Passat or c200 - Which estate

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Sat 20 Sep 2014 12:41
Passat or c200 - Which estate - suzxraw
I have found 2 well cared for cars, a passat estate manual 2.0 SE 06 £5900 and a merc C200 est auto 55 plate £6700. I like them both but which car will give me the least trouble, the passat is low mileage 71000 and the mercedes has 81000 miles. We have very tall children.
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Sat 20 Sep 2014 21:11
Passat or c200 - Which estate - RobJP

That generation Passat has probably the longest 'whats bad' section on the entire HJ website. The Merc is better.

BUT you're still buying a car that is 8 or 9 years old, and paying a lot of money for the badge on the bonnet. I'd suggest having a look at non 'premium' brands. If you went with a Kia, Hyundai, or even a Ford Mondeo, then you'd probably get a lot newer (and hopefully less problematic) car for similar money.

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Sat 20 Sep 2014 21:31
Passat or c200 - Which estate - gordonbennet

Wouldn't entertain that model Passat unless bought so cheap it could be thrown away when some of it's many expensive faults arises.

Merc should be OK, but i'd want a good MB indy to check it out before i paid any money over.

edit...MB is the previous model, not a patch on the 07 onwards, i'd look elsewhere.

Kia/Hyundai missed out big time by not importing proper estate car versions of Sonata/Magentis, they'd have cleaned up and would have been highly sought after used vehicles by those uninterested in badges, image or other's opinions.

Edited by gordonbennet on 20/09/2014 at 21:32

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Sat 20 Sep 2014 23:27
Passat or c200 - Which estate - suzxraw
I was looking for the comfort of the passat, the seats are great if you are tall, the rear seat legroom for my kids who are 6'3" and 6'tall also and the good mpg. We have a dog so the boot space was good for the crate. The MB has an integrial dog guard so smaller boot space not a prob, it seemed an alternative to the passat but for my £6/7k budget I haven't seen anything else that's not been driven a lot more miles. I want to keep the car for 5 years plus.
We live rurally so we do 15/18 k per year.
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Sat 20 Sep 2014 23:40
Passat or c200 - Which estate - gordonbennet

Avensis and Accord worth checking out.

As would be a C5, yes including the huge estate pre 2008, massive inside, but would be sensible if you had an indy Citroen specialist within easy reach to keep it in shape for reasonable cost.

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Sat 20 Sep 2014 23:47
Passat or c200 - Which estate - suzxraw
I will look at your suggestions, thank you. That 'what's bad' list is off -putting, indeed!
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Sat 20 Sep 2014 23:41
Passat or c200 - Which estate - mss1tw

That generation Passat has probably the longest 'whats bad' section on the entire HJ website.

You're not joking - strewth! www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/passat-20...d

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Sun 21 Sep 2014 12:56
Passat or c200 - Which estate - corax

That generation Passat has probably the longest 'whats bad' section on the entire HJ website.

You're not joking - strewth! www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/passat-20...d

I much prefer the b5.5 shape Passat, but getting a good one with reasonable mileage is becoming harder.

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Sun 21 Sep 2014 21:00
Passat or c200 - Which estate - misar

That generation Passat has probably the longest 'whats bad' section on the entire HJ website.

You're not joking - strewth! www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/passat-20...d

Fascinating. After seeing that I couldn't resist checking the Golf VI because I almost bought one new in 2009 thanks to rave reviews everywhere. Thank God the VW dealers were so disinterested that I took my business elsewhere. At the first one the receptionist in an empty showroom insisted nobody was available to talk to but I could try another day if I felt like it. Same response at the next one even though three suits were clearly visible sitting on their own at desks. When I persisted a young lad was sent over. After I showed him how to use the VW computer catalogue (I had just played with it on the Internet) he whispered he was really sorry. Turned out he was an apprentice who started two days earlier and was told to get rid of me.

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Sun 21 Sep 2014 21:48
Passat or c200 - Which estate - gordonbennet

Astonishing Misar, they deserve to go bust, and if they carry on like that its entirely possible they will, good riddance.

Local BMW emporium were equally disinterested in dealing with a chap i know a few years ago, indeed the sharp suited little twit in the showroom told him to come back when he could afford one...had said buffoon looked out the palace front window he might have noticed the profession related number plate on the chaps car, plate alone worth about as much as a new 5 series on a bad day.

I lay the blame solely at the door of management of these palaces, and idiotic customers who allow themselves to be treated with contempt, or taken for fools?

Edited by gordonbennet on 21/09/2014 at 21:50

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Mon 22 Sep 2014 22:04
Passat or c200 - Which estate - akr

There's a danger of generalisation here because I'm sure you'd be able to find examples of rubbish service from non German brands. My experience with VW dealers over nealy 20 years has been both good and bad. I bought my first VW from a no longer existing dealer in north Leeds who gave fantastic personal service. Similarly when I bought from Bradford and also from my current dealer in Doncaster. Leeds on the other hand didn't want to know when I bought my current Golf GTi.

Servicing and repairs are where VW dealers have been a bit iffy and up and down. However, again, my current dealer in Donny have looked after my car for 5 years and have been excellent.

The wife's BNW was also bought and has been serviced by their dealer in Donny and they've been good throughout. By the same token I've also had good experiences with the Vauxhall and Saab dealers I've used over the years.

I've also been poorly treated by a Vauxhall dealer who tried t deliver a nearly new car to me without any FSH despite assuring me it had one. I refused to accept the car and walked away. Soyou'll find good and bad in all manufacturers' dealerships.

As for the OP, despite being a VW fan, I wouldn't touch a Passat of that era with a barge pole. All the alternative suggestions above (KIA, Hyundai, Mondeo, Japanese) seem sensible to me.

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