VW Passat Wagon. Need your help team

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Thank everyone for your input. I guess I better look for a Subaru as a family wagon hauler.

It is amazing how smooth that engine is. The turbocharger makes 150 hp feel like 200 hp, which makes me think it may have been chipped. However, there are dog hairs under the seats so this must have been Ivy League "wannabe" car. The more I read about VW, the less I want one. It drive better than Accord and Camry as this is an enthusiast car, but German enthusiasts must be a bunch of waiting-room mechanic and stay clear of DIY maintenance.

Thank everyone for giving your valuable 4 cents. I will stay away as advised.

BTW, I am a home mechanic and do all car work except transmission fix or any brake or suspension. I currently own 15 cars.
 
I had a 98 Jetta brand new and had it until we lost it in Katrina at the end of 2005. We put 120K on that car and never really had any problems outside of the ignition coil and a master cylinder that went out at around 30K. It was neglected by my wife but that sucker was still running, even after it took on water and all the windows were busted. The tow truck came to salvage it and he just drove it away rather than putting it on the truck. Your mileage may vary. Oh, the AC system had problems and the timing belt was never changed either. It was also an automatic...no transmission probs.
 
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Just my 2 cents. The VW`s are unreliable .I have had a 2001 Jetta since it hatched and have maintained it above and beyond. I am sorry you have bought the Passat.I have had great help from the local dealer, but the product is - - - - - -.Good example of marketing a poor product and getting it to sell. It has been my mission to keep people from making the same mistake I did.
Sell it while it is still running and don`t look back.

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No the product is not sh___. It serves the purpose for which it was built and that is to be fun to drive. It is unreliable because reliability is not VW's engineering priority. VW's are not everyone cup of tea. It's for people who are willing to trade some entertainment value for more maintenance hassle. If you are not one of those individuals, you should not have bought it in the first place. You didn't do your homework and now you want to make it your "mission" to keep people from making the same mistake?

Here's an idea: How bout' figuring out what you want and then doing some research to get what you want rather than blame the product. VW has never promised you hassle free, it promised you fun to drive. The website and ads say "drivers wanted" not " not "tops in reliability." It is also common knowledge that you don't buy VWs for reliability. Even my mom who knows nothing about cars knows this.
 
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How much do they want for this car anyway?

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4500 but I can get them down to 4200. I drove it for 30 miles on highway, twisty country road, and big hill to test acceleration, handling, and brake. I got to tell you, this car drives like a dream. It must have been loved really well before the owner decided it is time to get another one. I actually managed to stay awake driving a station wagon. Coming from the toaster world of Camry and Accord, this car is a champ.
cylon.gif
 
I have been looking every where for a used Subaru with no luck. I think people around here don't drive Subaru.

With the exception of my personal Accord, which I bought with 0 mile on it, everything else in my fleet are purchased for less than 5k and always runs great. Most of them have over 300k miles and still run like new but some look kinda - - - - - -. The issue is that all of them are Accord, Camry, Corolla, and Civic. These toaster are great on gas, easy to maintain, but they are just fun to climb in as Rosy is to climb on. Sometime, the journey is more important than the destination.
 
I think $42000 is still too much especially since you will have some pretty hefty maintenance coming up. I have no doubt that the car was well maintained. 1.8T's usually sludge up long before that unless the owner did preventive maintenance. But still.....$4200 for a 9 year old car with 192k? And if you don't DIY the timing belt, control arms, clutch, you're lookin at another $4000 in the next three to five years. That's gonna be a minimum of $8200 to purchase and maintain.

For comparison's sake, you can lease a brand new stripped down Jetta wagon for close to that in total payments over the next 36 months. And I think subaru is also offering some pretty sweet lease deals right now that wouldn't be far from those numbers.
 
Decision is reached. I just got the baby car seat into the Accord nice and tight by putting it right in the middle. My Accord is 2-door and the car seat is oversize; therefore, it was not safe and uncomfortable to have it on either side.

The problem is now solved. This Accord see nothing but Mobil 1 5W20 after the initial 3k Honda break-in oil.

Thank everyone for your help.
 
Finally a conclusion..... But owning 15 cars id think that you would have many many options unless you have a huge family. Anyways good choice with the Accord it should serve you well.
 
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Just my 2 cents. The VW`s are unreliable .I have had a 2001 Jetta since it hatched and have maintained it above and beyond. I am sorry you have bought the Passat.I have had great help from the local dealer, but the product is - - - - - -.Good example of marketing a poor product and getting it to sell. It has been my mission to keep people from making the same mistake I did.
Sell it while it is still running and don`t look back.

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Agreed 110%!
My experience was wiht an 84 Rabbit L I had in 99-01. Sure the car looked kinda cute, and chic's loved it, but that's where the fun ended! I maintained that thing more than any other car I have owned, or worked on. Everything was replaced b4 180kms when i disposed of it from the engine to the suspension etc.

I also think that VW is doing a fantastic job of marketing junk, heck turn on the T.V. and you'll probably see a cutsy Rabbit commercial, that owners of the older 75+ model can attest to being one of the best vehicles they ever owned (why? cause they were all German made!, heck the current Euro VW's and those for the S. African market are all made in Germany...and we wonder why ppl. in Europe still enjoy VW products?, cause it's not the watered-down Mexican junk the N. Americans get).

Do yourself a faviour and consider something like a post 03 Focus, I'm sure you'll love the reliability and fuel economy, but on the downside it'll probably be alot more boring to drive. But if reliabilty is one of your most important concerns, then I'd consider somrthign like a Focus, or Matrix (not the Vibe, as they are U.S. made, and not as good overll as the Canadian made Matrix)

Good luck!
 
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Finally a conclusion..... But owning 15 cars id think that you would have many many options unless you have a huge family. Anyways good choice with the Accord it should serve you well.

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Most of the car we own are for delivery, so they are not fit for a family purpose. I remove the back seats on some of them as well to make more room. We own a few restaurants, 1 grocery store, and 2 dry-cleaners. As you probably have figured out by now, we are way too cheap to buy a work van to deliver stuffs.

I was looking for something with nice interior, super safe, plenty of power, and very nice looking. Except for my personal 02 Accord, all our cars are 4-cylinder are good for nothing but hauling small stuffs around. That Passat was nice. It drives like a champ and handle better than my Accord. The turbo sounds very good and I love that giant oil filter.

Now that I fixed the baby car seat problem, I'll stick with the Accord. The most important criteria is to have the baby seat in a safe location and still have room for me and my wife. SUV is out of the question as there are a lot of twisty road with no shoulder around here and I don't want to roll over. I have that car since it was still on the trailer with 0 mile on it. Nothing but Mobil 1 5W20 goes into it so I know it will last probably 700k miles. The best car for us would be a new Subaru Baja or Forester, but my days of buying new cars is over. I prefer buying good used cars.
 
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I also think that VW is doing a fantastic job of marketing junk, heck turn on the T.V. and you'll probably see a cutsy Rabbit commercial, that owners of the older 75+ model can attest to being one of the best vehicles they ever owned (why? cause they were all German made!, heck the current Euro VW's and those for the S. African market are all made in Germany...and we wonder why ppl. in Europe still enjoy VW products?, cause it's not the watered-down Mexican junk the N. Americans get).

Do yourself a faviour and consider something like a post 03 Focus, I'm sure you'll love the reliability and fuel economy, but on the downside it'll probably be alot more boring to drive. But if reliabilty is one of your most important concerns, then I'd consider somrthign like a Focus, or Matrix (not the Vibe, as they are U.S. made, and not as good overll as the Canadian made Matrix)

Good luck!

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a) Passats are built in Germany...yes, even the N. American versions. This thread is about a Passat. What does Mexico have to do with anything?

b) The current generation Ford Focus is a very fun to drive car with average reliability. Plus, he wants a family car not a college kid car.
 
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a) Passats are built in Germany...yes, even the N. American versions. This thread is about a Passat. What does Mexico have to do with anything?

b) The current generation Ford Focus is a very fun to drive car with average reliability. Plus, he wants a family car not a college kid car.

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Mexico is where VW began building cars in the mid 80's. These cars were garbage. Thanks for the heads-up on the Passat tho, I didn't think we got any of the Euro stuff over here.
 
Yeah. I am looking for family car that can safely and comfortable accommodate a baby car seat.
 
Tough group. A car with 190,000 miles that the OP found to still be a nice car is condemned for having a transmission that does not last and an engine that will sludge. And a 1984 econobox is condemned for being a maintenance problem in 1999.

I have to wonder what a 2003 Focus will look like in 2018. Or with 190,000 miles.

But to each his own. It would be a bland world otherwise.
 
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I also think that VW is doing a fantastic job of marketing junk, heck turn on the T.V. and you'll probably see a cutsy Rabbit commercial, that owners of the older 75+ model can attest to being one of the best vehicles they ever owned (why? cause they were all German made!, heck the current Euro VW's and those for the S. African market are all made in Germany...and we wonder why ppl. in Europe still enjoy VW products?, cause it's not the watered-down Mexican junk the N. Americans get).

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The Rabbit and Passat are built in Europe, the Jetta and New Beetle in Mexico. (My Golf came from Brazil and has been simply terrific.) I'm hoping VW expands their Mexican operations, so we can get more vehicle choices at reasonable prices.
 
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