Volkswagen Passat Saloon (1996 - 2001) 1.8T 20V SE 4d Auto (1998/R) Owner Review
Want to know everything there is to know about this car?
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Summary
What does this car say about you?
What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?
They like it, the size, the comfort etc
Would you buy this car again and why?
yes, but a later model with a mechanical warranty. excellent cars, just very expensive for repairs.
What are you likely to buy next?
If not a passat, possibly an AR 156 Selespeed. WARNING TO ALL POTENTIAL OWNERS - make sure it has been regularly serviced, and if there has been any turbo work, the oil feed line should either be replaced or completely cleaned. ALWAYS use pure synthetic oil, never anything else. turbo is small and holds a lot of heat, so if you give it hell, make sure you give turbo a couple of minutes of careful driving before turning off car. or just get a turbo timer. Having spoken to VW dealers, they have said that with care and regular servicing, there should be no problems. hope this helps!
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Buying experience
Type of dealer you bought from?
Didn't buy from a dealer
Did you buy this car new?
No
What price did you pay?
£2,000
When did you buy the car?
August 2008
Did you get a good deal and why?
I thought I did - turned out the previous owner had not done a good job looking after it.
Is there any special reason why you bought this car?
Took for a test drive, was very nice to drive, I liked the space in the car, seemed very well made.
What was the dealer like?
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Driving it
What's it like to drive?
very nice. very quiet inside, when the turbo is working its quite quick. a pleasure to drive, as the standard sound system is very good too.
What's it like to park?
decent sized sedan, so parallel is average (mostly driver skill), but everything else is fine.
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Living with it
Have you had any problems with the car?
Yes. Turbo blew 3 weeks after taking possession. Cost NZ $1800 (approx 700 GBP) to replace turbo and do a complete engine flush, clean oil feed pipe and check boost.
What's most practical about your car?
the size, economy
Favourite gadget, option or accessory?
tiptronic.. is good fun round town. always been a manual guy, but its actually quite good having an automatic with the slight manual choice.
