[sarfraz1997]

Similar to most other countries, the car prices dropped massively in 2020 during the first wave of covid, however, as things started getting better, the car’s got much more expensive, both new and used, with some new car’s being sold for above their sticker prices too! I moved here in Jan’ 2022, a time when car prices were at their highest. I immediately wanted to pick something up, and even went to see a few cars, Jetta’s with base 2.5NA engines were being sold for as much as $9K-$10K with 100K miles on the odo. It was absurdly expensive, and the car’s were pretty basic in it that they didnt even have a MFSW, or a radio with a touchscreen. Having used a Jetta 2.0 TDI highline AT back in India, this was very disappointing and I couldn’t convince myself to put down that money for cars so basic. 

Websites like carvana and carfax are usually everyone’s go-to for picking up used cars in the US, for how they are usually reliable, and how they keep things about the condition of the car transparent, this brings with it a premium of atleast 20% on the market price. The US has a robust history tracking system, called a Carfax report. Most FNG’s and all of the OEM service centres all log the incident history of the car against the VIN in a portal. The incident history can just be a simple oil change, or an accident, basically every time you take the car to a participating service centre, a record is added to the report stating the nature of the work, even the DMV (US’s RTA) logs incidents such as ownership change, loans etc. This report is available to purchase for anyone who can enter the VIN number of a car on carfax’s website, for $40. The probable scope of things being missed on the report are if the owner is a DIY person, or if the owner has somebody to come over and work at his place (Some guys who do this also log the records on carfax).

Having fair knowledge about cars and experience in purchasing used cars, I knew I could save a bit if i can somehow purchase a car directly from the owner, Carfax report would help my case as it would give me the history of the car. Facebook marketplace seemed like a good place to be able to do this. Although i would have to be careful with potential traps, I knew I can try and manage the risk. I joined a few groups for used car sales in and aroud my city. In US, a car’s “title” document is similar to the RC in India. More information about the list of titles is here : https://cartitles.com/different-types-of-car-titles/ . It is important to purchase a car with a clear title to avoid issues, and also not complicate the process of selling the car in the future.

I initially wanted to pick up a reliable japanese car, since I am currently a student here, it would have helped to keep my expenses down. However, the covid price surge made japanese cars expensive beyond reason, with 2008 Civic’s being sold for $10K. Having seen how these cars were so inexpensive in India to purchase used ($2.5k - $5k), it was very hard for me to accept the prices and pay atleast double of what these cars would have costed in India. I later got busy with college, and didnt have the time to look for cars, neither the interest after looking at the prices. Furthermore, I didn’t get to taking the driver’s license after getting an instructions permit (US’s LLR). The one or two good car’s and deals that I came across were gobbled up within a day or two. My college is 25 miles away, and I had to take two busses to reach college, after having spent about 1.5 hours each way for commute. I travelled back to India in May, and got back in the end of August, this time with a renewed vigour to pickup a car. I knew my second semester was going to be relatively not as busy as my first, and I wanted a car so I can travel and explore. One week before i travelled back, I started looking on facebook marketplace and groups, I started contacting the owners, and made a list of potential cars that I want to go and take a look at.

The insurance for someone without a drivers license costs a bomb in the US, and there is a premium that drivers under the age of 25 need to pay (around 25-30%), furthermore, the insurance premium is decided based on the age of the license. I took a rental car for a day to go and checkout the short listed cars with a friend who was over 25. The list was : 2014 Ford Fusion, 2014 Kia Optima, 2015 Hyundai Sonata, 2012 Chevy Malibu, and a 2013 VW CC. All cars had mileage of 100K-140K miles. The Fusion had an aftermarket exhaust, and the car was making more noise and power, the excessive drone of the exhaust made it a very unpleasant experience to take a short spin of the car. The Kia Optima owner was not available when I wanted to see the car, and the Sonata although looked good on the outside, felt very light. It is a common car in the US owing to how easy it is to maintain on the pocket, and also the features that it offers. I really liked the Malibu, the engine and the car were very smooth, however, the car’s both original keys were missing and the lock was fiddled with which left evidence on the doors. I steered away from this one as I didnt want to live with the thought of owning a potential stolen car. I wanted to see the CC in the end as I am biased towards VW, and I wouldn’t have looked further. The car had 139K Miles on the odo, and upon the first impression, the car looked reasonbly clean on the outside and the inside, apart from a few tears in the driver’s seat. The engine bay was free from oil leaks and unusual sounds, the interiors were in decent shape, almost all the electronics were working. I didnt have VCDS or OBDEleven to take a scan of the car, but most electronics were working. From my assessment, the car needed new rear brakes and lower arm bushes. It had an aftermarket exhaust from ECS Tuning, and aftermarket ignition coils, So i’m inferring that this car is probably running a stage 2 tune. The car drove fine, the gearbox shifted without any issues. I decided to pick the car up on the spot, price was negotiated by 8.5%.

The Volkswagen CC was initially introduced as a coupe version of the german carmaker’s Passat. It was initially named “Passat CC” in its first generation which was launched in the year 2008. It was later facelifted in 2013, and renamed to just “CC”. The engines on offer on both the iterations of the car remained the same, a 2.0 turbocharged V4 pushing out about 200hp and 281nm of torque, the other engine is a 3.6 NA V6, pushing out about 276hp and 359nm, both engines are paired with the DQ250 6 Speed DSG box, albeit the V6 was offered with 4motion (VW’s AWD system). VW later decided to axe the “CC” nomenclature and replaced it with the “Arteon” based on MQB platform in 2017, the carmaker’s current flagship sedan in North America. Although the Passat CC was spotted while testing in India, It never saw the light of the day.





The OG Passat CC





The 2013 Facelift of the Passat CC ~ aka VW CC





The super stylish VW Arteon

The CC in 2013 was offered in the following trim levels : 2.0T Sport, the 2.0T R-Line, the 2.0T Sport Plus, the 2.0T Lux, the 3.6L VR6 Lux and the 3.6L VR6 4Motion Executive. The sticker prices ranged from $30.5K to $42k. My car is a 2.0T Sport Plus with the 2.0T CBFA 4 Cylinder TSI engine. Unlike VW’s other cars which are pretty basic in their base trim levels, the CC has always been the brand’s premium offering, as a result, even the base trim’s of CC are pretty well equipped.




The 2.0T CBFA 4 Cylinder TSI.


The sport plus comes with quite a few standard features such as a RCD510 HU with a dedciated BT module, maxidot cluster, electrically adjustable and heated front seats, MFSW, electrically adjustable and heated ORVM’s, Direct TPMS, auto levelling bixenon’s, automatic headlamps with coming home, leaving home and automatic wipers, puddle lamps, dual zone climatronic etc.

The design of the car 10 years after the facelift, from the front looks a little dated in my opinion. However, I love how the rear of the car looks. The car I picked up has “Niche” brand 19” aftermarket wheels in 265/30 rubber in the front, and 275/30 rubber in the rear. The alloys look amazing to me. But the owner skimped on tyres by going with taiwanese tyres, although they’re okay for regular use, if pushed a little hard in corners, the tyres quickly start losing traction. The interiors of the car are very similar to those of a Passat, except the headroom in the rear is a little low owing to the coupe design. The windows of the door’s are frameless, as expected of a coupe.











Insurance was very expensive. In US, it is a monthly expense unlike a one time payment for an year. I paid about $1750 for a period 6 months because I am under 25, and my license is under an year old. The next day I started looking for places to get the rear brake pads and front lower arms replaced. In comparision, the average cost comes down to about $50-60 a month for someone over 25 and a license of 1-2 years age. To my shock, the prices were jawdropping. Most garages here are not interested in changing only the pads, and almost force replacing the rotors. I was given quotes of $600 for rear brakes, and $1300 for front lower arms from multiple places. These repairs would have probably costed around INR 20k in an FNG in India with the best quality stock replacement or OEM parts. Most garages dont want to let the owner bring parts, and even the ones that accept, end up charging the same. I panicked a bit, until I found a decent German car garage (Perri’s German Auto Bahn) run by a skilled individual who was into this for over 40 years. He gave me a quote of $600 for the rotors, pads and lower arm bushes. I was skeptical of the difference, and wanted to find out the reason for this difference. After having a long chat on texts with him, he seemed to have good knowledge on these cars, and was primarily only into german cars. He was passionate about his work, and seemed to enjoy what he does. It was agreed that he will use german OEM brand lower arm bushes, and taiwan manufactured brakes. So i got an appointment, and dropped the car. He wanted me to drop the car early in the day and he can return it later in the evening on the same day. However, I didnt have enough time in the mornings to do this, So i dropped the car off on the earlier day’s evening. I went back to take the car next day. He showed me the old parts that he replaced, we took a test drive together, and it was all said and done. Because it was his closing time and I was also in a rush to be somewhere that evening, we quickly got through the billing process and I was out. However, the next day morning to my horror, I realised that he replaced the front brakes instead of the rear. When I contacted him, he said that the rear looked fine, and in his opinion, the front brakes needed replacement as the inner pads were down to the metal. However, the rear right outer pad looked almost down to the metal to me. So I was back to having to replace the rear brakes. I later gave my DL test, the person who helped me with the process gave me a good contact of an mobile mechanic individual. I had a discussion with him. He was okay with me procuring my own parts, and also helped a little in searching for the right ones. I ordered parts from FCP Euro, and once they were delivered, we scheduled an appointment and had the parts installed. He is a skilled individual too, and has been into this line of work for over 25 years. His labour rates were reasonable, I finally ended up finding a good resource for getting work done on the car. 

I had about a week of holidays in early October, and I wanted to go on a roadtrip to California to visit my friends from undergrad. Before starting on this trip, I checked the air filter, which was atleast 3-4 years old, and also the AC filter, which was also atleast 3-4 years old. While I was at it, I also wanted to get the engine oil and all the filters replaced. I wanted to get the preventive care done so that I dont have any issues on the trip, and so that I will not have to spend money on repairs while Im still in college. The carfax history didnt show signs of the gearbox oil being replaced ever, and also the coolant being flushed. Knowing how DSG repairs are expensive in India, comparing with the prices here, It would’ve forced me to sell the car for peanuts if something were to happen to the gearbox. I live in Tempe, Arizona, Arizona is quite literally a desert state, with extreme heat for 8-9 months of the year. Hence, I decided to get the gearbox oil replaced, and also get a coolant flush done to avoid any cooling system issues on the trip. With all the work done, the car was ready for the trip. The plan was to drive from Tempe, AZ to San Jose, CA. The distance was about 720 miles each way. From there, we were going to drive to Yosemite National Park, and stay the weekend. Then come back, visit San Francisco on a day trip. Come back, and drive to San Diego to meet bhpian fluidicjoy, spend a full day going around San Diego, and drive back to Tempe the next day. The total time for this trip was one week. On my way back, a couple friends joined me, to explore a few places in Arizona.







The total distance covered on this trip is 3300 miles, the distance is more than the distance from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The car didn’t give any issues on the entire trip, except for a few misfires once in a while. This car needs 95 octane fuel, and I always use 95 octane. However, these misfires kept happening only when I used fuel from Costco. For those of us who are not aware, Costco is a wholesaler, and offers the cheapest fuel. However, it always went away when i cleared the error with OBDeleven. This car probably needs new spark plugs, or Costco fuel is maybe not good enough. I get average of 22mpg in the city, and 28-29mpg on highways if driven upto 75mph.

Issues that I didn’t forsee:
The car was primarily used for highway trips going by the stone chips on the bonnet and the front bumper. The windshield was replaced sometime due to a crack as reported on carfax. While the windshield was replaced, the personnel who did the job probably broke the RLS sensor. So this needed to be replaced. Replacement cost: $13, I replaced it by myself.

 The trunk wiring harness (The harness that powers the tail lights on the trunk, boot lamp, boot unlock latch, and the boot unlock switch) is a weakling in CC. It has some design flaws which ends up resulting in broken wires. This issue surfaced when I retrofitted the flipcam. I got a harness from China, however, ended up ordering the wrong part, which was wasted. I placed another order from Lithuania, and installed it just last night. Damage to pocket, around $95 including the cost of the first harness.

While I was driving, I got an error on the dash saying “Low Oil Pressure, Engine Off”. However, the car drove fine. Upon researching a bit, i found out that it could be the oil pressure switch. This switch is more like a sensor to the instrument cluster. So I decided to take a look at the oil pressure switch, which is fairly accessible. As suspected, it was leaking, and the connector to the switch was clogged with Engine Oil. Engine oil is an insulator, and it was probably not allowing the sensor’s data to be relayed to the cluster, and was causing the issue. I ordered the part from fcpeuro and replaced it by myself, the damage to the pocket is $7.

Overall, the car has been fairly reliable in the 6K miles that I have put on it so far, the current odo reading stands at 145K miles. For a stage 2 car, with 2.32 Lakh kms, the car is in good shape. I have pushed the car upto 130mph, and it seemed to perform just fine without any caveats. The initial generations of the TSI engines are not as refined as the TSI’s of today. This engine, like the older TSI’s consumes oil, I had to put in about a litre after having driven for 4.5k miles.

Now coming to my favorite part, the retrofits:

1. Mk7 GTI steering wheel with Paddle shifters: I am a sucker for nice steering wheels. The stock wheel on the CC came steering mounted controls, but no paddle shifters. I have started the journey of retrofits when I first read about MK7 wheel on teambhp for my Vento. Although I ended up installing Mk8 wheel in my Vento, I have used VW Mk5 wheel, Mk6 Wheel, and Mk8 wheel but never an Mk7, the prices were always too expensive for me to get one for Vento.





2. Flipcam: Although the car is fairly well equipped, it has zero parking aids. Not even simple parking sensors in the rear, After getting used to the 8K OPS on Jetta, Vento and Octavia, I was spoiled for this, and frankly, Spending a little on the flipcam seemed like a better choice over having to spend a lot in the event of a parking mishap given the labour and part costs in the US, Furthermore, I really love how flipcam's are so cool in having dual function, and also how the camera peeks out only when the car is in reverse.





3. RCD360 Pro: The car came with RCD510 with BT from factory, however, having maps is a must in US, and CarPlay was hence a must have. The cheapest way to have CarPlay was to get a RCD340. The OEM RCD340's got too expensive, and I dont really mind that this is not a genuine radio, my purpose is only to have working CarPlay, and it does this just fine, I ocassionally use BT, and that works fine as well.

[shankar.balan]

Very interesting to read your thread and its really nice that you’re hands on when it comes to these D I Y jobs on your car. I have always liked the VW CC for its lovely stylish rakish looks.

In these slightly older cars, keep an eye out for ignition coils, spark plugs and the PCV valve switch, PCV Membrane, Fuel filter, etc. These cause strange errors to sometimes pop up like combustion misfire and exhaust system malfunction and all.

The good thing is that there are fantastic websites out there in the US for proper support for European cars. I go to Pelican Parts, ECS Tuning and FCP Euro as may be needed. And there is a wealth of detail on Youtube for learning about different kinds of faults.

I know gas is now more expensive there than before but it might be a good idea going one better than 95 Octane and filling Premium 100 if it is not too out-priced at this moment. Combustion and Burn efficiency will be better.

Good luck and enjoy your drives! May there always be a road!

[sarfraz1997]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Very interesting to read your thread and its really nice that you’re hands on when it comes to these D I Y jobs on your car. I have always liked the VW CC for its lovely stylish rakish looks.

In these slightly older cars, keep an eye out for ignition coils, spark plugs and the PCV valve switch, PCV Membrane, Fuel filter, etc. These cause strange errors to sometimes pop up like combustion misfire and exhaust system malfunction and all.

The good thing is that there are fantastic websites out there in the US for proper support for European cars. I go to Pelican Parts, ECS Tuning and FCP Euro as may be needed. And there is a wealth of detail on Youtube for learning about different kinds of faults.

I know gas is now more expensive there than before but it might be a good idea going one better than 95 Octane and filling Premium 100 if it is not too out-priced at this moment. Combustion and Burn efficiency will be better.

Good luck and enjoy your drives! May there always be a road!

Thanks, it’s really very easy to go the DIY route these days, kudos to the wealth of knowledge available in the videos on YouTube, and also articles on the internet. It’s surprising how simple some things can be if one makes the effort to just take a look at what needs to be done on YouTube.

Thanks for the pointer about possible failure points, the check engine only came on when I used fuel from a particular organisation, coupled with cold weather. The PCV valve and membrane are working just fine, as there are no symptoms that point towards their failure. The performance and mileage are perfectly fine. I took a look at the ignition coils the other day, and they seemed fine too. I tried replacing the spark plugs by myself the other day but it seemed too difficult to take them out, I didn’t spend enough time to ascertain if they’re seized but I have the replacements in stock at home. I’ll get to it when the time comes. I plan on replacing the fuel filter with the next oil change, maybe in about ~3k miles.

Yeah, there are good websites for sourcing parts here in the US, they take considerable amount of time to come, but they always turn up.

About gas, 95 octane is most commonly available here, so I don’t want to get used to using 100 octane while it is not so easily available everywhere.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sarfraz1997

Thanks for the pointer about possible failure points, the check engine only came on when I used fuel from a particular organisation, coupled with cold weather. The PCV valve and membrane are working just fine, as there are no symptoms that point towards their failure. The performance and mileage are perfectly fine. I took a look at the ignition coils the other day, and they seemed fine too. I tried replacing the spark plugs by myself the other day but it seemed too difficult to take them out, I didn’t spend enough time to ascertain if they’re seized but I have the replacements in stock at home. I’ll get to it when the time comes. I plan on replacing the fuel filter with the next oil change, maybe in about ~3k miles.

Yeah, there are good websites for sourcing parts here in the US, they take considerable amount of time to come, but they always turn up.

These were just general potential failure points on German cars. Of course your garage and all will be far more competent to advise you than I am.

Do check the timing chain/ timing gear etc considering the number of miles run. Other things people might overlook are serpentine drive belt, the rubber and plastic hoses, disc rotors, brake pads and of course, tyres.

BTW I saw some really nice ‘performance ignition coils and iridium spark plug combinations’ available on Pelican and ECS. Brands like Bavarian Motorsport and all.

Removing the ignition coils - best to use the coil puller tool so that no plastic bits chip off. And to remove the spark plugs you may need the longer adapter box plug spanner and its accompanying wrench.

Ref deliveries, in my experience, despite my being here in India, the parts arrive at my doorstep in 7 days, when I choose plain old Fedex Standard International Shipping when checking out of those sites. Of course in India I have to pay duty and all but you wont have that headache in the US.

Enjoy! Thats the main thing!

[fluidicjoy]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with your newest acquisition. It was quite refreshing to see your car in flesh during your brief visit to San Diego. I'd love to drive this car the next time you have the time. However, the backseat was quite a nice place to be in this car, and the drone from your sporty exhaust was really thrilling.

I doubt any other new student in the US would bother to do the preventive maintenance that you preemptively performed on this car, like the DSG Oil change for instance. Since this is a VAG, the learning curve and the retrofit joyride continues.

[sarfraz1997]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Thanks for sharing your experiences with your newest acquisition. It was quite refreshing to see your car in flesh during your brief visit to San Diego. I'd love to drive this car the next time you have the time. However, the backseat was quite a nice place to be in this car, and the drone from your sporty exhaust was really thrilling.

I doubt any other new student in the US would bother to do the preventive maintenance that you preemptively performed on this car, like the DSG Oil change for instance. Since this is a VAG, the learning curve and the retrofit joyride continues.

I hate the drone from the exhaust, I wish it didn’t have an aftermarket exhaust.

However, the drone could also be due to the cheaper Taiwan tyres. The tyres here are too expensive to replace just for the sake of getting better ones

The preventive maintenance is only so the car would last the duration I need it to last; that is atleast until I finish my master’s degree. Although, the car ran just fine and I found almost no difference, goes on to show how robust these cars can be with just regular maintenance.

[GTO]

Simply stunning car, congrats! No one does clean & classy designs like VW - the CC is sheer elegance. You must've been the coolest student in the group . Indian students usually stick to safe options like the Civic, Corolla, Accord or Camry. Good that you are technically proficient. A must with old European cars, especially in the USA where mechanic labour costs are well over $100 / hour.

For the insurance, you should've gotten a certificate showing your clean driving record. I don't remember how I'd gotten one (where a letter with a stamp from the RTO or from my insurance company showing no claims), but it had drastically brought down my insurance premiums as a 24-year old in the USA driving a 9-year old Accord.

Thanks for sharing! Going to our homepage this week .

[sarfraz1997]

Originally Posted by GTO

Simply stunning car, congrats! No one does clean & classy designs like VW - the CC is sheer elegance. You must've been the coolest student in the group . Indian students usually stick to safe options like the Civic, Corolla, Accord or Camry. Good that you are technically proficient. A must with old European cars, especially in the USA where mechanic labour costs are well over $100 / hour.

For the insurance, you should've gotten a certificate showing your clean driving record. I don't remember how I'd gotten one (where a letter with a stamp from the RTO or from my insurance company showing no claims), but it had drastically brought down my insurance premiums as a 24-year old in the USA driving a 9-year old Accord.

Thanks for sharing! Going to our homepage this week .

Couldn’t agree more about VW’s designs. I feel that part of the high labour costs are because of the “VW” brand and people’s general perception that they are high maintenance vehicles. The masses have accepted to paying more, so everyone’s making money while they can. The Japanese cars were my first choice too, but the VW’s make a strong case for themselves owing to low resale value giving a good VFM factor. Furthermore, I wasn’t satisfied with the build quality of the Japanese cars, I feel that in a country with high average speeds, this is an important factor.

About the insurance, I tried, but they said they don’t have any such policy now. I even furnished my international drivers license, and my indian license. I’ll terminate the policy on pro rata basis in December and see how much of a difference it will make.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by GTO

A must with old European cars, especially in the USA where mechanic labour costs are well over $100 / hour.

Is it really this high? With this the mechanic probably be earning in excess of 200k USD per year.

[sarfraz1997]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Is it really this high? With this the mechanic probably be earning in excess of 200k USD per year.

Not all of it goes to the mechanic. 100$ per hour is the cost at a garage so there are a lot of other expenses involved as well, rent, tools and equipment, general upkeep of the place etc. But yes, the initial setup cost of a garage in US might be mighty, but it seems to be a profitable business going by how busy garages are here. For example, the average cost for wheel alignment here is $90.

[sandeepmohan]

Beautiful car.

TSI engines, especially in the USA have not done very well over the years. Its a bit strange as they are dependable and efficient motors. Your car is an exception in this case. The previous Owner/Owners must have looked after it and serviced the car on time. As long as you have a competent mechanic who knows German cars well, you should be fine.

The Arteon is indeed a work of art from VW.

[RunGaDa]

This is one of the cars I missed. Having bought Jetta and Passat in the first two trip each, I had put my mind on The CC in my third trip. I took a test drive and loved it, there is no better looking car with fluidic lines.
Then my family decided to put their thoughts, and owing to all factors I went for Tuscon as a family car.
Great buy and thanks for sharing. The CC is in fact an awesome car.

[jono213]

Originally Posted by sarfraz1997

The Volkswagen CC was initially introduced as a coupe version of the german carmaker’s Passat. It was initially named “Passat CC” in its first generation which was launched in the year 2008. It was later facelifted in 2013, and renamed to just “CC”. The engines on offer on both the iterations of the car remained the same, a 2.0 turbocharged V4 pushing out about 200hp and 281nm of torque, the other engine is a 3.6 NA V6, pushing out about 276hp and 359nm, both engines are paired with the DQ250 6 Speed DSG box, albeit the V6 was offered with 4motion (VW’s AWD system). VW later decided to axe the “CC” nomenclature and replaced it with the “Arteon” based on MQB platform in 2017, the carmaker’s current flagship sedan in North America. Although the Passat CC was spotted while testing in India, It never saw the light of the day.

I ADORE these obscure offerings from carmakers, they have a sense of quirkiness to them that makes them interesting, The VW cc is genuinely good looking and those tail lights remind me of the old E-class for some reason.
Cheers!

[mpp1]

I remember checking out a CC that had a 6 speed MT when I was car shopping,must have got discontinued

[Simha.k]

Congrats and happy motoring upon purchasing Passat CC.

I'm absolutely shocked to know the price of a pair of brakes rotor and brake pads cost $600!! Last week I purchased aftermarket Ferodo brand set of brakes pads and brake discs for my Passat B7 variant. The brake discs cost me $60 for a pair, and brake pads $30. I'm yet to get it installed in my car. The mechanics are away on a vacation. I was always under the impression that car maintenance in America was cheaper to that of Europe. But this is really surprising. It'll be interesting to keep track and compare the same.

Keep posting.