1999 Volkswagen Passat Turbo Wagon review from North America

My stereo died after 2 years, at around 30, 000 miles and the dealer wanted $150.00 for a rebuilt radio. I bought a new Alpine with a CD player for about the same amount, installed. Also within that same week both my headlights went (and my dealer wanted $105.00 to replace the two bulbs).

This winter I've been experiencing something new: when the roads are wet, my engine light comes on and the car runs very rough, however the light usually goes out within 30 minutes.

Several days ago, however, this happened and in the car engine light began flashing continuously. The front end of the car began to shake when the car was in low rpm. I'm hoping that it's a spark plug issue only (it goes to the garage tomorrow). I did notice that after this happened, I lost all my preset stations on my stereo, but don't understand the connection between a spark plug and my radio settings.

I've also had a noise in the engine within the first year of ownership (I think it's a bearing and it seems to be getting louder). The dealership told me the noise was from a vacuum value that helps to cool the engine.

I think the car is so much fun to drive and I feel very safe in it. However, I'm beginning to wonder about these "electrical" problems. Regardless of the problems, I will never return to dealer for maintenance or repairs.

I have also noticed that the car sometimes doesn't seem to know when to shift. Sometimes it shifts high and other times low (and sometimes not at all unless I downshift).