# To buy or not to buy



## mkohan (Dec 19, 2015)

My 2015 has 120,000 miles and has been very reliable. The heater on the DEF tank has been replaced under warranty twice (Special no cost 10 yr 120,000 mi warranty). batteries don't last long as I have replaced it twice. The car has a timing belt that needs to be replaced at 100,000. If dealer does the work expect the timing belt & water pump to be a little over $1,000. Have you checked past work on the car? Any emission problems? If so, I would stay away.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Brother has a [2011] TDI and it's had a lot of issues so far.

The only thing the VW does better than the Cruze Diesel, IMO, is fun to drive factor. It handles/corners...well, like a German car.

The Cruze is quieter, torquier, and smoother out on an open highway, and the 2.0TD is pretty reliable to boot.

Like any modern diesel, they can have a variety of emissions systems issues (sensors mostly). They don't chew up the DPFs constantly like the VWs after emissions re-tuning.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

what is your use for the car?

i bought new and when i bought i expected to delete the car, and i did delete it, all the problems i had with it were emissions

im 75% highway

if youre not at least that much highway i would advise run away, even if you are that much highway, i dont recommend

weird parts that are proprietary like heater core hoses are seeming hard to get and thats only gonna get worse, only so many of these vehicles were made

i have 130,000 miles and expect another 5yrs out of the car for my use, but i cant recommend the car -reliability wise, experience wise yes, it drives great, smooth quiet, drives live a big car in a small car package.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> The only thing the VW does better than the Cruze Diesel, IMO, is fun to drive factor. It handles/corners...well, like a German car.


And honestly, it's not like it's sloppy by any means. With the watts link out back, it does pretty well - and if you're looking for more, there are options regarding the struts/shocks (Koni yellows, for one, or coilovers).


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## Matholland618 (Jan 11, 2022)

My intended use for the car is mainly highway driving. I live in a small town and have to travel for everything. Work is 30 miles away when I have to go to the office. I’m always taking trips to go get something.

I have a 2012 GMC Terrain that is loaded that has 172k on it now. I bought it for 600 bucks as it had jumped time. I put a new head and all that jazz on it. I have about 2500 into it. I expect it to sell for about 6 which would cut my price down on the car.

I’m just torn on which route to go. I know the vws have issues with Cracked flywheel on the autos, the injection pumps and stuff like that on top of the timing belts. I can do the work that’s not a huge deal, same goes for the cruze.

I didn’t realize that parts was hard to get. My plan was to do a weight reduction if I had emission issues but it seems as though the downpipe is very hard to get. Vw weight Reduction is pretty easy to get.

I originally wanted the cruze for the looks of them vs the vw and because the issues seem to be far less once emissions is taken out of the picture. But now im flip flopping

as far as maintenance records it looks like it’s a 2 owner car. First owner had it up to 1500 miles and second had it up until this dealer got it. I ram a car fax and no mention of any issues with emissions Pcm was checked at some point and dealer did maintenance at 50k and checked cooling system. I know a CARFAX doesn’t show everything but figured it was better than nothing.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

car fax only show whats reported

the first owner with 1500 miles scares me....there were lots of problem cars on this site, dealers didnt get training how to work on this car, and gm frankly didnt support it

there was a recall on a nox sensor for over a year cuz gm couldnt supply the new sensors and they couldnt come up with programming to fix the issue.

you dont need a downpipe, just hollow out the dpf, if you wanted to be able to put it back on, any weldercustom exhaust place could weld one up if you brought the removed dpf to him

heres a list of our problems 2014-15 Diesel: What broke and at how many miles?

plus theres been a handful of engine seizures likely due to a $10 oil pickup seal, these motors shouldnt seize at 120,000 miles

theres threads aboot the seal, and documentation on all the problems in europe with the same (mostly) motor and that seal

if youre handy, you can change it yourself, would be $$$ to pay someone, but cheaper than a used engine

aside from the seal, the motor is good, trans is good(its been used in 1000's of vehicles prior) if youre diligent with fluid changes


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## 15cruzediesel (Sep 30, 2019)

I think 10.2 is a bit high for a 14 with 88k.

I paid 12k otd for a 30k mile 15 with everything except nav. Almost 3 years ago.

Based on your repair of the terrain any diesel issues you should be able to handle yourself once you get the gretio app to help fix anything that comes up.

This forum is an excellent source for help.

The negatives of the car are true but it has a lot of positives.

Other than the price, if you can turn a wrench and learn about how to properly troubleshoot it I'd do it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Prices paid 2-3 years ago are mostly irrelevant in todays car market.

My $10k 5 year old Cruze is worth $16k these days. Our $3-4k clunker is worth $6-8k. Beat to crap 15 year old / 150k+ pickups are $15k+. It’s crazy.


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## 15cruzediesel (Sep 30, 2019)

jblackburn said:


> Prices paid 2-3 years ago are mostly irrelevant in todays car market.
> 
> My $10k 5 year old Cruze is worth $16k these days. Our $3-4k clunker is worth $6-8k. Beat to crap 15 year old / 150k+ pickups are $15k+. It’s crazy.


Good point. Glad I'm not in the market to buy.

I'd take 8k cash to whoever is selling it however.


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## Matholland618 (Jan 11, 2022)

Yeah I wish prices were not the way they are. Great time to sell not so great time to buy. I’ve been searching out to about 300 miles and there’s not many of these for sell, I’ve found no manuals, but it seems to be that the auto is the way to go with the cruzes anyway. This is actually the best priced one I’ve found that’s actually got a clean title and lower miles. 


gretio? Not sure what that is. I have a snap on modis edge and a j2534 box. Diagnosing and replacing doesn’t bother me but I don’t want to have problems finding parts either. Not going to lie, everything that’s been said, that one detours me away more than anything.

most of the issues I see are all emission related which again would be easy enough to delete especially after the comment of just gutting it.

I love the body style of the cruze. I like gen 1 better than gen 2 but as bad as I hate to say it the vw is sounding more appealing the more that I look except perhaps a manual.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Matholland618 said:


> Yeah I wish prices were not the way they are. Great time to sell not so great time to buy. I’ve been searching out to about 300 miles and there’s not many of these for sell, I’ve found no manuals, but it seems to be that the auto is the way to go with the cruzes anyway. This is actually the best priced one I’ve found that’s actually got a clean title and lower miles.
> 
> 
> gretio? Not sure what that is. I have a snap on modis edge and a j2534 box. Diagnosing and replacing doesn’t bother me but I don’t want to have problems finding parts either. Not going to lie, everything that’s been said, that one detours me away more than anything.
> ...


The Gen 1 Diesel was never offered with a manual in North America. The Gen 2 Cruze Diesel was, but you'll generally want to avoid the manual in those as they have frequent dual mass flywheel issues.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

jblackburn said:


> The Gen 1 Diesel was never offered with a manual in North America. The Gen 2 Cruze Diesel was, but you'll generally want to avoid the manual in those as they have frequent dual mass flywheel issues.


AND the clutch slave cylinders that fail on basically all of them!


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Barry Allen said:


> AND the clutch slave cylinders that fail on basically all of them!


And I presume those are inside the trans (like most slave cylinders), yes?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

MP81 said:


> And I presume those are inside the trans (like most slave cylinders), yes?


Aye. A costly repair out of warranty.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

jblackburn said:


> Aye. A costly repair out of warranty.


Oh so fun! Makes me plenty glad we stuck with a cable on my brother's Mustang when we swapped to the T56 Magnum - plus, no bleeding.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

MP81 said:


> And I presume those are inside the trans (like most slave cylinders), yes?


Lots of slave cylinders are external to the transmission. My Hyundai Accent was external, on the front of the case, and looked like a $20 part and a 20 minute job to replace it. 

With the Cruze you have to drop the transmission to replace the slave cylinder. Not a great bonus prize, but depending on mileage you get the chance to put a new clutch in there if it needs one.


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## 15cruzediesel (Sep 30, 2019)

Matholland618 said:


> Yeah I wish prices were not the way they are. Great time to sell not so great time to buy. I’ve been searching out to about 300 miles and there’s not many of these for sell, I’ve found no manuals, but it seems to be that the auto is the way to go with the cruzes anyway. This is actually the best priced one I’ve found that’s actually got a clean title and lower miles.
> 
> I did a quick search around me and in a hundred mile radius there where 8 total. About 5 or 6 first gen and a few second gen.
> 
> ...


You won't need gretio with your modis edge. It is an app a user on this forum created. Basically a scan tool via the obd2 that does a lot of things like a tech2 would.

I agree about the parts but surprisingly there seems to be several wrecks on ebay if you look hard enough. Usually a few engines for sale with pics of the car.

I don't like the gen2 much at all. Outside it looks alright but I am not impressed with the steering wheel and the overall look of the dash.

If you do get it you will get lots of support from this forum and that is included with the price of the car.


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