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Supreme gas or regular for the V6? The sales guy said regular. A review at MSN.com said supreme.
If you really like the Pas sat and the warranty is the only sticking point, an extended warranty (from third party of course) is what you should get. What you pay for the Pas sat and the extended warranty will still be big saving over the cost of the Audio Besides, you can wait until your 22nd month to purchase the extended warranty.
I was up on edmunds.com reading posts on the Passat. From out of the blue, I come across a link to http://www.carbuyingtips.com and another one to http://www.carsos.com Awesome! I must have read these two sites in depth and got an understanding how the whole auto-industry works up its new sales. Also, I put some money into getting invoice prices & recent VW Passat transactions from http://www.fightingchance.com From that package, I got a sample fax which I used to start off a bidding war against dealers in my area. Alas! The "fax attack" failed MISERABLY !! Out of 16 faxes, I got reply from, well, 2 dealers !! That is when I personally called up the Sales Managers at 4 local dealerships and talked with them about what I intend to buy. After getting quotes of $1000+ over invoice, I thought that I'd better put this purchase off for now .. But then! Breakthrough !! I gave a call to Mr. Rick Raizi of Ernie Von Schlendron (EvS) in Menomonee Falls. I get a price offer of couple hundred bucks over invoice !! The car which he described had exactly what I wanted and nothing that I did not !!
Smelling a rat, I was suspicious of the whole thing. This car was a "give-away", for God sakes !! I was expecting the ol' bait & switch scam - but - I walked in and there was the car .. So, I take a test drive and get back to them the next day. I was totally prepared to see all kinds of nonsense fees into the contract .. But EvS had me pleasantly surprised !! The deal on paper was *exactly* as detailed by the manager, true to his word ! The salesperson I dealt with Mr. John Fig was also straightforward and honest. All that remained was to seal the deal with a $200 deposit and take possession of the car by getting in the loan check - within 2 days !! The delivery process was very detailed and they spent almost 3 hrs showing up all over the car's fantastic features !! Before leaving with my new car, I did ask Rick why he gave me such a fantastic deal ? His honest answer was that he saw that I was well informed and there was no sense in wasting time. It is the net profit at end of month that matters - not profit over each car. Also, the best advertizing is by word of mouth !! And you betcha! I was totally impressed by the whole experience and felt like writing up this ramble. But, yeah, for an honest no-hassles new car buying experience, I'd recommend Ernie von Schlendron in the Milwaukee, WI area !!
My Black Beauty: 2001.5 UniBlack 1.8Tip/Black Velour/Cold Weather
Best sites : http://www.carbuyingtips.com AND http://www.carsos.com
Check out the links on this page: Edmunds Consumer Advice and Information.
:-)
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
matter...no one here is going to drive your Passat nor are they going to offer to make your
payment...Enjoy your new Passat...
The info I was armed with was part-Edmunds, part-CarBuyingTips and part-SOS - More the merrier !! :-)
I'm glad things worked out well for you.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
I've driven Passats in every configuration except 4 Motion, but it's been awhile. A lot of Passat owners seem to love their cars, but complain of squeaks, buzzes, and annoying cabin noises in general. Any comments about this and the NVH characteristics of the 1.8T engine would be appreciated.
1. Identify the source, if it can't be fixed with a good hand smack, then move to step 2.
2. Turn up the volume knob on that Monsoon stereo system until errant noises are neutralized.
Kidding aside (no Passats were harmed in the submission of this post), I've had a new GLS for about a month and haven't noticed anything other than your basic road noise that you'd have on even the most expensive cars.
NVH- pardon my ignorance, but what does that stand for?
I've got some coins in the ashtray that rattle when I cross over railroad tracks, but other than that, everything's solid.
They are the same engines, right?
As for interior noises. Unfortunately, they do exist. I've already developed a "sqeak" from the wood insert around the stereo and climatronic. Hopefully this can be fixed with better glue or silicone. Man, I hate noises like that... .
The 'wood' they put on was like the stickers we all used to put on our model cars when we were ten years old. It was not only nothing like the V6/GLX, factory installed wood, but was put on cockeyed by the dealer.
I told him to take it off, and that even if it WAS put on correctly, it would still be unacceptable.
It was taken off and the car looks great - although I took delivery four days later. I sincerely warn anyone who wants wood should get the V6 or the GLX .
Don't go near the aftermarket wood; it's really just expensive VW stickers.
I had suspicions that my car was not equipped with a properly functioning traction control system. They were well-founded. One day, after my last post, the damn thing got stuck in 1" of snow near my house. The car was free of any snowbanks or other imprediments to motion. Just sat there spinning (only) the right front wheel no matter how delicately I applied the gas, or what gear I selected. After getting unstuck, I took the car to a place in the street where the center of the road was wet, but clear of snow due to heavy application of road salt. The right tire was on snow. Application of throttle immediatly resulted in right wheel spin, and no torque being applied to the left wheel which was on wet pavement. This led me to believe the car I purchase new some 21 months earlier did not have traction control, in spite of my dealer verbal reassurance to the contrary.
The very next day, I recieved a recall notice concerning required tie rod replacement. Those of you who may remember my first recall experience, will understand the following statement.
The day after that I traded my 1999 Passat in on a new car by a different manufacturer.
Overall, the Passat did not live up to its billing. In general, I question the logic behind Volkswagen's new found popularity. When you see reviews of VW's, they really aren't that impressive. For instance, Car & Driver just published a 50K Mi. report on a 1999 New Beetle 1.8T that averaged 25 MPG. You gotta be kidding.
This ain't progress. This is infatuation with nastalgia. I wish you all better luck with your VW experience than I have had.
TOMVT
tomvt, I own a '99 GLS 1.8T, which I believe was similar to the car you had. As you probably know all too well, it was the last MY that the 1.8T came with EDL only. The ASR system was added the following year. I too experienced wheel spin when trying to start out from 3" of snow, but I also sensed the front tires rotating at different speeds at times when turning in slippery conditions.
I find it a little sad that you impulsively sold your Passat since you seemed never to fully enjoy your car due to this concern. (You also mentioned other past issues with your car, which I apologize for not fully remembering.) I truly hope you find this enjoyment with your new wheels.
Thanks.
Has anyone else had a problem with their ABS?
It's our first VW (we are long time Honda and Acura owners) and it probably will not be our last. This is actually my wife's car as we had to replace her '98 Acura 3.2TL which we leased. I have to replace my '88 Acura Integra (230k mi) soon and I really like the Jettas.
VW has sold over 150,000 of the new Passats. (98-01) The best statistical data, with the largest sampling, comes from Consumer Reports, who rates both the 4 and the 6 as "Best Buys in Class." They simply wouldn't do that if every other car was a lemon as some posters seem to imply.
What you hear here at Edmunds is the tinyest sampling of the most vocal owners. Ever hear the saying that a happy customer tells one person and an unhappy customer tells 10? You can about triple those negatives on the internet.
Certainly there are people who have bought bad Passats. Incometant dealers can make these matters worse as well. Every car maker makes lemons.
My '99 Passat has been perfect for over 34k miles. I take good care of it, and I found a good dealer. And I am not alone. The FACT is that most Passat owners have had few if any problems with their cars.. that's a statistical FACT. In fact the people who got "bad ones"are a statistical minority by far. (using CR Data)
Just try to keep it al in perspective... that's all.
BMW 328i and my '00 Subaru Outback wagon. I wanted
to have just ONE car and the Passat 4M seemed to be the ticket. While it's not nearly as fast as the BMW, it sure is lots quicker than the Subaru.
It has all the refinement of a BMW or a Mercedes,
is super comfortable for a big guy like me, and it should take care of us in the snow up at our cabin. MSRP is $32,900 w/o CD. I was thinking $31,200 w/CD plus fees would be a good offer. Any suggestions? Thanks.
I've owned my GLS 1.8T for over two years and over 41k miles and I am much happier with it than I ever was with my '94 Integra.
Tyler
However I feel I am taking a risk or making a tradeoff between long term reliability and the fun to drive factor. It would be nice if I got both but realistically I am expecting average durability and more maintenance issues than with a Honda or Toyota. But I'm willing to make that trade-off for a car I am more passionate about and that I enjoy driving.
yousjunior: Like I mentioned above I would expect more maintenance issues than with the makes known for their bulletproof reliability. I have read posts on other forums about Passats having rattles or noises particularly in the dash area. The new ones I have looked at or driven have seemed very solid, only time will tell. The 4cyl manual should return low 20's in the city and 30 on the highway.
BgbgL@aol.com
I just purchased a 2001 Passat GLS in the Indigo Blue with Black leather, Sunroof, Monsoon sound and the CD changer. I purchased the car for 25000 even, that's a little more than 300 dollars over invoice. I was considering the Infiniti G20t but this car has more power, better style and handling. If you are worried about the 2yr24000mile powertrain warranty get the extended 5yr 100,000 bunper to bumper. I purchased this warranty for 800 dollars with a Zero deductible. I also got the CD changer for 365. I did some Hard bargoning but got the price I wanted.
Go to a wholesale club, either Sam's or Costco and you can get the warranty for under 900 dollars. Mention this to the VW dealer and they will either beat it or match it. They want 1600 for the 5yr/100,000 mile coverage, so I got it for half price.
Go with the 4cylinder over the 6 cylinder. With the new Audi 1.8 engine at 170hp you will only gain 20 more HP with the V6 and I heard that the gas mileage sucks with the V6. I am very happy with the 4 cylinder, it has plenty of power. In conclusion this is a great car and it is made in Germany not Mexico. That is a big factor as our 99.5 Cabrio which we traded in was made in Mexico and the fit and finish reflects that.
Good Luck
Darren Larade
Also, for owners of older (98-00) models, does the GLS Turbo hold up well? Is the engine reliable? Has anyone tried to run 87 octane in it? What happens? I had a VR6 VW and ran 87 and it was fine...but I hear that turbo's are different.
Also, one more thing. If you option the GLS V6 with leather and automatic and roof, it is almost as much as the GLX. What is the point there? Is the GLS V6 more likely to get sold at a better deal because everyone wants the GLX for the auto climate control?
I find the power ofthe "old" 1.8t (150hp) to be more then adequate. I imagine the extra 20 hp of the new cars would be pretty nice.
I am a firm believer in using what is recommended. If they called for 87, I wouldn't put in any higher. But they call for the good stuff, and I use it. I run 91-93 octane exclusively (hard to find 91 in New England). I see no reason to put in a lesser octane when the manufacturer recommends I use this one. The extra 2 bucks per tankful hardly seems worth the risk of increased engine deposits and the documented power and MPG losses.
I continue to read this topic just to try keep up on new issues and answer a question or two. But after buying a car, most people don't come back just to post "Things are going great!" Maybe Sporin and I should start giving 1K mile updates, just to offset the "Edmunds-Great-Complaining-Machine." (Isn't that what you call it, Sporin? ;-)) But I think that would get a little old. So, I guess I'll continue to post something every 4-6 months, which seems to be right about the time this topic keeps coming up.
My summary ... no, on average, the Passat won't be as reliable as an Accord or Camry. But at least it has a soul. And if warranty is you want, buy a Hyundai or a Kia.
BrettF
"The Great Edmunds-Complaint-Machine." Not sure if I said it first, but I sure do believe it.
that is good to know that the turbo is still holding up for you guys. the good thing about the 2001.5 passats is that the engine choices are not new, so there are no BUGS to work out....the updated 1.8t with 170hp must be pretty decent....since most say that 1.8t with 150hp was good. might be just enough to offset the fact that i would be getting the automatic.....
anything i should look out for? i know that the power mirror switch falls off and that the underside in the front has a tendency to hit road obstructions....anything else?
thanks!
As we were driving it home last week we got stuck in some traffic. The car immediately overheated, causing bells to ring and the computer to say "STOP!" We checked the coolant, and there was plenty of it. We sat there for a while, turned on the AC to start up the second fan and made it home.
The next day we took it back to VW Springfield and they have had it ever since. At first they thought it was electrical, now they say that the radiator has cold spots and needs to be replaced!
Our conclusion is that it was a huge mistake to get a VW Passat. Sure it looks cool - but we have only had it for 10 hours! At this rate we will only have the car for 90 days a YEAR! And that number is dropping fast.
If you are reading this you are probably looking for information about getting a new Passat. Don't do it! Go get that Honda EXV6 that you are thinking about and don't look back. If you get a Passat this post will be ringing in your ears when you have that first major breakdown....
This is the kind of reactionary post that Edmunds is famous for. This poster has been at the VW Vortex as well sharing his experieince. This is what I mean when I say that people will go out of their way to SHOUT about their problems, no matter how atypical or how isolated.
I'm really sorry for your poor experience newpassat5, but I disagree very storngly with your blacklisting of the entire brand due to your one, unfortunate incedent.
Just hit 35k miles on my '99 GLS turbo... no problems.
But, as others have already said, that doesn't mean you can condemn the entire line of past, present, and future VWs. If that were the case, I would be giving the exact opposite advice. I would be telling people never to buy a Honda, since my 1990 Civic developed a cracked engine block after 12K miles. Even though it was fixed under warranty, it was a royal pain in the butt, and the car was never "right" again.
Was I ticked? You bet. Would I ever buy another Honda? Sure, if they ever produced something I wanted (an S2000 would be nice, but it's not really what I need right now). The point is that every car manufacturer makes some bad cars.
Keep on the dealer to make sure everything is right (I, too, purchased my car from Springfield VW, although they were under different ownership at the time). If they don't make it right, as others on VWVortex have suggested, take it to Stohlman's in Tysons. I get mine serviced there and have had great service. And make sure VW knows about this, in writing.
BrettF
My only objection is thot eh "All VW's Suck" attitude. It's just such a clear example of how these Forums can dish out opinion as fact.