Need advice on buying a certified pre-owned 2013 Jetta TDI 2.0

[Mike7031]

Originally Posted by AronS

The differences between a 2013 Jetta TDI and a 2014 Jetta TDI are:
1) The 2013 has torsion beam rear suspension and the 2014 have a more sophisticated independent rear suspension.
2) The 2014 features a soft touch dashboard where the 2013 has hard plastic (note both have hard plastic along the door, but it is not as cheap looking/feeling as a cheap economy car).

3) There may be a few minor differences in the electronics: the 2014 features CarNet, the iPod/iphone connectivity cord in the center console (rather than the glove box), and rear view camera/Fender audio system in the Premium and Premium with Navigation trims (I'm not sure if the 2013 has these or not).

Whether they are significant or not is up to you. In the 2015, you get (other than the obvious styling differences) slightly more horsepower, fuel economy, and torque. The downside is they are more complex (more to go wrong in the future) and require DEF fluid (most would say it's not a big deal but something to be aware of).

For strictly city driving, you fuel economy should be around the mid 30's (low 30's in colder temperatures) even in a "fixed" car as long as you are fairly conservative, so that should meet your expectations. I, as well as a lot of car journalists, have found VW's fuel economy numbers to be very conservative and easy to beat.

Thanks so much for the detailed advice. It sounds like a 2014 would be perfect for me, as I'd like the benefits you mentioned, and don't need the more advanced and higher maintenance stuff in the 2015+. Do your points above also apply to the Golf TDI or just to the Jetta?

[Mike7031]

Originally Posted by ezshift5

I drove a 2013 JSW TDI 6M about 50k after buying new. Agree - great car.
Got 44 MPG for the 50,000 miles per Fuelly
If I were you - with a 15 mile commute - I'd take a hard look the the model year 2018 Jetta 1.4 - - - which gets about 10% less than the TDI Wagen.
The end of the model year plus VW factory and dealership discounts sure worked for me.......................perhaps they can work for you to!!
Smooth sailing (NavySpeak) for the new year,
ez

Thanks for the tips!

[Mike7031]

Originally Posted by dhuddleson

I would be concerned about the need for the modern diesels to be able to keep the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) working. The car/engine computer determines when to run a regeneration, and it expects that you have a driving cycle with enough distance and not just lots of stop/go and idle engine speed. Your 15 mile drive cycle may cause you more problems than good. Just my personal opinion from my own research...

Thanks for sharing this potential issue with me. I'm starting a new job soon. Going to see what the overall commute is like before making a car buying decision. I might end up going with a non-diesel to avoid the type of issue you mentioned.

[Mike7031]

Originally Posted by andreigbs

As @AronS astutely pointed out, the 2014s+ have a better rear suspension, so they tend to handle nicer. The soft-touch dash is a welcome addition as well, I almost can't believe they used that cheap hard plastic before. I also believe the backup cams were standard starting 2014, though I'll gladly stand corrected. In 2015, the engines were slightly different and more refined. They also added the DEF to the exhaust system, so there's more maintenance and technology involved. However, given the robust extended warranties from The Fix, I wouldn't lose sleep either way.

I highly recommend you sample both a Jetta and a Golf. Driving a 2015 Golf is like driving almost a different class of car. Doing it back to back at a local dealer will really highlight the difference.

As for your commute description: while not ideal for benefiting the most from a TDI powertrain's fuel efficiency, I would definitely expect upper 30s average MPGs at least. If more of the commute was steady speed highway cruising, I'd expect low 40s.

Temperature, speed, load, type of fuel (winter vs summer), and driving style will all combine to produce either decent fuel economy (mid to upper 30s MPG) or great fuel economy (40s+ MPG) in the long run. Couple that with the unbelievable warranty and you have a great deal, just find the right model/year.

Thanks for all this info. Took you advice and test drove a Golf (2013 TDI) for the first time, and did it right after driving a 2013 Jetta TDI. Huge difference. Now I don't think I can buy a Jetta

[andreigbs]

The difference would've been even more dramatic had you driven the MK7 Golf (2015+).

Back when I first got my 2014 Golf, I drove the new 2015 GTI (such a blast to drive) and a 2014 Jetta TDI. The difference in refinement on the new platform Golfs was amazing. I don't think I'd be exaggerating to say it felt more like an Audi than a Veedub.

If you're set on the Golf, do yourself another favor and drive a 2015+ one as well. They also come equipped with gas engines which are very nice to drive and have no exhaust gizmos to worry about like the TDIs. I sampled a 2015 Golf TSI with 170hp and it was just lovely to drive, very quiet and well built. They return excellent fuel economy and run on regular unleaded which in some areas is less than $2/gal. Good luck in your search!

I'm not a VW salesman, but in high school I was voted "most likely to own a VW dealership."

[hause]

If your still shopping OP, I can get you that car for $9500 of less. I'm a dealer, but I don't mind brokering for TDI forum members. I sell 5-10 of these a month. pm me if anyone is interested

[bora2003]

I bought a 2014 Jetta TDI Value Edition with the factory "fix." It has 81K miles and cost $11K. I've had it since March of 2018 - no problems, decent mileage, and very comfortable. There is no "soft touch" dash in my stripper TDI, nor a back-up camera. I got used to the hard plastic pretty quickly. It's not ugly or anything, just "hard." The car feels solid with nary a rattle.

It gets good mileage, but not nearly as good on the highway mileage as my 2015 Golf TDI.

The main drawback I find with this car is the lack of a complete speedometer cluster ... no temp gauge, and no MFD display, as in my Golf.

But, no regrets in the purchase nearly a year later. I love driving this car.

[iamatt]

Same thing here. Missing a real cluster which sucks.

Sent from my FRD-L14 using Tapatalk

[bruce51d]

I had a 12 Jetta that I bought new, sold as part of the buy back with 90k. I had a rental car the other day in Vegas that was a wagon tdi, auto. It got me to thinking about what all those cars that were sold back were doin now. Well after lookin on the internet ive found many for sale and they look cheap. Now lookin for another one. Maybe I’ll get a golf this time.

[andreigbs]

Maybe I’ll get a golf this time.

Find a 2015 Golf and you'll love it. It's worth the slight premium in price over the 2014s.

[tdiinsc]

Originally Posted by Mike7031

Hi All,
I'm strongly considering purchasing a certified pre-owned 2013 Jetta TDI 2.0 automatic. It's a one-owner with 48,000 miles, blue exterior, beige leather heated seats, sunroof, and bluetooth. The VW dealer has it listed at $9,800, and they'll probably want $11,000 including their fees. It's being sold here in the northern Virginia area, and was previously owned in Massachusetts.
It's a CPO car, so it includes the 2-year bumper-to-bumper warranty, and it's gone through the dieselgate fix, so it has the extended emissions warranty. The extended emissions warranty covers fuel pumps (among other things), which seems to be very important, since I've read that the high pressure fuel pump fails and can be over $5k to replace.
My plan is to drive it for 2-4 years, depending on its reliability and how much it costs to maintain. I drive less than 8,000 miles per year and don't expect a regular commute of more than 15 miles.
I'd really like to buy this car, as it's a ton of fun to drive and feels safe, but I'm concerned about the cost of maintenance and repairs. I don't have the know-how to fix the car myself, and I've heard that TDI's require a lot of care.
Questions:
1) Given the 2-year B2B warranty and extended emissions warranty, what should I expect to pay for maintenance/repairs in the first 2 years? What about in the first 4 years?
2) Aside from the carfax, are there any records I should request before making a purchase decision?
3) What are the key parts to inspect before making a purchase decision?
4) Does the $11k price sound fair? Any negotiation tips?
Also, please feel free to give any other advice.
Thanks for your help!

I bought a 2014 jetta value edition 6MT back in july of last year. It had 28k miles on it and CPO and walked out of the dealer about $12.5k TTL. You'll most likely have just oil changes and fuel filters to worry about until it comes time for timing belt and water pump but that'll be a while. We picked up my wifes car last march and have put about 20k miles on it and so far its just been regular maintenance only, so who knows what it'll be long term.

I have a short 8 mile commute mostly local, so in the South Carolina winter, my car really doesn't have a chance to fully warm up (lately has been in the low 20's in the morning). Now my car did come with phase 1 and 2 already done and i installed a green diesel tune and i have a fuelly tracked (hand calculated) 43 mpg over 4500 miles. My wife in her golf sportwagen tdi (Phase 1 only) has a longer 30 mile commute and she gets the same as me. For as short as you plan to keep the car, id probably go with the other suggestion of spending much less and getting an accord or something...if you have the money to burn, get the TDI. The price of diesel in my area varies quite a bit but is generally reasonable (currently $2.55 average, low of $2.38), not sure in your area but something to consider.

[andreigbs]

i installed a green diesel tune

Please elaborate, thanks.

[tdiinsc]

Originally Posted by andreigbs

Please elaborate, thanks.

Green Diesel Engineering....

A few folks on the board were early beta testers for them. They don't advertise the power benefits as much as the fuel economy benefits. You do of course get more power, but i've enjoyed a solid ~7mpg increase consistently over my stock VW phase 2 emissions tuning. You can check out their website..they were basically ex big 3 (Ford/Chrysler/GM) diesel engineers that were let go and decided to form their own company. They do more work with the jeep diesels and the dodge eco diesels, they are more well known for that. If you have any further questions just message me.