Buy Cheap Euro6 Diesel Now, or Wait?

Hello everyone,
I need your advice today regarding buying a new car. I'm currently driving a G4 with an ASZ engine that's nearing 300,000 km. I was actually considering the Agenda 360 (which includes a timing belt replacement at 360,000 km) for myself and my son (Paul), with the intention of then thinking about buying a new used car.
This week, I looked into the current prices of EURO 6 diesel vehicles, and now I'm seriously considering it. A used G7 Variant CL with a 2.0L engine, towing hitch, 24,000 km, and 5 years of warranty is supposedly only 19,000€. If you factor in the environmental/trade-in bonus, it comes down to just 15,000€ for a used car, which I think is quite cheap. The question is, can a EURO 6b diesel be retrofitted to meet the 6d standard, or is that even necessary? Yesterday, VW announced that they will subsidize or cover the cost of the hardware retrofit with 3,000€.
What would you do? Would you continue driving the current car and wait three years to see what happens, or would you buy a new Euro 6b diesel now and hope for a free conversion in the future?

Best regards,
Reuselkopp.

Here's a completely honest answer:

If you're happy with your G4, there are no significant defects, you've only reached 300,000 km, and you believe it can last for another three years, then just keep driving and wait. Trade-in bonuses, environmental incentives, and all that other stuff are just smoke and mirrors. There were already plenty of discounts available before.

If you don't have any driving restrictions in your daily life, you can't travel more affordably (and better) than by using the ASZ.


My automatic transmission, for example, failed due to an unavoidable accident at 400,000 km. At that time, I didn't feel like it was technically at the end of its life, and I would have liked to drive it for another two years, up to 500,000 km. But the accident put an end to that...

I would generally agree with that. It is currently impossible to predict which new policy initiative will emerge next. So far, aside from the exchange bonuses offered by manufacturers (which are only available in writing), we have only received vague statements of intent. People can compare these and consider whether it makes economic sense in their individual circumstances.

After forcing diesel vehicles through villages and cities, and their environmental zones, the same will happen to gasoline-powered cars, and eventually even to the more advanced diesel models. Lobby groups have already hinted at this, albeit very quietly. At the latest, when it becomes clear that despite the introduction of diesel driving bans, no significant changes can be detected in the measurements from monitoring stations, the next phase will begin. This will first exclude older gasoline-powered cars, and in the next phase, it will either restrict individual car traffic as a percentage (e.g., through a city toll) or completely ban it in certain zones.

And that's precisely why good advice given today can be completely wrong tomorrow. With a clear conscience, I can only currently recommend not spending too much money on a car. This way, the losses will be smaller if broader driving restrictions are introduced, or if certain zones are completely closed to individual traffic.

In short, if there's no immediate urgency, I wouldn't do anything at all, and I'd just act like the penguins from Madagascar: smile broadly and wave!

Then I might as well confidently go ahead and buy "a real diesel" for 8,000 euros and enjoy that driving experience?!
https://suchen.mobile.de/auto/volkswagen-phaeton.html

haithamina

Hello everyone,
Thank you for the advice. I'm still quite happy with the G4. Due to its age (year of manufacture 2004), my Paul has some cosmetic flaws. There's rust on the wheel arches, but I already have replacements in the garage. The tailgate is still rusting at the corners despite being repainted. Also, the engine mounts need to be replaced. Otherwise, the car received a new set of shock absorbers this year because the old ones were completely worn out. It was too dangerous for me to drive home from the forest with two cubic meters of wood on the trailer with those worn-out shocks.
I think I will continue to follow Agenda 360 and hope that my Paul makes it through.

Regards,
Reuselkopp.

If you want a car that's reliable and easy to maintain, then stick with your Golf.

If you want trouble and high costs on top of depreciation, then buy a new Golf.

The rust on your Golf is likely due to the previous owner not having shown any interest in rust prevention in recent years. However, this can be easily controlled with minimal investment and effort.

And in your opinion, what does corrosion prevention look like?
I wouldn't say I haven't done anything. For example, I had the tailgate and the roof repainted due to rust. The rust on the front fender edges is normal because of the unusual damping component installed behind them. The replacement fenders no longer have this foam part attached. I've already replaced the fender on the driver's side, and it's likely I'll need to replace the one on the passenger side next year.
Otherwise, the ASZ (presumably an abbreviation for a specific organization or project) is running very well.

reuselkopp wrote:

The question is, can a Euro 6b diesel engine be retrofitted to meet the 6d standard, or is it not even worth considering. Yesterday, VW announced that they will subsidize or pay for the hardware retrofit with a cost of €3000.

The discussion about hardware retrofits has so far only concerned models prior to EU6. With an EU6b diesel engine, you shouldn't have any problems in the medium term. They were still allowed to be newly registered until September of this year. That's why they are now being sold off cheaply.

If you're planning for the long term, there's no way around complying with the EU6d emissions standard. However, you won't find those used. I wouldn't invest a significant amount of money in a diesel car with an older emissions standard anymore.

But no matter what you buy, thanks to more complex technology, you're unlikely to reach that mileage (over 300,000 kilometers) without encountering problems again. You need to be aware of that.

By the way, the gasoline engine technology hasn't stood still either. Take a look at the 1.5 TSI engine; in terms of performance and fuel consumption, it's already close to a comparable diesel engine. You can find used models with EU6c emissions standards, and new models already come with OPF and EU6d-Temp emissions standards.

Painting over rust only addresses the symptom, but it doesn't fix the underlying cause of the corrosion.

Rust usually originates from the inside, so the existing dirt needs to be removed. If there's no rust yet, a protective coating with cavity wax or Mike Sanders grease should be applied.

The Golf III fenders, which look as if they have been gnawed on at the bottom by rats, are rusting because dirt accumulates behind the wheel arch, which is always moist, and this resulting rust then attacks the fender, eventually spreading to the sills, A-pillars, and underbody.

Nowadays, you can see cars from the years 2007/8 where there's significant blooming underneath, like Golf V, Polo 9N3, Ibiza 6J, Passat 3C, Audi A4 B7... The owners either don't notice it or ignore it, and then when the corrosion starts to spread, they're surprised.

A friend has a Seat Altea from 2004, and three years ago, the left fender was so badly corroded from the inside that it could only be replaced with a new part.

Rust has been a recurring issue within the Volkswagen Group for a long time, which is why I specifically chose to buy a fully galvanized A4 B5.

reuselkopp wrote:

... Rust on the front fender edges is normal due to the peculiar damping part that was installed behind it. The replacement fenders no longer have this foam part attached. On the driver's side, I have already replaced the fender, and on the passenger side, it will probably need to be replaced next year. Otherwise, the ASZ is running very well.

@Rüdi
"Where does it say 'only painted on the outside'?"
The above is the reason for the rusty wheel arches mentioned earlier, due to that stupid spacer between the outer and inner fender liners. It's a real shame. My fully galvanized 3BG also had this problem, as did fully galvanized A6, A4, A3, and Golf models produced around the turn of the millennium. In the long run, galvanization doesn't help.
haithamina

If I regularly remove the wheel arch liner, I can detect early signs of rust in hidden areas and don't have to wait until it has eaten its way to the outside.

Is it mandatory to replace all fluids in a new car before it's driven, as is the case with all fluids?