Passat 1.6 BlueMotion TDI CR DPF

Orange_King

Can I ask your opinions on this car? Looking for something that is spacious enough but offers decent fuel economy. Its a 2010 car with about 18k on the clock.

Are there any potential problems that I need to look out for?Grateful for views on this motor and anything similar that would be worth considering.

Thanks

KTF

How many miles do you do a year and what is your motoring mix - mainly town, motorway, etc.

As it has a DPF then it will need a period of 'warm' running to regenerate it.

Orange_King

I'd be doing around 10,000 miles but only have a 3 mile journey to work along a ring road. I do use the car for travel associated with work usually a 150 mile round trip every other week and a journey of around 30 miles every weekend. Some weeks there'd not be a longer journey than a 12 mile round trip though.

KTF

With that low mileage why are you looking for a diesel rather than a petrol. Those short trips may well cause you issues with the DPF.

Orange_King

The Passat was on recommendation from a work colleague who would do similar miles to me. He has a 2003 1.9l diesel and said something along those lines would be ideal for me. I haven't seen any Passat estates about with a petrol engine.

what does DPF mean and what alternative would you suggest if diesel wasn't a viable option? I'm really not into cars in a big way so excuse the ignorance!

KTF

The 2003 1.9 TDI is an older design of engine and doesnt have a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter). For details of the DPF see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_particulate_filter

As an alternative to diesel I would suggest a petrol There is no shortage of Passat in both flavours to choose from or plenty of other full size options available.

Orange_King

Thanks for that - something new learnt this weekend. So basically I'd need to be doing a decent round trip at 50+ mph every couple of days or so to keep this DPF in optimum condition.

There are very few Petrol Passats over here in Northern Ireland it seems. maybe back to the drawing board!

If I was doing the miles though, is this a car worth considering?

anotherbaldrick

Your longer runs fortnightly and weekends will satisfy the burn off required by the DPF, providing you can do some of the journey 40mph or above, my Tiguan is quite happy with the same.

Make certain you are happy with the electronic parking brake, My first encounter with one on a Spanish rental car in a dark car park is an experience that will stay with me.

Otherwise nice car, but make shure everything is in full working order, especially the dual mass flywheel ( symptom fault is rough clutch operation and running).

SCO

Orange_King wrote: »

Thanks for that - something new learnt this weekend. So basically I'd need to be doing a decent round trip at 50+ mph every couple of days or so to keep this DPF in optimum condition.

There are very few Petrol Passats over here in Northern Ireland it seems. maybe back to the drawing board!

If I was doing the miles though, is this a car worth considering?

With your 150 mile trips every other week you should have no problems with the DPF.

If you were really worried about it a 30 minute drive at over 2000 revs would keeps it clear.

KTF

On VW stuff there is generally a warning light (or message) that appears when it senses that the DPF is not functioning correctly - 'go for a long drive' or similar appears on the display - but if this doesnt appear it can go into 'limp home mode' which requires a visit to the dealer to clear it out and/or replace the DPF.

Personally I would go for a Passat over the equivalent Vectra/Mondeo, etc. but thats personal preference more than anything as it is as good/bad as anything thats designed for the fleet market these days. Most should be able to rack up 20k+ a year with minimal problems.

I dont know if company cars are as common in NI as they are in the rest of the UK but thats where the bulk are sold so there are always plenty to choose from in the various car supermarkets, etc. when they get to the end of the lease period.

Orange_King

Thanks for that. I think if I had this car I'd be glad to go out on a journey specifically to keep it in good health. I've only had 1 diesel car thus far and it was superb for economy and only had one minor issue with injectors, again maybe a similar problem with not achieving high speed over prolonged time.

I need the space of an estate and this one seemed ideal for running costs.

Thanks for all the replies

This is the car in question....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201303085677320/usedcars?logcode=visc