Faults:

When we first bought it we had to take it in for the vacuum hose recall... the check engine light wouldn't go off, that was at about 38,000 miles. At the same time, it needed a new right tie rod.

At about 50,000 we had to replace a gasket and cam seal to make it stop leaking oil. That was to the tune of about $800 dealership. We were also informed that the left tie-rod and both upper-control arms needed to be replaced. And to top it all off, our CV boots had completely disintegrated. Funny, we took it to the same dealer to get our oil changed for two years and though they noticed other small things, they never noticed the CV boots. Cost? $450.

We are currently dealing with a "mysterious" vibration which two mechanics have said was an axle problem. After 6 axles, we are about to go mad! So far the cost has been $200. As soon as the problem is fixed, we are going to sell it to get another Honda!

General Comments:

Love the control and the power and the tight cornering.

The bum-warmers are great.

I really don't care for cars that have low miles, but need a lot of maintenance. My last car was a Honda Civic and the thing ran for 250,000 miles with only minor, minor repairs.

I am so very disappointed in the car. I will never own another VW.

Faults:

Engine oil seal started leaking, repaired under the Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) warranty. Cost of repair would have been close to $1,000 if not for the warranty.

Both catalytic converters had to be replaced. These were replaced under the CPO warranty. Each catalytic converter costs $1,200. Add to this over 8 hours of labor and the total bill would have been $4,000.

The rear window washer fluid pump was bad and had to be replaced.

A nut fell off inside the rear door and rattled when you opened it. I had to pay for that repair. Turns out that in the US, the warranty for rattles is 12 months/1,200 miles so this was not covered.

General Comments:

The engine and transmission are both very very smooth.

Acceleration is quite acceptable.

Handling is typical VW excellent.

Ride noise is very low.

The rain-sensing wipers work amazingly well.

The stock sound system is quite good.

Where I live the speed limit is 70mph and most of the time everyone does closer to 80mph. At these speeds, the car gets just under 22mpg. In town, where the speed limit is 60mph (and you usually end up going close to 70mph), fuel economy jumps up to 26mpg. On a long trip (1,400 miles) with the car fully loaded and speeds averaged 70, the car got almost 27mpg.

Faults:

Emissions Workshop light will not go off. Thank goodness I bought an extended warranty which cost $1500.00 but will not cover any emissions problems. Its been in and out of the dealer over 5 times.. SOOOO sick of it. Was told OS sensor went out, but when the battery failed and a new one was installed the check engine light and emissions workshop light went off... Don't BUY 2000 VW Volkswagen they are a pain in the butt. Customer care won't do anything, but say "I'm sorry this is happening to you" but will not offer any solutions! this is so frustrating. AC takes forever to cool as well and the dealer claims they already fixed the problem.

General Comments:

Don't BUY VW!!! ANd someone please let me know of any lawsuits that are going on against VW passats 2000, regarding the Emissions workshop problems. ITs ridiculous how much these cars cost while the manufacturer won't back these problems up.