98 VW Passat

[fataIerror]

I'm thinking of buying a 98 VW Passat for 8,000. After trade in of my currect car it would run me about 5,000. Anyone have any experience with these cars? Are they expensive to fix? It's in great shape, it's an auto which I don't like but my girlfriend will be able to drive it as well (only has one leg due to a hunting accident october of last year). It has around 60,000 miles on it right now. I've never owned a VW but it's a decent looking car and I just want something that is reliable and isn't going to cost a whole lot to fix (All my mechanical work is done for free by my fathers friend, I just have to pay for parts). What do the car enthusiasts here at Anand think of this vehicle?

 

[BCYL]

my personal experience with VW cars is that they have a lot of little problems after a couple of yrs... Like small problems here and there u have to take care of...

I know someone who has a 2001 Passat, and she already wants to trade it in since she always have to take it back to the dealership to fix these minor problems under warranty...

Now this may be just my personal experience and not all VW cars are like that...

 

[Amused]

I own a 1999 Passat GLX, black with beige leather. I love this car.

No problems other than a rattling shift knob (fixed under warrenty).

I'll probably trade it in on a new Passat W8 next year.

 

[Stark]

finance through a credit union and get a 100,000 mile warranty on it.

 

[yakko]

VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

Well he wont have to worry, all passats are made in Germany

<--- LOVES VW! We have a 2002 and a 2001.5 Passat.

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

My moms Civic was just as bad and it was made here in the states but that is not indicative of every car. She eventually told them to come pick it up because she got sick of sitting at the dealer.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: yakko

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

My moms Civic was just as bad and it was made here in the states but that is not indicative of every car. She eventually told them to come pick it up because she got sick of sitting at the dealer.

the thing is, this is a common thread among new beetles, my mom has had it in the shop on a yearly basis, she's met several other people expereincing the same problem-- and the VW corperate headquarters and all the local dealerships have completely dicked her around. I understand that some cars are just bad eggs, and not the rest.. however, regardless-- she has been treatly very poorly, and its been more than enough to garauntee that we'll never buy another VW again.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

Well he wont have to worry, all passats are made in Germany

<--- LOVES VW! We have a 2002 and a 2001.5 Passat.

still dont trust them.. becuase even still-- how much does it cost for minor repairs on your car-- like getting a fog light replaced or something dumb like that. Its nothing but a hassle. I'm glad you like your car though thats all that matters

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

Well he wont have to worry, all passats are made in Germany

<--- LOVES VW! We have a 2002 and a 2001.5 Passat.

still dont trust them.. becuase even still-- how much does it cost for minor repairs on your car-- like getting a fog light replaced or something dumb like that. Its nothing but a hassle. I'm glad you like your car though thats all that matters

Free. Ive never had anything go wrong (including lights burning out) that ever cost me a penny. Their bumper-bumper is now also 4 years.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

Well he wont have to worry, all passats are made in Germany

<--- LOVES VW! We have a 2002 and a 2001.5 Passat.

still dont trust them.. becuase even still-- how much does it cost for minor repairs on your car-- like getting a fog light replaced or something dumb like that. Its nothing but a hassle. I'm glad you like your car though thats all that matters

Free. Ive never had anything go wrong (including lights burning out) that ever cost me a penny. Their bumper-bumper is now also 4 years.

well, dont come whining back to me when you're warranty runs out. my mom's was a 3 year warranty, its already out.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: yakko
VWs hold up very well unless you don't take care of them.

or, unless you buy a New Beetle and its made in mexico, and then it cuases nothing buy headaches and problems, and the dealerships suck and refuse to cooperate with you or even attempt to be civil.
<-- hates VW.

Well he wont have to worry, all passats are made in Germany

<--- LOVES VW! We have a 2002 and a 2001.5 Passat.

still dont trust them.. becuase even still-- how much does it cost for minor repairs on your car-- like getting a fog light replaced or something dumb like that. Its nothing but a hassle. I'm glad you like your car though thats all that matters

Free. Ive never had anything go wrong (including lights burning out) that ever cost me a penny. Their bumper-bumper is now also 4 years.

well, dont come whining back to me when you're warranty runs out. my mom's was a 3 year warranty, its already out.

I wont have to, i have a lease.

 

[Rallispec]

bastage. i dont understand leasing cars.. why would you want too? seems like such a bad financial desicion. just my opinion though.. we all know whats thats worth

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Rallispec
bastage. i dont understand leasing cars.. why would you want too? seems like such a bad financial desicion. just my opinion though.. we all know whats thats worth

Im not gonna get into logistics (mainly due to Psychoandy's incessant nagging). Basically, i dont want to have to worry about any problems in the longrun, and i get a new car every 3 years. Yes, you will make payments for the rest of your life, but you never have to have anything fixed on an older car thats not working anymore.

Plus i got a 30,000 car for the same monthly payment as if i bought a 16,000 car.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: Rallispec
bastage. i dont understand leasing cars.. why would you want too? seems like such a bad financial desicion. just my opinion though.. we all know whats thats worth

Im not gonna get into logistics (mainly due to Psychoandy's incessant nagging). Basically, i dont want to have to worry about any problems in the longrun, and i get a new car every 3 years. Yes, you will make payments for the rest of your life, but you never have to have anything fixed on an older car thats not working anymore.

Plus i got a 30,000 car for the same monthly payment as if i bought a 16,000 car.

eh.. yeah, i suppose different things for different people.. i like thinking that i'll own my sentra for the next 10 years, and then in 4 more years i'll never have to make another payment on it

 

[StattlichPassat]

<--- LOVES VW!

Great car, fata! Ironically, I'm looking at 99-00 B5 Passats today on the web. Likely will be in the market for a Passat Turbo in the next year. From what I hear, it's a great, reliable car. And yes, it's made in Germany. Really the only unreliable VW is the Mexican-New Beetle. If the car looks good to you, has had proper maintainence done (take care of it and it will take care of you), then go for it. That's a great price. The turbos are really fun to drive too. Good luck!

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
<--- LOVES VW!

Great car, fata! Ironically, I'm looking at 99-00 B5 Passats today on the web. Likely will be in the market for a Passat Turbo in the next year. From what I hear, it's a great, reliable car. And yes, it's made in Germany. Really the only unreliable VW is the Mexican-New Beetle. If the car looks good to you, has had proper maintainence done (take care of it and it will take care of you), then go for it. That's a great price. The turbos are really fun to drive too. Good luck!

I miss my turbo passat

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
<--- LOVES VW!

Great car, fata! Ironically, I'm looking at 99-00 B5 Passats today on the web. Likely will be in the market for a Passat Turbo in the next year. From what I hear, it's a great, reliable car. And yes, it's made in Germany. Really the only unreliable VW is the Mexican-New Beetle. If the car looks good to you, has had proper maintainence done (take care of it and it will take care of you), then go for it. That's a great price. The turbos are really fun to drive too. Good luck!

I miss my turbo passat

I told you that you should have left it with me. I could make videos of myself enjoying it and send them to you.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
<--- LOVES VW!

Great car, fata! Ironically, I'm looking at 99-00 B5 Passats today on the web. Likely will be in the market for a Passat Turbo in the next year. From what I hear, it's a great, reliable car. And yes, it's made in Germany. Really the only unreliable VW is the Mexican-New Beetle. If the car looks good to you, has had proper maintainence done (take care of it and it will take care of you), then go for it. That's a great price. The turbos are really fun to drive too. Good luck!

I miss my turbo passat

should have taken it with you.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: aphexII

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
<--- LOVES VW!

Great car, fata! Ironically, I'm looking at 99-00 B5 Passats today on the web. Likely will be in the market for a Passat Turbo in the next year. From what I hear, it's a great, reliable car. And yes, it's made in Germany. Really the only unreliable VW is the Mexican-New Beetle. If the car looks good to you, has had proper maintainence done (take care of it and it will take care of you), then go for it. That's a great price. The turbos are really fun to drive too. Good luck!

I miss my turbo passat

should have taken it with you.

Id fit in, Passats are very popular over here.

 

[Triumph]

The 98's and 99's are a little less reliable than the 2000's. They upgraded the front control arms (altho they are still somewhat prone to failure) on the 2000 models, and the turbo had inadequate heat shielding in the 98-99's. But the heat shielding should have been fixed under a recall. If not, you could get it fixed for free. Really the only potential major problem would be the control arms, and again, that's potential problem.

Other than that, it's a great car. Nay, the perfect car. I'm considering dumping mine for something less expensive, and I just can't find any older cars that have what the Passat does, and for a cheaper price. At least for me.

Do some search around the forums at Club B5, for more details.