VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel?

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 12:00
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - GeorgeRaffter

Hi,

I've been looking at a few examples of around 3 year old high mileage VW Passat diesel's on offer from dealers and have a few questions on buying one of these.

We're hoping to use this as a family car and probably won't do more than 5k miles a year in it.

Is the old adage about German diesel's true? That assuming the FSH is genuine these engines are more than capable of running up huge miles without any problems.

Would you be concerned that the car's been doing +30k miles a year? Does it mater that it's probably an ex-sales rep or taxi car?

How do I confirm the service history is genuine? Was planning to take the car to a near-by VW/German specialist garage for them to do a full check, validate the computer data etc. after doing my own HPI check.

Anything else to look out for?


Thanks for your help

George

Edited by GeorgeRaffter on 23/09/2011 at 12:03

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 12:12
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - madf

Friend bought a 1.9TDI Skoda Octavia with the VAG engine. It had done 80k miles. It has now done 180k miles- three years of Continental touring.

Serviced but a hard life.

Condition and service are all plus luck.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 12:27
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - davidjwest

Why do you want a diesel when you only do 5k a year?

To answer the question, should be fine, my Mondeo 2.0 TDCi has done 160k now, 70k in the past two years no problem.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 13:56
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - GeorgeRaffter

Why do you want a diesel when you only do 5k a year?

We drive down to Cardiff a few times a year, last trip in a 2010 Vauxhall hire car, the petrol was 80 quid annd it's only going to get worse. Diesel should be half that.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 14:29
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - Collos25

Ithink the maths is a little incorrect there are very economical petrols around my Mercedes averages 34mpg a friend of mine who runs a Fiat bravo with a 1.4 jet engine averages more than 45 mph and do not forget fuel is only a small part of the costs of owning a car.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 13:58
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - Collos25

Most modern cars will do starship mileage if correctly service but Iwould reitterate the above post 5k a year it will be far cheaper to run a petrol.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 14:17
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - Chris M

Unless you particularly like driving diesels, the additional fuel costs of a petrol, probably <£300 per year, don't outweigh the potential extra repair costs. How will you ensure the diesel hasn't been misfuelled?

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 14:53
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - Guanocascade

Watch out for the injector problems these models appear to be suffering. Browse this site and there are plenty of examples. Good luck.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 15:58
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - a900ss
/>Would you be concerned that the car's been doing +30k miles a year? Does it mater that it's probably an ex-sales rep or taxi car

For only 30k a year it certainly won't be a taxi, they will certainly be doing a much higher mileage than that. I do over 30k a year in a company car (subaru legacy diesel) and i'd have no hesitation buying an ex fleet car with high mileage. Long journeys, fewer cold starts in % of total mileage and regular maintenance works for me.
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Fri 23 Sep 2011 17:40
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - GeorgeRaffter

Thanks. Sounds like I should consider the petrol option instead.

Do you know at roughly what mileage per year diesel cars become more cost effective than petrol for a 2.0 litre-ish 3 year old car?

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 18:42
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - Bobbin Threadbare

I just did a quick calc using Parker's guide Petrol vs. Diesel comparison. I did it for the Passat CC as the other Passats in the list were too new. So, for an 08 plate Passat you're looking (Autotrader price) at about £12k for the petrol and £14k for a diesel one. Petrol at 135.9p/l costs about £900 per year. Diesel is comparably at 140.9p/l so that about £940 per year. This is rough so bear with me! Parker's calc reckons that it'll take you 38k miles to break even. I don't know if I like this calculation; I think it's a bit high on their part but it'll still leave you slightly better off having a petrol than a diesel. Obviously this will depend on your driving style too.

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Fri 23 Sep 2011 18:47
VW Passat 2.0 TDI Estate - Buying a high mileage (+30k/year) VW diesel? - Pat L

I think the threshold mileage for buying a diesel is currently about 15k.

The VAG 2.0 diesel is a great combo of performance and economy but has suffered from problems (some catastrophic).

The diesels command a higher used price and you may get an equivalent, but lower mileage, 2L petrol for less and it would suit your usage better imo. Worth a look, everyone seems obsessed with diesels nowadays, myself included!

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