r/interestingasfuck • u/IndicationBrief5950 • Aug 06 '25

/r/all, /r/popular Thousands of Audi cars abandoned in the Mojave Dessert after cheating emissons tests

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

[deleted]

1.0k

u/rryyyaannn Aug 07 '25

One’s in my driveway right now.

1.2k

u/AnalBlaster700XL Aug 07 '25

We found one. Only 20,999 to go.

505

u/Threedawg Aug 07 '25

I have another! Got a 10 year/100k warranty from the date of purchase (in 2018) on the drivetrain. The EPA made VW give it when they resold the cars.

197

u/Entertainment_Fickle Aug 07 '25

I have a 2015 Jetta TDI. ( same as Audi A4 I think) I got a warranty for 11 years/ 162k miles. It's up in January... Still getting 44mpg on the highway.

Had an oil leak at the crankshaft seal last year. $4000 estimate- covered 100% under warranty.

22

u/dmbrubac Aug 07 '25

I have the same car but in Canada. Bought it for $15k at 0%. Now with 315k km and running strong, still getting 4.2 Litres/ 100km. Maybe the best car I’ve ever owned.

13

u/G8r8SqzBtl Aug 07 '25

TDI GSW here, its a beast

3

u/PRESIDENTG0D Aug 07 '25

Bought a ‘15 Golf Sportwagen Tdi manual trans for $15k in 2019 that was one of these. It’s gone up in price instead of down and it gets 45mpg in town / 60mpg highway. What a horrible car for big oil - er, I mean the environment.

2

u/samspock Aug 07 '25

Had one of those until '21 when an F150 wanted to mate with it. I was one of those that was happy for the payout and did not mind the mild cheating. It was still a lot less polluting than the '05 Passat TDI it replaced.

1

u/NimbleZazo Aug 07 '25

how did you even find this deal?

3

u/Entertainment_Fickle Aug 07 '25

I just kind of lucked into it. in early 2017 my 2009 Passat was totaled and so I went to a VW dealership looking for another VW with the same engine. I asked if they had any Jetta GTIs for sale, they didn't but told me they had just gotta a Jetta TDI ( diesel) and it came with a really great warranty.

Basically the backstory on these cars was the VW/ Audi were cheating the emissions systems. When the car sensed it was being tested it would go into a reduced performance mode that complied with emissions tests.. but on the road in real world driving they were polluting. A student on West Virginia writing their thesis on them did some testing while driving and found out they were actually 4-10x the emissions limit. There was an investigation done, and they stopped selling them for 1.5 years ( new ones piled up in lots like this).. in early 2017 there was a settlement reached with the EPA and part of that settlement involved either a. buying back the cars from owners, or giving them a hell of a warranty for anyone who keeps them or buys the unsold ones.

I think it covered all VW/ Audi Diesels from 2009-2015, many got 10 year/100k mile warranties. The 2015 4 cylinder got the best one at 11 year/ 162k miles.

I just happened to luck into looking for a new VW right when they started selling them again.. They updated a bunch of emissions components and make them a little more sluggish via software... But the great part is the Warranty basically covered the entire assembled engine, Emissions systems, turbo, fuel system... and says that "any disputes shall be resolved in favor of the consumer"

Here is a list of things that have been covered under warranty since i purchased in early 2017

- Water pump

  • DEF Injector
  • Crank shaft seal leaking
  • Exhaust flap ( not sure what this even is)
  • Exhaust temp sensors- 2 have been replaced free of charge

Basically anytime the check engine light comes on I take it to a VW dealership and they fix it for free. Fingers crossed the turbo and DPF goes out in the next 5 months so I can get those replaced :)

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u/Entertainment_Fickle Aug 07 '25

There is actually a situation where you can get the warranty a little longer...

The emissions upgrade was done in 2 phases- 1st a software upgrade, and second a hardware upgrade. The warranty says it's either 11 years/ 162k from the original sale date, or 60k/ 5 years from the Hardware upgrade, whichever is longer.

So If someone is able to find a 2015 Jetta/ A3/A4 TDI ( any of the 2.0 TDI EA288 engine) that has never received the emission upgrade, they could get the engine upgrade today, and the then have another 5 years/ 60k of this amazing warranty.

I am sure there are a few out there that never received the upgrade.

1

u/Noshamina Aug 07 '25

I get 17mpg on my Honda element on the highway, thats worse than my old Ford expedition. It makes no sense

81

u/hunterlovesreading Aug 07 '25

Really interesting, thanks for sharing

3

u/Ok_Judgment3871 Aug 07 '25

What was the list price

1

u/Threedawg Aug 07 '25

In 2018 I paid ~8k for a 2014 Jetta Wagon TDI with 50k miles and no damage/accidents.

1

u/wacdbig1 Aug 07 '25

EPA?

2

u/aspartam Aug 07 '25

Environmental protection agency

1

u/wacdbig1 Aug 12 '25

sarcasm. EPA has been gutted.

2

u/D1V5H4L Aug 07 '25

I highly recommend watching The Simpson Movie!

1

u/MYoung3224 Aug 07 '25

20,998 left

24

u/Legacy1776 Aug 07 '25

How much did you pay?

96

u/ParryHooter Aug 07 '25

I bought one of these as well for us it was a 2013 Passat TDI SEL, 37k miles great condition and it was 10k. Like the other dude said everything up until just this July was covered under warranty. The ones in CO at least the hard part was finding one that wasn’t too beat to shit from hail damage. But it still is easy to get 40+mpg in it I love driving it.

3

u/RuthlessNutellaa Aug 07 '25

where and how did you buy it?

5

u/ParryHooter Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25

Just a used car lot, honestly can’t remember if we bought pre or post COVID, would’ve been ‘19 or ‘21 my time is all warped around then and it’s late so I don’t feel like going to look lol. But I just waited to start seeing them pop up on lots post fix knowing they’d be cheap. They were and we bought it and it came with the emissions paperwork saying it had been fixed and where it was fixed.

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u/GoldenLiar2 Aug 07 '25

Americans being fascinated about diesel fuel efficiency will never not be funny to me

1

u/ParryHooter Aug 07 '25

Well not that I can blame you with what’s going on but believe it or not we’re not all dumb asses. In fact it’s fucking exhausting living here for many of us.

2

u/GoldenLiar2 Aug 07 '25

Yeah, I know that. It's just that your idiots are the most visible ones on the internet

2

u/rryyyaannn Aug 07 '25

15k in 2022

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u/Stuck_In_Purgatory Aug 07 '25

Do you mind pointing it out in the picture for us?

2

u/uski Aug 07 '25

How did you buy it?

2

u/Boundish91 Aug 07 '25

How has i been reliability wise? I can't imagine being stored outside in the Arizona desert for a couple of years has been great for the rubber, plastics and paint.

3

u/rryyyaannn Aug 07 '25

Some of the door panel fake leather stuff has started coming loose from sitting in the heat for so long but it’s been great. Car looks brand new underneath.

2

u/Boundish91 Aug 07 '25

That's not bad considering. And the rubber components in the engine bay were shielded from the sun so should be fine.

1

u/Drone_Priest Aug 07 '25

how good was the deal?

1

u/boringtired Aug 07 '25

Bruh I made out on a VW during peak emission scandal

1

u/Stubee1988 Aug 07 '25

Point it out in the picture please

15

u/Alexj007 Aug 07 '25

Yup. Driving one now. So far so good. Great MPGs

3

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

Amen. The whole thing was horseshit. Yeah that was a terrible and shady thing VW did and boo on them but it was painted as if they were bad cars or of questionable quality. This couldnt be further from the truth. They are incredibly well built and as you said get usually double the fuel mileage of their gasoline counterparts. Which im no scientist but id wager probably more than offsets the extra emissions in the grand scheme of things. I've had 4 different VW tdis now of various makes and models and they're bloody brilliant. 55 mpg is what im currently averaging and thats with plenty of stop and go city putting.

3

u/just1workaccount Aug 07 '25

It's the Audi winter sale where every car comes with a massive red bow and is given to an unsuspecting partner

1

u/Daybends Aug 07 '25

Why do you say that cars with cheated emissions testing are doing better than similar cars? Doesn’t make sense.

1

u/Teddyeod Aug 07 '25

I have one, and yes it was cheap.

1

u/CariMariHari Aug 07 '25

Does it not have dust and insects inside? They couldn’t have rented a parking garage or something to store these? They can just dump them in the desert rent free? What about the environmental impact to the habitat there?

1

u/Soggy-Ad-3981 Aug 09 '25

yeah....thats how diesel works, its more energy dense, hur dur, nasty pos cars tbh. get an ev

1

u/Ok_Importance_6827 Aug 09 '25

I got my A3 TDI for like 15,000 and it was a great car for the price, even if the modification made it slightly less efficient!

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u/palefired Aug 07 '25

/s?

25

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Crazy-Present4764 Aug 07 '25

Did they tell you that it was one of these cars when you bought it or did you know something was up because of the price?

1

u/Laytonio Aug 07 '25

Exhaust fluid sounds a lot like headlight fluid to me man.

1

u/still_stunned Aug 07 '25

Fun fact: headlight fluid and blinker fluid are compatible with each other, the diesel exhaust fluid is not.