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be a simple enough solution, however; your lease is a complicated financial instrument with no
room for variation. The In-Dash CD Player has
been residualized into the lease for a specific
dollar amount. In addition, if they did that for
you; they would have to do that for everyone. The
concept of that alone is scarey. Would you decide
which CD you would want? What if I didn't like it,
and I wanted this CD? And my neighbor, who is also
waiting for her's, wanted something altogether
different? You see where this is going?
This problem will be resolved shortly...just try to be a little more patient...
plans are 2002 1.8T GLS lease next year. I don't want to pay more than 24-25K.
I thought i'd just be getting a 2001.5 with different warranty, but instead swap that came in was 2002 with indash cd and 'new' stero set up and all 2002 minor changes.
Salesperson who sold me car was away on vaca when car came in and i wasnt charged the 'extra' for a new car. (that was probably a scam in and of itself).
Long story short (too late).. i got 7 discs to play with and that indash is nice on long trips with a passenger to pop different cd's in there according to mood and what not.
Also, car is amazing! wife has 1.8T and this is totally different car (V6). Better for my highway commute (quieter), but hers is nice and lively and lighter w/ better milage.
I had to go to the VW dealer to have them reset the indicator. They said that this would be my one "freebie", and that subsequent resets would cost ~$80.
Does anyone have any recommended solutions to this? I live in NJ, where you can't pump your own gas, so I'm concerned that inevitably someone won't close the fuel cap tight engough and I'll be out $80. Thanks.
They need to hook the engine's computer up to the diagnostic machine and find out what's going on in the system. Could be O2 sensor, one of several valves could burn out, etc. Yes, a loose gas cap, too, but a couple click should be sufficient.
Don't let this dealer jerk you around - maybe find another dealer and let them explain what they'd do!
When the #$%^& light comes on, it means something is amiss...during the warranty, that is VW's [and the dealer's] problem, not the owner's. Jeez....
I am getting ready to dump my 99 GLS sedan and move to the GLX 4motion. IF any of you have made a similar transition I would be interested to hear whether you think it is worth the extra dough.
The talk about the six-disc in-dash changer caught my eye. Is this something new? WHen I bought my car the only option was changer in the truck! It's a pain....
good luck.
Can anyone offer advice as to what would be better safety-wise? The AWD of the Passat, or the stability control of the TL-S?
Thanks for all your help, I really enjoy this board.
You'd probably be okay most of the time with 2WD+VSA as long as the conditions aren't very severe and you don't push the vehicle to extremes. But the 4motion will add some additional margin. Can't wait until VW adds stability control to it, one day.
Tradeoff is going to be vehicle performance, though that is lower on your priority list. The 4motion/quattro is quite heavy and the acceleration between it and the higher-output TL-S will be very noticeable.
A few questions, though. I am interested in putting HID lights in this car. Does anyone have information about where to purchase them and how much they cost? I recently saw that they now have aftermarket HID headlights and driving lights. I am concerned about putting HID lights in the headlights since I have daytime running lights. Wouldn't want them to be on all the time! I have seen xenon bulbs at auto parts shops, but they are clearly not equivalent.
Any suggestions would be appreciated! I am sure I will come up with more. Look forward to reading the discussion.
menus at the top, click on cars and go to *Passat*, from there go to *other stuff*; you will get another drop down...click on 4 MOTION and
learn about why this car is so superior...
BTW, here are my pros and cons on the GLX vs TL-S
Pros on both: Just choose a color and go. All options included (this beats the heck out of ordering/hunting down the exact car you want).
Passat Pros over TL-S: Folding rear seatback, curtain airbags, better exterior styling (IMO).
Passat Cons over TL-S: Sluggish with 4Motion, you can spend 30K and see someone who spent 20K drive a similar car.
Since I no longer care about driving fast, I'm leaning toward the Passat.
Thanks!
Also is this service covered under the 5 year Power transmission warranty? Any help/advice is appreciated.
Is the 4Mo sluggish? Not compared to my old Camry four cylinder. Is the 4Mo worth the extra money? To me, having to drive 60 miles a day to commute in Iowa winters, no question about it. Would I spring for the 4Mo if I lived in the Bay area? Probably not.
I spent hours...probably a hundred hours...researching cars...comfort, maintenance costs, handling, reliability, cost, intangibles...before I chose a Passat. For what it's worth, here were the pros and cons:
Pros: Safety, appearance, price (compared to an Avalon, a Beemer, an Audi, etc.), size of the driver's area, comfort, driveablilty, fun.
Cons: I'm a little concerned about the cost of maintaining a Passat after the warranteed service expires. You have to pay a premium for most everything.
I am also a little concerned about the electronics in the GLX. VW has had problems with electrical stuff in the past.
So I bought a 10-100K bumper to bumper from MasterGuard for $1000 as insurance against the nagging electrical problems, which can get into some pretty large numbers pretty quickly. I'll just suck it up and pay the premium for stuff that's not covered (which is routine maintenance).
I don't have the concerns about service from the dealership that some people have expressed...but then I went to high school with the guy who owns the dealership.
Finally, in all of the reviews I read about Passats, I found very very little that was negative. Most reviews ranged from positive to absolutely glowing. The same holds true for the people I talked to who owned Passats...without exception they loved their cars. (I am not a shy person...I'd walk up to someone getting out of a Passat and ask them how they liked their car.)
The likelihood of making a good choice is in direct proportion to the amount of time you spend doing your research, which is easier than ever with the information available on the Web.
1. The car feels really slow starting off in 1st. Doesn’t really start making any useful power till about 3500 rpm or so and from then on it feels really strong (for a 1.8). Is this normal? I drive a ’98 Sentra SE and it feels a lot quicker off the line. The dealer did not have a 5-speed V6 on the lot and I was wondering if the V6 had more useable torque lower down in the range. Any impressions to share?
2. The oem tires on the 1.8T GLS are 195/65R15s. What size tires do you get with the luxury package upgrade with the alloy 15-inch wheels?
3. I could not find any prices on a dealer installed CD changer for the trunk. Are these readily available? What kind of prices do they typically sell for?
Overall, I liked the driving experience, except for that bit of a dead spot starting off in 1st. The steering and the shifter feel good, the clutch travel feels a little long (imo) but that could probably be adjusted, and the car feels solid and well built with a lot of good stuff as standard. Will probably buy one within the next month or so, just need to decide if I want the 1.8 or the 2.8. Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now. Thank you for responding
As it is, many of the higher-end vehicles are not front-wheel drive, but rear-wheel drive -- not sure how this adds to the equation.
In Europe, they treat roads differently than we do. Roads aren't constantly plowed and salted, instead leaving a layer of snow and then sanding them. Many cars are chained and the chains are left on all the time during winter. They leave heavy-duty, studded winter tires on all the time. Supposedly this is one reason why many rally car champion drivers are Swedes.
Since safety appears to be the highest priority for you, I'm sure your research has also shown that the Passat has done extremely well in the IIHS crash tests, and the EuroNCAP (www.euroncap.com) tests. Whereas the TL has not been tested by IIHS. However, it is heavily based on the Accord, which definitely did not fare as well ("acceptable," not "good"). While Acura claims the TL has much structural improvements over the Accord platform, I would speculate that it still wouldn't match the Passat's crash performance.
The GLX 4motion may not have as much power compared to the TL-S, but it should be fine. Over the long haul, it may not be as reliable as the TL-S, but if safety is your top priority I'd go with the excellent quattro-based system.
Some folks still claim the TL-S has a good amount of understeer when pressed.
Did you also consider the Subuaru Outback H6 VDC (sedan or wagon variants)? Has a bit more power but a bit more weight, and adds stability control on top of a fine implementation of Subaru AWD (there are subtle but important differences in the AWD Subaru puts in its line, and this one has its best). Curiously, the Passat still beat it in Consumer Reports' emergency handling test, possibly because of a softer suspension, and that the Subaru's VDC isn't as aggressive as some other stability control systems (which some people prefer). Should be a very reliable vehicle. Does well in IIHS crash tests too but does not have side curtains, too bad.
Other than the VW CD player what other options do I have? Anyone installed a non-VW CD player on the Passat?
Just bought a manual 1.8T GLS with leather and lux, love it so far. Just wondering if anyone else noticed the loud engine noise when starting the engine cold. Sounds kind of like a diesel for the first few miles (maybe not like a diesel, but kinda loud). Is this normal ?? Other than this, a great car so far,
MLayton
Yes, you can order a Panasonic 6cd changer for the passat trunk that takes 5 minutes to plug and play. It is fullycompatible with the monsoon and can be ordered on line from logjam.com, be sure to get the correct interface, total package was $245 including shipping.
Take care and it is great that I can help as others have helped me.
I'm in the market for a family sedan. With 2 boys, ages 4 and 1, (and of course 2 car seats), I need opinions on how family friendly the Passat is...Is the rear seat room adequate?; Is it a comfy/quiet ride for those 200 mile trips to visit the relatives?. Is there another SEDAN (please don't recommend a Mini Van or SUV) out there in the $30,000k range that perhaps would fit our needs better?. I've test driven the Passat, but only for a short run, and was very impressed...Thanks.
From what I've learned, there's no aftermarket in-dash that's compatible with the Monsoon. If I'm wrong, will someone set me straight? Thanks.