I am test-driving two Passats this afternoon - ex company cars. They are both 130PD diesels. Late 2002 cars.
Anything I should be looking out for, over and above the excellent advice in the car-by-car guide?
They are both on long service intervals. One has 130,000 km on clock, the other 230,000 km. Obviously I am leaning towards the lower mileage, but are the engines solid enough to take the higher mileages? Should I discount the high miler before I begin?
Both are priced at 4200 GBP. I am based in central EU, but prices generally are similar to UK anyway.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
Cheers
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I had an 02 one of these from new. Good allrounder but not spectacular other than for fuel economy. It did break down on me twice with some fuel problem which was n't diagnosed properly the first time. Probably a one off fault. Despite the miles (or Kms) I would require a full service history.
Colleague of mine has an earlier 97 Passat (a 115 I think) which has reached 293,000 miles to date and still going strong. On that basis the ones you are viewing are hardly run in.
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This is actually one of the few cars I simply would not buy, based on my brother in law's experiences a few years back. He bought a 35,000 mile 2001 car at 2 and a half years old from a VW main agent under the approved used scheme and it was a total money pit. Clutch and flywheel twice (at a grand a throw) which VW wouldn't pay for, even though the first was under mfr warranty. Once the warranty expired, it got worse. Severe water ingress into the passenger footwell required the interior to be completely stripped and dried out for a week, the alarm ECU failed (caused by the water leak), the boot leaked, it started scrubbing front tyres and the front suspension had to be basically rebuilt at a cost of nearly 500 quid. A wiring fault caused the radio to turn itself off intermittently, the sunroof blind would intermittently get black streaks of grease along it when closed etc etc. It literally was one thing after another, and the sort of things I would expect on a 150,000 mile car, not one with less than half that, even at the end.
The engine never gave a day's trouble, and the interior design and materials were of a far higher standard than you'd find on a Ford, Vauxhall or French equivalent, but the thing was just a nightmare. Maybe it was a one off, but a lot of these faults are quite common if you ask around in the trade.
Cheers
DP
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Seems to be some negative feeling about these cars. I thought they were highly regarded :o/
Just drove the lower mileage car, and it was sweet! No squeaks, rattles, knocks etc.
It has a six speed box, half leather interior and it went like a rocket :o)
Any other thoughts on this car from those in the know? Is the price reasonable?
thanks again
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I have a Passat clone (Skoda Superb) which I'm intending to keep as a long term bangernomic so I've made a bit of a study of the weaknesses of this car.
By far the biggest problem is dealer ineptitude (and sometimes dishonesty) which leads to incorrect maintenance and poor fault diagnosis. This car has a complex power unit and electrical system which does not take kindly to maltreatment.
As far as weaknesses go, the use of incorrect oil in the engine, the need for frequent cambelt changes (4 yrs/60k miles), rainwater ingress with consequent expensive electrical damage and front suspension/steering joint wear with rusted fixings are the main problems. Lesser stupidities are electric windows/locks and MAF sesors which fail prematurely. The MAF sensor is easy to change and cheap.
If you are prepared to address these problems (and it's a big "if" because some of them, such as rainwater ingress are a disgrace to VAG) you will probably end up with a rust proof car (galvanised) with the best diesel ever made in terms of life and sheer efficiency. If not and if dealers are involved, money pit territory beckons.
I decided I could deal with the design faults and have taken positive action (plenum drain bungs removed, seal reinforced, front suspension pinch bolts removed and greased annually, etc. etc.). In return, I'm looking for cheap, comfortable and safe motoring.
It tows my heavy trailer like a steam train and is astonishingly economical unhitched - really welcome at today's fuel prices. Pattern parts are cheap - we'll see how it fares.
659.
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Does anyone know if the water ingress is a potential problem with LHD cars also? Is it only limited to RHD motors?
I presume that water ingress is pretty obvious if it has happened in the past. Where do I look in the engine bay for evidence of build up of leaves etc?
thanks again
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Yes it does apply to LHD cars - look on some of the American B5 or B5.5 Passat sites.
Water ingress is not immediately obvious because there is about 50mm of padding under the carpets in which the water resides - usually in the rear footwell.
Checking the plenum for leaves is not easy - you have to take the cover off (easy enough if it's your car) but then take the battery out to check the drains properly. The whole thing was designed by a muppett.
659.
Edited by 659FBE on 11/01/2008 at 13:02
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OK, great thanks
Will take a closer look at the footwells when I try the other car.
Have to say, for a five year old car the Passat today felt very solid and well put together.
It's a shame that a few design niggles can cause such a loss of faith in what is otherwise a very good car it would seem, and a superb engine :o)
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I have one, and echo the other excellent points. It's not a terrible car but has some very bad design/engineering, these can develop to much more than just niggles, and there is no redeeming feature - it isn't outstanding in any area.
I probably wouldn't buy another if anything happened to this one, but it isn't bad once you sort all the inevitable problems. I agree avoid the dealers and stick to an enthusiastic independent VAG specialist (you know, the kind who races VWs at weekends and does up old beetles) and DIY.
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