Lets see, 124k on the clock. No service history for last 2 years.
I'd say £3k tops.
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have you got bills for the service parts you used ?
Do you have vag-com or similar to show that it isnt throwing faults ?
Is the a/c good ?
those engines are good for 250K miles easy - and I think its a safe bet with a tdi that it was bought for distance driving, so I go with the motorway miles thing (ive seen the other thread). I have just bought the lowest milage car ive owwned for years (85K 99/v) but only because it was cheapoer than the higher mileage alternatives.
I think generally that people do accept the milkage argument - certainly the price differentials between average and high miles have shrunk. still enough people prepared to pay a premium for something that just done a life of 10 - 15c mile commutes though, bless.
Problem with servicing yourself is that people dont trust it. What do you have in the way of workshop manuals to show that you knew what to do properly ? Ive had problems with this in the past - people wqould rather see any stamp from a general back street, without having any idea about what was dowe, than have a knowledgable owner do the basics - and after all what is a service other than basics ? tdi pump timing ?
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With apologies to GrahamF1, I'm going to piggyback on this thread as my Passat saloon is very similar to his - same age & colour, excellent condition inside and out, no squeaks etc, and 120k miles. I have overserviced this car (about every 6-7k miles, replacing all the filters every time as well as the oil) since acquiring it at 92k and have the VW history from new until 107k, local garage receipts thereafter. Before reading this thread, my guess at its value was somewhere between £4000-£4500, so fairly in line with the Glass's figures quoted above.
The reason I'm asking for opinions is that I've made two modifications from standard spec. Firstly, I changed the standard-fit radio/cassette stereo for a Sony unit with a 10-disc CD changer. Would this have any impact whatsoever on the value of the car? Secondly, and more importantly, I replaced the standard (rubbish, and faulty) suspension with an adjustable Koni kit - the ride & handling have been transformed and the car sits between one and two inches lower than standard. Given that this kit is pretty much the best available for this car (but was still cheaper than paying for an all-new standard replacement), do those in the know think that this would add to the car's value, make no difference or even detract from it?
BTW, I'm just curious, it's not for sale. Although I regretted the purchase at one stage, I've been much happier with it since I had the shocks adjusted to maximum stiffness and felt how well it behaves on B-roads ...
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Graham F1 - You might find it easier shifting a diesel because the latent demand is there among private buyers, but the private market at the moment is in the doldrums (not that this is the best time of the year, anyway).
For that reason I'd be a bit sceptical about Glass's figures. I don't think you'll shift it for above 4k, especially when it's got six figures on the clock and you did the last two bits of spanner work yourself. I reckon more 3-3.5 than 3.5-4, but the bottom line is you'll get what people are willing to pay.
Check similar cars on Autotrader as a guide, then knock £500-1k off for a rough punt. Remember that you're not a trader and the buyer has little or no comeback. In that context £4k is a lot.
andymc - you won't get your money back on the autochanger, but anything without a CD loses points these days. Suspension makes no difference - you can't see it and the Passat's not a sportscar, so buyers don't look for that kind of thing. Lowered ride height may even make some people suspicious that it's led a hard life. If you're going to sell it put the old ones back on.
You don't say what engine yours is, but I think you're again looking at below £4k. My experience is that the guides are a bit off at the moment because buyers are playing hard to get. HJ may have a better insight.
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Thanks for all the replies. Does anyone have any ideas about my insurance question, i.e. if I sell and cancel the policy do I still have to pay the rest of the premium?
Regarding the servicing of this car, the only actual spanner work consists of changing the filters and fluids on a regular basis. The rest is just inspection, and of course the cambelt change which I entrusted to a garage. I'm hoping to attract a buyer with a similar perspective to my own, the idea being that they would appreciate why I've gone about the servicing the way I have.
I've heard the suspension on this car leaves a bit to be desired, aftermarket Bilstein dampers are popular. But then I bought it to cruise up and down the A1, not to throw around country lanes. I'd be wary of it sitting any lower - as it is I'm very careful with road humps given how low it already sits.
I'd be interested if anyone knows what the standard fit stereo setup is. Mine has the VW 'Gamma' head unit which I presume was factory fitted. Connected to it is a Panasonic 6-CD changer, and I've no real way of knowing whether this was factory fit or an aftermarket addition. It is the top spec model after all, I'd be surprised if a changer wasn't standard.
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The Passat TDI is on the short list of cars I would like to own next and I would certainly have no problem with your DIY servicing, though I have to say that "motorway miles" in the ad would mean nothing to me. About the same as "lady driven", "one careful owner" and "first to see will buy"...can't be proven and won't be taken into consideration.
I know dealer/garage stamps add to a car's resale value, but I have no way of knowing if the service that was stamped was actually carried out so they don't hold much weight with me. I might be more inclined to buy a car with lots of stamps over one with less/none, but only because it will make the car easier to sell on, not because I felt that stamps equalled proper servicing. I have had a couple dealer technician friends tell me that they only do about half of what was specified on a service. It was usually the things that couldn't be back checked (coolant changes, chassis lubes etc) that they skipped, but ticked off anyway.
My own car had dealer stamps to 80+K, then a couple independent invoices to 110K then nothing up to the 132K that it had when I bought it. That didn't discourage me as I do all my own servicing and the service book would never see another stamp while it was in my possesion.
I still need to get my head around this service history thing as my past motoring background in the US meant that service histories were something people only bothered about when buying top dollar Porsches and Ferraris. For the average car, even those with a sporting bent, it just didn't matter. I have bought and sold 4 used vehicles in the US and not once did anyone ask me for a service history record, nor did I ask about one when buying.
I have never bought a new car, but my aunt (who lives in the US)gets a new Honda Accord every couple of years and none of them in the past 12 or so years has ever seen the inside of a service bay. My uncle does the servicing and doesn't even save the receipts, yet they always get top dollar when part-exchanging or selling the cars on privately.
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Well trancer, I'm open to offers if you'd like to own it (or just have a look). Myself and my motor reside near Huntingdon.
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Thanks Graham, but I won't be buying for few months yet (doesn't stop me surfing autotrader daily though) and I would most likely go for a facelift model if I decided on a Passat.
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A Stamped up service history at least goes some way to proving that the mileage on the odometer is genuine - not 100% but certainly a safer bet than a car with no service history.
At the end of the day you'll certainly sell it but almost certainly for less than one with FSH - main problem with not having the car serviced by a garage is that you've lost the interest of a good percentage of possible buyers when you come to sell.
FSH & the documentation to prove it is still a very strong selling point, particularly when official figures say 1 in 4 cars sold privately are dodgy !! (obviously not saying your is)
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