2012 Passat information problems
I'm having some trouble with specific information about what's available how on the new Passat TDI.
I hadn't even considered the car at all as options/pricing information from a number of months ago made it sound like by the time it's a TDI with DSG, I'm buying far too many other features I don't want while actual useful luxury like lumbar support in both front seats cost unaffordably (to me) more. Also, it seemed like it I would need a new car long before they'd be available.
The new production dates and prices got me interested again, though as the picture gets clearer, all the complaints above are starting to appear again. Having come across the lumbar seat problem a lot while shopping around, I've come to accept that I should just get the cheapest TDI/DSG I can, and depending on how simple the lumbar support mechanism is, I'll just eventually swap in the lumbar support mechanism, make my own, or swap in another driver's seat on the passenger side.
But even with that compromise accepted - the base TDI model gets what amounts to vinyl seats, with leather $4300 more and no option of cloth?
What are they thinking?
My biggest problem, however, and the point of this post is the fact that while I'm trying to figure out just exactly what stupid feature combinations and restrictions they've put in place, I'm faced with contradicting information or worse.
I'm looking at the website and the current (got it 2 weeks ago) dealer brochure. The brochure is so vague (yet utterly different in some ways from any website info) that it's not worth discussing. A VW-chat operative last week suggested I get final info from my dealer, but since my recent experience with dealers of multiple brands includes more definite untruths than don't-knows, I'll save my time.
So, back to the website.
It's been previously suggested that the DSG is sadly bundled with the sunroof (***?). (The chattist last week confirmed that this is so.)
In the Trims & Specs section, lots of features are listed separately, including DSG, sunroof, navigation, and even passenger power seat.
The configurator quickly reveals this to be a ruse, but not before briefly raising your hopes by showing optional wheels at no cost - until demanding that the free wheels be combined with the $4300 upgrade package.
OK, so it's back to expensive packages - the Trims & Specs table is only useful if you have unlimited money, as no options can actually be purcahsed separately.
But what about the DSG? $1900 extra when you choose it sure seems a bit steep, but there's no mention of a package or other features.
Indeed, just before the end, the sunroof and navi package is shown to cost $1600. No mention that you already get a free sunroof with your DSG. (And, as it turns out, it's not a price-adjusted upgrade, as nav+sun isn't just more expensive but unavailable without DSG.)
My favorite exprience with this pack of lies is when you choose free leather seats, which of course causes a demand to add the SEL package - sometimes, this is followed by a demand to remove the wheels! (And that may or may not be followed by an endless loop of demands, escapeable only by closing the browser.)
I wanted to get a feeling of just how much of the TDI price is the forced SE-level vs. the TDI itself. Looking at the 2.5, I noticed no automatic drivetrain option. Interested, I tried some of the $$$$ packages (with all the demands that entails), and none ever revealed containing an automatic either. Hmm.
I've been waiting patiently for all this to be straightened out, but all I've noticed is that the red color swatch seems to be getting ever duller and darker, though that may be my disappointed imagination.
Friday, giving it another chance, I went in and found that the T&S table now had "no available" for each feature under TDI and V6. At that point, I finally called up the VW chat, pointed out this defect, and suggested that the other characteristic mentioned above aren't great either, particularly when dealers know nothing and options packages greatly affect the price - and no cars are on the lots to establish what you're likely to be able to buy. (The factory lot, by the way, was very full a few days ago; you'd think they'd get those cars on the covered trains instead of letting them sit in the sun. No red cars, by the look)
So, 1+ business day later, that table is still blank...