Faults:

Thermostat stuck, radiator leaked, battery failed, engine had a rough acceleration at one point traced to a faulty throttle valve. Oil pump failed in its last year with me - it was heading to the scrap yard by then however so I did not bother fixing.

Inside some switches stopped working, and the rear windows jammed one winter and did not open again. Sunroof leaked, but it was aftermarket and not fitted correctly.

The rest was the maintenance expected of age and mileage - brakes, timing belt, oil changes, etc.

General Comments:

The 88 - 93 Passat (B3) is one of the most underrated cars ever. In the UK during the 1990's it was a popular enough sight, though most of the cars in this class were the Ford Sierra or Vauxhall Cavaliers.

My Passat was bright red, rear spoiler and I added alloy wheels. Very smart looking car. Inside I loved the interior, very German - functional, logically laid out. Grey/black seats, very comfortable. CL was a basic model and did not have much. Wind up windows. Nothing fancy. GL or even better GT models are much better equipped.

To drive the gear change felt satisfying, brakes were good and the car handled well for its time. The 1.8 petrol engine had good enough acceleration and averaged around 38 mpg - stunning for a larger car in the early 1990's.

It was a slightly better car than my mid 80s BMW 3 series I had before. The Passat was also unfortunately a little expensive to maintain and I don't think they were as reliable as people made them out to be. Still, 15 years and 160K miles before it gave up was good going, plus I bought used and suspect the first owner did not look after it well, so overall it was a good car for me and I feel underrated compared to rivals at the time.

Faults:

Oil pump, coolant leak, new light switch, very minor rust spots, plus general wear and tear that I wouldn't really regard as faults like new brakes and so on, plus a timing belt change and regular oil changes.

General Comments:

Excellent all round car and one of my first I remember very well and left a good impression on me and influenced future cars I would buy, that generally being larger family/executive saloons and so on.

This isn't going to be one of those reviews that raves about how good older cars were and how newer ones are not as good - If I were to drive this car again, it would undoubtedly feel dated in 2016, however looking back it was very good for its time - nice interior quality feel, adequate acceleration and economy (38MPG+), and a very refined ride and handling. Interior was also very roomy for me at nearly 6 foot tall, and being a GL model, it had enough options, most things were electric.

What I don't get is why this was not a more popular car in the UK when they were new - it was better than similar rivals at the time in my opinion. Not a VW fan boy, just a general observation. Driven a few Ford Sierras and Vauxhall Cavaliers (good cars), but the Passat was slightly better at the time I would say, and was priced similarly.

As I said, of course new cars have come a long way in over 25 years, but I find it interesting to note that at 15 years old and with 160,000 miles on it, it was scrapped only due to being low in value and needing too much work to justify the cost. It was serviced on time, but I think the previous owner drove it hard and a faulty oil pump and high emissions killed it off. But over the course of time I had it, the car was very reliable and didn't break down or cause me any major headaches until the bitter end, which is more than can be said for some newer cars I've had recently.