Used 2003 Volkswagen Passat Sedan Consumer Reviews

Fun to drive, but loads of exasperating maintenanc

Bought my V6 GLX PASSAT FROM THE SECOND OWNER. At 72,000 original miles. I paid $4,000 for it which I thought was a good deal. But to my chagrin it is been a money tornado. I've done nothing but work on this car constantly because of all the little things that go wrong with it. After I first got it it blew a heater hose immediately while in line at a fast food restaurant. After I fix that. It the water pump started leaking so I went ahead and performed the timing belt maintenance that was going to be due any up at about 100,000 miles so I went ahead and did all that. I replaced the valve cover gaskets spark plugs fuel filter. All the vacuum lines under the hood were deteriorating and broke apart the minute you touch them so I had to replace all those if I had to take this car to a dealer it would have cost me a fortune and I probably would have walked away from it but since I do my own car repairs and it's a hobby of mine I'm learning about the Volkswagen was eye-opening experience in itself. The V6 is very tight and you have to perform a what's called a remove the front end pull the front end out to do any kind of work on on the car really it's not that big of a deal but some people you know you could require special tools and stuff. That's the only drawback but you can rent these those tools to do these the job and you know it's it's not a vehicle for a college kid or somebody who needs a consistent vehicle that doesn't have a lot of tiki tack things break down on it other than that the the airbags have never give me a problem braking system is fantastic the steering system and a suspension is fantastic the engine as long as you change the oil and take care of it you it will probably run for as long as you want but there is a lot of plastic on these cars that I don't hold up overtime. I got to say there's no problem with the engine of the transmission in any shape or form or like the big things like the sunroof and things like that but other than that I like the my car to be in tip top shape and looking like it's it's in we'll take care of so little things that go wrong can be real bothersome and believe me this car will be bothersome you either love it or you hate it.

Watch out for sludge

I love my '03 Passat for its handling and performance. With that said, I have recently encountered the sludge issue. It is a issue that they leave out during the sales pitch. You only encounter it when it is time to change your oil. That is when they inform you that you must use synthetic oil because of sludge build up. My car is less that 4 years old and I have had to rebuild my engine. I followed the instructions from VW to use the more expensive oil and it still occurred before 140K miles. VW offered to give me a new engine, only if I supplied 100% of the scheduled oil change receipts. They asked for 26 and I could only produce 20. Therefore no new engine.

W8 the car you'll love to hate

After picking up the most grown up car I've ever owned, I find my self in a Love hate relationship.. I bought it right off lease with 24k on the clock on 4-13-07. The first of the problems was the ac went it the first week right before a trip to the fl. Keys. The roof trim keeps popping up at the rear over the rear window. Window regulator broke, over head interior light stay on, sun roof opens for no reason, trunk lock broke, head light washer non opp, cv boots leaked, trans torque converter replaced, brake booster vac line. The list goes on I just don't have the time or space. By the way as of 8-31-09 this car only has 49,290 miles on the clock.. If you ask me stay clear of VW! All lemons!

Disappointment

Poorly engineered

2003 V-6 Passat: replace alternator, $1000+; replace motor mounts, $ 600+; etc