2002 Volkswagen Passat - Only if you are really rich and love headaches!
We purchased this car to replace one that was lost due to an accident (someone ran a red light and T-boned into us). I can honestly say this is the worst car we have ever owned. We were the second owners and now understand why the first put so few miles on it (12 year old car with only 100K miles... you would think that was a good sign). So to start: It requires special oil because it runs at a higher temperature. This is fine. However, this also causes it to develop sediment in the heating system, causing the heater core to back up. The previous owner had a new heater core put in shortly before selling (haha, maybe this was why?). Within 6 months it was backed up and we had to take it in to have it back flushed... during a Montana winter. Yeah, that was fun. That has become a routine ... (more)
We purchased this car to replace one that was lost due to an accident (someone ran a red light and T-boned into us). I can honestly say this is the worst car we have ever owned. We were the second owners and now understand why the first put so few miles on it (12 year old car with only 100K miles... you would think that was a good sign). So to start: It requires special oil because it runs at a higher temperature. This is fine. However, this also causes it to develop sediment in the heating system, causing the heater core to back up. The previous owner had a new heater core put in shortly before selling (haha, maybe this was why?). Within 6 months it was backed up and we had to take it in to have it back flushed... during a Montana winter. Yeah, that was fun. That has become a routine maintenance item, every 6-8 months having it back flushed to remove the sediment from the heater core. This is about ~$400. One of the windows has stopped working. The passenger seat heater did not work when we purchased it. There was a little burn hole in the driver's seat that we always assumed was a cigarette burn... come to find out that was not a cigarette burn, but where the element for the seat warmers was over-heating, sparking, and burning a hole in the seat. When it finally burned through, my husband saw the sparks. Needless to say we never used that seat heater again... so no heater, no seat warmer.
Does surviving -10 degree weather without a heater count as fun? We literally had to ice pick the frost off the inside of the window.
Does surviving -10 degree weather without a heater count as fun? We literally had to ice pick the frost off the inside of the window.
Has been good for our camping trips.
Has been good for our camping trips.
Maintenance will destroy your bank account. The heating problem is a known issue and nightmare with this car. It is fairly gutless, even with a turbo, which will cost you more in insurance. It is narrow, not enough room for 3 people in the back unless you really like the people next to you and all three of you are tiny (like 8-year-olds tiny). The finishes are poor quality.
Maintenance will destroy your bank account. The heating problem is a known issue and nightmare with this car. It is fairly gutless, even with a turbo, which will cost you more in insurance. It is narrow, not enough room for 3 people in the back unless you really like the people next to you and all three of you are tiny (like 8-year-olds tiny). The finishes are poor quality.
2002 Volkswagen Passat - Passat--Take it or leave it
I'll never forget the first time I drove off the lot with my 2002 Passat----it's sleek style, delicious handling, and beautiful interior made me feel like a million bucks. I had chosen one with black leather interior (a choice I will NOT make again anytime soon, although it looked beautiful), and it handled like a dream.
I owned this car for about 6 years, and during that time, I did experience a few issues in repair and upkeep. I was meticulous about servicing the vehicle for regular inspections and repair, but despite my diligence, I had a couple of pricey repairs on the vehicle below 100,000 miles. Passats in that date range are known to "sludge" up if not cared for regularly, and there was a period of time where the check engine light would come on almost daily for about a week. U... (more)
I'll never forget the first time I drove off the lot with my 2002 Passat----it's sleek style, delicious handling, and beautiful interior made me feel like a million bucks. I had chosen one with black leather interior (a choice I will NOT make again anytime soon, although it looked beautiful), and it handled like a dream.
I owned this car for about 6 years, and during that time, I did experience a few issues in repair and upkeep. I was meticulous about servicing the vehicle for regular inspections and repair, but despite my diligence, I had a couple of pricey repairs on the vehicle below 100,000 miles. Passats in that date range are known to "sludge" up if not cared for regularly, and there was a period of time where the check engine light would come on almost daily for about a week. Upon inspection at the dealership, they informed me that it would cost around $2500 to strip, "desludge", and then reassemble the engine again. Keep in mind, this was at under 100,000 miles. I did NOT have the money for the repair at that time, so I began the meticulous process of compiling evidence that I had cared for the car as instructed since assuming the payment. Fortunately, I was able to provide the documentation that was needed, and Volkswagen provided the repair for free.
All in all, it was a good car, it provided a reliable means of transportation, and although I might purchase again, I would maybe look at the list of "quirks" that each model has to decide if it is something I want to deal with or not.
I locked the keys in the car once, and we had to pry the trunk open and crawl through the backseats of the car in order to retrieve them. I am not aware of a similar engineering design in another car that would have facilitated this, so for that one feature, I am grateful.
As stated before, we did a little engineering experiment that involved traveling from 0 to 100, "just to see what she wa... (more)
I locked the keys in the car once, and we had to pry the trunk open and crawl through the backseats of the car in order to retrieve them. I am not aware of a similar engineering design in another car that would have facilitated this, so for that one feature, I am grateful.
As stated before, we did a little engineering experiment that involved traveling from 0 to 100, "just to see what she was made of". That was exhilarating!
I loved the sleek, professional look of the Passat. In its prime, it got great gas mileage. I have it on good authority that it can go from 0 to 100 in about 45 seconds (although I was not responsible for that discovery). I love the look of the black leather interior. It was easy to clean and care for. The handling of the car was very easy to manipulate.
I loved the sleek, professional look of the Passat. In its prime, it got great gas mileage. I have it on good authority that it can go from 0 to 100 in about 45 seconds (although I was not responsible for that discovery). I love the look of the black leather interior. It was easy to clean and care for. The handling of the car was very easy to manipulate.
Although I loved the look of the black leather interior, it did nothing for my backside on hot summer days. Ouch! Due to the fact that it was a German car, it was necessary to find a mechanic with metric tools to fix it, so fixing the car in a rural area was next to impossible. Parts for the Passat are rather pricey, so unless you have the means to maintain on a regular basis, do not buy.
Although I loved the look of the black leather interior, it did nothing for my backside on hot summer days. Ouch! Due to the fact that it was a German car, it was necessary to find a mechanic with metric tools to fix it, so fixing the car in a rural area was next to impossible. Parts for the Passat are rather pricey, so unless you have the means to maintain on a regular basis, do not buy.
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