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Smiddy
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Hi all this is for you Passat owners,

I have to get rid of the Audi A6 i got at the moment, its costing way to much its managed to rack up well over a £2k bill for services and work done on it in just 2 years so i just cant afford to keep it anymore.

So im looking at getting a Passat in the not so distant future, I have found one in Bristol its a 1.8T 20V its done 39k Here's a link to the car take a look tell me what you think.

Is there anything i need to look out for on these cars? any nasty surprises? ill be looking at keeping the car 1-2years.

Tanks for any help smile.gif169144-ok.gif

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If your buying at an auction this info will be of little use to u as you wont be able to get into the car.

If you use the following a a checklist you should be ok, I've split it into sections for ease:

Paperwork:

-when u arrive to see the car (private sale only) ask the owner to produce a photo ID to verify who they are, if they are genuine they will have no problem with this.

-Ask to use their bathroom...this will give u a chance to make some form of judgement as to if they are genuwine. so as you walkin to the bathroom just glance your eyes on walls, condition of house etc. (DONT GO LOOKING IN ROOMS.)

-check the Logbook details all match the car. dont skip this even if it takes u an hour to check it make sure u check it.

-check all the MOTs to verify the Miles!

-check all service history

-if u can contact the last owner they should be able to verify the car and its credentials.

Bodywork:

-take a pocket mirror with you use it to look at places u cant get to...i.e in the arch work for eg.

-Check all body pannels gaps and ensure there is no major marks, scuffs, dents (anything bigger than a 50p coin and its a hagglin point)

-Check that all door hinges are ok.

-Check all panel gaps (anything that has varying gaps is dodge and has crash repair or someone has attempted to break into it.

-under the car if possible for any crash repair damge, over spray (if the exhaust is covered in paint its a give away)

-dont be scared of looking under the carpets...u be superised at what it can sometimes tell you about the car.

-for the age and Miles on the car expect some dings, dents, stone chips stuff like that. (so try to budget for any repairs if needed).

Engine:

-Dont start the car right away.

-at first glance look at the engine...if its really clean..ask if its been steam cleaned..if the answer is yes...ask why?

Steam cleaning is not recomended as it removed factory applied lub, grease etc.

-check the oil level and open the oil filer cap and see what it looks like, if the oil is clean then u know the owner is tru to his/her word...good owner.

-have a good look over the engine bay, check for any leaks and general apprence of the bay itself.

-check the level of coolant as well.

-if its a manual without starting the car..try to engage all gears inc reverse...it may be a little stiff, but if u can't get into all gears its suggests that the syncro, box is on it way out, or may require attention.

-Start the car and listen carfully for engine noise.it should settle as it warms up but if it doesnt...this could be the tappets.

-if the car is turbo charged...rev it hard and look for white smoke out the back...if you spot this...WALK AWAY the turbo is on its way out.

-if you spot Blue smoke..its burning oil - again walk away. not worth the effort.

with the car on check ALL electrical toys inc the rear demister...get a bowl of hot water...and place on the back shelf and let it steam up then turn the demister on.

-make sure all windows work, lights, locks everything.

-apply lock to lock steering and listen for any noise...and kniks in the steering will mean problems, walk away.

Test Driving:

-agree a test drive (dont forget u must ensure you have insurance to drive another car. check you policy not all poilcies allow this now.) its your responsibility to make sur eu have the correct insurance before test driving outerwise its pointless going to see the car.

-drive for atleast 10-15 miles or 45 mins this will ensure the car is up to opperating temp.

-drive on A, B, town, country, and if possible Motorway roads this will give an indication of how the car drives.

-dont forget to try a rd with speed bumps too.

-try all the gears and ensure the car pulls well in each gear. (while in fifth hold at just under 3K RPM and floor it...if the revs rise but no speed increase the clutch is on its way out...budget got replacement (a haggling point).

-drive in a tight circle (in a carpark) and listen for knocking noise...indiates problem with driveshafts, box etc. again budget for repalcement or walk away.

-drive in reverse too and check that the lights actually work.

-if it has an alarm does it work? keyvodes? diable codes? radio codes? etc.

General:

- Keys? how many are there. you should get 2 keys one should be a master key. if its not there why not?

Ask them if its been modified, chiped etc? ..if it has ask whats been done, by whom? and recipts. if the owner is good they will have all this with the cars documentation anyway.

-check all the tyres inc the spare for tread depth and general condition.

-if its on minimum tread or near enough there haggle on the price and sidewall damge and the owner has been carless.

-if there are mixed tyre makes on all 4 corners...this personally I think is not good...cutting corners and poor maintaince. (although not in every case).

-

Pricing:

-what ever the asking price is offer as low as you think you can go...so when I bought mine from a Dealer I offered 1500 less than what they were asking...they woulddn't meet me in the middle so I walked away and they phoned me back in 2days and made an offer which was someway in the middle so dont be scared to offer considerbaly less. you can always go up. so dont offer to much to start with.

thats more or less it mate. best of luck keep us posted.

Oh and take a mate with you to act as an independant party, take notes bla bla and a camera too.

Hope this helps

P

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Thanks for that P, gonna give the garage a ring on friday and try and go and see it on sat.

Do you know the service intervals on the 1.8T and when the cambelt needs changing? Dont know if its the same as diesels? my first car was a 1.9TDI 110 Seat Toledo which was 20-40-60k miles my Audi is a 2.5TDI cam belt change isnt till 80k

thanks.

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Apologies for me questioning your logic here, but are you sure you want to chop in the A6 for that Passat.

Firstly you will have a big difference in fuel economy going from a TDi to a 1.8T. We went from a 306 Dturbo (45mpg) to the Passat and now only get 30mpg on a run, but 25mpg around town. Dropping 15mpg makes a big difference unless you do very few miles!

Now I know your A6 has cost you plenty to run, but look at it this way - everything you have replaced has now been sorted and shouldn't need paying out for again.

That Passat looks like a good one. The low mileage and boot spoiler tally with a privately owned example. However Its 3/4 years old and within a couple of years I bet it will need a cambelt, brakes etc.

The 1.8T is a nice motor, but if you can stretch to it the 130PD is the one to go for.

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I can see what your saying pug but the trouble is the A6 is coming up for its cambelt change which costs an arm and a leg and its done 76k miles and is 3/4 years old now.

What you get from your 1.8T Passat is around the same i get from the A6 its a 2.5 V6 TDI it just does no where near 45MPG its more like 35.

I dont do as many miles as a used to which is why im looking at petrol cars now, My last car was a 1.9TDI 110 the fuel eco. on that was great but at the time i was doing 30k a year easy some times on average 1000 miles a week but now i do under 20k a year.

I know it sounds a bit silly trading in an A6 for a Passat but im with the miles i do now should be a year before it needs a cambelt change and i might be able to change it by then.

Im sorting out what funds i can get for the new car now so i will keep my eyes open for a TDI but for that sort of price your talk loads of miles on the clock frown.gif

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I know what you mean about the V6 TDi not being all that great on fuel. Its a big drop over the 1.9 model. I think what people forget when they buy the large diesel engines is the sheer weight of the engine which effects MPG, but also the handling.

When my inlaws were looking to replace their vectra they looked at the 3.0 V6 CDTi model, but soon came to the conclusion it was a bad idea. For that model your talking a drop in MPG from 55 to 42 and the car weighs about 150Kilos more in the same SRi trim level. Thats a massive amount of extra weight over the front wheels of FWD car - not good.

My grandparents have just replaced their C class diesel with a 2006 SAAB 93 diesel. The SAAB's are bargain priced for what you get. On this occasion their new 93 TiD with leather, climate etc cost £14k. A similar spec Merc or BMW would have been £20k+ Sure it wont hold its value to well, but they keep cars for 10 years.

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