2013 Passat TDI Purchase discussion

Dday106

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2020
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2013 Passat
Hello All,

I am looking into purchasing a 2013 Passat TDI SE. I drive 30-36k miles a year and just absolutely destroy the value of cars due to mileage. I was draw to the TDI cause of the length of life in the diesel engine, great mileage, and also I enjoy the look of the car. I am familiar with the whole emission scandal and that there have been hundreds of thousands of these cars sitting on lots. I am looking at one with 93k miles, dealer is asking $8500. I specifically picked this car because the previous single owner was religious with maintenance. Literally spared no expense on the maintenance. Now all the serious maintenance ended in 2017 when the car was bought at auction and sat for years until the emission fix was performed. I am worried about how long these cars have sat and what that will mean for their reliability, I am aware of the warranty VW has for them.

My real question here is should I even bother with these cars? I read horror stories of them just falling apart or constantly being in the shop, then again I hear plenty of stories of them lasting a long time with little issue. Keep in mind im just looking for something to pay off in 1.5 years that will be a road warrior.

Thoughts?
 

Mraar0n

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Location
USA PA
TDI
Volkswagen Jetta tdi 2014
I bought a r title looks fine you barely tell anyway it was a tdi sel fully loaded, it had 18k Miles bought it for 8750 not sure how familiar you are with vws but most have timing belts, the ones on are cars need changed every 130k miles, along with water pump and thermostat, and 700 for labor and parts, honestly I think there good cars but you have to maintain them, not saying they will never break but for the most part my dad has had really good luck, he had 2 tdi’s he ran the one for 300 thousand, had 450k when he sold it and he never had major issues, but like I said you have to change oil regular and do the other things every 130k, mine is bagged and stage 2 right now and I’m expecting it to run 400k+
 

Dday106

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2020
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2013 Passat
Thats cool to hear. I've been very fortunate in my life with cars just running. Took a 08 tiburon to 180k miles with just minimal maintenance. 2015 fusion to 150k minimal maintenance and a 2015 jeep to 130k with minimal maintenance. Wondering if I could get 55k miles or 2 years in my driving out of a TDI that's been sitting with minimal maintenance?

What are your thoughts on these cars sitting? Like I was saying this car was maintained to a T and then sat for like 3 years. I feel like alot of the rubber would be on the way out. I dont think id even think about the purchase if it didn't have a good warranty.
 

Mraar0n

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Location
USA PA
TDI
Volkswagen Jetta tdi 2014
Thats cool to hear. I've been very fortunate in my life with cars just running. Took a 08 tiburon to 180k miles with just minimal maintenance. 2015 fusion to 150k minimal maintenance and a 2015 jeep to 130k with minimal maintenance. Wondering if I could get 55k miles or 2 years in my driving out of a TDI that's been sitting with minimal maintenance?

What are your thoughts on these cars sitting? Like I was saying this car was maintained to a T and then sat for like 3 years . I feel like alot of the rubber would be on the way out. I dont think id even think about the purchase if it didn't have a good warranty.
mine is a 2013 and when i bought it earlier this year it had 18k miles like I said, so it must’ve sat a long time, the only thing I Had to do was change the fuel filter, super easy, it was like $20 and took 15 minutes.
 

Dday106

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2020
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2013 Passat
I think I'm too late in the game to find something like you had with low miles. I've seen a few 2014s with 29k miles with CPO but they are like 5.5 to 6k more. Not really sure if its worth that much considering those cars sat just as long as the higher mile ones.
 

Mraar0n

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Location
USA PA
TDI
Volkswagen Jetta tdi 2014
I think I'm too late in the game to find something like you had with low miles. I've seen a few 2014s with 29k miles with CPO but they are like 5.5 to 6k more. Not really sure if its worth that much considering those cars sat just as long as the higher mile ones.
Yeah I looked for about 8 months till I bought one
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
If you are thinking about buying a diesel (of any manufacturer) that has sat essentially unused for years, such as these buyback cars, the fuel can go bad and cause problems. If I was looking at such a car and wanted to buy it I would drain the tank, replace with fresh fuel, and change the fuel filter before driving it. There has been a lot of recent discussion about whether these cars are a good purchase idea, some say yes others no, look at the objective Consumer Reports reliability surveys before you spring for one.
 

Fixmy59bug

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, NV
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SE
I bought a r title looks fine you barely tell anyway it was a tdi sel fully loaded, it had 18k Miles bought it for 8750 not sure how familiar you are with vws but most have timing belts, the ones on are cars need changed every 130k miles, along with water pump and thermostat, and 700 for labor and parts, honestly I think there good cars but you have to maintain them, not saying they will never break but for the most part my dad has had really good luck, he had 2 tdi’s he ran the one for 300 thousand, had 450k when he sold it and he never had major issues, but like I said you have to change oil regular and do the other things every 130k, mine is bagged and stage 2 right now and I’m expecting it to run 400k+
am I correct in assuming R title means rebuilt or salvage branded title? If so, why does it have a branded title?
 

Mraar0n

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Location
USA PA
TDI
Volkswagen Jetta tdi 2014
am I correct in assuming R title means rebuilt or salvage branded title? If so, why does it have a branded title?
[/QUOTE
Honestly I’m not 100% sure how it works, I bought the car In New Jersey with a r title, I live in pa so it had to be re enhanced, now they gave me a r title, I believe it’s gets a r title when it gets wrecked and the insurance company totals it, then they get the car and they will either try to fix and sell or you can Buy it back, in this case the insurance company fixed it and then sold it,
 

rocky raccoon

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2020
Location
Greater metropolitan Beaverdam
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagen
Maintenance is everything on a 100k mile used car. I too buy such cars after careful research. Three points:

1. Looking at auto maintenance forums can be misleading. Most people don't post on a forum unless they have encountered a problem that they cannot handle. There are generally many more that are simply enjoying the ride with no significant problems.

2. Diesel is an excellent choice for you. My last car was a Mercedes Diesel that I bought with 135k miles and drove to 386k miles. I must say though that although more frequent, maintenance was a lot easier than on my present VW TDI. If it runs well during you test drive I would just dump some fungicide in it, change the fuel filter and go with it.

3. I have a part-time gig as a driver at an auto auction. We had a contract with VW to store their cars while awaiting the emission fix then installing the fix and shipping them out to the dealers. The contract stipulated that every car have it's fluids and tires checked and driven (on our lot and test track) at least one mile every 30 days. If there was a running failure, we fixed it. I bought one of these cars myself, a Jetta TDI Sportwagen. I have had it for 8 months and it has been boringly trouble-free.
 

Skimax

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Location
White mts, NH
TDI
97 B4 variant(retired at 330K), 2000 B5 1.8T passat retired, 2013 SE (buyback5/17) 2015 SEL, 2015 E-Golf SEL sold March 2019, 2018 Volt LT and a 2007 PRHT MX5 for fun
We sold back our 2013 SE and bought a new 2015 SEL in May 2017 shortly after they got the approved fix. Our 13 was a fine car but at 40K needed tires, DSL service etc. With the buyback we got into our new 15 with a much better emissions/engine warranty for <$2k more. It was a no brainer.

We have had 0 problems on the 15sel with 34K on the clock now except the battery failed at about 6 mo. VW towed it to the closest dealer, installed a new battery and gave us a $100 gift card for our trouble.

good luck in your search. I think you might be able to do a better deal than that one with a "rebuilt" title. Did you carfax it?
 

06bluebeetletdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Location
Middlesex, NC
TDI
'14 Passat TDI SEL and '13 Beetle TDI
Im at 96,600 on my 13 beetle tdi and 93,000 on my 14 passat TDI. Both had their only check engine lights at 92,000 miles for intake air temperature sensors (yes... both cars had same fault). No regrets. Bug purchased 10/2014 at 9600 miles, passat 9/2017 at 50,000 miles.
 

Ciao998Duc

Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2020
Location
Kennewick, WA
TDI
2012 Passat tdi se
New here, Just bought a 12 Passat se with 55k on it for 9800. It’s just too much value to pass up.

with the 130k tbelt interval for these vs the 40-60k for the old 1.9. It’s a steal imho, plus it’s a super nice car. If it drives well and has had its maintenance done I’d say jump on it.

I don’t think there’s any realistic scenario where I regret the purchase.

John
 
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