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Comments
I'm a little confused about the ability to purchase the service contract after taking possesion of the car. I'm picking up my wagon on Saturday. The invoice only has the length of term written on it. Therefore, I'm a little concerned that it may not be what I want (masterguard, platinum, zero deductible, 5 year, 75,000). My invoice says 5 year / 72K, and this is tipping me off since the mileage limit is slightly different than the standard.
If I know I can't buy what I really want at the qupted price next week and the dealer jerks me around, I'll decline it.
VWGuild: post752 seems to tell me you can sell me what I want.
Does the level of car make a difference on the price? It seems that my dealings with dealers don't include the question of all that's in the car. I say this because I was going to put my own CD changer in but getting the 5 year warranty on the changer seemed worth the extra cost. A electronics store would charge at least $75 for a 5 year extended warranty on a CD chager. And by the way, I'm very aware that if a CD changer is default free for 5 years, you're lucky.
so if it makes a difference and someone would like to give me an idea of a reasonable price, heres the car:
1.8T wagon, luxury, leather, CD changer.
P.S. I also have been lead to believe (from another dealer) that the warranties with deductibles are only slightly cheaper. After paying the deductible only twice, you would have spent more money. If a problem reoccurs, does the deductible need to be paid again?
I was told this by my VW dealer and a Masterguard rep.
however: remember...this is Insurance, and like *term life*...and I use
that reference because you gain no equity here, the older a person
is the more expensive the Insurance becomes. Risk is much higher
on an older vehicle than on a new one, albeit only two years...Actuarial
stuff don't you know...
I feel I got a great deal. 01.5 GLS 1.8T (anthracite), auto, lux, monsoon + cd (in dash), leather (beige) for "invoice" of $24,511. My cost was $400 over invoice. No dealer I spoke to wanted to deal in the hold back (not too surprised there). TTL- I can't remember exactly, the paper work is at home.
Because I came in by referral, Metro also knocked off $100 on dealer installed equipment (in this case the in-dash cd). If you like, shoot me an email and I'll tell you more about it.
this very thoroughly, but I think the 5/72 is a typo...5/75 is 15K
a year, and would cover that type of very popular lease term...
VW Masterguard will not cover any aftermarket equipment...You can
read all of the covered and not covered items or I can fax you a
copy ...888.556.3849 give a call...
Lastly, the deductible is required for each visit regardless of reoccurance.
I was just given the following Lease quote on a 2001.5 GLX:
3-1/2% over invoice($28,707)
GLX
w/o CD Player
$485 a month(w/taxes)
Is this a fair price???????????
Jake
Dealer are arrogant and don't realize the problems people are having with their Passats
By the way the Maxima is by far the better value
way to go nissan!!! making my decision easier!
"But it has a 240 HP V6 engine!"
"So? It's ugly as sin. Besides, it's better to look good in traffic"
Picked up my new Passat, GLX 5 speed with in-dash CD, silverstone with prey leather. Dealer was great (except see below). Could not find a thing wrong (except see below). Dealer did not try to sell me anything else including a Warranty. I asked for and received the VW master guard brochure. Dealer was very thorough and took me through everything. Car was spotless(except see below). Car is looks great, drives great. Smooooth, like glass.
Bad news:
Dealer as part of prep mounted dealer advert plate on front. I asked for its removal and much to my horror they had drilled 4 holes in the bumper. How they could drill holes in the bumper of a brand new car without asking the customer is beyond me. I said they could fix it or get me another car. They were very apologetic and promised to fix it to my complete satisfaction. It goes back on Wednesday the 18th. We shall see. Anyone experience something similar?
comply with the Letter of the Law, unless specified to do otherwise at the customers
request...did we not speak to this, or was it someone else?
It can be repaired...fret not...
1.8T I/ LEATHER AND LUXURY PACKAGES $25,877
5YR 50K MILE WARRANTY $1,450
SHIPPING $650
TOTAL $27,327 DISCOUNT $2328 SALE PRICE $24999
Is this still too high? When I get back in August will I have to pay more for a 2002 because the 2001.5s are gone? Oh yea, is the service at the WV dealers as bad as I keep hearing??
Than,
Sawn
-----------------------------------------------------
VW NEEDS to up their b2b warranty... they are losing customers over it and rightly so. I love my Passat, but I won't buy another VW unless they up the b2b warranty and do something about their dismal dealer network.
I'm bringing my Passat in for an electircal glitch on Monday. This is happening at 35k miles. If I had bought ANY other car, this would be a warranty fix. But with VW, I will have to pay for an overworked/undertrained tech to "find" my problems and pay through the nose for parts and labor. All on somehtign that shouldn't be broken in the first place.
It is my first unscheduled dealer visit though, so I'm staying positive. I'll let you know how it turns out on Tuesday.
And to compare the Max and Passat is ridiculous. The Passat looks and feels and performs like a nice Audi. The Max has Sentra aspirations....something wrong there. The Max does have a superb engine - but happened to the interior? The base Passat has a nicer interior than the GLE Max, and that is comparing cloth Passat to leather Max. And the looks - no question which car has been designed by some American Ex-Pontiac designers.....
Fact is - Passat is in a class by itself based on performance, hertitage, style, and quality. The warranty is really a non-issue to most people...or else they wouldn't be selling like they are.
Justin.. I do not understand your lack of understanding. Different people have different buying criteria. Yours is no better than anyone else's Warranty and reliability are perfectly good, mature and sane factors in the decision making process. I can not understand why anybody would denigrate someone else's priorities in this matter.
Of course I can go with the extended warranty for a chunk more, however, set up the way I'd like, the car is already at the edge of what I'm willing to pay. Therefore, I'm beginning to lean more and more toward the A4, despite less leg room in the back seat.
It's a shame, really. I love the Passat for it's looks, handling, and interior passenger room. But warranty and other items mentioned are big strikes against it.
Not saying it still won't happen if I find the right deal on a Passat, but I'm drifting.....
JB
One thing's for certain, the Passat's interior appointments far surpass those of any Japanese non-luxury maker.
I love my Passat, it has been basically trouble free and was a bargin at $20k. BUT, your post #768 goes way overboard.
Unfortunately, the "powers that be" decided it didn't meet their criteria. I have no idea what was wrong with it and I'd like an explanation as to why it was deleted please. :-(
I just bought a new car (Mazda Protege ES 2.0). I liked the Passat, but it was priced out of my league. So I looked at the Jetta very, very hard. I was all set to go and get a 1.8T Jetta when they came out, with Luxury Pkg. and all. Then I looked at the warranty. While the powertrain warranty is very long, why can't VW have a basic warranty like Hyundai's, at 5 years/60K miles? If their products are so good and they stand behind them so much, why not extend the warranty. Since I drive 30,000 or so miles a year, I thought about the basic 24K VW warranty, and ended up with the Mazda instead. It's warranty is 50K. They need to extend the warranty and get it over with.
It reminds me of that movie "Tommy Boy" when Chris Farley's customer tells him he has to have the Warranty marked on the outside of the box and his response is "Well I could take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed if that makes you happy..OR...I could sell you a QUALITY product.."
I purchased a used '97 Passat GLX VR6 back in December. The car had about 37K miles on it. After reading the various consumer publications: consumer reports, edmunds, et al, I thought the Passat sounded like a good, reliable car that was fun to drive. A local used car dealer had this car on his lot and after having it checked out by my mechanic, I paid what I thought was a fair price for it.
Well, so far I've liked the car but ...
it's needed a new ignition coil (an expensive job covered by the dealer I purchased the car from)
new window sealer because air and water were leaking in (a job I paid for)
new ignition control module (covered under VW's prorated warranty). For this job, the transmission (automatic) suddenly downshifted and the cruise control failed.
I've had to do two front-end alignments and I get vibrations in the steering wheel when I brake, indicating to me that the rotors are wearing unevenly. There's still plenty of pad left.
Just yesterday, I smelled a burning plastic smell in the cockpit and found that the doorlocks, trunk release, and interior lights are all not working and I hear a scratching sound from the instrument display when I start the car up. When I start the car, the trip computer and trip meter inexplicably reset.
My question is are these typical problems for Passats. Just perusing some of the posts here, I think I've noticed that a lot of people have had quirky problems with these cars at fairly low mileage. Mine's only got 47K on it. I've owned Japanese and American in the past and am beginning to think I made a big mistake buying German. They have the styling and performance but definitely seem to be lacking in the relibability area.
Is this the case?
Justin
They were NOT known for thier reliability and were incredibly slow sellers in the US.
I would try the VW Vortex forums for your specific car. That forum is called "Passat - All Other Models "
A few guys at worked leased 96 and 97 Passats - both 5 speeds though. They were a blast - had that fun VR6 - not the current 30 valver...
I purchased a used '97 Passat GLX VR6 back in December. The car had about 37K miles on it. After reading the various consumer publications: consumer reports, edmunds, et al, I thought the Passat sounded like a good, reliable car that was fun to drive. A local used car dealer had this car on his lot and after having it checked out by my mechanic, I paid what I thought was a fair price for it.
Well, so far I've liked the car but ...
it's needed a new ignition coil (an expensive job covered by the dealer I purchased the car from)
new window sealer because air and water were leaking in (a job I paid for)
new ignition control module (covered under VW's prorated warranty). For this job, the transmission (automatic) suddenly downshifted and the cruise control failed.
I've had to do two front-end alignments and I get vibrations in the steering wheel when I brake, indicating to me that the rotors are wearing unevenly. There's still plenty of pad left.
Just yesterday, I smelled a burning plastic smell in the cockpit and found that the doorlocks, trunk release, and interior lights are all not working and I hear a scratching sound from the instrument display when I start the car up. When I start the car, the trip computer and trip meter inexplicably reset.
My question is are these typical problems for Passats. Just perusing some of the posts here, I think I've noticed that a lot of people have had quirky problems with these cars at fairly low mileage. Mine's only got 47K on it. I've owned Japanese and American in the past and am beginning to think I made a big mistake buying German. They have the styling and performance but definitely seem to be lacking in the relibability area.
Is this the case?
Justin
I purchased the extended warranty for my vehicle (it's a lease) for a few dollars a month more.
The upside is that this car is a blast to drive and has some very cool German "doodahs" (e.g., the passenger outside mirror tilts down to show you the curb when you put the car in reverse AND the interior lights at night...blue with the red icon thing is just too cool). I actually like to go into my garage at night, turn on the headlights and listen to the killer Monsoon stereo system (I did, however, add a 10" self powered Infinity Basslink sub in the trunk to give the system more "oomph").
I have the V-6 GLX (2001.5) with the "Tip".
Final note, this is one of the safest cars (check out the "Consumer Reports" review). Eight air bags and low insurance rates since it's a "family sedan" (hummm...0-60 times in low 7 second range, plus 28 mpg). Gotta love it.
It would, additionally, be of benefit to know if a Full 30K service was perfomed.
Typically, major services are done a car at 30K, 60K, and 90K...VW for their
own idiosyncratic reasons opts for 40K & 80K...These Major services usually
run around $500, and a great deal of work is done.
Bottom line...Your Passat falls well within the acceptable perameters to be
a Certified Pre-Owned car; if it is not, that is not a crime...some Dealers have
been slower than others to accept and embrace this new program. However, if
there are other VWs at this store that are Certified and yours was not; I would
like to know...
That aside for the moment...if your Passat received a Full 30K Service from an
Authorized VW Dealer; you certainly do not need a $250 Oil Change & Fluid Level
check. On the other hand, if the 30K was not done your bill is certainly going
to be a great deal more than $250.
The Certified issue is important because, although the inspection is not a 30K or
40K service it is a very complete inspection that involves over 120 specific looks
at the car, and with that comes a 2Year/24K B2B limited Warranty & 24 months
of Free Roadside Assistance. But there are reasons why a car, even one that falls
inside of the 5 Year/ 75,000 mile outside limits of the Program, cannot qualify
for the program...
Let me know about the above, and we can then look at this further...
I recently was told by a local dealer that it would cost $350 for a "tune-up". (I'm not entirely sure that term is apt nowadays.) He mentioned all the major filters would be changed and fluids checked, but no mentioning of rotating tires and an oil change.
Could you please clarify what particular servicing VW recommends to be done at 40K mile.
Booklet titled *Maintenance*.
What did the Dealer do at the 30K service? How much did it cost?
See Post #786....
I misread your first sentence...
I must be blind. I've checked that Maintenance Manual several times, but I never found a schedule or bar chart that showed when to replace timing belts, change certain fluids, perform tune-ups, etc. like I've seen in the manuals of my previous cars. It seems to be more designed to record when your car had been serviced.
Others seemed to be just as confused since there was a long debate on the Vortex as to whether to perform the first tune-up at 30k or 40k miles. I thought it was finally determined to be 40K.
Clarifying this issue would be a big help.
items to take care of...You are slightly overdue for the 40K...
a Major Service...
For those in CT, do you use the dealerships or a local foreign shop ? If a foreign shop, any recommendations in the Hartford area ?
How about the idea about NOT using the dealership for service ?
Thanks.
1) I went to the dealer over the weekend and priced out a 2001.5 Passat GLS with Leather Package, Luxury Package, Automatic, Homelink, (and I'm trying to get them to throw in a in-dash CD player) for $25,000 plus tax. Is this a good deal, anyone get better?
2) One of my biggest problems with the Passat 1.8T is that I've heard that it takes premium fuel, with gas prices on the rise this summer that bothers me. My salesrep assured me that you can use regular fuel (as long as you use it consistently) and that she uses regular for hers. Does anyone else use regular fuel for the 1.8T, if so any problems??
3) When is the 2002 model coming out? Are there any improvements made to it? The dealer told me that she felt that the prices would be going up for the 2002 model (but I'm sure this is her way of pushing the sale).
Thanks for any help.
Invoice on the car you described is 24,222. $25000 isn't too bad. I paid $700 over invoice. If you're comfortable with it, go for it.
The gas tank has a capacity of 16.4 gallons. Take that times the 20¢ more premium gas will cost you. It will cost you $3.28 more a gas tank to use premium. The manual states to use Premium gas. They obviously put that in there for some reason. I wouldn't risk putting cheaper gas in at the expense of my engine. If you're worried about spending $3 more per tank of gas then I suggest you find a different car.
The 2002 will have an in-dash CD player. Go to www.vwvortex.com. They have an article on the changes to the 2002. As for when they will be coming out? I don't know. The sales manager I worked with though just ordered one for a woman and he said it will take 3-4 months.
Also, chances are that you will have to get the Monsoon with the car you described. I have yet to see one that did not have the Monsoon.
You *cannot* skip the 40k service just because you've done the 30k service.
You can download the PDF at http://tech.vw.com/vw/index.htm to find out exactly what is done and when.
-I bought my '98 passat from a friend, so it wasn't "certified." I just talked to my service dept. again to clarify what this 40K service includes. She rattled off about 50 things, but this is what I was able to scribble down:oil change, tire rotation, replace filters (fuel, air, pollen), replace spark plugs, check and top off fluids, check brakes, check CV joint boots, electrical, and finally take it on a road test. the cost is $285. It seems worth it, since the vehicle hasn't really been serviced since 20K miles. However, here's the crappy part: as I was driving my passat last week, I heard this loud scraping sound coming from the front of the car. I got out and looked underneath the front, and saw the plastic "underbody shield" half disintegrated and dragging along the ground. turns out this is a $160 part.
I would agree that that dealership is much better than the high-volume dealers (Stohlmans and Alexandria VW). Although, in all fairness, I have to say that Stohlmans was very patient with us and let us test drive a Jetta wagon, a Passat Wagon, and a Passat Sedan.
I am glad to see that people are having positive experiences with their cars and that people seem to like driving them.
I hope that my VW experience compares with the other good ones out there.
I clicked on the web site you provided, but for some reason "The page could not be found".
By the way, I thought you were from Vermont. That flag beside your name looks like something from "Old" England. Just curious.
Yeah, VW has decided that there are too many informed consumers "bothering" thier techs and making them do stuff right. So they took down the TSB's.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am.
I'm currently looking at the Passat. My wife loves it, well, she loves the way it looks. (She has yet to even sit in it, much less drive it.) Beyond the looks, she's ecstatic about the safety, what with all the air bags, abs, and esp. As far as reliability is concerned, well, we'd be replacing her Cherokee that has around 160k trouble free miles on it right now. So, the Passat would have a lot to live up to. Also, as I am considering grad school, we don't really want to get into anything that's going to be financial burden (i.e. excessive maintenance costs). It's really a timing issue for us. What we may end up doing is waiting a little bit until the 2001.5 start coming in off lease and just buy one used (we definitely want the facelift since the extra safety stuff is standard). Actually, what kind of lease programs does VW have going? Anything worthwhile?
rip