Press "Enter" to skip to content
Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.

Tag: TDI

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

1996 Volkswagen Passat TDi Variant

If I told someone in the general public that a 21 year old, cloth interior Volkswagen rolling on steel wheels would be worth $10,000 on the open market, they’d probably laugh. After all, Volkswagens half that age are worth only around 50% of that figure. But to the general public, the moniker “1Z” means little else other than the first number and last letter. Unless they’re trying to pass some perverted field sobriety test, that combination just wouldn’t have any deeper significance. But to Volkswagen enthusiasts, “1Z” is the password to secret hyper-milers. They’re the name of the Kingdom of special hippie-crunchy, make-your-own-gas type of automobile enthusiasts. One step from Moonshiners, they take showers about as often as they wash their cars (read: not frequently). They test the suspensions of their cars with how much weight they can carry and or tow at a given time. The term “low mileage” is not in their vocabulary, instead proudly patting themselves on the back for the hundreds of thousands of miles they’ve clattered slowly away. Instead of bragging about 60 m.p.h. times, they are happy to rub your nose in 60 m.p.g. claims. And though the 1Z 1.9 TDi came in a few packages stateside, they absolutely go gaga over Passat wagons of the manual variety:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Volkswagen Passat TDi Variant on eBay

1 Comment

2007 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI

3

After spending a weekend riding around in a friend’s Volkswagen Touareg with the V6 TDI engine, I came away impressed. If you read GCFSB on a regular basis, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of SUVs, but this one is quite comfortable and has plenty of smooth diesel torque. Taking off from a standstill, I was rather impressed just how quick on its feet this truck was. I can only imagine what the power of four more cylinders in the same diesel format would bring. Thankfully, a few Touareg V10 TDIs made their way to the US market at a time when Volkswagen was throwing a lot of things at the wall to see what would stick. These experiments included in the Phaeton and the W8 engine that found its way into the B5.5 Passat. The Touareg V10 TDI was not a huge seller and gave way to the V6 TDI, but they were powerful enough to tow a Boeing 747. This 2007 Touareg V10 TDI for sale in Connecticut is perfect for those out there with heavy hauling demands.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI on eBay

5 Comments

1996 Volkswagen Passat TDi

Recently, I’ve been spending some time driving an Audi C6 A6 3.2 Avant. While I have a report coming on that car soon, I mention it for one reason – what happened the other day when I was filling it up. The gas light pinged on and I pulled into the station; pop the fuel door, card in, nozzle removed, then I tend to pass my time judging other people’s car choices as they fill up too. As I filled, I made my way all the way around the quite full station and had summed up the rather unhappy lives of most of the vanilla SUV drivers in my head. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I was still pumping gas. Filling the Passat generally limits my prejudice party as I run out of room at 12 gallons. The 530xi allows me to make judgements on more Kia drivers, as I’ve hit 16 and change. But I had strode past 16 with ease and the numbers were still going. Concerned, I stopped and began to look for the gas pouring out of the bottom of the car, much to the bemusement of my captive audience. Unable to locate the leak, in wonder I re-engaged the trigger and watched the number on the dial climb past 18 gallons. Now, the A6 gets pretty reasonable mileage for a big, heavy car – around 23 average, over 25-26 on the highway. And all told, if you ran it dry you’d be 21.1 gallons in the whole. That makes a real-world range of over 500 miles per a tank. Sound like a lot? It’s the type of number the B4 Passat TDi laughs at.

Especially in Variant wagon form, the B4 TDi Passats have become legendary. Equipped with the 1Z motor, they’re capable of a simply bladder-busting range. While the estimates of mileage on the car range from 30-41 mpg from the factory, real world results from some owners turn up with numbers closer to Prius-embarrassing 45 miles per a gallon. Now, if the Passat had a fuel tank the size of the A6, that would equate to a pretty large range. But they didn’t have a tank the size of the Audi – it was bigger. Much bigger. In the Variant, many owners claim 26 gallons fills their tank while some markets even had the option for a 33 gallon sump. The result is a pretty dependable 1,000 mile range and, driven very carefully, some VW TDi-faithful have gotten closer to 1,500 miles. Shocking. That means it’s pretty typical to see these TDis with multi-hundred thousand miles accrued, but that’s not the case here according to the odometer. No, this sedan – while it admittedly has a smaller tank than the wagon – has apparently traveled less than 40,000 miles. Here’s the really staggering part; at 20 years old, even going with the “conservative” 1,000 mile range, this car has only visited a gas station on average twice a year since new.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Volkswagen Passat TDi on eBay

2 Comments

2015 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE

I don’t like this car. Volkswagen just had to go ahead and build a fat Passat for US customers, instead of carrying on with the existing European Passat, didn’t they? There are two things, however, that I like about this 2015 Passat we see here. First, it’s a diesel. Second, it’s equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Turns out a visit to VW.com revealed that you can’t specify a manual gearbox in a new Passat anymore. In the wake of the diesel emissions scandal, you can’t opt for a diesel engine, either. So thanks loads again, Volkswagen, for neutering your product range even further for 2016. If it’s a diesel Passat you want, at least there are a few more leftovers hanging around out there, such as this one for sale in Pennsylvania.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2015 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE on eBay

9 Comments

1989 Volkswagen DoKa Syncro “Jagdwagen”

s-l1600 (1)
Here’s an interesting dive into Volkswagen T3 history. We’ve seen special camping editions and even Tristar DoKas, but this green monster came with a special options list Volkswagen deemed the “Jagdwagen” (“Hunter”) package. It was never released as a real model, but reportedly 12 were made in this spec, which includes a full exterior cage, winch, spot light, gun rack and side gun drawer and rear bucket seats. The Jagdwagen options commanded an extra ~$11k over the already-pricey DoKa Syncro.

This example is one of a reported four in North America and features a TDI engine from a MkIV Jetta. Besides a few exterior scuffs, it looks to be in good shape and has received some attention like new bumpers to keep it looking spiffy.

Click for details: 1989 Volkswagen DoKa Syncro Jagdwagen on eBay

3 Comments