Volkswagen Passat

[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.