Buying an Older VW Passat

ehg2001

My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a used 04 VW Passat. The dealer let us take the car home the very day we went to look at it. Good thing we did- the next day as I was driving it, it started to buck. So, my husband had a mechanic look at it. The mechanic told us that the drivers side mouter mount, the transmission, and rear brake pads all needed to be replace and the car only had about 2 week left before the transmission just stopped working. We talked to the dealer who has been wonderful to us and has said they will replace every item that needs to be replaced. My question is, is it worth it for us to even bother with this car now? I have never heard of a VW needing a new transmission at 50k miles before and I can't figure out why it would need one. Does anyone think this car will be worth it once they repair everything to our satisfaction? We haven't picked it up yet so we still have time to change our minds. I also keep reading that the AWD 4 motion doesnt get good gas miles which concerns me as my main reason for buying the car would be better gas miles.
Any suggestions or help?

krzyss

if your main reason for buying a car is gas milage then you should not buy any AWD vehicle as they use more fuel than FWD or RWD.

Krzys

rbk3

Traded my 02, 4 motion last week. 20-21 mpg.

1812

Don't buy it!!!!
OK, maybe I am biased but my 2004 Passat waggon is back in the shop as I type.
I had the car from new and it has been nothing but trouble, which is a shame as I previously owned two Golfs and they were troublefree and robust.
Today my heap of junk was in the shop for 2 recalls and they 'discovered' some other flaw which will set me back a few hundred bucks. I had a 40k service only a few months ago and with all the additional repairs, it cost me well over $1k.
Whatever the garage fixes for you now, believe me, there will be more things to follow. Check out the number of recalls and general reliability.
Initially, I thought it was a very reasonably priced car but with all the anguish and time off the road, it wasn't worth it.
I am currently test driving otehr models and will steer clear of VW. I advise you to do the same!

gohanmoka

hi i am new and i am thinking of getting a 1995 passat vr6. its only 1500$ and it only got 90,000 miles on it. now what type of gas mileage does it get if ur not heavy on the foot?

shipo

I used to have a 1995 VR6 Passat GLX 5-Speed, and I was easily able to get over 30 mpg if I kept my foot out of it (keep in mind that VW recommends Premium Fuel for this engine, and if you run Regular, your mileage will suffer).

Best Regards,
Shipo

micro_chip_man

When Passats are running well they are great cars. I love my wagon...





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jpassat

I’m looking at a 2006 4motion Passat (base model 4motion; ie, V6, vtex, 6-speed auto, sunroon, 6-disc CD changer, 17” wheels) with 12k miles for $19.5k. It’s VW certified (hence a 2 year warranty extension). Is this a good deal?

scottmk5

99 Passat GLS 1.8TI have the chance to buy a 99 passat 1.8T 115,000 miles I have heard some bad things about them ran a carfax apears to have been serviced regularly

Any advice would be appreciated
Also have heard they need a timing belt around this mileage is there anyway to tell if this has been done and how much would it cost is it a do it yourself replacement or does it need to be done at a dealer

krzyss

if car comes with maintenance record (oil change 5000 miles with oil meeting VW spec) then I would go ahead.
Belts were supposed to be replaced before 105K miles; whole front of the car needs to be removed (radiator tilts forward) as there is no space for hands to work.

Krzys

camperman

If it isn't too late I'd suggest you leave it alone. From '99 forward they are built with cheap junk and the gaskets are either gone now or just waiting to go. Once my 2000 is gone I will stick to GOLF or nothing.

warycarbuyer

(1) Does VW Finance charge a pre-payment penalty?

(2) After negotiating the price of a VW Pre-Certified car when we went back to the dealer today to finalize the paperwork, we were told if we wanted to qualify for 4.99% financing we had to purchase PCO for an additional $1100 when we were of the impression this was included in our final price. If we did not purchase the PCO our interest rate would then be adjusted to 8.99%. Appreciate everyone’s feedback – I feel I am being scammed… Do I have any recourse?

realtime15

Im shopping for a 1st car for my 17y/o son. After seeing what is out there in our budget we found a very clean,1-owner Passat GLS w/ the 1.8Turbo. The owner is very up-front and the asking price seems reasonable @ $3300. The 1 concern I have is that at 115K miles the timing belt has not been changed. My thought was we could facor in the cost of the t-belt into the overall cost of the purchase. But is that putting too much $ into this car? (NADA retail is >$5000)

I would appreciate any thoughts on the purchase of this car and/or the idea that if we buy the car we should get the tiing belt, tensioner, etc done sooner than later. Also - what is a typical t-belt replacement cost at a reputable indepenent shop? I'm in the mid-east coast.

THANKS!

krzyss

105K is VW milage for belt replacement. It may break any time, even going to the shop for belt replacement.
My independent mechanic charged me 8-900 for belt, water pump and tensioner. It is not maintenance friendly design.

Ask current owner for oil changes receipts, 5K miles and oil meeting VW spec. If he does not know that VW requires special oil you can be almost positive that it was not well taken care of.

Krzys

realtime15

Krzyss-
thanks
the owner had good records of oil changes although to be honest I didnt check to see if it met "VW specs" since I didnt know they had special requirements.

Since my orig post I got a price of $850 for the repairs you mentioned and serp. belt - its an import specialty shop that claimed to be very familiar w/ the needed repairs. So that brings the cost of the car & repairs to $4200ish. decisions, decisions...

if anyone else has any suggestions I would appreciate hearing them. TIA

dmkwdw

Considering buying a 2006 passat with 72,000 miles for $12,995. Is this a good deal? I am also considering an S80. I live in Washington, DC area. Not a lot of snow, but the fall and winter is rainy and I like the AWD feature. I had an S40 (it died last week) but I need something bigger. Any thoughts?

1999vwpassat

I bought one and the engine ceased from a broken timing belt 13 months ago.Now the engine this month the engine ceased again because the O ring was worn out. I have a 1999 Passat that was diven for less than 2 years and I have invested $10,000, and now I have to spend $6000.00 for a new engine. I would advise you to never consider a VW.

solarscreenman

I recently purchase a 2000 Passat from a auction. I knew at the time the car was a flood car. I understand a few of the first steps, like remove all carpet and dry out the computer under the driver front floor board. But what should I do next before I put a battery in the car and to see if it will start?

krzyss

that you investigated it before buying a flooded car.

I think you may want to drop the oil pan and see how bottom of the engine looks like.

Good luck.

Krzys

krzyss

oil changed each 5K miles using required oil meeting VW 502.1 or higher specification (Mobil 1 0W40 or Castrol Syntec 0W30 or a few others available in the USA).

Krzys

szczecin

hi krzyszek

my name is Ian I live in Szczecin but I am not Polish. Listen I am looking to buy a 1999 Passat 18 Turbo benzyna. It is an English car as I want to have an English car since I am leaving Poland in two months. The car looks nice and the guy is saying that before he got from UK they changed the belts for it and oils. Can you tell me what I should check so I do not get a car that is full of troubles? what do you suggest, I can see that this car was kept very well by the Uk guy and in Poland it is still not driven so no Polish inventions are yet on it if you understand what I mean. Please can you contact me on my email ipgalea@yahoo.com.

he is saying the the car has 60,000 miles and they just changed timing belt. how can i find out if it is true? please give me advice

Thank you alot
Ian

krzyss

ask for bills that show the garage name, contact garage and verify.

What do you mean by leaving Poland in two months? Are you returning to Islands (British or Ireland)?
Wouldn't it be safer to buy something locally?

Krzys

szczecin

hi Krzys,

I am from Malta not from Uk, but in Malta we drive on the right like in UK. I actualy have now a Mercedes C class Esprit in very good conditions with Polish Reg but I want to change it or sell it to buy a right hand drive passat, my wife is Polish we be going back to Malta in May and want to take with me a car so we have something to run around with. In Poland the Uk cars are cheap to buy and i think you can find a good car. What are the common faults of the passat 18t do you know any? so maybe i can have a good look at it

thanks for your answers
Ian

krzyss

1999 Passat may have problems with control arms, 1.8T engine sludging if improper oil used or kept too long. When parked outside drainage from battery area may get clogged and water may enter passenger side of vehicle. If car has sunroof drains may get clogged and both sides in front may get flooded along with electronics sitting under both seats.
Is it enough for headache?

Krzys

szczecin

oh hehe you told me realy alot, infact this car has a sunroof and i do not know if they kept it outside or not, probably here in poland it stays outside. it also has a tiptronic gear box, does this sound bad ?? i mean the tiptronic gearbox? thanks mate for your help it is great information that you gave me