UPDATE Thoughts on this used car and on VW in general

[PhoKingGuy]

I'd bet that Passat's interior build destroys every single one of those vehicles + it has a great engine. The Mazda 6 (V6, not 4cyl) is a great car also.

Maxima VQ3.5>>>> 2.0T

 

[desy]

Why a guy at work has that exact car w AWD
Water pump $1600
Brakes and tranny $6000, all just after 60k miles

Ouch!

 

[TruePaige]

The best value out of all of those sounds like the Mazda 6, CPA.

Yeah, that VW is overpriced in general, even the TMV of it. Had a friend with an '06 Passat actually, lots of little (but expensive) issues. Just not worth it for the price on an '06.

 

[Meghan54]

Owned a mid-90's Golf. Probably one of the tightest sealing cars I've ever owned....would almost make your ears pop when closing the doors with all the windows closed.

On the other hand, some of the things VW did in their engineering of the car were just too stupid to believe.

Take the power locks. Certainly couldn't be like everyone else and use elec. solenoids at each lock. Nooooo.....had a vacuum system. Vacuum pump in rear, vacuum lines running from the pump to each lock. Had a cracked line, fubar'd the whole system. Running down which line was cracked and where was a royal pain.


Fuel pumps.....nooooo, couldn't just use one in the gas tank like everyone else. Two pumps......low pressure pump in tank fed high pressure pump under the hood. Was told that it supposedly would reduce the failure rate of tank mounted pumps and make replacing the high pressure pump easier. Guess they forgot that even low pressure pumps can fail, making their reasoning moot and stupid.

And VW's have so many more "unique" engineering "features" all over them, endearing them to their owners to no end when a failure occurs and the register starts ringing for repairs.

 

[rdp6]

I have a 2007 Passat 2.0T, with a bit over 69K miles on it now. Have seen CEL for loose gas cap-type emissions, dealer fixed it under warrantee. Has never been in the shop overnight other than for hail damage and a hit & run. Has once had the instrument cluster replaced for a corrupted multifunction display due to overheating. The triggering event was well over an hour with the heat on full blast continuously while stopped on the highway in a snowstorm.

I have the manual transmission. No problems, it is 6 gears, and that's fine by me.

I replaced the OEM Continentals (16") at 30K, but had I rotated them every 5K I would have gotten more, probably much more out of them. Currently am approaching 40K on Cooper CS4s, they are pretty good, and that's what the local tire dealer carries. I live in the sticks.

Have not had brake work done yet. Almost all (95+&#37 highway miles, 46 miles each way commute. The driver's seat is a nice place to be. Stereo is good (using the AUX jack for The Bugle podcasts a lot these days), interior is nice, headlights are terrific, it's all very nice. Much, much nicer than the Chevy S-10 I had before. I don't have the leather interior, but the material is pretty nice. I get to use the moonroof about 6 months out of the year.

The AC is definitely weaker than on any GM car I have ever been in. I like the heat, so that's not so much of a problem for me. Black exterior, black interior here.

The performance is very, very good. Turn radius is outstanding. Brakes are very good, compare the rotors (front and back) to most other cars, including sports cars. The Passat's are huge.

Jeremy Clarkson reviewed the MkV GTI which has the same engine; he loved it, and I do too. VAG 2.0T FSI is pretty sweet. Maybe this summer I'll have a few hundred burning a hole in my pocket and get the APR stage 1 ECU flash. Had a temporary stage 1 flash done last year, it is unreal. www.goapr.com, B6 Passat, check it out.

For those who are interested in low maintenance cars, there are others that are a sure thing. But among the low-priced mid-size sedans, the Passat is hard to beat at smiles per dollar.

Also, I get 31mpg on 93 octane. I drive 10 miles at 65mph, 13 at 70, and 23 mostly near 80 each way for my commute. Stops / slowdowns are rare.

 

[rdp6]

Why a guy at work has that exact car w AWD
Water pump $1600
Brakes and tranny $6000, all just after 60k miles

Ouch!

Don't think the 4-motion is/was available with the 2.0T. I heard there were some serious problems with the 3.6L VR6, but don't recall what they are/were.

 

[StageLeft]

Alienwho: What's the CEL code? Why don't you fix it?

OP: I loved my GLi. It was very reliable and solid. BUT, I also never really used it. The only real problem I had was my rear right brake light blowing once a month or two, but that seemed normal from Google searching. lol

You put 9k on the damn thing!

Tonight we are going to look at some other vehicles including 06 Maxima SL ($15K), 08 Mazda 6 ($13K), 07 Camry Hybrid ($14K), 07 Civic Hybrid ($15K), 07 Vibe ($10K), 07 Mazda CX-7 ($15K) and maybe an 06 Hylander Hybrid for $16K.

Skip the CX7. I came relatively close to getting on 18 months ago and read too much bad stuff about them. I think they were the first of that year. Also their actual, real-life mileage is OH. MY. FVCK. bad. Like terrible. I heard of city mileage in the mid teens from one person who said they didn't drive it hard.

That Maxima will pull like a damn tractor, I bet you'll like it!

Forget that highlander with 112k miles. If you wanted hybrid and can do small size a 2010 Prius (yes even though it's new) would be a far better buy.

Mazda 6 is nice. I drove a 07 v6 5-speed and it _felt_ slower than my 00 Maxima 5 speed but perhaps its low end torque was just not as good.

Has once had the instrument cluster replaced for a corrupted multifunction display due to overheating.

See, wtf. Do normal cars even conceive of such a thing happening? Who has to replace their instrument cluster, I mean even on a cheap el-junko old American car these things should go the life of the car.

I think the last VW I drove was probably a 2001 TDI Golf. I will readily say its build quality and feel were well above similarly (bit cheaper) entry Japanese cars at the time, but that's no surprise.

Actually I am reminded, a guy I am working with today told me last month about his Passat. Not sure what model but it was probably a mid 2000's and he said it was the crappiest POS he's ever had, just a lemon piece of garbage. And this guy loves Audi. He has and maintains two ~1990 audi quattros that he uses for daily drivers. When he told me this about the VW he was looking at a classified ad in which somebody was selling a late model passat with a trailer (for some reason) to actually carry the car on and he said you'd need the trailer.

 

[rdp6]

Who has to replace their instrument cluster, I mean even on a cheap el-junko old American car these things should go the life of the car.

My in-laws's recent-ish (maybe 2002) Pontiac has a radio on which the display is completely and permanently failed. My instrument cluster exhibited intermittent (rare, actually) corruption, and had not shown any problems for at least a month before I brought it in for routine service and mentioned it at that time.

I have never heard of anyone else with a MFD failure on these cars, and I used to lurk on the B6 forum at vwvortex pretty faithfully. Probably a heatsink was improperly mounted.

Bottom line for me is that I am happy to have a car I really enjoy for my long commute and longer drives to visit family. If it costs a bit more for routine service, oh well.

 

[TheAdvocate]

My wife has a 2000 Jetta TDI with 124k miles. I just cleaned the intake and valves, put new rubber on it, and then crapped my pants when we got 53 miles per gallon on our last road trip. We've had the car for 7 years, but it's never run this well.

That said, we just had a 2nd child, and as much as I love our TDI, she needs more room for the kids' stuff. I've been trying in vain to find a 2004 or 2005 Passat TDI Wagon. At times, it seems like mint condition italian exotics are more common than that car. And I'm still nervous about its reliability, aside from the engine.

 

[AsianriceX]

2000 Jetta 1.8T and 135k miles.

No major problems yet.

*knocks on wood

I bought a 2001 Jetta 1.8T in 2006 that had 46,000 miles on it. The check engine light turned on at 50,000 miles and hasn't turned off since. I just hit 100,000 miles last week and I've beat the hell out of the car and have put about $1200 in repairs spanning these 4.5 years.

I hope you guys have at least changed the timing belt at that mileage so you don't end up like this guy:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2065270

 

[CPA]

The best value out of all of those sounds like the Mazda 6, CPA.

Yeah, that VW is overpriced in general, even the TMV of it. Had a friend with an '06 Passat actually, lots of little (but expensive) issues. Just not worth it for the price on an '06.

Better than the 07 Civic Hybrid at $15K? It only has 20,000 miles on it. We drove it tonight and, yes it doesn't have a powerful engine, the wife really liked it to my surprise.

 

[vi edit]

At that price you could almost get into a brand new '10 (I think) Hyundai Sonata. It's the older body style. I remember some posters in this very forum getting them for around $16,000 or so. If you are financing the interest premium between an '06 and a '10 would probably cover the extra $1,000 in costs.

It won't have the bells or whistles and refinement of the VW but the fuel economy is excellent and I was very happy with the performance and refinement of the 2.4L in there.

 

[Excelsior]

See, wtf. Do normal cars even conceive of such a thing happening? Who has to replace their instrument cluster, I mean even on a cheap el-junko old American car these things should go the life of the car.

He is talking about the obc display. It is true, when the car is really hot the display fades to the point of becoming unreadable. It is annoying but once it cools off it becomes readable again. Only affects you if you want to see mpg, etc.

 

[TruePaige]

Better than the 07 Civic Hybrid at $15K? It only has 20,000 miles on it. We drove it tonight and, yes it doesn't have a powerful engine, the wife really liked it to my surprise.

Personally, I think so unless the mileage difference is large (don't think you ever gave mileage on either, and just gave the civic mileage now).

Here are my reasons.

1) The 2k price difference will subsidize the loss of mileage in the Mazda 6 for a while at these gas prices.

2) The Mazda 6 is a more spacious car, a step up in class (midsize), so a better buy in that sense, plus more room for family / stuff.

3) While the Mazda 6 is a little underpowered compared to some other cars in it's class, it is much more powerful than the Civic Hybrid, and a great overall performance buy if you just enjoy the sense of driving.

4) Read reviews (link) on the Civic Hybrid, in regards to that underpowered issue. We had a fleet of cars when I worked IT, and I would often take a different vehicle. The Toyota Highlander was our most popular hybrid (though the hybrid didn't save a lot of gas, go figure. ) and the Civic was our least popular, thought of as rather "anemic" on the road.

5) Not sure if you are going with the automatic version of the Mazda 6, but it has a nice six speed transmission available.

Not HUGE deal breakers, but I think at a price 2k less, I'd sacrifice the gain in mileage for the other amenities of the Mazda 6. If you still have interest in the Civic Hybrid do some through test drives, at least for a half an hour, outside of city streets. Don't want you to get stuck with something that feels like a chore to go in.

 

[CPA]

Personally, I think so unless the mileage difference is large (don't think you ever gave mileage on either, and just gave the civic mileage now).

Here are my reasons.

1) The 2k price difference will subsidize the loss of mileage in the Mazda 6 for a while at these gas prices.

2) The Mazda 6 is a more spacious car, a step up in class (midsize), so a better buy in that sense, plus more room for family / stuff.

3) While the Mazda 6 is a little underpowered compared to some other cars in it's class, it is much more powerful than the Civic Hybrid, and a great overall performance buy if you just enjoy the sense of driving.

4) Read reviews (link) on the Civic Hybrid, in regards to that underpowered issue. We had a fleet of cars when I worked IT, and I would often take a different vehicle. The Toyota Highlander was our most popular hybrid (though the hybrid didn't save a lot of gas, go figure. ) and the Civic was our least popular, thought of as rather "anemic" on the road.

5) Not sure if you are going with the automatic version of the Mazda 6, but it has a nice six speed transmission available.

Not HUGE deal breakers, but I think at a price 2k less, I'd sacrifice the gain in mileage for the other amenities of the Mazda 6. If you still have interest in the Civic Hybrid do some through test drives, at least for a half an hour, outside of city streets. Don't want you to get stuck with something that feels like a chore to go in.

Thanks. We took the civic hybrid for a spin last night. It definitely lacks the power of other similar vehicles, but the wife will be driving it mostly and she actually liked it. She has it on the top of her list currently.

Still checking the Maxima tonight and possibly some Sonatas. This is getting more and more difficult.

 

[TruePaige]

Thanks. We took the civic hybrid for a spin last night. It definitely lacks the power of other similar vehicles, but the wife will be driving it mostly and she actually liked it. She has it on the top of her list currently.

Still checking the Maxima tonight and possibly some Sonatas. This is getting more and more difficult.

Hope I was of some help.

Well, all that matters in the end is that you are happy with your choice. Just make sure to do your test drives! Not sure what kind of city area (if you are urban) you live in, CPA, but if you aren't man..I can't imagine anyone enjoying that civic hybrid going 50+.

Oh, and the Sonata isn't a bad choice. Most expensive choice but for what you get over the others listed, likely worth it! If you can find a used Aura, that is a wonderful car for a GREAT price these days.

Check these out:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ctd/1725118959.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/ctd/1722046615.html

 

[Kirby]

I hope you guys have at least changed the timing belt at that mileage so you don't end up like this guy:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2065270

lol, the only time the car stranded me was when the water pump went out (on a date no less ). got it changed then.

 

[desy]

I assumed it was the turbo cause he said it needs premium, but there is no 2.0T badging on it

 

[StageLeft]

If you're looking at a 07 civic hybrid please look at a 2010 Prius. You CAN get it for $22-22.5k and although that is pricier its mileage will beat the civic's, so it's worth looking at the cost. Its seats fold down, too; a hatch is nicer than a small sedan.

 

[CPA]

bump for update.

 

[PricklyPete]

Congrats on the purchases...I think the Mazda 5 is a awesome little car for what it does. Don't know if I would have gotten the Civic Hybrid...but to each their own. Enjoy!

 

[Alienwho]

So you ended up getting two cars? I thought you were just looking to get one car and have your wife keep her old civic? Am I wrong? Why did you end up swinging for two cars?

 

[ponyo]

I think you did great. Two almost new cars for net cost of $20k? Outstanding. Wife knows best.

 

[CPA]

So you ended up getting two cars? I thought you were just looking to get one car and have your wife keep her old civic? Am I wrong? Why did you end up swinging for two cars?

No, we had an 04 Avalanche. She was carting me to work and the kids everywhere. She basically became the family chauffuer. After sitting down and figuring things out, we decided it made sense to look at trading in the truck. If I would have gotten $4-5K on it, which is what I expected, I probably would have held off, but when they gave us $9K, I figured "crap, I'm getting a civic with 100K less miles and gets 30mpg better than the truck for $6K. How could I say no?

 

[CPA]

I think you did great. Two almost new cars for net cost of $20k? Outstanding. Wife knows best.

I even ended up getting two 3-year/75K mile extended bumper-to-bumper warranties for less than $1K each on the vehicles as they both are about to go out of warranty. I'm usually not an extended warranty guy, but took the plunge.