Reliability of high mileage 1.6 tdi

[octaviani]

High guys so time has come to let the 1.6 tdi superb hatch I have go. She's just so tired atm and not worth trying to sort for an mot in next couple of months.  I had plans to travel over to UK mainland to try to get something with a bit of luxury. Anything in Northern Ireland seems to be poverty spec and anything with a drop of luxury seems to be well over priced. So I've saw a superb estate 1.6 tdi with over 150k miles which it has a towbar which I'm after too. But my question is how reliable is thr 1.6 tdi non greenline with 150+k miles . Yes my own one has 330+ miles but she was taxied and sort of looked after. I'm on tight budget atm and need to replace the car we have. So any help much appreciated guys especially for things to look out for when I go to view it.

[Carlston]

6 hours ago, octaviani said:

High guys so time has come to let the 1.6 tdi superb hatch I have go. She's just so tired atm and not worth trying to sort for an mot in next couple of months.  I had plans to travel over to UK mainland to try to get something with a bit of luxury. Anything in Northern Ireland seems to be poverty spec and anything with a drop of luxury seems to be well over priced. So I've saw a superb estate 1.6 tdi with over 150k miles which it has a towbar which I'm after too. But my question is how reliable is thr 1.6 tdi non greenline with 150+k miles . Yes my own one has 330+ miles but she was taxied and sort of looked after. I'm on tight budget atm and need to replace the car we have. So any help much appreciated guys especially for things to look out for when I go to view it.

 

Due to the London ULEZ being expanded in August 2023 to include most of the area inside the M25, expect around 100,000 old diesels (pre-Euro 6 which is around pre-2015) to flood onto the market with no where near enough buyers. Prices will surely crash. 

 

I expect come spring 2023, the trickle will turn into a flood of sellers desperately trying to offload their old pre-Euro 6 diesels as the August 2023 date looms.

 

None of the Superb MK2 diesels comply with Euro 6.

 

Edited 14 January, 2023 by Carlston

[Smart Pro]

The pre 2014 1.6tdi VAG engine was known to suffer with DPF, EGR and fuel injector failure, with many of these problems affecting cars used for low mileage, start stop journeys. Unlike the ultra reliable 1.9 pump duse engine, which preceded it, VAG engineers now decided to make it devilishly difficult for competent DIY’ers to get to and replace these failed parts. Removing the front bumper to replace a blown halogen headlight bulb was now considered just a minor inconvenience, compared to what was to come. My wife owned a 2009 VW Golf from new, with one of the first 1.6tdi engines. It was good to drive and reliable until just after 5 years and 50k miles the EGR valve failed, followed a few months later by the air con compressor. Both failures were expensive (particularly the labour involved) and prompted her to replace the Golf with a Mazda CX3, which has been a paragon of reliability in the 7 years she has owned it so far.

[SuperbTWM]

As above, the injectors seem to be a bit weak, other than that most of the bits they suffer with and that you need to look out for would also apply to a 2.0 with high mileage

 

Its a roll of the dice as always with a second hand car with 150K, it might be a minter, or it could be on the cusp of needing thousands spending it.

[Jules Tohpipi]

Up until a few weeks ago I had a 2012 Superb Elegance GreenLine II with the 1.6 engine. From new I had done 230,000 miles. It was still driving 95% like new until we parted. The most reliable and economical car I've ever owned by an enormous margin. Nothing else comes close. 

 

Only engine issue was a single injector which the AA swapped by the roadside. Zero issues with EGR, DPF, etc. It had been the perfect car and I had intended to keep it long into the future - had it not been written-off by a muppet.

 

Mine was actually even more reliable from 100k to 200k that the first 100k. During its life I had to do all four shocks, an anti-roll bar, a clock spring, the blower fan (an easy £60 DIY job) and the single injector. The only thing that ever left me by the side of the road (for a few hours) was the injector.

 

In context, my Superb was used for a 130 mile round trip commute five days a week (except during lockdown) and was always serviced by a Skoda main dealer.