By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
and then click on *Passat(B5) Have a BLast!!!!
I am trying to decide if the $1700 option is worth the cash. Bad weather use is so limited (maybe 6 times a year needed) that I cant justify getting it for that reason- but if a 4 motion car handles better in all conditions it would be worth it. By the way I have drive the 4 motion and thought it was a very good ride. Cant find a glx without GLX for comparison.
Any thoughts?
Try driving a GLS wagon with the same engine. Its a good enough comparison.
For me I love AWD, its worth the money. But if the price difference were such that it would affect my lifestyle (I can't do xxx because of my higher car payment) I would probably stick with the FWD.
We have a new 2003 W-8, Automatic , SW. Manufacturer says we should get between 20-25 MPG's, even with the 8 cyl. engine. We are only getting 17-18 mpg's, tops, even after a 380 mile round trip to PA this past weekend. Dealer says we need to break in the car and that the gas company's put a fuel additive for the winter that has a tendency to decrease mileage. Car has 1200 miles on it. ALSO.....the front springs squeak like a big dog any time we go over a small bump. Anyone else have any of these annoyances? Please advise! Thanks.
This "waffleing" can occur on all cars and is nothing to be worried about.
VW/Audi, in their wisdom, have designed the sunroof switch to avoid the problem you described -- (in case you haven't already noticed) the open position has a "larger dot" just before the "fully open" position, at that setting, you can drive with all of the other windows closed and NOT have any of the "thumping" sound. I have also noticed the sound if the rear windows happen to be the only ones open at a given moment -- but its transient for us since it only occcurs while we're opening or closing all of the windows (since the front ones seem to close a little faster than the rears).
As for the "GLX" badging you probably saw the B4 Passat (pre-'98). The current B5 platform Passats ('98 - present) do not have a "GLX" badging. Having said that, you can buy the "GLX" badging to place on your car...
George
I cannot drive with only the back windows open. On those rare occasions when I have back-seat passengers, and one of them opens a window, I crack open the driver's window to break the resonance. Works fine.
By opening or closing the windows and the sunroof you change the frequency of the interior of the car (the size of the bottle so to speak) and thus the pulses.
and is available through the Service/Parts Dept.
If that's true, maybe someone should spindle a copy of it and shove it up the Service Manager's nose at cloud12's dealership. Then he'd remember it the next time someone asked about the problem, and not just blow them off.
cover this and other topics that he should enroll in...
Malicious intent with three separate swipes of a key. Unbelievable. The car has been off the dealer's lot for 18 hours. We did a license plate transfer so there wasn't anything on the car to indicate that it was brand new. Entire incident is beyond my understanding but I can't stop thinking about it and about the fact that I have no recourse.
Anybody have any ideas about how to buff out/remove some pretty deep scratches? Plan to go to dealer's body shop next week.
reverse the act itself, or your attendant feelings about this almost
personal violation.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where success and the trappings of
perceived prosperity are met with anger and venom...
At this point it would pobably be better to focus on the good fortune
that your wife and kids did not happen upon this individual while this
vandalism was in progress!
After our chat last week I know how excited you two were about your
new Variant, and it will be fine...Call your Insurance Co., file your
vandalism claim, and be thankful that everyone is OK and that your
Variant will be as well.
And by the way...In California, it is against the law for an Insurance Co.
to dictate who does repairs...Don't let them try to send you to Acme Auto repairs!
If the car fails due to one of the documented problems after the warranty expires, you will have good evidence that it had been reported while under warranty, and therefore should be covered.
I had a similar experience with a Chrysler, and Chrysler handled it professionally and properly. My transmission was ultimately replaced at no cost 10,000 miles after the warranty expired.
VW service has a spotted reputation, but even if they refuse to cover the troubles after warranty expiration, you can take them to arbitration, and the documentation will pay for your trouble.
Anybody out there who has already tackled this successfully?
during the Delivery Process is that Booklet; I call the" Lemon Law" Book.
I admonish every customer to begin a "Narrative" if they "begin to experience
any repetitive, seemingly unrepairable problems." This narrative, used in
conjuction with copies of the *Repair Orders* will be key to winning an
arbitration...
The narrative should basically recount in the customers own words what they
said, what the Service Advisor said, what work was to be done, whether it was
done effectively, or not. And if there were any new problems arising secondary
to those efforts. An additional benefit is keeping the Service Advisor honest...
If the customer comes back with such a narrative and says " Well, when I was
here last you said blah, blah, blah, I wrote that down"...that SA is going to become
very careful about slinging it.
And having the ability to fire off a copy to the Service Manager doesn't hurt either...
I have said many times that there is not a Service Dept. out there that does not
want Happy Customers, and it is the most difficult area to create a Happy Customer.
Typically the goal I try to maintain is Satisfied...That is the way I want to feel...
satisfied that the work was done efficiently and in a timely manner...like a Root Canal...
After my seemingly wonderful experience purchasing my 2001.5 Passat GLS 5spd wagon, and trading in my 2000 Beetle GLS 5spd, about 3 weeks later (about 2 weeks ago) I am informed that the payoff on my Beetle is $300 more than what VCI automated payoff told me the day before I bought the new car. Well, that sounded suspiciously like the refundable deposit, which I shared with the finance officer and they agreed. But not for long. Now I'm being hounded that the security deposit was included and this is a discrepancy, blah. And I was reminded that I would pay off the difference in the payoff by a certain form I signed.
My question: how can a quoted payoff be so far off in one day (if the dealership is correct)? All payments were current and I was a couple of weeks from the next payment.
Any help is appreciated.
John
that you purchased your new Variant on one day and traded in your 2000 Beetle
3 weeks later, and I am going to presume that this was a lease...
Was the payoff difference exactly $300, and what was your monthly lease payment?
What can happen is that a payment can cross in the mail...A customer of mine
called Chase about a week before he picked up his car to get a payoff...with
that information we put the deal together, but he also included a payment that
he had recently made...When the Business Office called Chase the next day
to verify the exact amount of the Payoff Check that we were writing to them...the
payoff was higher...Chase had not posted his payment, and we had to write them
a check for the higher amount...
Chase then refunded my client his last payment...As you can see this was an
Administrative tightrope, and these things can happen, particularly with the
mail...
Anyway, feel free to email me with the rest of the details and I'll try to help
you sort through it all...
1.) Mud guards / splash guards
2.) After market CD changer to work with Monsoon system
3.) Remote start system
4.) Cargo Liner for the back
I already added Llumar metallized window tint. I am pleased with how well it keeps the black leather interior cooler. FYI, I payed $500 over invoice for our 2002 GLS 1.8T Passat Wagon.
Anyone have suggestions or horror stories regarding these items? In addition are there any good web sites to buy VW accessories?
Thank You.
I got the cargo liner directly from VW - $50 plus shipping. You can get the product number and phone # on the VW web site. Still haven't decided on mud guards.
Mike
disconnect from you, and will no longer work on your car...
2000 lbs and 165 lbs tongue weight.
I'm going with the V6 for the power advantage and the 4matic for traction. I have a lot of experience towing, and I really prefer rear-wheel drive. The 4matic option seems like a good compromise.
I considered Subaru Legacy (great car and possibly more practical) but couldn't get over the styling. This will be my 5th VW, so I guess brand loyalty won out.
http://bagecompany.hypermart.net/hitchlistsp.htm
I have a question: Has anyone used a passat wagon to transport windsurfing gear? If so, could they comment on the space available with the rear seats folded?
Rich
Thule sells an extending arm that slides out of the cross bar about two feet. This makes it easy for one person to load and unload the hull (or a board)unassisted.
There is some added wind noise and a small increase in fuel consumption. Other than that I have had no problems.
UPON COLD START UP. THIS SOUND IS LIKE THE VALVE TRAIN IS NOT GETTING OIL.
IT LASTS APPROX. 30 SECS. AND STOPS
LIKE A SWITCH OR SENSOR HAS KICKED IN. IT SOUNDS PAINFUL TO THE ENGINE, ALTHOUGH PERFORMANCE SEEMS OK.
THE DEALER SAYS ITS' NORMAL.
ANYONE ELSE HAVING THIS SITUATION
Thanks for any clarification anyone can offer.
Pocahontas
Host
Hatchbacks / Station Wagons / Women's Auto Center Boards
Transmission...
Completed the deal on July 28 and broke it in a number of days later with a jaunt up to Vancouver when my younger sister and her family came to visit. They have a 2 year old son and he gave the car full blessings with his CSS and footmarks on the back of the front passenger seat. Rock solid up to about 100 mph but couldn't go faster due to traffic. Decent slalom performance zipping around Vancouver dodging nutty Canadian drivers. It rained that day and I felt some slippage when I stomped on the gas. Going to research about tire options next.
Next buy is the Panasonic DP610 cd changer from etronics and thinking about the Cargo Liner. Got a matching grey sun visor from Target (on sale even). Definitely thinking about Llumar window tinting.
Few questions:
Is the 7 year extended warranty (Supreme Choice Wrap) worth it at $1300 with $50 deductible? I have 30 days to cancel.
Anybody bought anything from Etronics before and how was that experience?
Any tire brand recommendations other than the stock Michelins?
Would tire size 205/60-15 work fine since stock is 195/65-15? How about 210/60-15?
as a note.....ALL of the PASSATS on this DEALERS lot had DISTORTED WINDSHIELDS !! the service guy gave me the STANDARD OUT OF THE MANUAL RESPONSE: "I ve never seen that on one of our cars before" YEAH RIGHT>.....tell it to someone who believes in fairy tales.....other than that DELivery was done quite well........
And clarification of the in-dash CD availability would be appreciated. My dealer tells me that it's "back-ordered" and won't be available until late September.
George