Does anyone here own a Passat?

I've had it. I've driven the same Volvo 850 for years. I took a certain amount of pride in the fact I had put such a high amount of miles on the car and I've driven it for probably around 6 years or so. But I just got a $750 repair bill for various odds and ends on the car today. I'm done.

I'm socking away some cash and putting a down payment on something else.

Nothing too fancy, but I have driven the Passat a couple times and I liked it alot. Anyone here have one or had one who can give me some thoughts on them? Reviews etc.?

I have a 2000. Before that my wife had a 95 or 96 wagon version.
I like the car and have been pretty happy with it. It's been reliable, with the caveat that for most of the time I've owned the car my regular commute has been about 2.5 miles, so I've only put something like 46,000 miles on the car in the 7 years or so I've owned it. On the few occasions when I have had to have something replaced or repaired, it has struck me as relatively expensive. But I don't really know if that's fair, or if my sense of what's reasonable to pay was ossified when I was getting parts for my '82 Tercel from jukyards.

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.

Sorry we had the fire alarm here and my thoughts were broken.

If you are considering the Passat, it is my personal recommendation
you get the V6, made in Germany.

I read up alot on the VWs. But those 1.8 engines and also the
ones that are made in south america (which i think where all the
1.8 engines are made), is really hit or miss.

It was a common occurance to replace the engine before 80k miles
or also use quarts of oil but VW would not change the engine for
those people. That is on the 1.8 engines. I read it a lot.

Also, expect the emissions light to come on at some point and never go off.
The dealer is supposed to reflash the computer to fix this, but they
won't tell you, you have to ask. Otherwise you might end up some place
$3000 for catalytic converters that doesnt fix the problem.

Thanks for your comments. I am looking at a 2003 1.8T at the moment, though I may wait a month or two to find the right one since I just made the repairs to the volvo.

If you get the 1.8T, make sure you use synthetic oil
and change the oil on time.

Which is kinda frequently (I am not sure of the interval).

I'd stick with the fixed car, the problems with which have just been paid for and that I know. A 2003 Passat sounds like someone else's problems.

Don't feed the car salespeople.

Originally Posted by Condor

Click to expand...

If you get the 1.8T, make sure you use synthetic oil
and change the oil on time.

Which is kinda frequently (I am not sure of the interval).

Synthetic intervals are around 15K.

Why would anyone get a used car that is not Japanese?
Is used Passat more of a status car than used Accord/Camry?

Originally Posted by johnapril

Click to expand...

I'd stick with the fixed car, the problems with which have just been paid for and that I know. A 2003 Passat sounds like someone else's problems.

Don't feed the car salespeople.

You make a good point. I am also looking at some new cars-- the VW GTI in particular, but I thought I would ask around about the passat a little first.

My '96 Passat recently died a long, slow, painful, expensive ($1300 worth of work in the past 6 months; then the transmission went) death. That doesn't necessarily have much relevance to your purchase--it was a considerably older car and had 120k miles--but I thought it worth mentioning. I liked it when it was healthy.

I bought a new Honda Civic... here's to reliability and warrantees!

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

Click to expand...

Synthetic intervals are around 15K.

Why would anyone get a used car that is not Japanese?
Is used Passat more of a status car than used Accord/Camry?

No, of course not; when it's working well though, it will drive a lot better and will have a nicer interior. And probably more features. My advice is still to lease a new GTI, and to pay for the service / maintenance package upfront, that way for the rest of the warranty life of the car, all he has to worry about is tires, brakes, and gas.

Jon.

I drive an 850 T5-R and love it, but am in the same boat. Have you looked in the S60R? There is one in Danbury for 18k.

If you want to sell your 850 try listing it on
www.turbobricks.com
and
www.volvospeed.com
Both are very active forums.

Originally Posted by mblesso

Click to expand...

I drive an 850 T5-R and love it, but am in the same boat. Have you looked in the S60R? There is one in Danbury for 18k.

If you want to sell your 850 try listing it on
www.turbobricks.com
and
www.volvospeed.com
Both are very active forums.

Thanks-- I have read both these sights occassionally and they are very good.

I would think about getting another volvo, but honestly I am sort of looking for a little change. You make me think-- maybe I'll test drive a newer one before I pull the trigger.

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

Click to expand...

Synthetic intervals are around 15K.

Why would anyone get a used car that is not Japanese?
Is used Passat more of a status car than used Accord/Camry?

Honestly, it has nothing to do with status. I like toyota pickups and SUVs, but I am not such a huge fan of the cars. I'm not saying they aren't well made, just for my money I want something that's more of a driver's car. The toyota sedans have no...soul.

Accords and Nissans are a bit higher on my preference scale and I have been looking at them as well.

The reason I mention the passat is because I rented one about a year and a half ago from enterprise for a long drive from RI to Burlington, VT. It was a great car to drive and at the time I thought- what a cool car to buy. Later I drove a friend's passat and again I really liked the handling, feel, layout of the inside of the car. There's something about it that appeals to me. Although I like Altima's, when I have ridden in Camrys and even Subarus (another serious consideration) something just didn't "click" for me. There is not a huge price differential between these cars so mostly I just want to get an idea of people's maintainence histories. Ultimately I will choose the best compromise between what I LIKE and what I know is most reliable.

Thanks for the advice earlier Jon. I think a new GTI would be a very cool option to look into. My plan is to check around and test drive etc. while I take advantage of the costly repairs to the Volvo.

Are some VWs made elsewhere than Germany? If so, how can this be easily determined?

Thanks.