Passat or Golf diesel

[Tafia]

Hi folks,

I may be about to buy a replacement for our Mondeo which is mainly used by wifey for shopping and visiting the old folks.

I am looking at VW diesels as we have a VW specialist 10 miles away who sorted out a Hall Effect sender fault on an Audi 200 turbo I bought as a toy some years ago. Clever chap I thought.

Wife wants a Golf as it is smaller and easier to drive and park. Golfs seem to be more expensive than similar age/mileage Passats and appear to hold their value longer. I see reports of Golf PD130 engines failing in What Car reports but assume the same engine is used in the PD130 Passat where there is no mention of engine failure in What Car.

I like a bigger car for the safety aspect and also find them easier to get in and out of!

What do you think folks? Passat or Golf?

[Coupe_Daz]

I work for VW and as you would expect have spent a lot of time with both models,
Assuming we are talking previous generation golf and passat(not the latest models as there isnt a 130bhp engine anymore, its 140) The engines are different despite both being 1.9 tdi 130 bhp PD engines. The golfs engine is mounted traditionally across the engine bay with the gearbox on the side, where as the passats is mounted 90 degrees round with belts at the front and gearbox going underneath the middle of the car.

Onto your question it really depends on your circumstances, golf is more popular hence the higher prices, a lot of passats are ex-fleet but providing the cambelt has been done and regular servicing you shouldnt see many, if any, problems. As your OH said, golf will be easier to park but passat trumps it by miles in terms of boot space and rear seat space although the golf is more than capable of transporting 4 in comfort.

The 130 is a good proven engine so dont know where the people who say they go wrong get there information from. Yhe 150 is way more fault prone. Both models have some minor common faults engine wise and other wise which i can tell you if you are interested

[Tafia]

Coupe_Daz said:

I work for VW and as you would expect have spent a lot of time with both models,
Assuming we are talking previous generation golf and passat(not the latest models as there isnt a 130bhp engine anymore, its 140) The engines are different despite both being 1.9 tdi 130 bhp PD engines. The golfs engine is mounted traditionally across the engine bay with the gearbox on the side, where as the passats is mounted 90 degrees round with belts at the front and gearbox going underneath the middle of the car.

Onto your question it really depends on your circumstances, golf is more popular hence the higher prices, a lot of passats are ex-fleet but providing the cambelt has been done and regular servicing you shouldnt see many, if any, problems. As your OH said, golf will be easier to park but passat trumps it by miles in terms of boot space and rear seat space although the golf is more than capable of transporting 4 in comfort.

The 130 is a good proven engine so dont know where the people who say they go wrong get there information from. Yhe 150 is way more fault prone. Both models have some minor common faults engine wise and other wise which i can tell you if you are interested

Thanks for this sir. I have looked at both models on the Honest John Car by Car breakdown pages and the PD 130 version seems to escape too much criticism. See:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=... and

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=...


Any issues with dual mass flywheels or clutches and water ingress below the battery shelf on diesels? Any other things to watch for? I guess if I can find one with a full VW history we should be OK.

Now you have reminded me, I recall my brother in laws' Audi A4 has the engine front to back as the Passat does.

Thanks again.

T

[Coupe_Daz]

Flywheels were known issues, easy way to tell is if the engine moves a lot physically at idle.

Air mass meters(aka MAF, Air flow etc) were common on both causing lack of performance.

Golf rear wipers leak in the boot due to the pipe coming off so check it works with good pressure

Passat's suffered with water leaks due to pollen filter housing and the resulting leak corroded plugs behind the passenger side kickplate trim so check the carpets front and rear on passenger side to make sure they are dry (under any mats that may be there) and make sure central locking works ok

Passats get through CV boots so check those usually only the outer boots go.

Passat radiators leak in bottom passenger corner a quick check through the lower bumper grille should show up any problemss (white coloured deposit)

Both models rocker/cam covers leaked, bit harder to check on passat as you will have to unbolt the engine cover

Both models intercooler boost pipes very common for slight leakage of oil where they meet the intercooler but rarely causes problems.

Dont let this list put you off, most of the models will of had these faults rectified ifthey ever occured

Usual maintainace make sure the cambelt has been changed at every 60,000/4 years (which ever is first)

hope this helps,let me know if you need to know anything else

[Tafia]

Coupe_Daz said:

Flywheels were known issues, easy way to tell is if the engine moves a lot physically at idle.

Air mass meters(aka MAF, Air flow etc) were common on both causing lack of performance.

Golf rear wipers leak in the boot due to the pipe coming off so check it works with good pressure

Passat's suffered with water leaks due to pollen filter housing and the resulting leak corroded plugs behind the passenger side kickplate trim so check the carpets front and rear on passenger side to make sure they are dry (under any mats that may be there) and make sure central locking works ok

Passats get through CV boots so check those usually only the outer boots go.

Passat radiators leak in bottom passenger corner a quick check through the lower bumper grille should show up any problemss (white coloured deposit)

Both models rocker/cam covers leaked, bit harder to check on passat as you will have to unbolt the engine cover

Both models intercooler boost pipes very common for slight leakage of oil where they meet the intercooler but rarely causes problems.

Dont let this list put you off, most of the models will of had these faults rectified ifthey ever occured

Usual maintainace make sure the cambelt has been changed at every 60,000/4 years (which ever is first)

hope this helps,let me know if you need to know anything else

Many thanks for taking the trouble to do this. Most kind of you.

Will keep all of this in mind. I think I may be persuading wifey to go Passat.

[penelope-pitstop]

Hi there, well tell your wife she'll just love the Passat, my Hubby recently bought me one (its an estate TDI 4Motion) its lovely to drive (has been remapped so goes like stink!) it's pretty good on fuel (so long as I don't wear my lead boots! lol) and it feels safe but is also an awesome looking car
, we've just put 19's on it and a de-badged grill (already got the tinted windows) so kinda stands out from the crowd without being boy-racer-ish! I'd recommend a Passat to anyone! I love it!