Passat Wagon

[unityco]

My parents are thinking of replacing their beloved (to me :o) Malibu with a Passat Wagon. Anyone have any opinions - especially on carseat compatibility?

[TXAggieTech]

We had one when we first became foster parents. We were able to fit 3 across with some combination of Cosco seats, it has been a long time so I don't remember which ones.

Ours had a ton of very minor issues almost non stop. I think it was a 98. Our dealership was terrible so we drove about 3 hours round trip to the next closest dealership for work, if just got to be too much. We also needed more seating so we upgraded to a vehicle with a 3rd row.

Gas mileage wasn't that great and we used premium so it really hit the pocket book for such a small vehicle.

Other than those issues we did love it. There is an online forum of Passat drivers that was very close at the time. DH was always trading parts of getting stuff for shipping from other members.

[unityco]

Thanks for that!

My Dad's a bit weird when it comes to vehicles. He's a mechanic, so minor repairs don't phase him too much (unless it's electronic/computer related, which seems to be everything with new cars,) and gas mileage doesn't seem to be an issue for him either (it's supposed to be the alternate to their Suburban, so it's got to have better fuel economy than that, right? ;)) In fact, he wants to get either the 6 or 8 cylinder engine (but likes the 6-speed because it will be better on gas . :shrug-shoulders:)

They're looking at the '05-'07 model years.

[jmm3]

We had a 98 Passat Wagon. I really liked it. But, it did seem to have a fair amount of problems (I think it was the transmission). It broke down several times and we ended up getting rid of it after about 2.5 years because we couldn't take the repairs anymore.

When it was working fine, I loved it though. It was fun to drive, roomy and comfortable. We only had one child at the time, but we had a Snugride then an RF Evenflo convertible fit easily.

There were no LATCH or tether anchors, but the dealership added a TA for us for free once we were changing the seat to FF. I guess that wouldn't be an issue for 05-07 anyway.

[etoilech]

They are really roomy and our friends have three across the back seat so that shouldn't be a problem. It's too bad they're so interested in the bigger engines, the smaller ones are pretty powerful and have great fuel efficiency. I believe the 2.4T engine is the exact same as in the Audi A4. People here drive on the autobahn here with them, so it's not like they lack power.:D

[Heather98012]

Do some research on them on MSN autos. VWs are still getting bad reviews for reliability. My sister wanted a Passat but ended up with a Volvo instead....she just didn't want to risk getting a car with lots of repairs. I mean, even under warranty that's annoying.

I'd love to get one of the TDI diesels for my dh to commute with, but I just can't do it with their reliability in the toilet. CR gives them a below average ranking, & the user reviews on MSN autos aren't very good.

[etoilech]

Do some research on them on MSN autos. VWs are still getting bad reviews for reliability. My sister wanted a Passat but ended up with a Volvo instead....she just didn't want to risk getting a car with lots of repairs. I mean, even under warranty that's annoying.

I'd love to get one of the TDI diesels for my dh to commute with, but I just can't do it with their reliability in the toilet. CR gives them a below average ranking, & the user reviews on MSN autos aren't very good.

We're Volvo drivers mostly (we've veered away recently, due to BMW getting such good mileage), however many people here in Switzerland are solid VW drivers. Our friends have had three Passats back to back driving them for a solid 7-8 years each with nary an issue, ever. My SIL also has a used Passat which she bought with over 90k miles on it... no issues in the last two years.

I don't know if it is b/c of the different engine line ups available here vs. the USA or what but, we've never heard any complaints about them. To the contrary many people here are quite fanatical about them. :D I do know that the models they sell in the USA are the ones with the bigger engines... maybe that's it?

I've never listened to consumer reports much, they also gave Volvo crappy reviews and in our own experience they've been fantastic cars. We've had three Volvos, including my V70.. which is what I drive, nothing but, good things to say regarding performance, reliability, and service. As with all things YMMV.;)

[Jacks]

We love our Wagon. OUrs is a 2007 and has had no maintence issues. No center latch anchors. Any tall carseat like the SafeGuard installed in the center will make it impossible to see out the rear window. Also, the headwings on the SafeGuard touch the airbags on the side which makes outboard installation impossible as well. Our Graco Nautilus fits perfectly in the center and outboard. Hope this helps.

[sirrahn]

We have an '02 (bought late '01) with 120K on it. It did have the ignition coil issue early on that was fixed under the recall, but otherwise it's been an extremely reliable car for us....nothing but normal maintenance, brakes and tires etc. Ours has the Turbo engine so it does require premium, but DH regularly gets 32+mpg on his highway commute. I do think the V6 is more issue prone.

I know the body style and probably interior has changed, but ours has been great for car seats. We had 3 across for over a year as it was our "big" car when DD1 was born.

[unityco]

Thanks for all your input! My Dad's now got a line on a BMW Wagon (he's so flighty!) so they might be going that route. If anyone cares to share their thoughts on that, please do.

(If he gets a little closer to buying one, I'll post a thread asking about that then!)