is 2001 passat too old?

M

moneygrower

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Would these cars usually do well into their old age? I heard they have a lot of electrics that could go wrong.
 
There is a known issue with some VAG cars - this model of Passat included. There are drains in the scuttle panel under the windscreen which can get blocked by leaves/dirt etc. The water then backs up and overflows into the car via the ventilation system, the first symptom is usually wet carpets (press hard as there is foam) and steaming up. This wouldn't be too much of an issue except the convenience unit is under the front passenger seat and ends up sitting in water and rusting away. This unit covers the alarm, central locking etc. and is very expensive to replace. On later cars it's supposed to be in a waterproof box.

To check the drains pour a kettle of water onto the windscreen and check it drains away via the two drains behind the wheels and the central one under the battery.

Check out the car-by-car on www.honestjohn.co.uk.

My 99 Passat got an early trade-in because of this problem.

Good luck
SSE
 
Thanks for that SSE, my brother mentioned something about that, he's the petrol head of the family but has exams so I'm a bit all over the place. Will have a look at that website.
Now looking at a honda accord as they have such a high reliability rating and the room and safety is good.
 
Accord would be a better buy in my view also. If it's the diesel, check the oil regularly, but otherwise they seem laregly trouble free.
 
Thanks for the votes, will take them on board.
Just went to view a five door Accord. Turned out to be a regular saloon but the guy tried to tell me the boot was a door. When I asked him 'what's a four door then?' he said 'a hatchback?'.
 
Was it the Rover shape? If so, in fairness to the guy these are often described as hatchbacks although strictly speaking they are not IMO.
 
Have a 2001 passat for the last 4 years.

130 TDI 6 speed sport.

Got a few suspension bushings and drop links done the last service the car is solid as a rock on 108K miles.

No major worries usual stuff.
In the 4 year other than tyres and service I have done the follwing.

Replaced a radiator (Me and my father)
CV boots welded the exhaust (mechanic mate)
TB and water pump routine at 100K
Window reg drivers side (Myself)
Drivers door lock because the door switch was gone (not critical me being pedandtic)

Otherwise no problems to report. I think this is pretty ok for 4 years.

The 130 gives a great mix of power and mpg.
The Sport is the nicest one to go for.
Climate control seems to make very little diff to the fuel economy so use the ac no bother.

108k so far have seen them with 150k and more miles.

Best thing is they are well over the worst of depreciation

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Frank, no idea what suspension brushing and drop links are but I do like the space in the passat and the solid feel to them. Was looking at estates online asking near 5k.
Looking to see if I can get a 04 focus estate for less than 5k (preferably 4k) as they have a five star safety rating.
My mam reckons get a japanese car if your getting an old one hence the honda accord, might have to be a civic. Think I have ambitions beyond my pursestrings.
 
Caveat said:
Was it the Rover shape? If so, in fairness to the guy these are often described as hatchbacks although strictly speaking they are not IMO.
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nope! It was a boot mcboot. the window didn't budge, or if it did it wasn't meant to.
 
have a passat tdi 100 bhp from new 250,000km on it .done timing gear twice,cv joints twice also water pump done just passed nct test no problems
 
Caveat said:
I reckon you would fairly easily get an 01 Civic for well under 5K.
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There aren't a lot of them for sale, especially if you don't have time to travel to cork and kerry and aren't going the merlin route. I'd be worried about the cost of running the bigger engines too, I imagine a 2l petrol engine aint cheap. The main attraction of the 04 focus is the 5 star safety rating. I took a '01, 1.8 accord asking less than 3k for a test drive, but I think it had clutch problems.

Edwalsh, that's a good car! If we don't plump for the focus we might come back to the passat.
 
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