Opinions on Volkswagen Passat?

[Larry Ashcraft]

Sandy's car is in need of replacing.  It's a 1999 Mercury Sable with 160k miles, but lately it has had issues that seem too much like a head gasket failure, so we're going to replace it.

I found a 2004 VW Passat GLX V6 AWD with 61k miles on Ebay.  Reserve is set at $9500.  Sandy REALLY likes the looks of this car.

Trouble is, my son is trying to talk us out of Volkswagens because of some issues he had with his Jetta.

Anybody have any experience with late model VWs?

[drewtam]

I don't have first hand experience with VW vehicles. But I do keep up with cars; I have also heard that VW has reliability issues.

[mtnbkr]

Everyone I've known with a late 90s to early 00s Passat has had frequent and expensive problems with them, especially in the front suspension components.  Nice driving cars though.

Chris

[Larry Ashcraft]

According to edmonds.com, the first gen Passats had some problems.  2004 is second gen, 2008 up is third gen.

[mtnbkr]

I know one of those was a 1st gen, but the other may be a 2nd.  Neither owner will buy another.

Chris

[wuluf]

I had all kinds of problems with a New Beetle, while my brother loves his Passat.  They seem to built the higher end cars better..go figure.

[RevDisk]

They are pleasant to drive.  Good handling and performance (at least at low speeds).  I have no experience with maintenance costs.   One of my part time gigs was moving cars from lot to transport at an auto auction.  They and the new Jag's had the smoothest rides at the time.


PS, Lamborghini was the worst vehicle I ever drove.  The cheapest Honda Civic was significantly more pleasant of a driving experience.  Words cannot express my opinion of the various forms of Fail, in many unique and interesting permutations.  Only the finest engineering could produce it.

[roo_ster]

VW Passat ~ Audi A6, same way VW Jetta ~ Audi A4

As such, Passats drive & handle wonderfully.  They are a pleasure to drive.

But, VW quality is not up to Audi standards.  Matter of fact, they are the most trouble-prone of the German auto makers.  Tops is Merc* & BMW, followed by Audi.

I wonder if we can get 60 Minutes or Dateline or some other newsfotainment teevee show to rig up some bogus problem like the old Audi "unintended acceleration" deal of the 1980s, the Chevy truck "Sidesaddle Tank of Boom" or the recent Toyota "unintended acceleration"?

Makes resale market tank on the auto maker's product & thus more affordable.

Like I wrote, they drive great, just not as reliable as the parent design from Audi. 



* Late 1990s/early 2000s Mercedes had a spell of poor quality