by "Vimto" (smudgey)
Published 04/25/2017 at 08:09
by "Vimto" (smudgey)
Published 04/25/2017 at 08:09
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STARS: 0
Hey guys, when the news broke that the 2015 Volkswagen diesels that never sold were going to be retrofitted and listed as new vehicles, I didn’t think much of it, I’m not really in the market for a vehicle.
Well, my best friend and I ended up at our local VW dealer last night as they were closing and they have a manual, diesel, BROWN Jetta S (base). That is exactly how I would spec one, and with $8500 off a lease I REALLY want to make this happen.
What do I need to know guys? Help, the car buying chemicals are pulsing through my veins!
"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
04/25/2017 at 08:13, STARS: 0
Over here (UK) the same basic mechanicals are used in taxis so you should be fine reliability wise.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/25/2017 at 08:15, STARS: 0
do it!
;)
"avalonian" (avalonain)
04/25/2017 at 08:15, STARS: 1
You should definitely buy that. Sounds like a good deal plus it’ll probably have a warranty
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
04/25/2017 at 08:20, STARS: 0
I never hard of this retrofit plan....so you’re saying, if you buy it as a diesel, VW will be retrofitting it for you at some point with a gasoline engine instead...?
"Vimto" (smudgey)
04/25/2017 at 08:23, STARS: 1
No, its just additional emissions equipment on the U.S. market vehicles, which allows them to be sold
"facw" (facw)
04/25/2017 at 08:27, STARS: 0
It’s the same fix being offered to people who purchased newer TDIs. The car gets upgraded non-cheating software. VW claims the change should have no impact on performance or mileage, and a small increase in DEF consumption.
That’s possible here because these cars already have a DEF system. The older ones are harder to deal with since they don’t have such a system, and thus there’s basically no way to get emissions down without compromising performance or fuel economy (which they are not allowed to do by the terms of the settlement). In theory VW could add one, but given the economics, I’d guess once they’ve bought out enough cars they’ll go back and amend the settlement to let them cut performance in exchange for paying a higher cash settlement to people who took the buyout (and letting them resell or export those cars under new lower specs).
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
04/25/2017 at 08:27, STARS: 2
AdBlue systems have been problematic all along on the TDIs that have had them, as far as I’m aware. (That’s something that Europe doesn’t really have much of, especially not in Golf-class vehicles.) Speaking of AdBlue, if I recall correctly, the filler is in the trunk on that car. DO NOT SPILL ANY, or your interior will have white urea crystals all over the place, as they spread, too. You may want to fill it yourself (hint: the VW bottles are overpriced, but there’s various ways to refill the bottle from a reasonably priced jug of DEF), rather than allow the dealer to fill it during maintenance.
Fuel quality is critical - stations that sell a lot of diesel are good, between 2 and 5% biodiesel is good - that minimizes water in fuel, and maximizes lubricity of the fuel.
Avoid interrupting regeneration cycles. Get a way to monitor EGTs, whether that’s a Polar FIS, a Scangauge, or a separate EGT gauge and probe. If you stop and it’s over 1000 °F, wait until it drops to around 500 °F before shutting down (this may take as long as 5 minutes). This will help avoid turbo damage and exhaust system damage.
I would want a minimum of $10,000 off to even consider one of those (well, OK, I wouldn’t consider a compact sedan, and I wouldn’t consider a VW nowadays) - sure, they refreshed some things like brakes, tires, and batteries, but there could be hidden damage to things like wiring harnesses, and rusted-in-place components from sitting for a long time.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
04/25/2017 at 08:29, STARS: 1
Except you don’t have the AdBlue system except on larger vehicles, and you’re not working your other emissions hardware as hard.
And, well, I’m convinced that Europeans are just fine with lower reliability and higher costs.
"BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind" (briangriffinsprius)
04/25/2017 at 08:29, STARS: 1
8500 off is still way to little of a discount for a three year old car that’s been sitting and has who-knows how many miles. If you can get it for like $10-12k (or the lease equivalent), then maybe.
"FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem" (fuelstratifiedinjection)
04/25/2017 at 08:31, STARS: 2
Lel @ lower reliability
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
04/25/2017 at 08:42, STARS: 0
Ah, gotcha....was going to say! :P
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
04/25/2017 at 08:44, STARS: 1
I’m convinced that Europeans are just fine with lower reliability
Why would they be? Brands like Toyota sell globally and not being able to get to work sucks equally much on either side of the ocean. Especially taxis, a taxi that doesn’t work makes no money regardless of the continent it’s on. TSI/DSG era VWs are at the bottom of reliability stats in Europe too, although I do suspect Mexican built ones to be slightly worse. Europeans do tend to maintain their vehicles better. By the book.
"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/25/2017 at 08:51, STARS: 0
Its a good deal, sort of. I was considering getting one myself but I’m also worried about the sitting for two years thing. There isn’t a chance in hell that all four tires don’t have a few flat spots on them from sitting. And And rubber/gasket/oiled bits are much more likely to be an issue. But if its not an issue ever, its an awesome deal. I had a 2013 TDI jetta manual. Awesome car
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
04/25/2017 at 09:01, STARS: 0
$8500 off sounds about right, since remember this car already has (most of) its 2 years of depreciation baked in to the value, plus the VW stigma — fixed or not. Sounds pretty good to me as a long-term purchase, but I can’t give you an opinion on a lease. Those still scare me. Black magic.
"haveacarortwoorthree2" (haveacarortwoorthree2)
04/25/2017 at 09:02, STARS: 0
I’d be wary of buying for the reasons others have said, but a great deal on a lease sounds like something you should be interested in.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
04/25/2017 at 09:02, STARS: 1
Yeah, but the Japanese makes are niche players in Europe, whereas they’re dominant here in the US. Conversely, VW’s a niche player here, but dominant in Europe.
That said, VW has some additional issues here - from what I’ve heard, parts and service are more expensive for them here, the dealers have no idea what they’re doing under the hood, and independents are scarce. But, even when you do maintain them precisely by the book, they’re not cheap to run, and have plenty of bullshit failures - even the German-built ones.
"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
04/25/2017 at 09:10, STARS: 0
Supposedly this makes these cars run like crap.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
04/25/2017 at 09:23, STARS: 0
Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia aren’t niche players in Europe. Who told you that? The latter two aren’t Japanese, but still. Brands like Mazda and Suzuki are somewhat mainstream as well. Subaru is a niche player, Honda and Mitsubishi have downgraded themselves from mainstream to somewhat niche in the last few decades. Toyota, by itself, outsells mainstream brands like Citroën and SEAT. The Asians have about 20% of the market in Europe, which isn’t niche in my opinion. http://www.best-selling-cars.com/europe/2016-full-year-europe-best-selling-car-manufacturers-brands/
All Japanese brands, other than Subaru I guess, are mainstream enough for people to consider them and encounter them in traffic.
I do agree that VWs are below average when it comes to reliability, I stated just that before. Same thing for Chrysler/Dodge. Neither tells you anything about the willingness of the population of a continent to accept reliability problems. Imho people buy VWs because they don’t know any better and fall for the marketing/image/whatever.
"Mid Engine" (jdlogan2006)
04/25/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 0
The cars have more than modified emissions to worry about: most notably the imploding fuel pumps that will necessitate an engine swap, intercooler icing, and much much more. The torque is impressive and the fuel economy is awesome, the rest of the car is a complete piece of shit.
"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
04/25/2017 at 14:18, STARS: 0
My european car has been flawless for 25k miles. It’s needed servicing and a track rod end (£4.50) and thats about it other than normal wear items.