Chinese made Purolater BETTER quality than VW OEM.

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So ended up bored rattling around the house last weekend so decided to change the cabin filter on my 2012 Jetta Sportwagen. Selling dealer told me many maintenance items were performed to CPO the car after it was pulled out of TDI storage purgatory after sitting for ~1.5 years, but many other TDI'ers had noted some dealers may create phony invoices to CPO a car or make it more marketable. Mine they changed oil, DSG fluid, engine and cabin air filter, new battery, new wipers, etc.

Anyhow I figured cheapest and easiest "audit" of replace/repair items was the cabin air filter so popped over to Advance Auto and picked up a $20 Purolator One cabin filter and commenced to replace. Wish I had grabbed some pictures.

So the selling dealer definitely replaced the cabin filter and it was still usable, not much rubbish was caught in the pleats and no notable structural or pinch issues. I could have just banged out the rubbish on the ground but figured I already had 50% of the work done so might as well put in the new one, not going to hurt anything.

I was a little concerned when I first opened the Purolator box to see "Made in China" stamped on the filter because we all know the quality of things coming out of China can be questionable at times, fears were quelled when I laid it side by side with the OEM VW part and honestly it seems to be a better filter than the MANN OEM. Same exact # of pleats, same exact dimensions, Chinese filter felt slight more rigid than VW part and the Chinese filter had a foam sealing strip surrounding the perimeter where the filter goes in the box (excluding access door side) which the VW filter lacked. The VW filter presumably can allow to leak around the filter walls since it is lacking the foam strip.

Anyways I was honestly surprised the aftermarket seemed to be better quality than the OEM, maybe next change I'll buy both and get side by side photos showing the differences then just return the VW filter.
smile.gif
 
So VW was able to re-sell all the dieselgate cars that people traded in? I'd like to pick one of those up if they're decently priced.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
So VW was able to re-sell all the dieselgate cars that people traded in? I'd like to pick one of those up if they're decently priced.


Oh yeah - go take a look as soon as you can because the supply is drying up and prices are going up. VW waived the typical CPO rules for the dieselgate cars so you can get a CPO version (2 year/unlimited mile B2B warranty - $50 deductible) on cars older than typical CPO requirements allow. The emissions warranty covers pretty much fuel filler neck to tailpipe exit including entire engine long block for 4/48k miles from emissions fix date or 10 years/120k miles from original in service date, whichever is longer for the 2010-2014 models - 2015 have an even longer emissions warranty. The only thing emissions warranty will not cover is any transmission issues.

I was able to snag my CPO 2012 JSW TDI w/66k miles - DSG and pano sunroof and 17" wheel package for $9500. I would highly recommend going CPO route because of potential issues from the cars sitting idle for extended periods in the storage lots. If you go for one ignore the Michigan title when VWoA took the cars back, the dieselgate cars were not all shipped back to Michigan - my car sat up in north Georgia during its purgatory time.

Good luck with your search! Few things to keep your eye on is the a/c performance and the panoramic sunshade, both were issues on mine that were corrected with a $50 deductible payment.
 
There is still a huge lot of them in Baltimore on the old Steel plant grounds. Where can you look for them? Have they been fixed to get less mileage and pollute less?
 
A cabin filter isn't a critical engine part like the oil filter, but I get your point. Wonder if the rise in prices of dieselgate cars will bring up the price of my 06 TDI?
 
Originally Posted by loneryder
There is still a huge lot of them in Baltimore on the old Steel plant grounds. Where can you look for them? Have they been fixed to get less mileage and pollute less?



vwcpo.com
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
So VW was able to re-sell all the dieselgate cars that people traded in? I'd like to pick one of those up if they're decently priced.


They were, at least. Don't know about now.

I seriously considered a TDI Sportwagen (and still kinda wonder if I shouldn't have bought it), but I just dont know if Diesels are worth it in small cars anymore given the increased maintenance, lesser reliability and higher (at least here) fuel costs.

That said, VW is also forced to offer a pretty decent warranty on the Dieselgate cars. It doesn't just cover the emissions equipment, but also a lot of problematic parts like the high pressure fuel pumps. I'm not sure if the value equation is still there for diesels, but if you want one, the dieselgate cars are actually a pretty good deal now.
 
It's what I'm going with. I was looking for a Cayenne Turbo, but I have come around and realized that you can't beat a Touareg TDI. Less money up front, less money at the pump, and tons of room for all my gear.

The 4/48 warranty is just the icing on the cake. Once that expires I'll do a full emissions delete and fuel economy tune.
 
Originally Posted by pezzy669
Originally Posted by Reddy45
So VW was able to re-sell all the dieselgate cars that people traded in? I'd like to pick one of those up if they're decently priced.


Oh yeah - go take a look as soon as you can because the supply is drying up and prices are going up. VW waived the typical CPO rules for the dieselgate cars so you can get a CPO version (2 year/unlimited mile B2B warranty - $50 deductible) on cars older than typical CPO requirements allow. The emissions warranty covers pretty much fuel filler neck to tailpipe exit including entire engine long block for 4/48k miles from emissions fix date or 10 years/120k miles from original in service date, whichever is longer for the 2010-2014 models - 2015 have an even longer emissions warranty. The only thing emissions warranty will not cover is any transmission issues.

I was able to snag my CPO 2012 JSW TDI w/66k miles - DSG and pano sunroof and 17" wheel package for $9500. I would highly recommend going CPO route because of potential issues from the cars sitting idle for extended periods in the storage lots. If you go for one ignore the Michigan title when VWoA took the cars back, the dieselgate cars were not all shipped back to Michigan - my car sat up in north Georgia during its purgatory time.

Good luck with your search! Few things to keep your eye on is the a/c performance and the panoramic sunshade, both were issues on mine that were corrected with a $50 deductible payment.


What kind of MPG do you get post fix?
 
The post fix dropped the EPA I believe 1 city/2 hwy to 29/37 vs 30/39. Longish road trip I was able to hit ~38.5 MPG keeping it at ~75 MPH, cruised ~80 MPH on the way home and that dropped it down to ~36.3 MPG. If city driving conditions are just right the 29 is also easily achievable if your not sitting in bumper to bumper and dealing with 10-12 stop lights over the course of 3 miles

Problem is I deal with horrific traffic with a ton of stoplights so 21-22 is reality for me, not just a diesel problem as I had a rental Camry rated at 28/39 that was sitting at ~15.5 MPG after slugging it through my commute for a week. No car I have ever driven on my commute has done well.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
So VW was able to re-sell all the dieselgate cars that people traded in? I'd like to pick one of those up if they're decently priced.


Negative ghost rider. You do not want to buy a vehicle which has been sitting for years. IMO.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Why not?


Rubber/plastic components, adhesives, have a limited shelf life which is accelerated when exposed to the elements 24/7. It's why garaged vehicles age better.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by atikovi
Why not?


Rubber/plastic components, adhesives, have a limited shelf life which is accelerated when exposed to the elements 24/7. It's why garaged vehicles age better.


Except for the tires which really should have been replaced before VW CPO the car I have not really had any issues with any element exposure. The two warranty repairs (panoramic roof shade and the refrigerant control valve in the a/c compressor) would have happened whether the car was stored or not. All the door seals and sunroof seal are still nice and pliable and have no water or air leaks, no issues with the dashboard, headliner or any of the interior bits - interior could still pass for brand new despite being 8+ years old. Regardless - CPO route you have 2 years to work out any issues.
 
Originally Posted by pezzy669
The post fix dropped the EPA I believe 1 city/2 hwy to 29/37 vs 30/39. Longish road trip I was able to hit ~38.5 MPG keeping it at ~75 MPH, cruised ~80 MPH on the way home and that dropped it down to ~36.3 MPG. If city driving conditions are just right the 29 is also easily achievable if your not sitting in bumper to bumper and dealing with 10-12 stop lights over the course of 3 miles

Problem is I deal with horrific traffic with a ton of stoplights so 21-22 is reality for me, not just a diesel problem as I had a rental Camry rated at 28/39 that was sitting at ~15.5 MPG after slugging it through my commute for a week. No car I have ever driven on my commute has done well.


If you want primo gas mileage, your best bet would be a hybrid. A diesel can match a hybrid on long highway drives, but in Atlanta traffic the hybrid will win every time.
 
They have the Purolator Boss cabin filter now, which is a reboxed Mann Frecious Plus. All the ones I've seen seem to be come from the Czech Republic
smile.gif
 
about filter-it's previous modification, VW and other(Mann,Mahle,Bosch) updated their filters without foam rubber around borders of filter, and they make borders more softer. This modifications was made according to VW specs.... according to adac tests Corteco=freudenberg micronair is better filter then goes Mann and after-Mahle. Corteco freudenberg micronair as oem is most often used filter when i receive new car.
 
Originally Posted by Ilia
about filter-it's previous modification, VW and other(Mann,Mahle,Bosch) updated their filters without foam rubber around borders of filter, and they make borders more softer. This modifications was made according to VW specs.... according to adac tests Corteco=freudenberg micronair is better filter then goes Mann and after-Mahle. Corteco freudenberg micronair as oem is most often used filter when i receive new car.


The CAF from Mann, Mahle, including MicronAir never had the foam border from the beginning, so it's not really an update, from over 10 years ago.

The Wix version (before Mann bought them) did have it, as well as many of the cheaper Chinese copies.
 
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