Would you buy a 2012 with 75k miles?

Looking for a commuter car for my better half. I'm a huge VW fan and have managed to convert her (for better or worse). She really wants a CC, but I prefer a TDI b/c she drives 40k/yr. I found a '12 w/ 75k & DSG for $16.8 in south FL and it has been there its entire life. I jump on here to check things out and then stumble across the turbo thread. No real consensus there, but seems cold weather and 6spd cars cause more failures. Regardless, I don't want to risk leaving her on the side of the road - especially if one (or more) of our kids is with her. Any advice? I have Vag-Com - anything I should monitor or check out if I drive down to look at the car? Am I better off taking the fuel economy hit and getting a CC? (mind you I haven't started researching them yet, but have owned a 1.8T Passat and 2.0T Passat in the past and always loved that variation of engine)

SE or SEL? Nav? Sunroof?

Maintenance records? Carfax?

2012 TDI SEL with 82,000 and no issues. Make sure it has had all the regular scheduled service including the DGS service. Next service at 80,000 is a big one with the transmission service. Have it checked out.

Love these cars

Rolling up on 60k soon ! No issues to date!! It's been a great commuter.

Just had the 130K service done - no problems either. I commute 50K/year and love it as a commuter car.

for me it would just be a matter of how comfortable I was with the previous maitenance records (if you even can find out). Also as others have said the 80k service is coming up and it's a big one. probably 6-800$ roughtly. Check with VW to be certain.

Other than that I do love my car but the routine maitenance required and the threat of catostrophic failures, (turbo, dpf) scare me and I think if I was to do it again I would probably consider other options but who knows...

I also am one of the lucky ones with 55k miles and no issues (yet).

How difficult is the DSG service? It's a fluid change, so other than getting the exact amount in (which I thought I read a few years ago is a PITA) I can't imagine much difficulty....just hassle. I see ECS sells a complete kit and I have a VAG-COM in case there is anything that needs to be reset / calibrated. I'm a competent mechanic and plan on doing the timing belt myself when it's due, etc.

I am unsure of the maintenance history b/c a dealer is selling it and I have not purchased a CarFax to see if there are any records.

As for price, some have said it seems high, but I have not had much luck at all finding any TDI's, let alone in this price point. The few that I've seen at VW dealers nearby are practically asking MSRP for a 2014. I can't justify that b/c I hate car payments and we'll kill the value in no time w/ our commutes.

Just to give you an idea of cost. A friend just picked up a 2012 SE with sunroof,DSG, for $15k wiith 60k miles. Condition: exterior, excellent. Interior: 8 of 10, had issues with console??

I had an 09 CC vr6 which I loved. Traded it for the 2012 Passat for reasons you posted earlier (miles driven per year). The Passat is a great car too, & fuel economy of TDI is awesome.
As for the DSG maintenance, it s not that difficult to do yourself.

Good luck with the choice.

With the issues the post 09 cars have been having I would not have one without a warranty. That means to me buy new and dump it at 60k and get another new one. My brothers wife was left standing along side the road twice with an 03 ALH Jetta (so I am not even talking a CR here) He dumped it after the second time that happened. I really like my 2014 Passat, but I really don't trust it's reliability. Too many very expensive things to fail after the warranty has expired (I really do think you can take the depreciation hit which could be the same as the cost of those off warranty repairs). To each his own when it comes to this stuff. I learned my lessons way back in 1974 with my Audi 100LS. More than a weeks pay to keep it on the road every couple of months and they didn't have crap for a new car warranty back then.

hhead said:

Just to give you an idea of cost. A friend just picked up a 2012 SE with sunroof,DSG, for $15k wiith 60k miles. Condition: exterior, excellent. Interior: 8 of 10, had issues with console??

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Your friend got a heck of a deal!

He said he had been looking for months for the right price. Private party, they wanted $17k.
He took cash when he went to look at it. I think the owners had bought a new car.
We might be taking our cars on the road in Oct to Tenn. Tour the plant. Back in '07, I toured the GM plant in Flint, with about fifty other Duramax/Silverado owners.
Too bad they dont allow cameras. I would have stayed for days, just to learn how to disassemble my truck correctly! Lol

hhead said:

He said he had been looking for months for the right price. Private party, they wanted $17k.
He took cash when he went to look at it. I think the owners had bought a new car.
We might be taking our cars on the road in Oct to Tenn. Tour the plant. Back in '07, I toured the GM plant in Flint, with about fifty other Duramax/Silverado owners.
Too bad they dont allow cameras. I would have stayed for days, just to learn how to disassemble my truck correctly! Lol

Click to expand...

I ended up picking up a 2013 SE with 28K on it for 20.9K. It did come with with a CPO though. That was a great deal, hopefully he enjoys it. The torque is addicting, hard to keep the foot out of it compared to my old MKIII.

That would be blast. Is it free I assume to tour the factory? Haven't ever looked.