Used 2003 Volkswagen Passat Consumer Reviews
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V6 4Motion great buy, but underpowered
Daniel, 06/12/2010
2003 Volkswagen Passat GLX 4Motion AWD 4dr Sedan (2.8L 6cyl 5A)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
Purchased the vehicle with approx 80k miles. Loaded, flagship model in the lineup, everything electric/mechanical still works fine. This car is a tank -- very heavy, very "safe" feeling. V6 feels underpowered. Should've bought the V8. However, 4motion has saved my life twice. No hesitance to load my family (with newborn) into car.
One of my favorites
wg_h66, 04/14/2012
2003 Volkswagen Passat GLX 4Motion AWD 4dr Sedan (2.8L 6cyl 5A)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
Purchased mine used '07. Overall a very fun and satisfying car to own. The fuel efficiency really wasn't that great and it is premium only, so it can be expensive. The only issue I had with it was due to the cabin pollen filter not being maintained properly. Two days of heavy rain and the passenger side floor was filled causing computer damage. (I had no idea going in that this was an issue). If you are reading these reviews before purchase then you will have a very dependable car.
2003 Volkswagen Passat for sale near you
3 of 21 listings
- GLS 1.8T SedanMSRP: $5,495412 mi away
- GLX 4Motion WagonMSRP: $4,695516 mi away
- GLX 4Motion WagonMSRP: $7,481687 mi away
See all 21 listings
Ok car but expensive ongoing maintenance
spomps, 03/22/2014
2003 Volkswagen Passat GL Fwd 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Bought new in 2003, still going with 172,000 miles. Comfortable and great handling car but it comes at the price of expensive, ongoing maintenance. The check engine light has been on for at least 1/2 its life and I just ignore it. Sometimes it goes off, sometimes it doesn't. Have had to deal with it every 2 years to pass state emissions though. Dash lights stopped working at 107k miles and had a wire meltdown. Required a new wire harness ($3,500) so I just use a clip on book light to illuminate the dash at night. If it weren't for the expensive and ongoing need for repairs, I'd highly recommend this car, but can't.
2003 VW PASSAT GLX SEDANS KICK ASS AT 150mph too
H. Woodruff, 03/07/2016
2003 Volkswagen Passat GLX Fwd 4dr Sedan (2.8L 6cyl 5A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
If youre looking for a car that has lots of acceleration, great braking, awesome handling, and loaded with 6 or more air bags, with a large trunk and seats that also fold down, this is the car for you. It loves rain storms, not sure about snow, i live in California. It gets great gas mileage 18 city and about 22 to 26mpg hwy depending if you drive the speed limit or not, i always obey the law. hahahaa. If you like driving to Las Vegas and end up with $18 to get home with, at 260 miles away from home, this is the car for you. It has a 5 speed automatic transmission that shifts so smooth you don't even feel it shift gears. It also has a manual shift that lets you shift it incase that corvette next to you (thinks) he's going to embarrass you in a race that he loses. The car is awesome, great looking, and knows how to handle business, my car has 122k miles and still runs and drives like it's brand new. Buy the car...you wont be dissappointed, i have had many great offers over $5000 for it, no way i'm selling it though. VW kicked ass when they built this machine .
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Thank god it's gone
Naomi, 12/29/2008
2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion AWD 4dr Sedan (4.0L 8cyl 5A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
When I bought the car it had all the features and performance I was looking for along with great all weather traction. That was the good news. Over 6 years it would spend 1-2 months in the shop every year. Electrical problems, replaced fuel senders x2, fuel tank, engine coils, torque converter, cv joints, numerous other recalls and finally the dreaded cam adjusters failed at 43k. Quoted repair cost $8500, and happens to just about every w8. A quick fix is to try an oil flush like k&w, but it is a ticking time bomb of what's going to fail next. Worst reliability I have ever seen, and this holds for other w8 owners I spoke too. We all traded ours in for a more reliable car (just not a VW).