1999 Volkswagen Passat Sport 1.9 TDI turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Bangernomics

Faults:

ABS sensor £11.99 off eBay; this fault was present when I bought the car.

Central locking does not work correctly; again, I knew about this prior to purchase.

It needs a track rod end to cure a knock from the front.

General Comments:

This is the best £550 I have ever spent. The car is so cheap to run. 40 MPG at least round town, and up to 60 on a run.

The car is on 203000 on the original engine, gearbox, clutch, fuel pump, injectors etc. Only thing that's been changed are the over complicated front suspension arms. Can someone point me towards a modern diesel that can achieve this?

A couple of years ago I sold a 5 year old TDCi Mondeo with only 128k on the clock, that needed dual mass flywheel, rear wheel bearings, handbrake cables and calipers, and fan belt pulley and tensioner. Rubbish.

Anyway, back to the Passat; it handles like a bath tub, there is lacquer peeling off the roof and upper tailgate, but I love it. The engine pulls like a train and is still returning its factory MPG figures. No other car I have ever owned has done this.

Everything still works, apart from the central locking, but you can still lock/unlock it via the internal button.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th August, 2012

5th Jul 2013, 05:19

Glad you like your Passat, though I will say that my 2005 Volvo V70 D5 is up to 296,000 miles and still runs like new, and with the exception of an intercooler, is all original with no big repairs. It still gives up to 48 MPG, which is very impressive given it's a 2.5!

1999 Volkswagen Passat turbo from North America

Summary:

Not worth the headache

Faults:

Where do I begin...?

This car drives actually pretty awesomely - WHEN she's working. Unfortunately, I continue to run into PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM with this vehicle.

Brakes = If you don't get new brakes at the first sign of needing them - then you're screwed, and have to replace the rotors as well.

Coolant/Head = I blew my head gasket one day - the car began to overheat while driving - about 5 miles later - the head was blown.

Now it seems as if the transmission went out.

This is a vehicle that you should own ONLY if you are a Volkswagen mechanic or are married to one. Otherwise there's no way the average American can afford the upkeep on it.

General Comments:

Interior is comfy.

Overall the mechanics/engine are faulty.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 16th August, 2011

17th Aug 2011, 21:16

Why would you continue to drive if the engine was overheating? In this case, the cause of the blown head gasket was the person behind the steering wheel.

In reply to 17th Aug 2011, 21:16

28th Aug 2011, 22:44

+1 if the car overheats, you stop. Period.

15th Aug 2012, 21:52

I have to third these guys. You should never leave the engine running when the car starts overheating. Turn it off and coast to a stop.

16th Feb 2014, 19:52

My serpentine belt went one day on the Passat I was driving at that time. One of the pulleys was making that squitch squitch noise for quite a while; it finally gave up one day.

If I remember correctly, the belt was driving the water pump (no confusion here with the timing belt). When the belt went, the engine temp quickly started to rise. I believe the person who wrote the review never realized the temperature gauge was going up. I suggest that all drivers get used to this gauge, locate it and have a look at it from time to time on an older vehicle.

When the temperature started to rise, I stopped the engine, let it cool a few minutes, then since I didn't want to pay for towing, I started driving the car slowly while checking the gauge so it didn't go into the red zone. Got the car to the garage this way.

It only cost me a belt, instead of a $2000 engine repair.