Looking at a 2012 tdi golf for sale locally tomorrow. Here is what the ad has listed

2012 Volkswagen golf TDI Hatchback

Driven 91,000 miles

Recently replaced
- Timing belt service done at VW dealer @85k miles approximately
- fuel system replaced @ dealer same times as timing belt. (Injectors, lines, glow plugs, filters etc)
- AC serviced. @dealer. New line at condenser (was leaking)
- DSG trans service done around 80k
- LUK dual mass flywheel replaced
- comes w brand new Brembo rotors and EBC pads (see photos)

Needs “the bad”-
- cracked windshield
-  Body control module for front headlight ($150 part)
- saggy headliner.

So what says the vw experts?windshield and headliner are not a factor. I can pull the headliner and local shop is less than $300 to recover it.

My vw experience says the engines are very robust and reliable, but the cars tend to fall apart around them over time, and will nickel and dime you

I wouldn't recommend any German car that's out of warranty. And I own a VW at present......

Isn't that also from their international diesel emissions scandal years? I've not bothered to research how well the "fixed" engines perform compared to the cheater versions, or how extensive the fix was.

@edgephoto

The recent maintenance items were right on time. Indicates the owner was attentive to the needs of the design. Major powertrain components should be good for another 85k.

All German cars are expensive to own out of warranty. Ownership is a commitment most won’t make. There are rewards for those that can afford the commitment.

I too steer most non-enthusiast folks away from german cars.

Choice is yours, OP.

The TDI engine should have had the recall work done on it already. The engine is solid and will pretty much run forever with proper maintenance but they do like to leak oil. As has already been noted other things on the car will wear out/break and are usually not cheap to fix. Some of the more common failures are power windows and ignition lock cyinders/switches, and that's usually after you hit closer to 200k.

When I worked at a dealership we couldn't keep them in stock, even during the recall.

I would say that I am an enthusiast for Vehicles. I’m used to having to do maintenance and preventively doing things. I had a few VW‘s in the past have not had a TDI since 2006.

I’m not looking to tune or do any deletes just looking to keep a nice solid reliable drivetrain underneath it with just the standard maintenance that would be required

2012 Golf TDI is a Gen 1 diesel. These do not use AdBlue which is a huge plus in my book. Less stuff to go wrong.

Comparing your experience with a 2006 TDI to this 2012 is not a good comparison. The 2006 was an old school mechanical injected engine. It would run on anything as long as it could burn. The common rail Diesel engine, which the 2012 is, are much more susceptible to major issues with bad fuel. You mentioned it had a new fuel system. This was most likely due to a fuel issue. The repair procedure if the high pressure pump fails is to replace the entire fuel injection system. A costly repair, labor intensive and not able to be done by a shade tree mechanic unless you have access to a diagnostic tester.

Part of the TDI settlement is a warranty extension. Depending on when the emissions modification was done there may still be some warranty in play. If you PM me the VIN I can check for you.

My personal opinion is to steer clear of these cars. There are way too many sensors and parts required to make it run. Repairs are very expensive and once the last of the cars goes out of warranty parts will be obsolete. As it is now VW has bought some vehicles back and crushed them because parts were not available for a year or more and still no ETA. Yes there are aftermarket parts available but these are made by the same vendor that supplies them to VW. Once VW pulls the plug I seriously doubt any company will produce parts. VW bought back nearly 400,000 vehicles as part of this fiasco. They sat in storage lots for nearly 2 years before being remarketed. Some people elected to keep them and VW crushed at least 100,000 of them.

In general the modern car is a disposable appliance. Repairs are costly, lots of electronics interacting to make it start run and drive. Lease it, drive it, return it and repeat. If you do buy, plan on 7-8 yrs. There are all kinds of urban legends stating parts have to be available for 10 years. The reality is the manufacture needs to provide parts during the warranty period or they have to refund the original purchase price. With all the electronics expect the day the last one goes out of warranty that whatever parts are on the shelf is what there will be.

Purchased a 2014 Passat TDI that was “certified” by VW but had been bought back from original owner during emissions fiasco.
We owned it for about two years. SEVEN months SEVEN MONTHS out of those two years the car sat at the dealer waiting for a replacement turbocharger.

That doesn’t include the times it was at the dealer for a failed def sensor, and replacement of the heater core THREE times.

Radio reception was nonexistent if the rear defrost was on. No heat to floor during entire ownership period.

Thankfully the car was under the factory warranty and due to the emissions settlement we had a loaner car the entire time (even though it was a base model Jetta)

Calling “customer care” never helped anything and I talked to eleven different people. Never could talk to the same person.

The only positive out of the whole experience was the dealership. The service writer knew the cars are/were shit and took care of us the best he could.

I was so happy to see that car leave my driveway. I’ll never own another VW.

@edgephoto

I get it is a totally different beast than my 06 Jetta . I’d still have that if a tractor trailer hadn’t side swiped  it.

I’m hoping this will be better than the turd f250 with the 6.0 that I had.

I sent you the vin

I appreciate the info

20 years vw / audi experience.

All the good tdi's are old and worn out.

I'd rather have a early CR motor than a 06 with the BRM. those brm motors were pieces of shit. I could wear out a keyboard on those turds.

The CR aren't bad if Clean fuel and frequently changes of the fuel filter are done.

the Nox sensor slow down causing the "fill adblue " light to illuminate causing the customer to keep trying to hopelessly ad adblue. Then hapless techs replace sensor, pump, injector, before giving up, where I get it, and note the nox value overlay with adblue injector duty does not change. New sensor at like $800 cures it.

They also won't go into regen if the fan is bad.

The v6, however drives great, is pretty reliable but fuck cunt whores they're hard to work on. Oh joy, the valley is full of coolant.. block off three days so I can clean this shit.

i wouldn't buy a diesel, any brand, that had to have it's entire fuel system replaced. There was a reason for that and it sounds like something bad on the prior owner. The dual mass flywheel is a known issue on the previous gen but shouldn't I wouldn't expect it there on this gen. Might check, but i don't know if the timing belt was done too soon. Passat we took in for a family member was told to wait till 130k. the older 1.9 was at 90k. Too many main problems on major components to consider in my book. they all show bad maintenance on the previous owner's part implying further problems to come.

In our exp, VW are extremely exp to repair, even if you do the work yourself. Parts aren't readily available and if you can't do the work, finding someone who can is even more expensive. Basic Maint is the same way. in our family ownership includes:

06 tdi jetta - egr blew twice, dsg was failing, dual  mass flywheel failed, a/c pressure switch failed, headliner issues, sun roof issues, turbo vane issues
06 tdi jetta - dual  mass flywheel failed @ 80k- traded it off
09 tdi jetta - was ok but totaled.
15 tdi bug - ok so far but never driven.
15 tdi passat - ok so far but never driven. general maint very high. dsg service was 250-350$ last week. can't do at home without vw software and special tools.

I pick this one up on Wednesday. Luckily it’s been through diesel gate service and also had the complete fuel system replaced at the same time. Also had timing set installed at that time. Has just had DSG service and new dual mass flywheel installed.

Only thing I have to tear into immediately is everything in the driver side headlight assembly does not work. No highbeam low beam DRL or turn signal.

I broke down this evening and ordered a Ross gate vcds adapter

VCDS is great. possibly the best aftermarket scan tool, for any make, anywhere. I can get about 90% of my troubleshooting done on VCDS.

don't just tear down that headlight. run an Auto scan an post the text here.  @ me when you do, because I'll probably forget.

your going to need VCDS for the fuel filter changes, OEM filter, get a vacuum sucker and suck out the diesel while your changing the filter.. suck out the bottom of the canister each time too. crud likes to sit down there.

the clean side of the fuel system you have to think NASA clean. its crud that gets to the injectors that causes all the damage, as the tips are ceramic and debris from that, that ends up back in the return side fucking roasts all the rest of the pumps.

Yeah I saw that it was needed for the fuel filter changes to prime the system. I learned my lesson and cut my teeth on a Ford 6.0 diesel. I’ll make sure to run an auto scan and post it here and tag you.

I figured worst case I might have a bad BCM and I would need the VCDS for that anyway

@AgeOne picked it up on Wednesday and drove it home about 100 miles. Parked in the garage the last few days until I can get a chance to go register it. I pulled off the headlight connection sprayed it with a little contact cleaner and reseated the plug and all the lights are now working.

I will hook up VCDS I found a cheap laptop to use it on  and run a scan just been busy the last few days.

Question though why does no one show pride of ownership in the interior of their car? I think I took out a 3 gallon trash bag full of miscellaneous crap, spent a day and a half detailing the inside and half assed and the headliner back up until the local upholstery shop has time to replace it for me

nice.
glad you got it fixed easily.

cars from that generation that were in high humidity area's the foam on those head liners deteriorated rappidly.

its not common on cars from out here, but when people move here from humid area's.. saggy headliner.

Just got back inside from reassembling the lock mechanism. Key was extremely difficult to turn turns out the tumbler was filled with graphite from them trying to Band-Aid it. Through the lock assembly in the ultrasonic cleaner for a little bit and now it’s working.

Yeah local shop here well redo the headliner for a fair price as long as I pull it and bring it in. At least it’s a hatchback so it’s easy to take out.

For right now it’s got some strategically placed staples holding it up lol

If that key gives you any more problems order a tumbler and lock housing (plastic security bezel and screws as well) before it gets stuck.

There's several parts in there that wear that can cause them to get jammed badly when you least expect it.

I will definitely stay on top of the maintenance schedule.

I’m hoping that fluid film will keep the rust at bay. Seems to work well on my jeeps in the winter.

I’ll keep that in mind. Right now it is working 99% better.