Faults:

The power window switches don't behave properly. Press the down direction and the window goes down... or up... or nothing at all. Volkswagen says there's nothing wrong with the switches.

The vacuum hoses have gone bad. I paid to have them replaced, only to find out that they had been recalled. Refund was hard to get.

At 60,000 the engine jumped timing. Luckily, I had purchased an extened warranty (can't recommend this enough). The repair cost me $25 but was over $5000 dollars worth of work. The car was in the shop for 7 long weeks.

General Comments:

The engine has lots of power especially with the manual transmission.

The car looks good and is very quiet in the cabin.

Lots of room.

The blue and red dash board are very cool.

Faults:

Minor squeal from steering wheel, especially when turning it to the right. Dealer unable to fix.

Minor brake squeal.

"Check Engine" light came on at 5000 miles. Dealer reset it, came back on the same day. Dealer eventually replaced most of the ignition system, including the computer (under warranty) and the car has been trouble-free ever since.

General Comments:

The Passat is a well-engineered premium family car: reliable, comfortable, fast and fun to drive. The trunk is surprisingly large (much larger than you'd think from the outside).

If I were to do it over again I'd choose the manual transmission -- the TipTronic is a nuisance, not worth the price premium.

Faults:

24,000 CV Boot

32,000 Water Pump

52,000 Front Rotors

64,000 Vacuum Hoses.

General Comments:

Well, I do like my car, but there is no doubt that it is fairly expensive to own. I baby my vehicles, take them to the dealership every 5,000 miles (well, I USED TO, but I'll get to that later). Do all the scheduled maintenance, and things still seem to go wrong. The front rotors are atrocious. I was told that they were made to wear to make them quiet, which is utter BS. Mind you, 80% of my driving is highway. So instead of putting more crap on my car, I went with aftermarket, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Consequently, I have had no problems.

Second, the car seems to creak a little more than I would expect. The armrest has creaked since the 12 month mark, and the console makes annoying rattles whenever going over the slightest bumps.

Also, the steering wheel makes a funny noise only when turning to the right. Finally, the engine makes a clicking noise that I think was caused when the water pump went bad - but I can get not affirmation to this.

Third, the dealerships are horrid! These folks are plugging bubble gum in every leak they possibly can because they realize they are selling crap, they just don't want to admit it. They also are a complete ripoff. Read your owners manual to see what "Work" they are doing. Check this, look at that, replace a filter, oh that will be $350. Excuse me, no thanks. Good bye, Mr. Dealer. You can do most of the work by yourself with just a little information, and a flashlight. The rest can be done by a reputable local mechanic minus maybe engine work.

Well, I warn you, this is a beautiful car, but I cannot recommend it.