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I've never heard of such a guideline and don't think it's true.
And personally, I've seen chains successfully fitted and used on tens of FWD cars.
- Mark
Need to stay outside long time to put them on (and take them out), damaging alloy wheels, breaking them (will cause serious damage of front wheels), etc.
I'm quite happy with Spikes spider so far.
- Mark
I am looking forward to buying the 2003 1.8GL Manual Passat Wagon. The test drive was excellent. However I need some advice from current owners:
I have heard a lot about the ignition coils failing all the time. Is the situation really that bad? My dealer claims that the problem was fixed in 2003 model since the vendor has been changed. Has anybody bought the 2003 model and have had any ignition coil problems.
The second question is that my dealer is willing to sell the car for invoice. However, he is including some strange charges like dealer advertising fee and one more 'floor' fee that adds up to another $500 on the invoice. He claims that the charges are standard and are treated as part of invoice. Is he telling the truth?
I have a civic right now and Passat wagon is to be the second car in the family but the quality (mostly ignition issues) are making me sceptical.
Please advise.
But it really doesn't matter what you call it or whether your deal is $500 over invoice without this fee or $0 over invoice with this fee. What matters is what you pay and you've got to shop a few dealers to find out whether this is the best you can do or not.
- Mark
As for price, you definitely should shop some more. Check you local paper's classified section for sale ads and e-mail dealers for "Internet" and fleet prices (if you have AAA or CostCo membership).
I have a 2002 Passat GLX Wagon with 16,000 miles. It is one year and 2 months old.
After 7,000 miles the entire alarm system went out. Dealer said they have never seen anything like it. They replaced it.
After 9,000 miles the entire rear light assembly stopped working. Dealer replaced it.
After 12,000 miles front headlight and rear cigarette lighter went out. Dealer replaced it.
2 weeks ago the engine light went on and the car started wobbling when brakes were applied. They don't know why the engine light went on but are fixing it. The rotary on the brakes is not perfecting round so they have to replace it.
Bottom line, this car is a royal pain in the a#s. I also own an 2001 Audi TT coupe which I love to drive but has been in the shop on numerous occasions for electrical problems. This is probably unfair to the other car makers but I will never, ever, ever own another German car. Higher maintainance than my wife.
However, it seems like I am getting into nightmare. On my 1-month new Passat wagon, I already had broken radio (already out of function when I picked up my car, and I am still waiting for a radio to replace), bad front left bearing (popping noise when shift from reverse to drive), alignment out of spec (steering wheel getting off-center to the left). And now the alignment problem came back again. (This time, getting off-center to the right)
I still love Passat, I think it is a good car basically, but I do not want to say just unlucky for ~$30k car.
I contacted VW America, but no useful help so far. Is there any other way to get dealer or manufacturer's attention more?
Thanks,
by your Dealer...IF cars were perfect there would
be no need for Warranties, and of course, there
would be no need for Tech Support anywhere...
You might want to check out problem areas for
Honda, Toyota, and Nissan here as well...
I pretty much got the car and set the steering wheel and seat once and other than occasionally adusting the seatback a notch and drawing the lumbar in or out...it stayed in the same position......I will say the seats do soften a bit with time.......
and aft & telescope the the steering wheel...You are hunching over...make adjustments while sitting back in the seat; shoulders flush with the seat back...
thx.
FWIW, this is still a great car and my first problem in 9800 miles of driving.
I am thinking about buying a 03 GL auto wagon or a GLS auto wagon. Is there any real difference in the driving between the the two models, ie. bigger wheels? Are alloy wheels better? Why?
Are there any current financing specials? I heard about a 3.5% for 60 months.
Also does ESP make a noticable difference. I live in the Northeast.
Thanks
The car has had no other performance problems, and I have driven it several times in typical rush hour traffic. I'm planning to take it into the dealer to check, but I wanted to see if anyone has experienced this.
This time of year my gas mileage is understandably lower. You being from the same area should probably expect the same, however length of trips and driving style have a HUGE influence on gas mileage. If I drive agressively, with my foot in that V6 a lot, mileage goes way down, lol!
http://www.vw.com/SP/SchedMaint.html
10k maintenance
Engine Oil - change
Engine Filter - change
Windshield Washer Fluid - check level
Automatic Shift Lock-check operation
Brake System - check damage/leaks, pad thickness, fluid level
Wheels - rotate from front to rear
Air Bag System - check function/damage
Battery - check electrolyte level
--------------------------
Looks like they charged you for the oil anyway.
The Raintronic system has a sensor at the top of the windshield they triggers the wiper interval.
I've heard mid-2002 the Passats went to a "boomerange" style that requires replacement of the full arm itself. Maybe you can the wiper arm assembly of the earlier ones, the ones that used a normal Bosch wiper blade (which you can't buy refills anymore)
any info VWguild? Is this correct? Will the wagon benefit as well, and if not can it be special ordered (love the special order policy).
click here and then the article on the Passat.
http://autoweek.com/carnews/index.mv
I have a 99 Passat Wagon and have a great experience with it. But there are 2 features I really want when I decide to trade it in: a modern common-rail type turbo-diesel (I'm in the U.S.) and fore and aft moving rear seats. Give me those and I will be a happy VW driver for another 5 years!!!
Is this a common issue with second owners of cars? I have purchased several used cars from dealers before and never had any documentation transferred from the original owners. The local manger says that each dealer has its own database (no national database) but the owner's manual just has a code number (406 403) for the original dealer. Is there any way I can trace back this data?
Is this a Certified Pre-Owned VW?
You are probably out of Warranty (Bumper to Bumper); it was 24Months or 24K Miles whichever comes first. There is remaining PowerTrain...
5 years/50,000 Miles less Time in Service and the 23,000 Miles on the clock.
Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.
Thanks.
My VW experience with Passats has been excellent. My 2000 had only one non-scheduled maintenance issue in over 3 years...the plastic center console lid latch broke, and was replaced for the cost of the part ($2.99). Other than that, nothing but oil changes and checkups in over 30,000 miles. The car was still squeak and rattle free, with gorgeous paint, leather condition, and materials. As for my W8, it was perfect on delivery, and has been flawless since purchase. Since being broken in, the acceleration has improved and the brakes feel perfectly seated. The 4motion system allows for excellent control in wet weather.
The additions of the indirect lighting in the cabin (a la Audi), the auto-levelling bi-xenon headlights with power washers, the 13" Audi S4 rotors with 4-piston calipers, the and the Audi MFD which includes the radio information in the gauge pod, have brought the car to a level which easily competes with Euro sedans costing 10K-20K more, and have made this the best car I've ever had...something which my previous Passat held the title for!
Hopefully everyone's experiences will be as good as mine with Passats. For those of you with problems, good luck sorting them out. Those of you with very bad experiences, you should buy another car...and I hope you do not have any problems with THAT brand too. I am aware that problems can happen anywhere, anytime, with any car...but the likelihood has dropped significantly each year.
I have owned an Alfa Romeo, a Honda, a Hyundai, a Toyota, two Mitsubishis, a Cadillac, a Pontiac, and two Volkswagens. The Alfa was a nightmare of problems, while the Honda, Toyota and Cadillac were all significant problem vehicles spending almost as much time at the dealership as on the road. The best reliability cars I owned were a 1990 Mitsubishi Montero (132,000 problem free miles), 1987 Hyundai Excel (that's right!!, with a tranny rebuild at 84,000 being the only repair up to 90,000 miles when sold), 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP (no problems in 37,000 miles), and 2000 VW Passat GLX (no problems in 33,000 miles). If I were to look at only my experience, I would have to conclude that Hondas and Toyotas are horribly unreliable, while Hyundai and Mitsubishi were the best!
I just got an 2003 gls tip wagon...the only defect it was delivered with is the vent lights on the dash are not working (all four) certainly not life and death situation and will be attended to at the 5k oil change.......I had a toyota corrlla prior to my first passat (rearended and totaled) and it was a great little car......3 starters, 1000.00 in shocks struts, brakes, 3 batteries, broken parts inside the car, and finally at 114,000 the tranny dropped.
Dont' get me wrong I liked the car and it served me well...those things mentioned just come along with car ownership (IMO) the worst car was a 1979 audi fox.......it drove well but it had continuous problems.......I had a 1976 vw van and all I did was change oil and tune it up once in a while......it was great......
the beauty of it all is in america not only can most of us afford a car......we have a trememdous choice of cars to look at........
we tend to complain too much about our good fortune........
We traded that car and a couple of weeks later some poor [non-permissible content removed] called the house, wanting to know if we knew what was wrong with it, when it wouldn't start. I gently asked a few questions about what was happening and what he had already tried. When he got the point of telling me that he was "priming the carburetor" (which it didn't have) with gas, I told him get to the dealer. But I did manage to sell him the Bentley's for about 3/4's of what I paid for it!