2010 Passat 2.0 TDI CR Passat Bluemotion

[pgilc1]

Just brought home my 2010 Passat TDI today. Its a 2.0 TDI Common Rail 110BHP Bluemotion.



I actually went to buy a new Golf, but they were able to offer me a better deal on this. Its list price was £19,500 before christmas (though there is now a 3% price rice on top of that and an extra 2.5% VAT) and i got it for £15750. This, i think, makes it cheaper that whats supposedly the 'budget' VAG equivalent -Skoda's Superb version (GreenLine?) and from memory it uses the old 1.9PD version rather than the Common Rail version in mine. Its well enough equipped and the only thing i've added so far is a Bluetooth Kit.

I dont think for the money i could buy better (ie, something ultra economical, decent size, same price or less) though i'm under no illusions that its Dullsville on wheels!!

'Upgrade' plans are as follows :-

Angel Eye Headlight conversion (this saturday). Got these imported from DK Automotive and they seem of the highest quality. Cost me around £220 delivered to here, and my own headlights should make £180 for the pair on ebay. I've always had a soft spot for angel eyes and i think this will help set the car out from the herd a little bit.

R32 grille OR badgeless chrome / black grille. Will do this for end of february.

19 inch R36 (/R32) revision 3 alloys. Probably will hold off now until the worst of the winter weather is over.

Coilover Suspension.

Colour coding.

The ultimate aim would be to take it as close as possible to this look...

Edited by pgilc1 on Tuesday 5th January 21:43

[300KPH]

We had an 09 Passat Blue motion in with us a while back, the owner was complaining that the VW mudgaurds were hitting the tarmac and wanted 25mm hack sawed off them, we obliged and he went away happy. I was surprised this was happening as they were official VW accessories but as far as I know the Blue motion is lowered by around 2 inches for extra fuel economy?
Nice car and hope it serves you well

[pgilc1]

300KPH said:

We had an 09 Passat Blue motion in with us a while back, the owner was complaining that the VW mudgaurds were hitting the tarmac and wanted 25mm hack sawed off them, we obliged and he went away happy. I was surprised this was happening as they were official VW accessories but as far as I know the Blue motion is lowered by around 2 inches for extra fuel economy?
Nice car and hope it serves you well

Its 15mm on this one, though its a bluemotion 2, which is only out a few months. Maybe the earlier ones were lower.

Very pleased with it so far - its a bit of a ronseal car so far - does exactly what it says on the tin.

[V8NRG]

I have a 140 tdi and during hard cornering my mud flaps touch down too.

[bazking69]

I'd keep the old headlamps for a while just incase the new ones aren't as good quality as you think...

[pgilc1]

bazking69 said:

I'd keep the old headlamps for a while just incase the new ones aren't as good quality as you think...

Yes probably fair comment!

[joshc]

So can we see any more pictures? Although I guess its covered in snow now..

[Targarama]

Nice car. But why would you want to make a VW look like a BMW?

[Richie111s]

Current company car is a 2009 170 Sport, which has turned out to be a really great car, q car quick, loads of room and comfy for long journeys. Its not ultra stylish but for the money its a lot better than a base spec 320D!

[Escort2dr]

300KPH said:

We had an 09 Passat Blue motion in with us a while back, the owner was complaining that the VW mudgaurds were hitting the tarmac and wanted 25mm hack sawed off them, we obliged and he went away happy. I was surprised this was happening as they were official VW accessories but as far as I know the Blue motion is lowered by around 2 inches for extra fuel economy?
Nice car and hope it serves you well

The Sport estate I had did this - they all do. You learn not to jump out of your skin when it happens.

[pgilc1]

Targarama said:

Nice car. But why would you want to make a VW look like a BMW?

Just the lights! And its just to be a little different, moreso than to make it look like a BMW. If it doesnt work out they'll be on ebay...

[pgilc1]

joshc said:

So can we see any more pictures? Although I guess its covered in snow now..

Yeah, it snowed when i was taking it home and its been covered in snow since. Though its served its primary function well since then, keeping me warm and comfy on the commute to work and back. And the stereo is quite good too.

I actually quite like the thing - though its probably the motoring equivalent of white goods.

On the plus side i get to drive wifies new scooby do at the weekends and i *hope* to get maybe something like a cheap mx5 for a bit of fun of my own.

[flattotheboards]

Will you be get clear indicator repeaters at the front as well? I dont like the orange ones, makes it look so much more dated than it actually is.

[f1nn]

Out of interest, what sort of MPG are you averaging in the real world?

I'm currently using a 140 CR Passat, which I like but don't think the economy is that great.

[OnTheOverrun]

I'm a little puzzled about this type of 'ultra-economy' car and I'm not meaning this as a criticism, but genuinely, what is the point of spending £16k to save a few MPG? If saving money is your priority, wouldn't you have been better off just buying a cheaper car that does a few MPG less and won't depreciate so much with depreciation being the biggest single cost of running a car?

[pgilc1]

flattotheboards said:

Will you be get clear indicator repeaters at the front as well? I dont like the orange ones, makes it look so much more dated than it actually is.

well spotted! hadnt noticed that (car currently covered in snow!!). That should be an easy fix. Thats one for the top of the to do list.

[pgilc1]

f1nn said:

Out of interest, what sort of MPG are you averaging in the real world?

I'm currently using a 140 CR Passat, which I like but don't think the economy is that great.

Hard to say yet really as there is just 100 miles on it. on the same commute, my 535d did 34 mpg, my Alfa 1.8 petrol 32mpg and my Signum 3.0 CDTI auto did 40mpg. I got 62.1 in the passat this morning. On the cumulative trip computer its averaging 55mpg overall, but i'll need to see how a weekends driving of short runs impacts that. I'll stick a post on here in a month or so with more accurate figures.

[Buzzkill]

OnTheOverrun said:

I'm a little puzzled about this type of 'ultra-economy' car and I'm not meaning this as a criticism, but genuinely, what is the point of spending £16k to save a few MPG? If saving money is your priority, wouldn't you have been better off just buying a cheaper car that does a few MPG less and won't depreciate so much with depreciation being the biggest single cost of running a car?

I never understand it either. That is of course unless it's a long term keeper - 7 years + territory.

Edited by Buzzkill on Thursday 7th January 10:04

[pgilc1]

Buzzkill said:

OnTheOverrun said:

I'm a little puzzled about this type of 'ultra-economy' car and I'm not meaning this as a criticism, but genuinely, what is the point of spending £16k to save a few MPG? If saving money is your priority, wouldn't you have been better off just buying a cheaper car that does a few MPG less and won't depreciate so much with depreciation being the biggest single cost of running a car?

I never understand it either. That is of course unless it's a long term keeper - 7 years + territory.

Edited by Buzzkill on Thursday 7th January 10:04

I'd a rather lengthy response typed up there, but the computer went wonky, but summarising :-

(a) i didnt spend £16K to save a few mpg, i wanted a new largish car, so that i had a manufacturers warranty and wasnt buying someone elses problems - which happens often with second hand diesels.

(b) the main dealer was looking almost as much for a late 09 registered ex demo car, whereas this is 2010.

(c) i could have bought a mid 2009 car for £1000 less, but it was probably an ex fleet car, and had the old 1.9 TDI PD engine.

(d) I "hope" to keep the car five years, after which i would anticipate it will be worth around £5750. that means depreciation of £2K per year. If i were to "save £6000" and buy say an 07 passat for £10K and drive it three years, i'd anticipate it would be worth £4K, so that means depreciation of £2K per year.

(e) I'd have been happy with the regular diesel variant but actually paid less for the bluemotion version, so i'm quids in given it will average maybe an extra 8 - 10 mpg.

(f) It would have cost me more to buy a new golf diesel or a new astra diesel.

(g) i've done the running and older car thing and the figures just didnt stack up for me.

Of course the caveat is 'keeping the car 5 years' which i dont have a history of doing BUT i think doing this and keeping it as a commuting hack to pile the miles onto is a sensible thing, meaning i can spend any spare cash on a weekend 'toy'.

We still have the wifes scooby for a bit of fun too!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by pgilc1 on Thursday 7th January 10:29

Edited by pgilc1 on Thursday 7th January 10:30

[OnTheOverrun]

Fair enough - I can see your point if you're intending to still be driving it in 2015.