Tragick
Active member
I, like everyone else here, have been trying to figure out what to do with my diesel 2012 Passat TDI SE. It currently has 191k miles. If I turn in the car in December 2016, I should have around 220k miles on it. I choose December for several reasons, the primary reason being that I may be able to get a better deal on a 2016 sitting in the lot with the 2017 models laying around. I don't believe it likely that VW will be able to sell diesels again anytime soon. I drive between 40k and 40k miles a year. I have a heavy foot so I average 39 MPG. Don't get me wrong, I love my car and hate giving it up, but by my calculations I should be receiving around $10,380 from VW. The car needs around $1200 in front end work sooner rather than later, but I should be able to ride it out until December, which I view as as saving an additional $1200.
So my quandary is this. Do I purchase a "low mileage" diesel say a 2013 with 30k miles on for $24,000 (currently on ebay) and pray I don't get one with any issues and I assume VW with fix whatever has to be done with the emissions OR do I purchase a new gas Passat. I've looked at BMW diesels and they are simply too pricey for me (I would need a 500 series as I don't fit well in the 300 series as I'm 6'3"). That leaves the option of buying a gas passat. In another thread someone indicated they seemed to have gotten 30 MPG on their new gas passat. Doing simple math, if I drive 42k miles at 39 MPG in a diesel vs 42k miles at 30MPG in a gas passat, I still save $750/year in fuel/gas by driving a diesel. Doing more simple math, a diesel engine is roughly $1,000 more than a gas engine so to the first year of ownership is essentially a wash, so I would be saving $750/year for the 2nd year of ownership onward. I believe that maintenance on the diesel is typically lower than a gas car, but I'm not putting any numbers on it at the moment.
With the amount of driving I do and the miles I have piled up logically it makes sense to turn the diesel into VW and take the money and apply it to a new vehicle. My first two VW diesels (both Jettas) had 375k and 425k miles respectively, so I know they last a long time.
When I bought my current car was to upgrade to an Audi TDI when this one died. I could also purchase a used Audi A6 in theory.
Comments appreciated!
Ed
So my quandary is this. Do I purchase a "low mileage" diesel say a 2013 with 30k miles on for $24,000 (currently on ebay) and pray I don't get one with any issues and I assume VW with fix whatever has to be done with the emissions OR do I purchase a new gas Passat. I've looked at BMW diesels and they are simply too pricey for me (I would need a 500 series as I don't fit well in the 300 series as I'm 6'3"). That leaves the option of buying a gas passat. In another thread someone indicated they seemed to have gotten 30 MPG on their new gas passat. Doing simple math, if I drive 42k miles at 39 MPG in a diesel vs 42k miles at 30MPG in a gas passat, I still save $750/year in fuel/gas by driving a diesel. Doing more simple math, a diesel engine is roughly $1,000 more than a gas engine so to the first year of ownership is essentially a wash, so I would be saving $750/year for the 2nd year of ownership onward. I believe that maintenance on the diesel is typically lower than a gas car, but I'm not putting any numbers on it at the moment.
With the amount of driving I do and the miles I have piled up logically it makes sense to turn the diesel into VW and take the money and apply it to a new vehicle. My first two VW diesels (both Jettas) had 375k and 425k miles respectively, so I know they last a long time.
When I bought my current car was to upgrade to an Audi TDI when this one died. I could also purchase a used Audi A6 in theory.
Comments appreciated!
Ed