Used 2002 Volkswagen Passat Consumer Reviews
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Excellent value
Dom, 03/01/2002
2002 Volkswagen Passat GLX 4Motion AWD 4dr Wagon (2.8L 6cyl 5A)
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Absolutely one of the best automotive values available today. I considered Audi A4, Acura TL, BMW 325xi, Jaguar X-type, Volvo S60 AWD and bought a better car for less $. Best kept secret out there - I have a wolf (sports car) in sheep's (family car) clothing with a wonderful touch of luxury. I have 5k miles on the car and zero problems.
Why I will never by another VW again
Disappointed, 06/12/2010
2002 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5A)
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
I didn't review this site before purchasing my 2002 1.8t Passat Wagon (really sorry I didn't because this review will sound like many of the others).The car does look sweet,turbo was pretty awesome,& the car is stacked w/ features (sunroof, pw, pl, tiptronic, cruise, lots of space). We purchased the car with under 80000 miles. Less than 1 month into owning it the a/c compressor/clutch quit, the glove box handle fell off, a bracket under car came off, the heat quit working, the tiptronic would not switch from manual to automatic, instrument panel was 50% dim, transmission started to make a grinding noise when decelerating, 2 vent slats for the a/c fell out & paint started to peel frm inside
2002 Volkswagen Passat for sale near you
Showing 3 of 14 listings
- GLX 4Motion WagonMSRP: $3,49996 mi away
- GLS 1.8T WagonMSRP: $3,995670 mi away
- GLS 1.8T WagonMSRP: $5,995819 mi away
See all 14 listings
VW Passat 1.8T Sedan
G-Love, 11/25/2006
2002 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
4 of 7 people found this review helpful
We have loved the styling of our Passat and it drives like a dream. However, we have made numerous repairs to the vehicle and it is very expensive to fix. In fact, we had serious initial problems that were covered by warranty, but VW was unable to obtain the needed parts for nearly an entire month (this was late in 2001). We had a terrible experience dealing with VW Customer Care. Not at all what we expected from a German car company. It's a beautiful car and a great ride, but I'm not rich enough to own it.
Run away!
Cheesehead in TX, 11/24/2008
2002 Volkswagen Passat GLX 4Motion AWD 4dr Sedan (2.8L 6cyl 5A)
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
Well, this was an experiment in "Premium German Engineering" that will never be repeated in my life. This is the absolute worst of the 20 cars I have owned in my lifetime. Cannot even remember all the broken things in only 8 months- catalytic converters, brakes, oil leaks, coolant leaks, broken power seats, inferior leather seats. And scheduled maintenance! What a joke- $2k for brake work, $2300 for cats, $1500 for timing belt + getting rid of PLASTIC water pump. Run away, do not even consider one of these used. If you have to have a VW, but it new and sell it before it's 4 years old. Period.
This GLX still looks and drives like new
John, 08/04/2017
updated 02/05/2020
2002 Volkswagen Passat GLS V6 4Motion AWD 4dr Wagon (2.8L 6cyl 5A)
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
The Passat B5 GLX model, in Wagon form, is a perfectly-sized, pragmatically-safe, multi-task-capable vehicle sure to satisfy most anyone in need of a vehicle that has a variety of kid, pet, and/or material hauling. Or a perfect size even if you're not hauling anything. It's not too big; not too small. Just right. You can drive it all day long in complete comfort, knowing you are protected with plenty of airbags. This is an extremely safe, vault-like constructed vehicle. Smooth transmission delivery. Powerful V-6 engine. 24 mpg average gas mileage. Completely competent heat and AC. My only negative critique is the level of attention a Passat owner must assign to maintenance interval servicing; all typical of VW's in general. For example, drive axle shaft and transmission shaft oil seals will leak (as all oil seals eventually do) will leak with age, if not through accumulated miles, and must be replaced to prevent loss of gear oil and/or transmission fluid. It is worthwhile (important) to find a fair-priced VW dealer service provider OR better yet, a less-expensive competent independent VW service provider who "has your back" and has the experienced eye to inspect and diagnose with wisdom and efficiency. German cars are not cars to be neglected when it comes to preventive maintenance, with problems addressed promptly and correctly. It's just the way Germans design and build autos. Toyotas and Hondas can tolerate some neglect/abuse and delay with PM servicing, but not German cars. In return, though, you get to drive a car that delivers a much more rewarding experience. There you have it. I also own/drive a 2007 Cayman. Gotta love German engineering. They're not the least expensive to own, but I value the better driving experience, albeit with more frequent maint. service interval costs, over and above a typical Accord or Camry. But, to me, life's too short not to have a more rewarding daily driver. Of course, it doesn't hurt for me to be a Mech. Engineer capable of diagnosing and fixing most anything. I paid $6,200 for a near-mint 43K mile GLX two years ago. It's is a car that will last me forever. No need to consider any newer model. Buy the best condition/serviced car you can find/afford. Hey, everyone. Well, it’s Feb.2019 now and while I’ve only added about 3500 miles to the car since I last reported, the car now exhibits the common oil seepage problem at the cam shaft cover and valve cover areas. It’s the age of the gaskets/seals causing the leakage, not the miles. Also, the transmission exhibited a bit of “gear hunting” at very light throttle when in tallest gear. I’m thinking a transmission fluid service (drain & refill) would quite possibly help eliminate this slight nuisance. Upon good throttle acceleration, though, transmission shifts crisply and decisively. Also, I think the heater core is in need of a cleaning flush...because the heat is not as hot as it used to be. I suspect water/coolant flow through the heater core is not what it’s supposed to be. So, come Summer, I’ve definitely got some servicing to perform. :/ Btw, all three of these issues have been popular on these cars with needing to be addressed. Update: It’s Feb. 2020 and I self-performed a transmission fluid & filter replacement, using Liqui-Moly synthetic trans. fluid. What surprised me is that the drained trans. fluid came out looking amber clear (surprisingly clean), even though (and I’m certain about this) this fluid is original to the transmission that has almost 50K miles on it. In fact, the fluid looked so clean that I debated whether to proceed to replace it. But, I went ahead, anyway. Well, I’m glad I did because all of the transmission “hunting” behavior went away. It took a couple of days driving, but now the transmission operates flawlessly. Clearly, the fluid needed to be replaced, even though it looked acceptable. Btw, I strongly recommend all Liqui-Moly products for your vehicle. Excellent quality. I have yet to replace cam cover oil seals, valve cover gaskets, but will perform this Spring. Oil leaks at a small rate, in the meantime. A nuisance, but not a big deal.
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