Want to get rid of 2014 Passat TDI SE

My wife and I have reached the breaking point with our Passat. It was fine before the emissions fix so we opted to keep it. After the fix, it has had four issues - heater core failure, aux pump failure, coolant leak from oil filter housing and, now, fuel pump failure. The first two were covered by warranty. However, the coolant leak was not as our warranty has expired (car has about 159,000 miles - it is our commute car). The fuel pump repair will cost at least $6000 and we have decided it's not worth it as this would exceed its blue book value so our mechanic was gracious enough to keep the car unrepaired until we decide what to do.

I have reached out to VW Customer Care but I'm not getting any help. Part of the problem is that we still owe on it. Now we're trying to figure out the best way to get rid of it and get into a non-VW car.

Sorry for posting here but I'm just airing out my displeasure. I will, however, appreciate constructive suggestions. No flames please.

If its me.... I’d upgrade her with CP3 pump and never look back.

I had 5 fuel pump failures with my 2014 JSW in 6 months alone and she did break down 2 weeks after me buying her. She also had one breakdown of fuel pump failure with first owner. So after the 5th.... mechanic finally find the fuel tank to be completely contaminated of mold/mildew in the fuel from buyback process that left her sitting for 2 years.... after they cleaned it up and fix her properly, I immediately upgraded it to CP3 and she runs so much better.

Passats are known for heater core failures..... I dont know why.... probably bad quality design.

Lets hope others can chime in with your other issues which I am not familiar with. I have 2015 Passat TDI myself and no issues besides infamous DEF heater failure shortly after I purchased her.


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Depending on what you owe, you may have to make up the difference. The car is worth very little as it sits. The fuel pump can be repaired for far less than $6k, though.

There may be some dealer near you that does the "push-pull-tow" deal where they take a trade on ANYTHING, but you should know that whatever you are upside down on loan wise will just be rolled into the loan on a new car (since I would assume you cannot pay for that either). This is how people end up owing more money on a car than it is worth, even if nothing "breaks" or they do not pile the miles on like you have.

Tough situation, no easy way out. There are lots of cars (good cars) you can buy for cash though. I just sold a very nice 2005 Jetta wagon for $3k, it has already lasted longer than your 2014 Passat, and will continue doing so...

I do not know your financial situation, but it probably isn't good for you right now.

Thank you calimustang and oilhammer. At this point, we just want to get rid of the car. Too bad as the body is in great shape.

Yes, one of the options we're considering is trading it but it depends on the terms although this would be the quickest way to resolve this dilemma. The other is to pay it off (the wife is not too crazy about this) and sell/trade it but it won't be as quick.

calimustang said:

If its me.... I’d upgrade her with CP3 pump and never look back.

I had 5 fuel pump failures with my 2014 JSW in 6 months alone and she did break down 2 weeks after me buying her. She also had one breakdown of fuel pump failure with first owner. So after the 5th.... mechanic finally find the fuel tank to be completely contaminated of mold/mildew in the fuel from buyback process that left her sitting for 2 years.... after they cleaned it up and fix her properly, I immediately upgraded it to CP3 and she runs so much better.

Passats are known for heater core failures..... I dont know why.... probably bad quality design.

Lets hope others can chime in with your other issues which I am not familiar with. I have 2015 Passat TDI myself and no issues besides infamous DEF heater failure shortly after I purchased her.


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oilhammer said:

Depending on what you owe, you may have to make up the difference. The car is worth very little as it sits. The fuel pump can be repaired for far less than $6k, though.
There may be some dealer near you that does the "push-pull-tow" deal where they take a trade on ANYTHING, but you should know that whatever you are upside down on loan wise will just be rolled into the loan on a new car (since I would assume you cannot pay for that either). This is how people end up owing more money on a car than it is worth, even if nothing "breaks" or they do not pile the miles on like you have.
Tough situation, no easy way out. There are lots of cars (good cars) you can buy for cash though. I just sold a very nice 2005 Jetta wagon for $3k, it has already lasted longer than your 2014 Passat, and will continue doing so...
I do not know your financial situation, but it probably isn't good for you right now.

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dborja said:

Thank you calimustang and oilhammer. At this point, we just want to get rid of the car. Too bad as the body is in great shape.

Yes, one of the options we're considering is trading it but it depends on the terms although this would be the quickest way to resolve this dilemma. The other is to pay it off (the wife is not too crazy about this) and sell/trade it but it won't be as quick.

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Where in NorCal are you? Would be interested in hearing what a dealer would offer you on trade in. I could be interested in picking the car up and fixing it for myself as a daily. Whatever the dealer offers, I could pad more on top of that if it's a super low ball offer.

Will a dealer actually accept a broken down car as a trade-in?? I consider all dealer trade-ins to be lowball offers and I can't imagine how low they would go on a high mileage, broken down VW. My guess is that they'd offer 1 or 2 car payments at best. Best of luck.

KITEWAGON said:

Will a dealer actually accept a broken down car as a trade-in?? I consider all dealer trade-ins to be lowball offers and I can't imagine how low they would go on a high mileage, broken down VW. My guess is that they'd offer 1 or 2 car payments at best. Best of luck.

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Oh they most certainly will. Like I said, they'll just roll the upside down amount into the new loan. That's how people end up with a $20k Malibu that they owe $30k after owning it for six months. This happens more than you think. A LOT more.

Boy.. I wish you were closer!.. I would pick it up for the same scenario as Matt.. good luck with whatever happens... and sorry about this!

Thanks all for the comments so far!

Matt, I'll PM you.

Thanks,
Dale

Matt-98AHU said:

Where in NorCal are you? Would be interested in hearing what a dealer would offer you on trade in. I could be interested in picking the car up and fixing it for myself as a daily. Whatever the dealer offers, I could pad more on top of that if it's a super low ball offer.

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oilhammer said:

Depending on what you owe, you may have to make up the difference. The car is worth very little as it sits. The fuel pump can be repaired for far less than $6k, though.

There may be some dealer near you that does the "push-pull-tow" deal where they take a trade on ANYTHING, but you should know that whatever you are upside down on loan wise will just be rolled into the loan on a new car (since I would assume you cannot pay for that either). This is how people end up owing more money on a car than it is worth, even if nothing "breaks" or they do not pile the miles on like you have.

Tough situation, no easy way out. There are lots of cars (good cars) you can buy for cash though. I just sold a very nice 2005 Jetta wagon for $3k, it has already lasted longer than your 2014 Passat, and will continue doing so...

I do not know your financial situation, but it probably isn't good for you right now.

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If it helps, consider contacting The Lemon Law attorney (check the internet for listing), during my episode with a 2014 Passat TDI fuel pump, the attorney negotiated a settlement of 2000 in my favor. I am the second owner and concerned what may happen when warranties expire.

dborja said:

It was fine before the emissions fix so we opted to keep it. After the fix, it has had four issues - heater core failure, aux pump failure, coolant leak from oil filter housing and, now, fuel pump failure. The first two were covered by warranty. However, the coolant leak was not as our warranty has expired (car has about 159,000 miles - it is our commute car). The fuel pump repair will cost at least $6000 and we have decided it's not worth it as this would exceed its blue book value so our mechanic was gracious enough to keep the car unrepaired until we decide what to do.

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Which warranty expiration are you referring to? The warranty when you purchased the car? Or DieselGate warranty that covers all emissions related components including the HPFP (fuel pump)? When did you have the DieselGate "fix" done - date/mileage?


The Extended Emissions Warranty period with this additional warranty extension will be the greater of:

• 10 years and 3 months or 123,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle’s original in- service date;
OR

• 4 years and 3 months or 51,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from date and mileage of the Emissions Modification, except for vehicles offered for resale, in which case, from the date and mileage of the first resale transaction after the modification to the first person who in good faith purchases the vehicle for purposes other than resale

Posts are over a year old. Probably worked out by now I would imagine.

Lightflyer1 said:

Posts are over a year old. Probably worked out by now I would imagine.

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Yikes! Woops. Move along; nothing to see here...