I am in the process of selecting a replacement car for a rover 214i.. a pushbike being a good suggestion by a friend!
Seriously though, I am covering around 25000 mile each year, and am not prepared to take a hit on the depreciation on a new car that this mileage will inevitably bring!
The main car in the household is currently a Golf GT TDi PD 130, which I love to drive. Unfortunately, so does the wife, and as such, we are struggling to keep to the agreed mileage for the PCP agreement.
I want another VAG 130ps diesel, and have seen a 2001 y-plate Passat, 98000 miles, for a highly reasonable £8999 (my target price £8500). It is a company owned, fully serviced, high miler, with just one owner.
My question to those that know is..... has anyone any idea as to how long this engine will go for, given that most of it's mileage has been motorway? Can anyone forsee any high cost maintenance around the corner? Does anyone have any tips?
Any assistance is highly appreciated.
Richard
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MUST have had cam belt and ancillaries changed at 60k, preferably 40k. Cam belt change intervals were altered at about this date, used to be 40k then became 60k. Must have had oil changes at 10k using VW spec oil 505.01 (not at extended oil change intervals). I would think that glow plugs, injectors, etc. may be due for a change. Your main problem at this mileage will be brakes, clutch, suspension etc. It all depends on how it's been driven and serviced.
Personally I would go for a lower mileage, older 115bhp or the older tdi (not pdi) 110bhp.
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"I would think that glow plugs, injectors, etc. may be due for a change"
Nooooo! They will be good for 200,000 mile plus, believe me!
Persoanlly, I would have no worries about buying & running this car. It's a whole lotta car for the dosh, go for it!
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All VAG engines, petrol or diesel, have an Achilles heel. If the quality of service has been scrimped OR non VW-spec oil used, the engine life will be low and failures spectacular. The main problem is the oil spec. Many mechanics still think that good quality non-VW spec oil will be good enough, but it isn't.
Check that the full service history specifies the brand/grade of oil used. If it doesn't, then walk away.
This Achilles heel also affects Audi, SEAT and Skoda engines as well as Ford Galaxy diesels.
But well serviced, they'll go on "for ever".
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Good point Roger - if a PD engine is serviced outside of the Dealer network, it would be a MAJOR concern of mine as to if the correct lubricating oils had been used. Might not become apparent until quite a few thousand miles had been covered.....
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"All VAG engines, petrol or diesel, have an Achilles heel. If the quality of service has been scrimped OR non VW-spec oil used, the engine life will be low and failures spectacular. The main problem is the oil spec. Many mechanics still think that good quality non-VW spec oil will be good enough, but it isn't."
Does this even apply to the older tech TDi engines? I have a couple of motors with the TDi 110 engine & would prefer to make sure I do everything to keep them in top condition.
andymc
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Any engine, from any manufacturer, needs to be serviced in accordance with manufacturers recommendations. This doesn't neccessarily mean using franchised dealer and OE parts but does mean sticking rigorously to specifications.
Andymc - check out the oil spec required for the TDi and only use oil which meets that spec. All reputable oil is labelled with it's approval specifications. If it isn't labelled with the standard you need, it's safe to assume it doesn't meet that standard.
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From my 110TDi Passat experience, from 100k following need doing:
Front suspension arms (2 each side, approx £120-£180)
Catalyst at 120k
Major service + Cambelt change is winchingly expensive at dealers (discovered that leasing company refused to change tensioner at first scheduled belt change at 60k!). Have you got a good VW independant garage near you (or a good VW dealer - they do exist!)?
As others have recommended, do check out what oil has been used; when my current 110TDi company Golf was serviced, when I queried what oil had been used (as it is extended sevice interval capable), I was told that the leasing company only authorised the use of the cheapest VAG semi-synthetic... Correct oil is critical for PD engines.
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"Major service + Cambelt change is winchingly expensive at dealers (discovered that leasing company refused to change tensioner at first scheduled belt change at 60k!). "
I paid £265 for my A4TDI at main Audi dealer ..(belt and tensioner)
Personally I would Never ever buy another VW/Audi as the apparent quality is great but some of the engineering is not and you pay through the nose, mouth , ears and eyes for spares.. suspension arms, air con parts , catalysts are all VERY expensive and all fail after 70-80k miles. And belts and tensioners MUST be replaced at 60k miles..or you will be mUCH poorer.
And the diesels get rough after 100k miles..
Ford are better quality and cheaper to run..
See Reliability Index advertised on this site..
madf
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"madf"'s comment that Fords are better quality than VAG reminds me that when Ford bought Land-Rover from BMW, they had quite a lot of work to bring L-R up from BMW standards to their own.
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just look at the reliability figures for Ford Fiesta and then Audi A4...
madf
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