VW Passat...need some advice (Page 1/1) Justin_J DEC 10, 10:48 PM Hey so I am needing a daily driver that has good cargo space, fuel economy, and can make it up to the mountain in the snow. i was think a Subaru but right now there is a VW Passat that I am taking a look at here: http://bellingham.craigslis.../cto/4758861770.html I would be trading my 92 Jeep Wrangler with 221,000 miles for it. Does anyone have any experience with these? My main question is what it the real economy of them? The guy says he gets low 30s on the highway and mid 20s around town. Also how reliable are they? It is pretty high mileage which bothers me, but if they have a good rep I would consider it. Thanks! thesameguy DEC 18, 04:09 AM Dude is lying. The Passat is a tank and that V6 dates back to the '90s. No way he is getting low 30s on the highway unless he is driving 55mph at all times. You can expect high teens in the city and mid to high 20s at normal freeway speeds. Also, the 2.8 V6 specifies premium unleaded, so factor that into your fuel costs. The Passat is based on the B5 Audi A4, it's just a slightly longer A4. Most of the car is the same. That's good and bad - the Passat has a great ride and feels like a very expensive car, but it's also pricey to maintain. 90k timing belt intervals are No Fun - it's a big PITA and most places charge around a grand to up to $1500 for the job. Parts run about $300 (IIRC) if you're up for the job yourself. The ZF transmission is not terribly durable, and you can expect about 150k out of them before they fail. Some go more, some go less, but 150k is a good average number. If this one has 230k on the original box, I'd expect it to explode at any moment. A rebuild runs about $2500. The suspension on the Quattro/4Motion cars is absolutely INSANE with a billion moving parts and two billion bushings. Everything is a wear item, and the cars get clunky and twitchy when they age. At 200k, it's likely well past replacement time. That's $600 for cheap parts, $1200 for good parts - a couple grand if you're paying someone. Most of the accessories are pretty good and fairly reliable - I wouldn't expect much drama there. Heater cores can be an issue - they are underdesigned and eventually clog up resulting in no heat and a big PITA job. The climate control system in general, though, is pretty solid. As with any car that has a lot of buttons there's always the potential for issues, but I wouldn't necessarily expect any. With 230k, I think this is a $3000 car at best unless it has extensive records. I still wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole. You can find better cars for the same or less, and a 4Motion V6 Passat shouldn't even be on your shopping list unless you're a nutty Passat Enthusiast. IMHO, the operating costs are simply too high to justify such a car on a lark. (FWIW, I had a same-generation A4 wagon with the 1.8t and Quattro, and helped maintain one friends V6 sedan/Quattro and another friend's V6 Passat. Fair amount of experience with these cars. They're nice cars, but maybe not awesome values.) Kitskaboodle DEC 19, 03:38 PM 89-95 Toyota pickup with 22Re / 5 speed. Good gas mileage, good cargo space and ultra reliable. Mine has 350K now and is still going strong. Toyota pickups that are from Japan (not US) are number one! Everything else a distant second..... Kit