem, for me anyway, is I’ve never done anything like this. I have no idea how financing would work or even how to get started with the ordering process.

The other problem is parts. The transmission, I believe, is the same basic transmission that comes in the V6 gas Passat offered here in the states, so getting a replacement filter and pan gasket shouldn’t be a problem. I could probably find the proper oil filter without much trouble and hopefully the fuel filter that fits the 4 cylinder TDI is the same fuel filter that the V6 TDI uses.

But what about radiator hoses, timing belts, belt tensioning pulleys and other parts that periodically need to be replaced that is specific to that V6? Will my local dealership help me order these parts from Germany, or will they tell me to get bent?

Posting these questions on this forum is my very first step in what appears will be a very long process. Any constructive input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

hkg3

It is nearly impossible to import a car which does not have the EPA seal of approval.

Do you remember that Mash episode where radar takes a jeep apart and sends each part home in boxes? It is something you can consider. Just be sure to label the engine as a "speed boat motor".

When my family was stationed in Germany we decided to get a new van to tour europe in. After the folks researched the ability to take a vehicle back to the states they decided to buy the van from a US dealer and ship it over to Europe for use and then take it back. We also had to worry about the safety equipment regulations such as safety glass, proper restraints, lighting, etc. Overall to retrofit the van if we bought the euro version would cost alost twice as much. My advice would be to look for an available car here in North America, unless you have oodles of money.
This has also been a much dicussed topic on the forum as we all would love to get our greasy hands on a more powerful TDI

Another option is to buy a used Passat TDI (96-97). In retrospect, I sometimes wish I'd done that. More room and less depreciation. They can be found starting for less than $10K if you shop around.

I'm 6'3" and I fit okay in the Jetta, but the Passat's seats went further back and still had some room for people other than children in back.

The TDI Passats available in this country were the B4 series and had essentially the same engine as the A3 series--different turbocharger but approx. the same power. A bit slower than the A4's due to extra weight, but at least as efficient.

Methinks this will be nearly impossible. It's been tried. And, is it a PD v6? If so, it won't be able to run on our crappy fuel.

As an owner of a 1996 Passat, I gotta say that the passenger area is cavernous. In fact, MineMapper just posted about one of the rare and much-desired wagon for $10,500 here. You might want to find one of those.

natescape,

I went back to the site; it doesn’t say anything about “PD,” although that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The exact text from the site is pasted below.

Passat Limousine Trendline 4MOTION 2,5 l V6 TDI 110 kW (150 PS) 5-Stufen-Automatic (Tiptronic)

I spoke with a lady today at work who lived in Germany for a few years while her husband was stationed there. According to her, some of our military bases actually have auto dealerships on them. She said, since the base is considered U.S soil, if you buy a car from one of these dealers, it’s as if you bought a car in the U.S. (news to me.) She told me that people bought cars all the time from these dealers and shipped them home. Now the question that arises is, since it’s U.S. soil, does that mean you can only get vehicles that are available in the U.S.?

eluwak,

When your family was looking into buying that van, did you look at a dealership on base or was that not an option?

I’m not entirely sure what to think about this yet; I’ve heard everything from “god couldn’t make it happen” to “easier n’ fallin’ off a log.” I appreciate all the input I’ve read here thus far, thanks.

I have worked with a guy that is from Scotland. He is a hugh BMW fan (owns 3) and he and I have had discussions several times about why cars in Europe do not make it into the US. It seems that the for a car to make it to the US requires the car's engine to meet the emmissions testing. This testing and approval process takes long periods of time and TONS of money, therefore the European automakers do not send everything they make for this testing. I am sure the V6 TDI is one of the cars VW thinks will not sell well and has not paid for the testing.

For what it's worth.

Resto

Originally posted by hkg3:
eluwak,

When your family was looking into buying that van, did you look at a dealership on base or was that not an option?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">When we were there they did not have dealerships on the military installations. We bought the van through some car sales office on the base but the vehicles were shipped from the manufacturer to us in the US configuration to meet the gov regs upon re-entry into the US. Mind you this was 22 years ago, but I believe this is still the case.

I think there is a way to get a "used" vehicle in but the vehicle must be at least 6 months to a year old or something. I don't know the details of this but I know whatever you try it will be very difficult trying to get a mass production vehicle that does not meet gov safety or EPA regs.

Also, like natescape mentioned, another big reason you don't see more diesel cars here is because the diesel fuel here in the US is of poor quality and too high in sulfer to have these engines run properly.

There has been alot of discussion of this topic on the forum in the past. I would strongly recommend doing some searches.

hkg3,
I suggest you do a bit a searching the topic here and then put your energy into finding a nice used B4 here in the States.

hkg3,The Canadian Gov't publishes a book on vehicle importing,what's allowed,what specifications it must meet,for safety,emissions,etc etc.
I'm sure the U.S gov't has the same information available.It will take out all the guess work,rumours and speculation.
It's probably not remotely worth it.

Originally posted by natescape:
And, is it a PD v6?

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't think the V6 TDI has ever been a PD engine. It has been out almost as long as the 1.9 in Europe, first in the Audi A6 Quattro I think.

What does it mean when the engine is a "PD," what does it stand for?

PD = Pumpe Deuse (apologies for the missing accent marks). Basically a different injection system; instead of having a single rotary injection pump that feeds all the injectors, the PD system has an injector atop each cylinder. A lobe on the camshaft depresses the injector plungers to pressurize the injectors, but the actual injection is performed by a solenoid valve in each injector that is controlled by the ECU. This system provides much higher injection pressures than our current rotary injection system, providing better atomization of the fuel, which then burns cleaner. A search of the archives will fill in the details of this system.

(D*mn, I hate life at 56K. Somebody else will have typed in a book on this here already by the time I've even answered!.)

[ January 31, 2002, 09:02: Message edited by: spokeman ]

PD means Pumpe-Düse, it is the new injection-system only used by VW (for cars). Instead of a central injection pump, ever cylinder has its own little pump and can inject the fuel with a very high pressure (up to 2050bar). This means a low consumption and high torque.
The V6 TDI is not a PD- engine it still uses a central injection pump (Radialkolbenpumpe, to be precise).
All current 4Cylinder TDI’s are PD- TDI’s, in the Passat they come with either 100hp or 130hp, for Golf and Jetta (we call it Bora), also 150hp are offered.

The V6 TDI can be combined with either Tiptronic or a manual 6speed gearbox, 4Motion is also an option.

Regards,

Frank

In regards to sales on bases, we just left a base in Germany in 1999, and the only cars that are sold on the base are from the US. Some of the larger bases even have dealerships off base just to serve the US members, but if you were to buy a new "German Spec" car, you will not get it back into the states. I had a 1982 Golf GTD, and I really wanted to bring it back with me, but could not without dumping about $7500. The easiest way to bring in a German Spec car is wait 25 years.

Mink
96 Passat TDI

Mink,

What would the $7500 have gone to pay for?

It would have gone towards replacing all of the glass, headlights and headlight switches. From there, you would have to get the brakes changed out to US spec, and the rest was to go towards having it certified through the EPA and DOT. If the car has unique properties, they are a little easier to get them here (i.e. the Mini), but for the most part, it is such a hassle and in most cases so costly, that it really isn't worth doing.