As I've mentioned elsewhere on here, I've found myself in need of a car at short notice, and it needs to be an estate. Having never spent more than £1500 on a car before, I've got potentially 2500 to play with, but I'm struggling to find much that's right for me. Having initially limited myself to 1.9TDIs as I know them, I've been looking at pre-2008 2.0TDIs (being mindful of the oil pump hex key and balance cam shaft issues they can suffer from) to try and avoid haivng a DPF, but I've learned that the 170hp versions have DPFs even pre-2008 which is making it harder.

 

Soooo I need some honest advice about VAG diesels with DPFs... more specifically those in the 1.9TDI and 2.0TDIs from 2006 onwards. How much hassle do they cause? My understanding is that they end up costing loads to keep clean unless you're doing a significant amount of motorway miles. My work mileage is varied -some days I'm doing 5 - 10 mile journeys, others I'm driving 15 miles to one client, 15 to another and then 30 home, but probably only about 10mi of that would be motorway. From everything I've read, that's not DPF-friendly mileage - am I right?

 

What kind of maintenance do they need? Ive heard so many horror stories of them dying and needing replacing for £800 or so - I really can't afford to have that happen, would that be an extreme case?!

 

And whats the legal position on a DPF delete? Does it rely on having a friendly MOT mechanic? I really don't want to do anything that may compromise insurance etc!

Cheers!

 

Edited 18 February, 20215 yr by alessio92

go for 2.0PD 140  (not 4x4) as these does not have a DPF

 

also oil pump issues did not affect Octavia as only affect longitude mounted engines such as those on the passat or skoda superb

If it's Euro 4 you should be able to take the DPF off and map it out and still pass the MOT...

DPF equipped 1.9s should be avoided like the plague - they were an add-on and never properly integrated with the engine, giving lots of problems.

 

2.0 CR engines are fine once the DPF gets a chance to regen fully when it needs it.

 

I'm not sure about the 2.0 PD engines but with the balance shaft issues they're probably best avoided anyway.

 

Low mileage isn't the problem people think it is with DPFs. 2 things kill a DPF: persistently not getting time to regen, and oil ash clogging it up.

 

The first can be avoided by buying the VAG-DPF app and a suitable Bluetooth OBD adapter (I use the Carista one and it works well). You can watch out for a regen and take the long way around when it starts so there's time for to finish out.

 

The second will happen towards the end of the car's life if it is properly maintained and is inevitable. If the wrong oil is used, it can kill a DPF quite quickly.

 

If you have access to suitable diagnostics when you are checking out a car you should be able to get a good read on the state of the DPF.

3 hours ago, alessio92 said:

 My work mileage is varied -some days I'm doing 5 - 10 mile journeys, others I'm driving 15 miles to one client, 15 to another and then 30 home, but probably only about 10mi of that would be motorway. From everything I've read, that's not DPF-friendly mileage - am I right?

 

That was my mileage profile in France before Covid restrictions and it was absolutely fine for the DPF, even now with short journeys it regens a lot more (never was aware of them before) but I will not interrupt them, I carry on driving or restart and go back out again usually for less than 2 miles & it has done its stuff, I keep an eye on the soot and oil ash levels using VCDS and all is well and the DPF should be good for 250-300 Kmiles, I dont like the more frequent regens or that the soot level climbs faster but its simply a reflection of my now very mostly short journeys.