Unhappy with CPO purchase 2012

[spanky1]

As I've posted on here several times, I decided to part with my 2003 mkiv that had almost 350k miles. I replaced it with a CPO 2012 Jetta with 24k miles. It's 6-speed manual, no-frills version.

6 months in, I'm not sure this is going to be the car for me. Several little things, but I don't like the trend.

After yet another non-start, I decided to take a look at the battery for a manufacture date. Much to my surprise, the manufacture date was the 12th week of 2012. Yep, it's the original battery. I'm pretty unhappy that they sold a CPO VW in 9/2018 with a 6 1/2 year old battery. I've talked to the dealer and VWoA, and they are useless.

Here are some of the things I don't like:

-Mileage that is just OK. My mileage ranges from 37-43. I drive highway
mostly, and don't run it hard. I'd expect 40-47 with my driving style. The
computer shows better, but I calculate manually. Always filling into the filler
neck with liquid level.

-$50 deductible is a pretty poor policy.

-It seems to regenerate every couple of days. I know this because I hear the
fan running when I turn the car off. I'm pretty sure this is what's draining
my dying battery.

-gas gauge will not show full. It never shows full, even though I always fill it
so that the liquid level is visible in the filler neck.

I was discussing this with my wife a few nights ago, and told her that I may be selling this one before the 2-yr CPO warranty expires. This is uncommon for me, because I always keep a car for at least 10 years.

 

[KITEWAGON]

That mileage sounds like what you should be expecting to get on a fixed TDI.

The $50 is per dealership trip, not per claim. So if you are getting the battery checked/replaced make sure you have them fix the fuel gauge at the same time. It will only cost $50.

The regens are annoying. I agree completely. I look forward to tuning to help reduce them eventually. Or maybe tune plus delete to get rid of them completely. I hope you got a good price. I think I'd take a bath on my CPO wagon if I tried to sell right now. Probably down at least $3-4k in the year since I bought it.

 

[bora2003]

I have a similar post-fix 2014 Jetta TDI. Except for the fuel gauge not reading full, I have had similar experiences as you.

However, I love my Jetta. The engine rattles like a diesel, has that awesome torque I love in these motors, and it is fun to drive. The around-town mileage seems better (mid to high 30s) than expected, but agreed, the highway mileage isn't where I'd like it.

I'm sorry you're having issues with yours. The 2015 Golfs - which I also own - do have better highway mileage, but still go thru more regens than before the fix. I believe the 2015 Jetta's have that engine too.

If you like VW diesels, try finding one of those last TDIs to see if it's worth a trade. Again, sorry the Jetta hasn't lived up to your expectations.

 

[soot1]

Much to my surprise, the manufacture date was the 12th week of 2012. Yep, it's the original battery.

Buying any used vehicle is a gamble as you can never know for sure what the previous owner did to the vehicle. However, there is a way to minimize at least some of the risk by running a very thorough pre-purchase inspection of the vehicle. One of the items on that list should be checking how old the battery is.

I know it's too late now, but if you don't have the knowledge and the needed equipment, next time you buy a used vehicle, have a competent mechanic inspect the vehicle before you buy it. Discovering that the battery is 7 years old and pretty much dead after money changes hands means you now own the problem. And, as far as the CPO goes, it is a scam. Plain and simple. The dealers don't do anything extra to prepare a "CPO" vehicle than they do on any other used car (besides slapping on the CPO sticker). The dead battery in your "CPO" Jetta is a proof.

However, I would not fold down as yet if I were in your shoes. I would seriously consider deleting and tuning the car if you live in a state that doesn't require emissions testing. Your ride has very low mileage and if you plan to keep it for a long time, that would be my advice. Of course, you will void the warranty, but as long as the emissions garbage isn't there, warranty on that garbage is moot. You should see significant improvement in fuel economy and ride dynamics, not to mention no more annoying regeneration cycles. Several months before the scandal broke out, I seriously considered going this way, and the cost of the tune plus quality stainless exhaust was around $ 2,000. I doubt it went up much since then. Just my 2 cents.

 

[ToBiN]

I would seriously consider deleting and tuning the car if you live in a state that doesn't require emissions testing.......You should see significant improvement in fuel economy and ride dynamics, not to mention no more annoying regeneration cycles......... the cost of the tune plus quality stainless exhaust was around $ 2,000. I doubt it went up much since then. Just my 2 cents.

This is the way I went. Had a 2011 M6 jetta with Malone Stage2 tune and loved it. Ran it to 170k before having to turn it back in. Replaced it with a un-modifiable Chevy Cruze Diesel. Since I could only decorate and not mod the Cruze, I went back to a 2013 M6 JSW and love it.

I bought my Flashzilla back from the guy I sold it to , and then ordered a Stage2, 2.5, and 3 tunes from Malone. Currently running the Stage2 tune until I get my Darkside deletes on, then going to 2.5 until I can locate a CR170 or better hair dryer.

Go buy a battery, or go to Interstate or a junkyard for a refurbed/blemmed battery at a discount. In either case, keep the car, mod it, and gain the mpg and power rewards.

I can't get over the look on people's faces when a "stock" looking JSW pulls away hard. Everything from full size modded diesels to some mustangs and camaros that think they have what it takes to beat a mommy missile. I had the same smiles on my face with my 2011 "stock" looking Jetta.

 

[andreigbs]

I agree with the sentiments above, and I'm fighting the mod bug to NOT tune my daily commuter.

Partly it's the warranty, which not only covers the dreaded complex emissions system, but also covers the fuel injection system, turbo, much of the engine itself and many other sensors/electrical components. If not for that kind of coverage, I'd have gone Malone-tuned the same week I bought it.

I hate the regens, I miss the power and efficiency before any "fixes" were done. I'm contemplating just keeping the car stock, taking care of it so it takes care of me, and trading it for a more comfortable and higher quality car. These Mexican-built tin boxes they dare call Jettas have only gotten worse in my opinion. I've got my eye on MB E250s now.

 

[Graham Line]

Regens on my '12 seem to vary some according to fuel source. You might try shopping around and keeping some notes.

 

[03GolfTDI]

These Mexican-built tin boxes they dare call Jettas have only gotten worse in my opinion. I've got my eye on MB E250s now.

Trust me after coming from two German build Mercedes ('09 C300 and '11 E350) - your satisfaction will dip significantly with a Mercedes when you have to spend thousands to replace the engine mounts before 100k miles. After going from 3 Volkswagen's (2003, 2006 and 2015) to two Mercedes (2009 and 2011) - the Volkswagen's provided a higher owner satisfaction for me. After having two Mercedes I can say the ownership experience was mehhhh - there was nothing rewarding or extra spectacular about either car. I went back to Volkswagen after my '11 E350 4Matic was totaled and I am not looking back.

 

[06bluebeetletdi]

The battery lasted for 7 months after your purchase, through the winter. I proactively replacedthe battery in my ‘14 passat 6 weeks after my purchase, knowing at 4 years old and sitting for 18 months, it wasn’t worth the risk to me to be stuck somewhere, the original battery is in my dad’s heavy equipment combination. The battery would have passed a load test when the car was sold and for months thereafter. You could have negotiated it into the price:

 

[ProfBrown]

I’m not gonna lie the things you listed as issues with the car seem to be rather short sighted in my eyes. Granted this may come from always owning used cars that are 10-20 years old with many different drivers, one with 70k miles, another with over 300k, and another with over 125k.

The battery one as referenced above likely passed a test so it could be considered CPO. With that said I would have wished they would have replaced it at that age, but if it passes the test it passes the test. Dealers are in the business to make money not give away money obviously.

The regen, well my 15 seems to regen probably every 500-700ish miles depending on driving. I know they are different cars, and mine only has phase 1 but it is to be expected that after the second fix you will have slightly more frequent regents from my reading compared to a pre phase 2 fix. Also you should go through slightly more def from my understanding. But regen is the name of the game with modern diesels, look at every brand that has them.

Mileage, your mileage is not poor, about what my average is as well, also hand calculated. Are you driving on the flat, what about where you buy your fuel? Both of these drastically affect FE. These cars are capable of 45+ it would seem but the driving conditions need to be perfect. Is that 3-6mpg loss really going to kill your taste of the whole car? What other car other than a hybrid or electric can get those numbers while offering this utility? EDIT: Mine is a wagon, and I assumed yours was too. My mistake.

To be fair I had some slight issues with some of the stuff my dealer left me to figure out regarding my CPO when I brought it hoke January 17, 2018, but my dealer took care of me after I brought it to their attention and even did stuff I didn’t ask for like refunding part of my fees they collected when I bought the car.

Bottom line, you bought a car that is how many years old? 7? In car years that’s a huge gap in time, just as computers. To have only these slight issues making you want to trade it in seems a bit absurd to me honestly, but to each their own. Coming from a big lifted truck and being a college student, this car was one of the best financial, and forward thinking decisions I could have made for driving 600-800 miles a week.


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[bizzle]

There isn't much sense in paying more for a CPO then modifying it and losing the warranty coverage.

 

[rotarykid]

On the battery, the last 6 blem/resale batteries I have purchased from an interstate battery warehouse have lasted close to or over 10 years. Only requiring a recharge if they are parked undriven for over a month a few times when I was unable to drive due to health reasons. My current Jetta has a battery new in 11 that still shows 500+ cold cranking amps under load testing....My corolla has a new in 12 battery that still shows 400+ cold cranking amps under load.....My Passat has a 13 battery that still shows over 500 cold cranking amps under load.... That is likely why they did not replace it in the CPO warranty.....

People buy and return new perfectly good shape batteries all the time that have lost charge not because of a failure of the battery itself, but because of a fault in the vehicles car charging system,,....

Manufacturers take back these returned discharged batteries, check acid levels(specific gravity of all cells), they then recharge them, they then put them under load to see if they are still within new or almost new spec. If they find the returned battery is still good it can be purchased as a blem/resale for cheap from the manufacturer warehouse....

They also sell restock, restock new batteries never sold that are the ones that sat on the shelf at a retail seller beyond the time period the manufacturers are comfortable selling them as new with full new warranty. I purchased one of these at the Myrtle Beach Interstate distributor once that lasted over 10 years before it failed needing replacement....

The new batteries built today are so much more reliable in my experience than anything built prior to the late 70s to early 80s that were lucky if you could get 2 to 4-5 years max out of them....

.. In over 3 decades of buying my car batteries this way, if you make them do a load test in front of you and you see it is showing close to factory new power it will likely last for as long as the battery you pay 4-5 times as much for....

On a tune, I would avoid that as long as the CPO is still in effect unless you are willing to get an extra ecu to tune, keeping the original one for trips to the dealer....now while I do not condone this, I do know of a couple of people who have done this...

...On the HPFP failures silent warranty, If you are going to do a tune I would keep the stock ecu in reserve for failure if it happens so even though a tune likely would have no influence on a fuel system failure, the tune could be all the dealer needs to deny coverage of a very expensive repair...

 

[MichaelB]

...On the HPFP failures silent warranty, If you are going to do a tune I would keep the stock ecu in reserve for failure if it happens so even though a tune likely would have no influence on a fuel system failure, the tune could be all the dealer needs to deny coverage of a very expensive repair...

Just curious, if your hpfp dies in the middle of nowhere will you still have the ability to reflash back before the car is towed back to the dealer for warranty repair? Think about being stranded along the side of the road and you have a car that you have modded and now you have a warranty covered failure, but you messed that up. Not my cup of tea.

 

[bizzle]

Just curious, if your hpfp dies in the middle of nowhere will you still have the ability to reflash back before the car is towed back to the dealer for warranty repair? Think about being stranded along the side of the road and you have a car that you have modded and now you have a warranty covered failure, but you messed that up. Not my cup of tea.

A reflash won't hide the tune anyway, which is why he was recommending carrying a spare ECU around to swap in as needed.

 

[MichaelB]

A reflash won't hide the tune anyway, which is why he was recommending carrying a spare ECU around to swap in as needed.

OK, so in order to delete and tune and still fool the dealer who will do the warranty repairs we have to carry around a spare ecu and be prepared to install it when a major failure occurs when traveling. Am I reading this correctly now?

 

[bizzle]

OK, so in order to delete and tune and still fool the dealer who will do the warranty repairs we have to carry around a spare ecu and be prepared to install it when a major failure occurs when traveling. Am I reading this correctly now?

Yes. There's a flash counter in the ECUs. Diagnostics can discover how many times the ECU has been flashed and compare that to how many times it should have been flashed.

 

[spanky1]

Deleting the "emission garbage" will also void all the other fuel system warranty too such as the hpfp/injectors etc too. So unless you go the route that some here have and install a CP3 fuel pump, delete and tune may only cost 2k but if the hpfp fails it will cost you a lot more.

Not sure why this is showing as my post, but I didn't comment on the emission. I think this was the post from SOOT1.

 

[MichaelB]

Not sure why this is showing as my post, but I didn't comment on the emission. I think this was the post from SOOT1.

It sez Originally Posted by soot1 in the quote doesn't it?