Quote:
Originally Posted by
Condor 
I got my wife last fall when we got married a
Passat sedan V6, fully loaded but not the 4WD version.
(2000 model, 79k miles)
Heated leather seats that are as hot as heating pads, nice
radio, electronic temperature control, etc etc. I put XM
radio in it for her.
She loves it. I like it myself, it is a bit large for me to drive.
It has that good german car touring and firm feel but
its not overly firm like she thinks my BMW is.
It came needing: a front end alignment (10k miles later no problem),
and had a small coolant leak. The dealer paid for the coolant leak fix.
Being used, in the next couple of months, we have to get two tires,
brakes, and a timing belt. I'll do the brakes myself.
I expect the timing belt will be fairly expensive. I have the service manual.
It's like working on a watch.
I'm not sure which model you have. I have read that the V6 made in
Germany ones are more robust (that is the one we have).
I have not yet been able to determine if it is more expensive than
any other modern car that has lots of nice features.
+1 on the heated seats. When I got the car, I thought of it as kind of a silly thing. It's become one of my favorite things about the car. Not that it gets all that cold in LA, but it's still really nice to take the edge off on a chilly day. When it's "cold" out, my wife often will insist we take my car for just that reason.
Plus, the heating pad analogy is a good one. I have kind of a gimpy back, and it especially bothers me on those occasions when I forget I'm old and lame and go try to play hoops or softball or something. I stagger back to my car, crank up the seat heater, and it really helps. The same is true if by back stiffens up a bit on a long drive.
