Volkswagen Passat

[RichZ]

My wife is getting a new job, and she will have about 100 mile round trip. We need to get her a new car with good mileage. Someone suggested that we get a VW Passat. Does anyone have any experience with the Passat, good or bad?

Thanks for an info.

 

[cat fever]

I have the SEL TDI version. 2013 model year, it has been a good car. 45-50 MPG depending on speed.
It is one of the one's caught up in the emission scandal deal so I will be turning it in within a month or two. Not sure what I'm going to get next, maybe a Audi A4. Still thinking. Good luck.

I will add it's a little noisy inside depending on road conditions.

 

[Btown]

I have the SEL TDI version. 2013 model year, it has been a good car. 45-50 MPG depending on speed. It is one of the one's caught up in the emission scandal deal so I will be turning it in within a month or two. Not sure what I'm going to get next, maybe a Audi A4. Still thinking. Good luck. I will add it's a little noisy inside depending on road conditions.

I have 2 2013 Passat TDI's. Which tires do you have? I have the Continental tires they are much quieter than the other ones that came on the car. The Passat is nice and roomy. On the TDI VW has a few issues with some quality control on some diesel parts like exhaust flap, DEF tank heater ( I know, you can't drive the vehicle even in warm climates without the heater, like it was even working the way it was supposed to). I get the same fuel economy. Usually 45 mpg around town. Around 50 mpg on highway if you keep it at 70 mph for trips around an hour. The car really likes long trips. Took it to Florida and back several times averaged 48+ mpg.

 

[IslandTractor]

You cannot buy a VW TDI new these days so only the gas Tsi version is on dealer's lots as far as I know. That said, the Passat is a great road car and the new gas Tsi engine is a winner. Not quite up to TDI highway fuel economy but excellent mid thirties mpg on the highway. The Passat is very comfortable.

For better mileage the Prius or Ford CMax might be considerations. The Prius is a Prius so hardly exciting but very efficient and a tolerable ride. I own a CMax which I think is a great bargain used. Ford has lots of them coming off lease and they can be had with low mileage and well optioned for under $15K. I get 40mpg on the highway and 40+ in town. Drives MUCH better than a Prius and is quite peppy. Looks aren't everything.

 

[motownbrowne]

I don't have any experience with new VWs, but I'll say this. It's my opinion only, and I'm not trying to present it as fact.

VWs are German cars. Like BMWs and Mercedes, they are a luxury European brand. Yes, I'm sure they're very nice to drive, and yes the diesels get good mileage. They are, however more expensive to purchase and more expensive to maintain than another brand. Personally, I'd pick a Honda or Toyota over VW (or any European brand) every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

If I had a bunch of money laying around, had a thing for German cars, and was gonna trade it in after a couple years, sure I'd buy a VW. Until that day, I'll stick with Hondas and Toyotas. Though I will say that the American sedans have greatly improved in fuel economy and overall longevity, so I'd perhaps consider a new American brand. That'd be less likely, though.

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't have any experience with new VWs, but I'll say this. It's my opinion only, and I'm not trying to present it as fact.

VWs are German cars. Like BMWs and Mercedes, they are a luxury European brand. Yes, I'm sure they're very nice to drive, and yes the diesels get good mileage. They are, however more expensive to purchase and more expensive to maintain than another brand. Personally, I'd pick a Honda or Toyota over VW (or any European brand) every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

If I had a bunch of money laying around, had a thing for German cars, and was gonna trade it in after a couple years, sure I'd buy a VW. Until that day, I'll stick with Hondas and Toyotas. Though I will say that the American sedans have greatly improved in fuel economy and overall longevity, so I'd perhaps consider a new American brand. That'd be less likely, though.

Good point. The VW TDIs are fuel efficient but relatively expensive to maintain. Virtually any Japanese or US made car will be less expensive to maintain. I've owned a few VWs including last generation Passat and loved the cars but would never consider them economical.

 

[prichard]

I had the last Passat that had the VR3.6. That was such a fun car. It really drove like a luxury sport. Lots of power and smooth quiet ride. I traded it at around 110k.

It was obvious it was going to get expensive to maintain. Bad part about having a German car is electrical issues and parts cost. Just before warranty ended the entire dash had to be replaced. Then at 40,000 miles I got some unknown brake error. Took 3 months and a dozen trips to 2 dealers to resolve. They ended up replacing the entire ABS system - computers, sensors, wiring harnesses, etc. Fortunately, I got in touch with VW America as soon as it occurred and it was fully paid for even though slightly out of warranty. FWIW, every mechanic I ever talked to about that car cringed, their experience being they were great cars but extremely difficult to work on. And weird - my battery was in the trunk

I don't know what has changed since I owned that car and the new production facility in TN but thought I'd share my experience.

Edit: just checked. It was 2008, starting 09 you had to buy CC to get the VR6.

 

[tcartwri]

We had a 2012 tdi Highline. Beautiful car and huge inside. We called it the white bullet because it was an effortless hwy cruiser. Fuel economy is MUCH better than advertised, and there is little penalty for driving fast.

Things I didn't like;

*Brakes are ridiculously over assisted. Very tough to brake smoothly with anything but running shoes on. If you wore boots it was a real nuisance.
*The center console is a block of ice against your thigh in cold weather.
*Road noise could be improved.
*You have to drop the belly pan to change the oil.... I bought the dipstick extractor just for this.
*The DSG service interval is frequent and expensive. Stay away from those transmissions.
*VW spec synthetic oil only. Not expensive, but you are going to the dealer to get it.

I would probably get another one, and put a tune on it.

 

[RollingsFarms]

What happens if you have a tdi and don't turn it in or do any of the recalls on it?

 

[IslandTractor]

What happens if you have a tdi and don't turn it in or do any of the recalls on it?

We don't know yet. States may vary in allowing registration Etc. Feds might pressure states too.

 

[cat fever]

I have 2 2013 Passat TDI's. Which tires do you have? I have the Continental tires they are much quieter than the other ones that came on the car. The Passat is nice and roomy. On the TDI VW has a few issues with some quality control on some diesel parts like exhaust flap, DEF tank heater ( I know, you can't drive the vehicle even in warm climates without the heater, like it was even working the way it was supposed to). I get the same fuel economy. Usually 45 mpg around town. Around 50 mpg on highway if you keep it at 70 mph for trips around an hour. The car really likes long trips. Took it to Florida and back several times averaged 48+ mpg.

I still have the stock tires.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My wife is getting a new job, and she will have about 100 mile round trip. We need to get her a new car with good mileage. Someone suggested that we get a VW Passat. Does anyone have any experience with the Passat, good or bad? Thanks for an info.

Skip that.

We just bought a 2016 Honda Civic Sedan. It's a EX TL. T is for turbo and L is for leather. It's loaded with leather, sunroof, XM radio, sun roof, navigation, heated seats, ect. It just broke 1,000 miles and has averaged 33 mpg. We just did a 259 mile trip over the weekend that was 2/3 rd highway at 78 mph on cruise and we got 39.3 mpg. It stickered for 26K and I bought it for $22,044.

Oil changes are 3.5 QStack of 0w20 every 7,500 miles and it uses 87 octane at $1.79 per gallon. Doesn't get much cheaper. Insurance and plates are cheap as they come and resale on a used 5 year old Civic with 100,000 miles will get you 60% of your upfront cost back.

All this and it's fun to drive, peppy, stylish, and most of all quite and comfortable!

Chris

 

[newbury]

My wife is getting a new job, and she will have about 100 mile round trip. We need to get her a new car with good mileage. Someone suggested that we get a VW Passat. Does anyone have any experience with the Passat, good or bad?

Thanks for an info.

Specifically with the Passat -
Son has one, a 2014 I think. TDI. LOVES it.
I've a 2009 JSW (Jetta SportWagen) TDI, I'd love to have gotten a new TDI Passat wagon but they never made them.
My BIL bought a 2010 JSW TDI.

We all get about 45MPG or better at highway speeds.

Parts CAN be expensive. Example Common problem with the a/c on these (and I expect on the gas version also) is a sticking RCV valve. Just the valve costs about $80, throw in some Freon and your pushing $100.

ALL three of our TDI's had the problem, all replaced by us for about $100@.

BUT NOOOOOOO - VW replaces the entire freakin' compressor, at a total cost of about $2,000!!!

Another thing is the High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) mad be Bosch, specced for European fuel which has a much better "scar" rating. Both my BIL and I have used lubricity additives from the start, no problems at about 100K for the BIL, 80K for me. The son, didn't and his cratered at about 60K, but VW replaced it and everything else - about a $5K job.

I'm about sick with loss due to "dieselgate" I'd love to keep the car even with it's few faults (sunroof leaks if drains are not cleaned often), but I'm apprehensive about getting it licensed. Very strong rumor is that the 2009's will not have a "fix". On the other hand I'd like to pick up later model wagon with the fix.

But with the price of gas barely maintaining $2/ gallon, mileage is not as important as it was a couple of years ago.

 

[Btown]

I still have the stock tires.

Stock they came with Continental and I think Hankook ( might be wrong) tires. The continental tires are much quieter than the other.

 

[GLyford]

I don't know how long you keep your cars, but in the salt-ridden northeast, Jettas in the 12-15 years old category tend get electrically flaky. Happened to my Wife's and to a friend's. Also, the little independent import shops that work on hondas, toyotas and nissans all day tend to have a bit of a hairball when dealing with German cars...the one two miles from our house gave up when they warped two sets of rotors off it. From there on, my wife went to the dealer for service, which also was not cheap.

She loves her CRV.

 

[IslandTractor]

Stock they came with Continental and I think Hankook ( might be wrong) tires. The continental tires are much quieter than the other.

I'm sure you've heard of Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers on NPR. Ray Magliozzi (Clack?) owns the Good News Garage in Cambridge. They always have lots of old VWs in their shop and do a good job both diagnosing and fixing problems for far less than dealers charge (but only for cash or check). They know all the quirks in these vehicles and give reasonable advice on what to fix and what to live with.