Are the retro fit TDi cars worth it?

RideSand

RideSand

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Looking at a few Jetta wagons for my wife. There are a couple TDi cars out there right now that Im eye balling, but cant figure out if its a smart move or not. I am all diesel at work, fuel would be easy and on the house, which is a big bonus. I know they had their issues with the smog stuff, but what I dont quite understand is what VW did to them to resolve the issue and if its going to create headache for me down the road. Anyone have any experience or insight with these cars? Thanks

 
We sold back to VW/Audi the wife’s 12’ JSW TDI (which she really liked)when the dieselgate thing happened as that car didn’t use DEF and at the time VW didn’t have a solid plan on the pre DEF motor,so we ended up getting her a 13’ Cayenne diesel (which was also involved in the dieselgate).

Fast forward my 16 year daughter was starting to drive and I found her a 11’ Audi A3 TDI which so far has been a nice car. I’m sure it’s been updated from VW/Audi..which if it is was probably just a software reprogram. Because like her 12’ JSW the A3 is a pre-DEF motor and I’ve yet to find a DEF tank anywhere on it. I plan on lookin up the VIN on it and see if/when VW/Audi did the update. If it hasn’t been done then there is probably some money sitting out there. 
All said they are nice efficient cars,I’ve got a 04’ Jetta TDI with 212,+++ miles that I use for commuting to work for the last 8-9 years and it has been solid. Like any other vehicle maintenance is necessary but the TDI’s run 10k mile oil service and it’s a pretty simple process. Good luck hunting. 

 
I've been in the auto repair industry for 30 yrs now... 2 cars I would NEVER own... #1. is a VW.... 2.  is a BMW......... just sayin... way better cars out there.   Think about the leadership at VW... lie, cheat, steal... oops we got caught.....sorry.  

 
I own one. Its a 2010 Touareg  TDI v6 AWD. Has 140K on it. Was retrofitted at 119K miles in 2019. I have a 4 year 48K extended warranty on all emission equipment from the retrofit date.

Get the vin number from the vehicle your interested in. Go to this site, enter the vin and you can see when it was retrofitted and what may be left for warranty.

https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/

WVGFK7A94AD003323

Thats my vin if you want to use it to see what it shows.

 
Realbadlarry said:
I've been in the auto repair industry for 30 yrs now... 2 cars I would NEVER own... #1. is a VW.... 2.  is a BMW......... just sayin... way better cars out there.   Think about the leadership at VW... lie, cheat, steal... oops we got caught.....sorry.  
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All the manufacturers lie…for me the VW TDI checked the boxs I needed. 
I work on my cars,and yes the VAG does require me to purchase specialty tools but I also know where to cut off what I work on and then take them to a trained technician. Right now the A3 is get the required Timing Belt/Water Pump service. I hand off these type of jobs because 1 I don’t have the time,and 2 I don’t want to buy the tools to do it. It’s worth me spending the $1200 for parts and labor for the piece of mind knowing it’s in good hands for the next 120k miles for the next TB/WP. 

 
I've owned a few cars, 1 was a Toyota Corolla diesel, 1 is a Chevy Duramax and the rest were all gassers. The Toyota diesel was a reliable car, but all of the problems revolved around it being a diesel. It was an '84, so when CA went to low sulfur in mid 90s, the injection pump ate itself, as did many other mechanical injected diesels at the time, according to the mechanic who rebuilt it. A vacuum pump failed ($1200???!!) but I found one at a junkyard for about $120.

The most reliable car was a 1997 Toyota Camry. That car cost $24 in repairs over a 25 yr lifetime - my stepson still has that car and it still drives and rides like a new car. Maintenance cost about $1400 at the 100k mi mark, but this has been by far the most reliable, least expensive car I know of, by a large margin.

I replaced it with a Camry Hybrid that is really nice and looks like it might be as reliable as the other Camry. The best part is it gets 51 mpg city/50 mpg hwy and it's VERY peppy to drive! Most TDI vehicles don't get that kind of economy. Between diesel being more expensive, it always gets on your hands at the pump, diesels being more prone to repairs (they're too complex with too much emissions crap), more expensive to repair, I'm no longer a fan of diesel. The only diesel I would buy would be a heavy duty truck for towing the trailer. I mean a Freightliner Cascadia with 80,000 lb cap.

For a daily driver, I think a hybrid gasser is cheaper and more fuel efficient. I got a brand new 2020 Camry for $23,000 + tax.

 
Grease Monkey said:
I own one. Its a 2010 Touareg  TDI v6 AWD. Has 140K on it. Was retrofitted at 119K miles in 2019. I have a 4 year 48K extended warranty on all emission equipment from the retrofit date.

Get the vin number from the vehicle your interested in. Go to this site, enter the vin and you can see when it was retrofitted and what may be left for warranty.

https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/

WVGFK7A94AD003323

Thats my vin if you want to use it to see what it shows.
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This was awesome, thank you! 

I know people tend to feel one way or the other with VWs. I have had a few of my own, the newest being a 2004 Passat with the V6 gas burner. Water pump went out, but that was pretty much it. My others have been older early 80s diesels. It probably sounds like my mind was made up before asking, but it still isnt made up. I do like the car though. Heres what that website said about this particular JSW. I think it all makes sense, but there are a few things surrounding the in service date that arent too clear. It currently has 59,000 miles and it on its second owner. The warranty stays with the car from what I understand?

Screen Shot 2021-11-02 at 10.44.13 AM.png

 
Honestly I have a hard time recommending the retrofitted 2.0 TDi vehicles anymore. My coworker, and good friend, has a 2013 Sportwagon that was peach from new, excellent mileage, no issues, nada. Update was done in 2017 around 70k miles and has had constant issues since. Fuel economy dropped way down, the perfectly clean tailpipes turned black and would soot all over the back bumper, constant check engine lights. The dealer just got done putting a 3rd DPF and 2nd EGR cooler and EGR valve in it. Took almost 2 months to get the parts and the dealer didn't even provide a loaner vehicle. Check engine light came back on within a week and needed a thermostat and heater core replaced as the EGR coolant temperature was out of specs. Fortunately he was just within the extended warranty. This has happened to a number of our customers as well, some of them are no longer under warranty. I've been a VW/Audi tech for just a few months shy of 20 years now. 10 as a dealer tech, the last almost 10 at an Indy shop that services only VW and Audi. All vehicles have their issues, I think these little German cars get a bad rep because of a few lemons. They are gems to drive tho.

The vehicles that have DEF systems (Touareg, Passat, 2015 Jettas and Golfs and the bigger Audi's) don't seem to be so problematic. If you're set on getting one, I'd suggest looking at those.

 
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Awesome insight- that is very very helpful. This one is tempting because I can pay cash for it even before selling my wifes current car. We are trying to avoid any kind of payment, but we will throttle back and look at other options this week. Love it

 
My personal suggestion would be one of the wagons with either the 2.5L 5 cylinder (mk6 chassis) or the 1.8T 4 cylinder (mk7 chassis) gas engines. With the mileage loss on the retrofitted TDi vehicles, the 1.8T are basically getting similar mileage. A 5 cylinder coupled to a manual transmission is about as simple and reliable as it gets in the VW world.

 
We bought a certified used 2013 TDI Passat almost 2 years ago. We really like the car, but its been in the shop a half dozen times for warranty work. Intercooler fouled with oil, oil cooler o rings leaking coolant, heater core, I forget what else. Bought with 46k now has almost 80k (IIRC). I'm glad it was all covered but worried once we are out of warranty what it will be like. 

We run Optilube XPD in it, hoping to get the fuel system to last a while. 

My brother bought the same car about 6 months after us, had an A/C issue and I think the same intercooler problem, as far I know that's it. 

We still like the car but if it keeps giving us that much trouble I will probably push to get rid of it. Who knows though, maybe all the problems are sorted out now. 

As always, your mileage may vary.

 
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