What Car Is More Valuable???? Poll Question

Say the year is 2015 and your looking at purchasing a used 2009 Jetta TDI, which car would you pay more for:

A) A dealer exclusively maintained vehicle (no name to avoid the pissing match);

B) A known/trusted GURU exclusively maintained vehicle (no name to avoid the pissing match).

Assume that both cars have 130,000 miles on them and you have to buy them sight unseen. Since it's a poll question please select the answer you would pay more for. Feel free to comment in this thread accordingly. Thank you.

I would suggest adding other options as well, such as:

1) I would NEVER buy a car maintained by a dealer.

2) I would buy a car maintained either a dealer or a guru if it was regularly serviced and checked out by a guru.

3) I would buy a car from someone who did all their own maintenance in their own back yard. (this one is possible good or disastrous)

My point is that you are really restricting the number of choices, thereby limiting the usefulness of the survey. There are many other car buying scenarios that occur regularly. Whenever I have purchased a used car my emphasis has always been on how the car was maintained, not where. If your goal is just to prove that we believe the dealer's service departments are not to be trusted - you are beating a dead horse - I think we all know that already.

Have Fun!

Don

I agree with JSW. IMO, if someone told me they did all of their own service personally in their garage or driveway, I, would be VERY skeptical and would most likely shy away. If you can change the options to include JSW's recommendations, it would be far more useful.

I would go with Guru myself, but a distinction needs to be made between someone like oilhammer or JasonTDI who really knows these cars and takes pride in being as well informed as possible, and someone who doesn't have the same reputation....

yatzee said:

I would go with Guru myself, but a distinction needs to be made between someone like oilhammer or JasonTDI who really knows these cars and takes pride in being as well informed as possible, and someone who doesn't have the same reputation....

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Which is why I phrased the question the way I did (i.e. "known/trusted Guru"). Plug in the known/trusted superstar guru of your choice (think fantasy football rules if that works for ya). Also, in response to some of the other postings, our "used 2009 tdi" has 130(k) on the clock. So our intrepid service people have done a lot to our used 2009 tdi and you are buying it site unseen.

Please feel free to comment on why you voted either way as well. Thanks

thebigarniedog said:

Please feel free to comment on why you voted either way as well. Thanks

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I'm in the camp of JSWTDI09, as this poll is too restricted (not enough choices).

It's not my poll, but you probably should have added a question as to whether or not you would even consider buying another VW (used or otherwise). That way you pick up the folks who are disgruntled from other "ownership experiences".

For me to buy another one of these German migranes, I would have to have alzheimer's disease.

securityguy said:

if someone told me they did all of their own service personally in their garage or driveway, I, would be VERY skeptical and would most likely shy away.

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As with the gurus and dealers, it depends on who that "someone" is... if Jonathan Bartlett was selling a car that interested me, I would have no qualms buying it sight unseen... same for a number of other folks around here...

My 2 cents... (Canadian cents, at that... does this make any cents???)

Yuri

The basis of this poll is pretty much useless in the real world anyway.

To anyone outside of this community, the word "guru" means little.

In general, dealer serviced with full records will add a tad bit of value to the car.

dzcad90 said:

The basis of this poll is pretty much useless in the real world anyway.

To anyone outside of this community, the word "guru" means little.

In general, dealer serviced with full records will add a tad bit of value to the car.

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+1. Time to stop the pissing contest...

The "basis" of the poll question is to force people who want to participate into making a decision on two potential choices. Yes, there are more choices out there. Yes, some people want to read things into threads and postings that are not there. Yes, some people hate their cars and will never buy another VW. The non-tdi enthusiast member of the general public will certainly view a used car differently then an enthusiast would ..... and that is why none of these things are relevant to this poll. No one poll can encompass all these other matters --- hence the limited choice of poll questions.

Points relevant to this poll (IMHO ) include but are not limited to:

- why you would pay more (or less) for a car serviced under alternatives offered under this poll?

- why you believe a vehicle serviced under the alternatives offered under this poll is better or worse then the other alternative?

- what matters to an enthusiast in buying a used tdi service wise?

So lets be happy people .

Dealer, Guru, or Owner serviced doesn't really matter as long as the Previous owner has receipts to prove that the correct oils were used and that the TB and water pump were changed at or before 100k.

thebigarniedog said:

The "basis" of the poll question is to force people who want to participate into making a decision on two potential choices. Yes, there are more choices out there. Yes, some people want to read things into threads and postings that are not there. Yes, some people hate their cars and will never buy another VW. The non-tdi enthusiast member of the general public will certainly view a used car differently then an enthusiast would ..... and that is why none of these things are relevant to this poll. No one poll can encompass all these other matters --- hence the limited choice of poll questions.

Points relevant to this poll (IMHO ) include but are not limited to:

- why you would pay more (or less) for a car serviced under alternatives offered under this poll?

- why you believe a vehicle serviced under the alternatives offered under this poll is better or worse then the other alternative?

- what matters to an enthusiast in buying a used tdi service wise?

So lets be happy people .

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You're poll is biased by the words "known / trusted" for guru but not for dealership (and I'm not reading anything into your poll).

Obviously, I'd take the "known / trusted" service whether that be dealership or guru over other alternatives that are not known and trusted. So, bottom line I can't vote in your poll since the basis of your poll appears to be biased towards selecting the guru (hopefully not intentionally). Why don't you start the poll over with unbiased alternatives?

Plus 3 Golfer said:

You're poll is biased by the words "known / trusted" for guru but not for dealership (and I'm not reading anything into your poll).

Obviously, I'd take the "known / trusted" service whether that be dealership or guru over other alternatives that are not known and trusted. So, bottom line I can't vote in your poll since the basis of your poll appears to be biased towards selecting the guru (hopefully not intentionally). Why don't you start the poll over with unbiased alternatives?

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..... The owner of the car chooses the dealership --- just as the owner of the car chooses the guru. The dealership chosen by the owner offers VW factory trained and authorized repair personnel --- correct? Participation in the poll is voluntary.

Composing a proper poll is very difficult and rarely done on this forum. This poll is at least easily understood and poses a relatively simple question.

Thanks Arnie!

Bill

40X40 said:

Composing a proper poll is very difficult and rarely done on this forum. This poll is at least easily understood and poses a relatively simple question.

Thanks Arnie!

Bill

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No it's really not that difficult to at least not bias the choices and it should also include an alternative " it doesn't matter as long as all maintenance records are available" as someone else said.

Secondly, yes it's easily understood by the choice of words that the guru should be chosen because they're "known / trusted".

Lastly, there's really no need for this poll (and probably most on any forum) because, we know what the response is going to be prior to the results.

Plus 3 Golfer said:

No it's really not that difficult to at least not bias the choices and it should also include an alternative " it doesn't matter as long as all maintenance records are available" as someone else said.

Secondly, yes it's easily understood by the choice of words that the guru should be chosen because they're "known / trusted".

Lastly, there's really no need for this poll (and probably most on any forum) because, we know what the response is going to be prior to the results.

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Again, participation is voluntary. Thank you and have a nice day.

thebigarniedog said:

..... The owner of the car chooses the dealership --- just as the owner of the car chooses the guru. The dealership chosen by the owner offers VW factory trained and authorized repair personnel --- correct? Participation in the poll is voluntary.

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We're talking about the person buying the car not the owner of the car.

If all service records are up to date and I know and trust the dealer or guru, it makes no difference to me.

But, I think I'll choose the dealer to help unbias the results.

Plus 3 Golfer said:

No it's really not that difficult to at least not bias the choices and it should also include an alternative " it doesn't matter as long as all maintenance records are available" as someone else said.

Secondly, yes it's easily understood by the choice of words that the guru should be chosen because they're "known / trusted".

Lastly, there's really no need for this poll (and probably most on any forum) because, we know what the response is going to be prior to the results.

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If the car is dealer maintained there ARE records. If you don't prefer one type of maintenance over another, you simply abstain from voting.

The question is: which car would you prefer or willingly pay more for? If it doesn't matter, do not vote.

At least this poll was understandable as I feel most here are not.

BTW, I get pretty good service from the car dealers I have dealt with....

Bill

I think that critical points have been made in this thread that invalidate that it has any meaning/validity what so ever so I will not add fuel to the fire. I will say, and I am not a researcher...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night ...that if I am "Joe Blow" off the street wanting to buy a used VW, all I would care about it knowing that the car has had all of its services and was maintained per VW's service interval recommendations. I may be scared off by a "guru" as only we on this forum know what that means...Joe Blow does not If a car has excellent service records from a VW dealership, Joe Blow will not pay any additional money for the car from a "guru" and will not see/understand the additional value it may or may not have. I believe my tech at Marten's to be a "guru" as does VW, his friends and his colleagues and he is a dealership employee...so where is that built into the equation

ymz makes a great point...but who the hell is Jonathan Bartlett??? Just proves the point that only a small percentage of US on this forum will make a hill of beans difference to...not Joe Blow and he is the one buying MY car

As bigarnie stated, this is voluntary but no different than the voting in a 3rd world country...you already know the results before you vote

I would never buy a used 09 because by 2015 they will all have catastrophic HPFP failures & ruined fuel systems.

Any car with service records is worth more than one without, regardless of where it was serviced. BUT...most used cars dont have records.

Now that's positive thinking Windjammer? You a glass half filled kind of guy Do you feel thae same way about your 06 in 2011

I choose dealer, why?, because:

If they previous owner kept the dealer records, then you have a paper trail and hopefully fault scans are kept with the service records, so then you know its not smoke and mirrors.

I'm a guru and also a dealer tech, so I can't vouch for other guru's and there practices. I regularly kept a log of maintenance schedules and repair work on my previous vehicles and will continue that practice when the TDI walks out of warranty.

I also think, maybe you should also insert trusted independent shop, because my father owns a repair shop, and I wouldn't skip a heartbeat, if he told me to buy a vehicle that a customer of his used too own.

This poll has good intentions but I think its hard to choose due to so many other factors. Lots of good people still make shortcuts, too.

Quick Storm said:

I choose dealer, why?, because:

If they previous owner kept the dealer records, then you have a paper trail and hopefully fault scans are kept with the service records, so then you know its not smoke and mirrors.

I'm a guru and also a dealer tech, so I can't vouch for other guru's and there practices. I regularly kept a log of maintenance schedules and repair work on my previous vehicles and will continue that practice when the TDI walks out of warranty.

I also think, maybe you should also insert trusted independent shop, because my father owns a repair shop, and I wouldn't skip a heartbeat, if he told me to buy a vehicle that a customer of his used too own.

This poll has good intentions but I think its hard to choose due to so many other factors. Lots of good people still make shortcuts, too.

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Your join date is this year, so with respect, you are not a Guru. A dealer tech does not equal a guru. Sorry.

Oh, so length of membership here makes one a guru! Really!

Massracin said:

Oh, so length of membership here makes one a guru! Really!

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No! You cannot proclaim yourself a Guru, newbie. Really!

Bill

40X40 said:

No! You cannot proclaim yourself a Guru, newbie. Really!

Bill

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Exactly!

thebigarniedog said:

You jour join date is this year, so with respect, you are not a Guru. A dealer tech does not equal a guru. Sorry.

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I'm a guru to my vehicles. I'm learning more about diesels everyday, so I'm sorry if I'm not guru enough for you.

Quick Storm said:

I'm a guru to my vehicles. I'm learning more about diesels everyday, so I'm sorry if I'm not guru enough for you.

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Not a problem. A lot of people have backgrounds in automotive mechanics and have various ASE certifications. Guru on this club is a term of art that is earned by one's work and awarded as an honorarium of praise to those few who have earned the distinction of fellow forum members. That said, they still pay the same price for coffee as us slackers . Welcome to the tdiclub.

Length of membership should not equal guru status here. Please, people. A gu could have read every post on this forum and not been a member here at all. He could have worked on TDI's for 15 yrs. and not posted on this forum once. He could very well be a guru, and be a newbie here. I have had a TDI since 2001, frequent this page, and have done some major work on my TDI, but I am by no means a guru or a newbie. As for this poll, I think 99.9% of us would not buy a car at all sight unseen or undriven for that matter. All the records in the world would not make me buy a car without driving it first. The engine may have been maintained flawlessly, but the car was in a huge wreck or flooded in a river at some point and has a salvaged title...etc. Maintenance records are only part of the story.