Considering a NMS Passat-What SHould I Know

Very familiar with the 1z, AHU and ALH's but when looking online for another older TDI I see that VW is selling the TDI's that were in the buyback. I thought only the 2015's were being sold. Now am considering a purchase of a Passat. Mainly because I'm a big guy at 6'4" and 250#. Know nothing on these newer Passats (EA288??)-someone please enlighten me as to what to look for as the weak points.

I am inclined toward the Passat since it is bigger. Is the auto trans reliable on these/prone to failure or require more maintenance? Leaning towards a manual. What is the difference between the 2014's and the 2015's? Looks like the fuel and exhaust system have been given an extended VW warranty. See something about water pump issues. I'm used to doing all my own maintenance-are these newer cars any worse than my older existing fleet? Is MPG significantly less with the mods VW did?

Thanks

If you want a manual, 2015 is your only choice.

These cars are exponentially more complex than the older cars.

Oil Hammer thanks. A little confused in that I'm seeing 2014 Passats listed on Cars.com that are listed as manual trans-6 speed always an SE model. Is it not a true manual with a clutch? One of those clutchless shifters I've seen on rental cars. Kind of important as would like to maybe tow behind my motorhome. Figured a manual would allow me to do that.

They are either gasoline fueled, or are TDIs that were never bought back (some did slip through the cracks). Those would not have the fix applied, no extended warranty, and would be a great car to purchase.

ejallison1 said:

Oil Hammer thanks. A little confused in that I'm seeing 2014 Passats listed on Cars.com that are listed as manual trans-6 speed always an SE model. Is it not a true manual with a clutch? One of those clutchless shifters I've seen on rental cars. Kind of important as would like to maybe tow behind my motorhome. Figured a manual would allow me to do that.

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Look at the photos of the cars. Almost all the Passats listed on autotrader or cars.com as manuals are automatics. I don't know how or why they get it wrong...is it because it's a DSG, or because they want to get you in the door.

I’m 6’5” and 330#, I fit in the Passat reasonably well. Mine is a 2015 manual, but I don’t hear too many complaints about the DSG trans. The value in the resale market is crap on the Passat now because VW has so many cars with a good warranty for cheap. My car with 57K miles books for about $9K currently, when they run out of cars the value may come back up a bit.

I spoke to the GM of my local VW location last week (I’m in the car business) and asked about the supply of TDI buyback cars. He said there are about 75K cars left, primarily Passats (like 55K) with a few Touareg and a few Golf sport wagons. Apparently most of the Jettas, Golfs, and Beetles are gone.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Look at the photos of the cars. Almost all the Passats listed on autotrader or cars.com as manuals are automatics. I don't know how or why they get it wrong...is it because it's a DSG, or because they want to get you in the door.

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Wow... you're absolutely right.

I just checked Autotrader looking for 2012 - 2015 Passat TDI's in 6 speed manual. It brought up 15 cars within 500 miles of me.

Only ONE was actually a manual. I wanted to contact each of those dealerships and let them know how stupid they were.