2012 VW Passat CC - the unloved one
Discussion
I felt I was putting way too many miles for work on my S5 and she is too nice to just do starship miles, so she has been retired to a dry day holiday car for fun (means I can do more long term project stuff on her as not needing to get her driving for work the next day... man maths 
)
So I went on the hunt for a nice daily...…. I found her
She is a 2012, with 113k on the clock.
This was the day she came home, bruised, battered and whilst mechanically ok, cosmetically was awful... and already a plan was being hatched on what her futures entails FSH, with very recent main dealer cambelt.
wheels had seen more kerb action than a King's Road prostitute, so they needed a complete refurb. I went with a subtle silver smoke
Tyres replaced and which of course then meant new centre caps and nut covers, sadly the locking nut is not a genuine VW, so a genuine set of locking nuts have been ordered so all caps can be fitted.
The car both inside and outside needed a deep clean, the interior was disgusting. Seats out and cleaned and leather fed, carpets hoovered, washed and dried.
The brushed aluminium trim has a couple of scratches, so am on the hunt for replacements.
The panel around the light switch has peeled
annoyingly you cannot buy just that piece but you need the whole under dash trim piece. Ordered one from my local VW dealer and that arrived Friday, weather is too bad to fit but will be done as soon as possible....
But the biggest task is the paint work, the bad areas are the front bonnet
front and rear bumpers have had really bad paint work in the past
and the boot lid is heavily scratched
So, I have a great local painter, she is booked in next Friday to have bumpers removed, bonnet removed and fully stripped bad and fully repainted and blown in past the doors.
I've also asked him to paint the roof between the rails a high gloss black as I like that look on other CC's I've seen.
Then I can put my new number plates on....
Sat with the computer plugged in a changed a few codings to more personalise. SatNav PTT, alarm beep on locking, needle sweep on start up, autolocking and convenience windows open/close on the key fob.
Only thing I cannot find on this chassis is how to disable the having to press the brake pedal to turn the handbrake off, I know it's possible as I can change the codings on my Audi's so the handrake works without having to press the brake pedal. Any clues from those more knowledgeable?
Also treated her to a decent key ring
Not bad for the first week...
)So I went on the hunt for a nice daily...…. I found her
She is a 2012, with 113k on the clock.
This was the day she came home, bruised, battered and whilst mechanically ok, cosmetically was awful... and already a plan was being hatched on what her futures entails FSH, with very recent main dealer cambelt.
wheels had seen more kerb action than a King's Road prostitute, so they needed a complete refurb. I went with a subtle silver smoke
Tyres replaced and which of course then meant new centre caps and nut covers, sadly the locking nut is not a genuine VW, so a genuine set of locking nuts have been ordered so all caps can be fitted.
The car both inside and outside needed a deep clean, the interior was disgusting. Seats out and cleaned and leather fed, carpets hoovered, washed and dried.
The brushed aluminium trim has a couple of scratches, so am on the hunt for replacements.
The panel around the light switch has peeled
annoyingly you cannot buy just that piece but you need the whole under dash trim piece. Ordered one from my local VW dealer and that arrived Friday, weather is too bad to fit but will be done as soon as possible....
But the biggest task is the paint work, the bad areas are the front bonnet
front and rear bumpers have had really bad paint work in the past
and the boot lid is heavily scratched
So, I have a great local painter, she is booked in next Friday to have bumpers removed, bonnet removed and fully stripped bad and fully repainted and blown in past the doors.
I've also asked him to paint the roof between the rails a high gloss black as I like that look on other CC's I've seen.
Then I can put my new number plates on....
Sat with the computer plugged in a changed a few codings to more personalise. SatNav PTT, alarm beep on locking, needle sweep on start up, autolocking and convenience windows open/close on the key fob.
Only thing I cannot find on this chassis is how to disable the having to press the brake pedal to turn the handbrake off, I know it's possible as I can change the codings on my Audi's so the handrake works without having to press the brake pedal. Any clues from those more knowledgeable?
Also treated her to a decent key ring
Not bad for the first week...
Edited by 89forever on Sunday 23 September 15:17
Well as of last Friday the CC went into the bodyshop….. brief is to restore her to her former glory.
Bonnet is being stripped to bare metal and getting rid of the previous bad paint, same goes for the front and rear bumper.... there is a small dent on the passenger front wing which will be addressed.
The boot lid has a number of small dings and deep scratches so that is being repainted fully. The "Passat CC" and "Bluemotion" badges are being removed.
the roof between the swage lines is being painted a gloss black.
Parts are slowly arriving, I purchased a set of 30/35mm lowering springs as she sits too high
and as the Magnetic Dampers work perfectly I didn't see the point of going to coilovers.
I may yet fit spacers to move the wheels out slightly but will see what it looks like on just the springs.
As on my S5 I've purchased an interior set of LED's from Trups, included are a set of reverse LED's and number plate LED's
On the drive to the bodyshop on Friday a number of headlights bulbs died their final death, so for peace of mind they'll all be being changed.
I'll be popping in to the bodyshop on Wednesday to get an update and hopefully some stripped down images....
Bonnet is being stripped to bare metal and getting rid of the previous bad paint, same goes for the front and rear bumper.... there is a small dent on the passenger front wing which will be addressed.
The boot lid has a number of small dings and deep scratches so that is being repainted fully. The "Passat CC" and "Bluemotion" badges are being removed.
the roof between the swage lines is being painted a gloss black.
Parts are slowly arriving, I purchased a set of 30/35mm lowering springs as she sits too high
and as the Magnetic Dampers work perfectly I didn't see the point of going to coilovers.
I may yet fit spacers to move the wheels out slightly but will see what it looks like on just the springs.
As on my S5 I've purchased an interior set of LED's from Trups, included are a set of reverse LED's and number plate LED's
On the drive to the bodyshop on Friday a number of headlights bulbs died their final death, so for peace of mind they'll all be being changed.
I'll be popping in to the bodyshop on Wednesday to get an update and hopefully some stripped down images....
Edited by 89forever on Monday 1st October 14:27
Luke. said:
Will look amazing I'm sure, but in all honesty why bother on your daily hack?
without sounding brash, because I can..... and I can't stand driving a s
te looking car. My man math is the money spent of fuel, tyres, depreciation on the S5 if I continued to use it for business, pays for the Passat, plus I can keep the S5 low miles and enjoy her as I want.....alec.e said:
Man maths definitely in full swing here, of course there will be no saving money whatsoever, ect by running two cars.
But, I think you just enjoy the project, am I right
Good job for far!
correct, man math at full effect...….!!!But, I think you just enjoy the project, am I right
Good job for far!
and I do love a good project, why not spend it on what I enjoy..... although what i'll have spent on buying the car, doing the paintwork and all the bits n bobs needed I could've got the supercharger kit for the S5, plus the carbon brakes hahaha
Berkshire bred said:
I like that you're willing to put that much effort in to a, dare I say, ordinary car. Shows that you really take pride in your motors. If it isn't to personal how much is the paintwork and associated labour going to set you back?
It is exactly that, a simple run of the mill executive saloon that I can drive the doors off, meet clients and enjoy sorting the details out.Whilst I won't go into specifics the cost for the paint won't give me any change from £4k.
Better to use the CC to meet clients than the Bentley lol
Cambs_Stuart said:
Really interested to see how you get on with the springs. I've got a CC and after a couple of years in an impreza with not very expensive coilovers I'm quite enjoying the wallow-y ride. I must be getting old, I never thought I'd spend more time in "Comfort" than "Sport".
Comfort was way too wallowy for me, Sport is just right.I shall report on the springs once fitted and bedded in.
The Dictator said:
Wow the cost for the bodywork is monumental!
Surely the car on its own wouldn't have cost much more than that?
If the car is mechanically sound and has another 100,000 miles in it (which this engine and drivetrain is more than capable of) why not make her look as good as possible and improve other areas?Surely the car on its own wouldn't have cost much more than that?
She needed bonnet, bumpers etc. She didn't need the grill or roof doing, i wanted to make her distinctive...
I spend a long time in a car with work.... Worth every penny in my mind.
Escy said:
The obvious answer is that for the cost of the car plus the cost of the bodywork you could have just bought a younger example with half the miles that didn't need any bodywork in the first place.
The black roof does look nice.
Obvious too you, or maybe the price of this one, coupled with the fact a i know it's every mile from the day it was new. It has been serviced regularly, irrespective of mileage. Mechanically it's wanted for nothing.The black roof does look nice.
Or i could buy one that's newer, half the miles.... A total unknown, that's been on variable servicing and been looked at once by a fitter that couldn't open a packet of crisps....
It would still need wheels refurbing, paintwork etc....
I know this as i weighed up all my options, this was the most cost effective way (for me) as i got exactly the car i need, in the condition i want and i still get to do my hobby of working on cars....
Smiles per mile
Oh and anyone saying a V8 Audi S5 is just a normal car has no right being on PH
Jonesy1972 said:
Looks like a very good job; I admire your idea here and think you’ll end up with a car you can enjoy and feel good about. Nice work, OP.
Jonesy
Thank you for the sentiment, i enjoy what i do...Jonesy
Now i just need to find some decent xenon headlights, or convert the standard ones to projectors....
But Saturday will see me fitting the lowering springs (weather permitting)
Super Slo Mo said:
A beetle convertible is more of a ‘normal’ car than an S5 surely? That argument doesn’t seem logical to me, although given a choice I know what I’d prefer (the one with the V8).
That said, it’s nice to see people looking after their cars, regardless of how exotic or ordinary they are.
To some a cars a car... To others it's a hobby...That said, it’s nice to see people looking after their cars, regardless of how exotic or ordinary they are.
But why am i now thinking of V8 Beetle convertibles??? Lol
Super Slo Mo said:
Indeed. Mine has to be a tool out of necessity. It’s kept reasonably clean and tidy but I can’t afford the level of attention to detail that you’ve gone to
They used to do one (beetle) with the V5 engine, which was quite nice compared to the usual 4 pots they came with. Still not a v8 though.
To be fair I've probably gone overboard a bit but i can't stand a half arsed job... They used to do one (beetle) with the V5 engine, which was quite nice compared to the usual 4 pots they came with. Still not a v8 though.
The did also do a V6 4motion RSi version too if my grey cells are correct but yes, still not a V8.... I'm sure some loon somewhere on the planet has though haha
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