High mileage Passats
Discussion
Hi
I currently own a 99 passat on 255k
bought with no history and needed a few things doing. Heres what to watch out for
Suspension arms: there are 8 of them and the prices vary from £30-£80 each retail. If they fail and your not mechanicly minded then it can end up being a £700 job. You can Pick up all of these bits for £100 on ebay which seem to be pretty good if you know someone or can do it yourself
Cambelts: On these you must take the whole front of the car off so once again it becomes expensive. Expect to pay £350-£750 at a garage. When changing the cambelt you might as well do waterpump,coolant,thermostat and alternator belt while its all off.
Blocked waterways: Often you get leaves falling into the battery area which gets blocked,goes into the passenger floor area (lots of water) which can destroy the comfort control modual. Make sure all of the carpets are bone dry before buying and dont listen to the buyer if he says "i left the window open" bla bla bla
Dash clicking: If you hear clicking behind the dash then it means the electronic flaps are broken and can cause the aircon to never work again. It can become quite annoying. Another thing is heaterfan brushes they are common and im currently doing mine
So yes there are problems like any other car but trust me these are one of the best automobiles on the road
ENJOY!
I currently own a 99 passat on 255k
bought with no history and needed a few things doing. Heres what to watch out for
Suspension arms: there are 8 of them and the prices vary from £30-£80 each retail. If they fail and your not mechanicly minded then it can end up being a £700 job. You can Pick up all of these bits for £100 on ebay which seem to be pretty good if you know someone or can do it yourself
Cambelts: On these you must take the whole front of the car off so once again it becomes expensive. Expect to pay £350-£750 at a garage. When changing the cambelt you might as well do waterpump,coolant,thermostat and alternator belt while its all off.
Blocked waterways: Often you get leaves falling into the battery area which gets blocked,goes into the passenger floor area (lots of water) which can destroy the comfort control modual. Make sure all of the carpets are bone dry before buying and dont listen to the buyer if he says "i left the window open" bla bla bla
Dash clicking: If you hear clicking behind the dash then it means the electronic flaps are broken and can cause the aircon to never work again. It can become quite annoying. Another thing is heaterfan brushes they are common and im currently doing mine
So yes there are problems like any other car but trust me these are one of the best automobiles on the road
ENJOY!
i had one it was my sisters old car . it was on an R plate . solid car but ots of itte things wenbt wrong with it in my possesion . such as heater matrix brakes heated seats packing in . the problem with that one was i think that it had been parked up and unused for a ong time .
i would buy one if i needed a solid car
i would buy one if i needed a solid car
Adam205 said:
Thanks guys, that's given me a few things to look out for.
Any engine or turbo problems to look out for?
I've had mine for 3 years and covered approx 70000 miles (now on 136000).Any engine or turbo problems to look out for?
The engine has been great, always started first time even on very cold days and regularly see 50+ mpg. The clutch is still original and the 6 speed box shifts superbly and still feels tight. The suspension and steering also feel fine too.
As for the turbo, it failed at 127000 miles. I was warned by a few people on here that they do tend to go about 130000 miles, and it certainly did! I got an exchange unit fitted for £525 including service items and system flush.
My Passat is quite high spec but all the electrics work as they should and the interior and exterior look good for its'age.
As a solid and economical workhorse I'd certainly recommend one.
the car dealer said:
Hi
I currently own a 99 passat on 255k
bought with no history and needed a few things doing. Heres what to watch out for
Suspension arms: there are 8 of them and the prices vary from £30-£80 each retail. If they fail and your not mechanicly minded then it can end up being a £700 job. You can Pick up all of these bits for £100 on ebay which seem to be pretty good if you know someone or can do it yourself
Cambelts: On these you must take the whole front of the car off so once again it becomes expensive. Expect to pay £350-£750 at a garage. When changing the cambelt you might as well do waterpump,coolant,thermostat and alternator belt while its all off.
Blocked waterways: Often you get leaves falling into the battery area which gets blocked,goes into the passenger floor area (lots of water) which can destroy the comfort control modual. Make sure all of the carpets are bone dry before buying and dont listen to the buyer if he says "i left the window open" bla bla bla
Dash clicking: If you hear clicking behind the dash then it means the electronic flaps are broken and can cause the aircon to never work again. It can become quite annoying. Another thing is heaterfan brushes they are common and im currently doing mine
So yes there are problems like any other car but trust me these are one of the best automobiles on the road
ENJOY!
£700 labour costs for wishbones changing? Or for a cambelt change?I currently own a 99 passat on 255k
bought with no history and needed a few things doing. Heres what to watch out for
Suspension arms: there are 8 of them and the prices vary from £30-£80 each retail. If they fail and your not mechanicly minded then it can end up being a £700 job. You can Pick up all of these bits for £100 on ebay which seem to be pretty good if you know someone or can do it yourself
Cambelts: On these you must take the whole front of the car off so once again it becomes expensive. Expect to pay £350-£750 at a garage. When changing the cambelt you might as well do waterpump,coolant,thermostat and alternator belt while its all off.
Blocked waterways: Often you get leaves falling into the battery area which gets blocked,goes into the passenger floor area (lots of water) which can destroy the comfort control modual. Make sure all of the carpets are bone dry before buying and dont listen to the buyer if he says "i left the window open" bla bla bla
Dash clicking: If you hear clicking behind the dash then it means the electronic flaps are broken and can cause the aircon to never work again. It can become quite annoying. Another thing is heaterfan brushes they are common and im currently doing mine
So yes there are problems like any other car but trust me these are one of the best automobiles on the road
ENJOY!
Where do you live???? Those prices sounds like they are from Mars!
mines a 99 petrol and currently on 180'000 miles and runs 100% (apart from a dicky syncro on 2nd!!)
check....
suspension arms (I use cheaper kits as it's lowered but they seem to survive ok, and for the cars age, is a top branded kit worthwhile?)
water ingress to the ccu unit (damp/wet passenger foot well)
dual mass flywheel and clutch
and timing belt and water pump can be done for well under £400 (using quality parts)
check....
suspension arms (I use cheaper kits as it's lowered but they seem to survive ok, and for the cars age, is a top branded kit worthwhile?)
water ingress to the ccu unit (damp/wet passenger foot well)
dual mass flywheel and clutch
and timing belt and water pump can be done for well under £400 (using quality parts)
I had a 51 plate 2.5 tdi auto from 101k to 170 with all the optionsk. The only unexpected things to go wrong were
turbocharger servo ( had to replace whole thing)
Diesel injection pump
Egr servo vacuum valve.
Sure I did arms once and changed dampers, but was pretty economical and looked almost new when chopped in 18 months ago. It didn't show the miles cosmetically or in driving.
turbocharger servo ( had to replace whole thing)
Diesel injection pump
Egr servo vacuum valve.
Sure I did arms once and changed dampers, but was pretty economical and looked almost new when chopped in 18 months ago. It didn't show the miles cosmetically or in driving.
Adam205 said:
Another quick question, what are the autos like?
If its like most other conventional autos it will cost you mpg.. Being older it may well cost you quite a lot, specially if you do a lot of town driving.Seen as though you've confessed yourself that you're a bit tight they may not be ideal!
OnN the auto box...
Mine was a 51 plate Tiptronic 130PD (upped to 170ish). Easy box to use in auto or play up and downy gears.
Smooth and comfy, 50mpg all day long on the motorway at traffic speeds (70-80) and by no means thirsty in town -I never really paid much attention as coming from a 525i it was just novel not visiting the pumps so often as most of my driving was town at that time
The only thing which annoyed me was the tiptronic was most unnatural for a biker to use. I like mine to be back for up and forward for down!
The car itself was incredibly quiet, almost as good as my E34 and miles ahead of my Mazda 6 (awful road noise) or X-type (spoiled by coming from another E34 540i!).
Mine was a 51 plate Tiptronic 130PD (upped to 170ish). Easy box to use in auto or play up and downy gears.
Smooth and comfy, 50mpg all day long on the motorway at traffic speeds (70-80) and by no means thirsty in town -I never really paid much attention as coming from a 525i it was just novel not visiting the pumps so often as most of my driving was town at that time
The only thing which annoyed me was the tiptronic was most unnatural for a biker to use. I like mine to be back for up and forward for down!
The car itself was incredibly quiet, almost as good as my E34 and miles ahead of my Mazda 6 (awful road noise) or X-type (spoiled by coming from another E34 540i!).
philmots said:
If its like most other conventional autos it will cost you mpg.. Being older it may well cost you quite a lot, specially if you do a lot of town driving.
Seen as though you've confessed yourself that you're a bit tight they may not be ideal!
They seem to be cheaper and higher spec for the same mileage/condition. I'm not too fussed between auto and manual driving wise, as long as the auto isn't asking for trouble. Most of my driving is motorway.Seen as though you've confessed yourself that you're a bit tight they may not be ideal!
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