mattsavage Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Hi. We want to buy a Passat Estate TDI (130). Did the model change in 2000? The newer ones have the fancy double rear lights and slightly different front lights, when did that change, 2000 ish? We've got two cars to trade in that are worth about £6000 (M reg Audi 80 tdi and '51 Astra 1.6 petrol), what year Passat do you think we could get for that? And pointers or information much appreciated. Very best regards, Matt Savage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustynuts Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Matt, the Passat changed (facelift) in 2001. £6000 might just about get you into a decent facelift model, but possibly not a PD 130. There may be some PD 115's in that sort of price range, but personally I'd stay away from that engine. I hear a lot of stories of head gasket problems. I've just done a search on Autotrader and the first PD 130 estate came in at £6495, so you might get one, but this one had 118k miles on it. Not a problem provided it's got main dealer service history and is fully serviced. Cam belts need £350 to change if it needs it, so allow for that if necessary. HTH. Regards. Rusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnalu Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Matt My advice is don't buy a passat. The Passat may look good, have a quiet smooth ride, feel solid and the TDI130 is powerful with good economy, but you'll very likely become frustrated with many small problems. I read this online and in a Which report before buying mine, but ignored it in favour of the plus points. I know think that was a mistake. I've had mine for 5 months now and I've had water ingress, alarm faults due to bad wiring, failed coolant temp sender and a cracked breather pipe. Also a speaker has developed an irritating buzzing. These may seem like minor faults but it costs hundreds fixing them, and that's in addition to being woken up by the alarm at 2am and the hassle of to'ing and fro'ing from the dealer. may be not the advice you're looking for, but that's how I feel. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsavage Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Thanks for your replies. We actualy want an Audi A4 estate, but can't afford a nice new-ish low milliage one, so for the same money we can get a newer Passat. We have been VERY impressed with our Audi 80 tdi that we have owned for 8 years now. So which engine then? The tdi 90 we have in our Audi 80 is very good, but a few more horses would be nice. Any help would be great. Thanks, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixthecat1 Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Matt My advice is don't buy a passat. The Passat may look good, have a quiet smooth ride, feel solid and the TDI130 is powerful with good economy, but you'll very likely become frustrated with many small problems. I read this online and in a Which report before buying mine, but ignored it in favour of the plus points. I know think that was a mistake. I've had mine for 5 months now and I've had water ingress, alarm faults due to bad wiring, failed coolant temp sender and a cracked breather pipe. Also a speaker has developed an irritating buzzing. These may seem like minor faults but it costs hundreds fixing them, and that's in addition to being woken up by the alarm at 2am and the hassle of to'ing and fro'ing from the dealer. may be not the advice you're looking for, but that's how I feel. Andrew [/ QUOTE ] Do yourself a favour and read this. DON'T BUY ONE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnalu Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Matt I had a 1997R Seat Toledo TDI with the 90hp engine and it was fantastic. My 2001 Passat 2.0SE is much less reliable in comparison. Also a friend of mine recently bought a 2002 Passat TDI130 and immediately found it had wiring/water ingress problems needing hundreds of pounds of dealer fixing. Don't assume that because your old audi was good that the Passat will be as good or better, I'd bet good money that it won't be... My 25 year old mercedes is more reliable than my Passat. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 If you can find one I would go for a facelift TDi130. The only problem you are ever likely to get with a passat is the VW dealer or VW uk - if you never have to deal with either of those it will be a happy motoring experience for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munki Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 I've had one or two little niggles, but never anything big. I guess some people are just unlucky. I would recomend a diesel if you can get one, it'll save you a fortune in the long run. But diesel estates are more expensive to buy in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobby Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Seems a few anti passat people visit this Passat forum. I have a 2001 facelift model, 104k on it last Aug when bought. It got 123k on now with no problems. The company i used to work for use Passats, all to 200k usually without too many problems. Even the odd petrol was kept to 210k, but the auto gearbox started going faulty. Anyway.... my TDI 130 with 104k Estate 2001 facelift cost £6500. But that seemed a good price, looking around. Best thing is to search and drive, start from cold, engine should sound good at 100k. Mine seems very good. Dont be too put off by people who buy a diesel, thrash the bo**ocks off it and the complain when its broke. I think the VW engines are good, although small electrical problems do develop after 150k. Sadly they can be very expensive. Dont use dealers, find a good garage that you can trust to do any work you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixthecat1 Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 [ QUOTE ] ms a few anti passat people visit this Passat forum. [/ QUOTE ] I think you will find it's more a case of been there, done it, got the T-Shirt. The whole point of TSN is to share knowlege. I have some personal knowledge and also some shared through TSN and others. Would you like me to tell you the Passat is a great car with no design or manufacture problems? Don't be daft. Nobody is anti anything. Enjoy you're Passat while you can because one day something may go wrong and you'll have to post a question on TSN. Let's hope there are lots of current and ex- Passat owners around to help eh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnalu Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I'm not inherently anti Passat or VW. In order I've owned a polo, golf, Seat Toledo, Toyota Corolla, and now a 1979 merc 280ce and a 2001 2.0 SE Passat. Notice there are four VAG cars in that list - I am, perhaps was, pro-VW. In terms of things going wrong, the Passat is by far the worst car I've owned. True, to some extent I've probably been unlucky with it, but it should be clear to anyone visiting this forum that water ingress and subsequent expensive wiring/electronics damage is the number 1 problem with Passats. just my opinion Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 you get the same on all car forums, people saying that they will never have such and such a car ever again. Theres guaranteed to be someone somewhere that will say that about any car you can think of. Nothing is perfect. Not even volvos (i have memories of my friends 760 indicators/side lights falling out on the motorway and getting squashed! actually expensive to replace) Believe it or not there are more annoying and expensive things to go wrong with cars than the water ingress problem. I can understand though that these problems can put you off. I dont think its in TSN's best interest to have posts in the PASSAT forum saying that its not a car you should buy. Of course if you have a problem then share it but theres not much gain to be had by reapting the same views over and over. Experiences are subjective and may not be the same for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixthecat1 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Nothing is perfect. Not even volvos [/ QUOTE ] So far so good. I'll keep you posted since you care. [ QUOTE ] I dont think its in TSN's best interest to have posts in the PASSAT forum saying that its not a car you should buy [/ QUOTE ] Tell you what. After 20 posts you obviously know loads more about TSN than anyone else so I'll shut up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Tell you what. After 20 posts you obviously know loads more about TSN than anyone else so I'll shut up. [/ QUOTE ] Sorry to upset you but I was expecting more from the contributors. And thank you for shutting up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixthecat1 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Oh come on. Take a joke or warn me and I'll go and get my handbag too. 21 Posts now fella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobby Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 .... fight... fight!! its like being in the school play ground with you Tian. With 1481 posts, either you have been here a long time.... or you talk too much! Its not what you say, it seems to be how you say it. You seem very destructive, try puting good points first I dont have many posts, but that doesn't mean i know nothing about Passats, or any other car. I think this forum is great for people to find out things about their cars. I will definately (not maybe as you put) get a problem with my Passat in the future, i cover too many miles not to. It already has a couple of small electrical faults i need to fix. But like Asta said, minor faults fair enough, but major engine or mechanical faults are not so common. Even on high milage cars. If i get a problem... Tian... will you still help me??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixthecat1 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 I might come accross a bit blunt at times but you have to understand something. I don't get much time to post as my boss hovers, I'm a hellishly slow typist and if I didn't want to help, I wouldn't be here. I only slated the Passat because I had a bad one and so may others here have had problems too. Look at it from my point of view for a moment. I see a guy about to buy into something I couldn't wait to get out of. What would you do. I have to be honest with him. Look, the Passat fits in quite nicely as a nice family car, slightly higher in expectation than a Mondeo. it looks classy and rides smoothly. Equipment wise, it's good but not outstanding by todays standards. Plenty of room inside and a nice big boot. It's just not built to the standard we all expect from a car that costs £20,000 new. How's that eh? Come back to me. Oh, and of course I'd help you if you had a problem. I can be nice too you know, who do you think I am, Padger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobby Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 lol.... not bad.... good and bad points I put the post as just recently you seemed to be having a go at passats. Tbh, i dont think they are the car they used to be. Besides the 2001 passat i have a 1995 passat tdi kept off the road, ready to go if needed. Comparing the 2 i would say build quality has suffered recently. The 1995 one has covered 260k and still starts straight up and runs nice. I doubt the newer ones will match it. The 1995 one is a much better car. Only time will tell with my newer one, but so far so good, other than a few squeaks i dont like, the boot lock has a mind of its own, headlight bulbs costing £10 a month to replace!!! u feeling better yet! No hard feelings, i only put it to wind u up. You wound me up when i read a post a while ago regarding someone looking at buying a Passat, you convinced them not to. But his end words were, i will be better getting a 5 series BMW! £ for £ i dont think you can compare the 2. Obviously the BMW 5 is loads better, but the price difference is massive. My next car will probably be a Audi 2.5TDI and the a BMW 530D after that. GIVE US A KISS.... AM SORRY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felixthecat1 Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 No need for the 'S' word but thanks. Problem is my Passat was soooo bad. Must have been made on a friday afternoon. I admit I'm biased but I didn't start that way. I loved my Passat before it started to fall apart. To be honest I would be happy if mine was the exception not the rule. VW should be a quality make. I'm sorry to say that the Volvo is streets ahead. I realise it's a newer design and more expensive but Ford and Volvo have raised their game. VW are content to dilute the brand. I drove a Mk5 Golf for a while and the standard of plastics was again worse than before. It's a bugger and I wish they wouldn't do it, I'm old enough to remember VW as a proper quality brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentzer Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I like mine ('03 plate 130 TDi Sport Saloon) - so far I've had a bit of a problem with the electrics - down to a badly corroded trailer electric socket - can't remember the brand (Brink?) but I think the design is a bit bad - it's right up under the bumper just where the wheel splashes it. Swapped over in about 15 minutes one afternoon, and no problems since. I think the worst bit so far has been the rear axle - I've hit a pothole at some point, and it's put the NSR wheel out of line slightly. Had a brize bar (?) done on it, and it's apparently sorted, but I'm at the end of the adjustment. Next time it's a new rear axle (130 Sport) and a second mortgage if I get it done at the stealers. Apparently the SE / Highline rear axle is more adjustable, and possible more resiliant. The Passat is the best car I've driven for a long time - at least apart from my Defender . It's really comfortable, does loads to the gallon (and I've got a really heavy foot) and the boot's big enough (with the seats down) to take a single bed (with mattress) and a double wardrobe - both taken apart . If you get a good one, they're worth the money. At least in the first 34,000 miles - can't comment beyond that - yet! Cheers Ben Cheers Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsavage Posted March 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Thanks for all the replies. What is the difference between the Passat tdi and the Audi A4 tdi? Same engine, same drive train... Cheers, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munki Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 I don;t know the similairities or differences but I would guess it is down to the mapping of the software. I know from about 97 they were using the same engine, but I never really looked into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobby Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Good question, whats the difference between the Audi and Passat TDI. Not much (in theory) From what i have been told.... the Audi drives better and is more econimical... anyone thats had both will answer better. Interesting to me as i look at changing my Passat to an Audi A6. I think the Passats are good cars. If i can overload it with weight and race it all over the motorways etc and still it can manage towards 200k... then it cant be all that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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