Our TDI Adventure is Over

Kinja'd!!! by "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
Published 02/23/2017 at 19:51

Tags: TDI Clean Diesel ; VW Buyback ; Passat ; Volkswagen
STARS: 3


Kinja'd!!!

It took a little longer than promised in the settlement, but as of yesterday our involvement in the TDI Buyback program ended* when left hand VW Credit received the loan payoff portion of our settlement from right hand VWoA.

After almost four years, 70,000 or so mile, two expensive insurance claims for accident damage we didn’t cause, the buyback was by far the best offer we were ever going to get for a 2013 Passat. And despite all the horror stories, the entire process was pretty much effortless. It helps to not have an axe to grind I guess.

*We’re awaiting a check for the difference between the settlement payoff and what we actually owed on the loan, so technically we’re not completely done here, but I’m not worried about that. The loan was paid off two days before the next payment would have been due. That is all that matters right now.


Replies (19)

Kinja'd!!! "E92M3" (E46M3)
02/23/2017 at 20:03, STARS: 0

What are you replacing it with?

Kinja'd!!! "dogisbadob" (dogisbadob)
02/23/2017 at 20:37, STARS: 0

Get an Accord

Kinja'd!!! "Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
02/23/2017 at 20:43, STARS: 0

Cool, glad it worked out for you!

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/23/2017 at 20:56, STARS: 1

Why would I ever want to do that?

We picked up a CPO Mazda6, and love it.

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/23/2017 at 20:57, STARS: 9

Kinja'd!!!

Picked it up the same day we returned the Passat.

Kinja'd!!! "dogisbadob" (dogisbadob)
02/23/2017 at 21:00, STARS: 0

because the Accord is an awesome car that will give you many enjoyable miles, that’s why :p

Anyway, good luck with your 6

Kinja'd!!! "avalonian" (avalonain19)
02/23/2017 at 21:01, STARS: 1

Sexy

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/23/2017 at 21:02, STARS: 1

Reliable? Yes. Satisfying? Maybe. Enjoyable? Eh. An Accord is enjoyable like a refrigerator is enjoyable.

Kinja'd!!! "Spridget" (dustbustervans)
02/23/2017 at 21:12, STARS: 0

Would you buy another VW?

Kinja'd!!! "Rico" (ricorich)
02/23/2017 at 21:29, STARS: 0

How would you compare it to the Passat?

Kinja'd!!! "dogisbadob" (dogisbadob)
02/23/2017 at 21:31, STARS: 1

But you get a manual transmission and VTAK yo!

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
02/23/2017 at 21:40, STARS: 2

Seems like VW is selling a lot of Mazdas these days.

Kinja'd!!! "iSureWilll" (isurewilll)
02/23/2017 at 21:42, STARS: 0

GOod to hear yours went smoothly. I turned my 2010 Golf in last Saturday and it was also very smooth for me. Took less than 30 minutes and I’m happy with the offer I got. Got the email from Chase on Monday night around 11pm. Money pending and available in my account on Tuesday morning.

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/23/2017 at 21:45, STARS: 4

They’re harder to compare than you might think. The 6is close to the Passat interior dimensions, with the possible exception of rear headroom. The driving position is much more driver oriented in the 6 and the driving dynamics are on another level from the Passat.

The TDI mileage was nice, as was the torque. We drove from Connecticut to North Carolina on one tank.

The big sacrifice was losing the manual. The Passat had a 6-speed, but in order to get by options in the Mazda you have to take an automatic. It is a good automatic, but my wife misses her manual.

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/23/2017 at 21:48, STARS: 0

cool. We chose the check, which sounds like it would be slower than the EFT, but wasn’t. Drove to the bank to deposit the check on our way to the Mazda dealer, and the funds were available the next day.

Which is a good thing, because the Mazda dealer didn’t hold my check until the end of the week like they were supposed to.

Kinja'd!!! "Amoore100" (amoore100)
02/24/2017 at 00:15, STARS: 0

Indeed, the Accord drives decently and has a manual; no idea how equipment compares to the Mazda with stick, but it’s a lot peppier than people give it credit for—it’s no Camry or Altima, and that’s saying a lot for something that sells in those numbers.

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/24/2017 at 08:53, STARS: 1

IIRC (we looked a few different cars, and at this point it isn’t worth going back and looking again), the manual was available in more trim levels of the Accord, but the only way to get certain other options we wanted, and/or a color we wanted, we would have had to have gone with a higher trim level, and given up the automatic.

When we started doing as close an apples-to-apples comparision that we could, a CPO MAZDA6 was $3,000-$5,000 less expensive than its comparably equipped CPO Accord, and that was before working a deal.

Kinja'd!!! "Amoore100" (amoore100)
02/24/2017 at 11:43, STARS: 0

Indeed, you know this far better than I do since you just had to work everything out and I’m sure you made the best, most well-informed decision possible, but I’m just saying we have to give the Accord a bit of credit for trying to give us what we want (manual plus some equipment) so kudos to Honda for their effort.

Kinja'd!!! "Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal)
02/24/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 1

Some equipment. Just not the equipment we were looking for.