1998 Volkswagen Passat Station Wagon review from North America

Timing belt needs replacement at 90,000 miles. This is extremely costly as they need to remove the car's facade-questionable design on this!

When a battery died a sudden rash of problems occurred; killed the power stage, throttle body and perhaps the turbo-repair is still in process... so far $1400.00!!!

I am a Volkswagen Junkie. I loved each of the 5 VW's I have had until this point. I even loved this car.

The root cause of this problem is overengineering. By over designing and under thinking, this car VW has opened up a wealth of new problem areas. Why would you include a timing belt that requires full disassembly of the frant of the car to replace @ a cost of + $1,000?

Why multiple ball joints on each wheel which require change at such an expense? Once again + $1,000.

The car was extremely reliable until this last week when it hit 114,000 and the indicator lights went off. IN VW terms, "Check Engine" lights mean "Verify you have funds in your checking account". The car has been at the dealer diagnosed with a faulty power stage ($575) faulty throttle body ($680) and perhaps a turbo problem ($mucho dinero).

My VW dealer was informed that this is the last VW I will own. They didn't seem concerned. For me, a 25 year love affair is over.