Looking at buying 2nd hand 2003~ passat

[mitchell_84]

Dealer or private sale? In either case, see if you can get it done as part of the sale....

Dealer sale - its on consignment

test drove it with my dad (its my first car) and it felt ok to me, few squeaks and that in it - want it looked by jmac before i put a single cent down on it incase its a dud

water pump was replaced late last year - trying to find out exact details to why that was the case - consignment guy is a little vague

have spoken to jmac about it and he has said that cam belts need to be done on v6's at around 90k, however the V5's need to be done at around 120 as they are a chain as opposed to a belt - the car is also in need of a 90k service (so looking at 800-1000 inc of the above - minus any issues jmac finds) aswell, rego is out, so another 600odd

i am seeing a few V5's come up for sale on the net, just curious to what the v5's are like - apart from being a cylinder short, its what i would refer to as a unsual engine spec being a v5 and not a v6/v6/i4,6

yet to test drive one as yet, but if i could get some reviews around reliability/performance and how much they drink, it would be greatfully appreciated

I am in the process of moving from Brisbane to Sydney and my job in sydeny requires me to have a car (grrrr, i would live without one if i could) so im adfter something that is relable, comforatble, somewhat elegant and can get me gfrom bne to syd and back without any real issues

[007]

Anybody?

Went and had a look at a 4motion one today

needs its 90k services which is MAJOR i beleive aswell as a few other things
an i get sokme thoughts on whether these are a good bye or to walk away

Most probabaly going to look at another FWD one some stage on the weekend

I've got a 2003 V6 SE and haven't had a problem with it. It had 30k on it when I bought it in 2006 and now has 141k. They are a quality car, but run premium unleaded and go through lots of it around town. I've never done any better than 10l/100k in town. The 4 Motion will be much harder on the juice. Fantastic on the freeway. Trips to Melbourne typically run a bit under 9l/100k with cruise set to a shade under 120. Service is expensive but one every 15k is not too hard to take. 90k service I think involves water pump and was well over a grand.
The only thing I'd change if I could would be to take out the lag in the transmission in full auto which I understand is a feature (not a bug).
No rattles, no squeaks, it rides beautifully and has tons of power and acceleration (after the bloody lag).

Sorry, also should have said to go for the upgrade model with the cruise control/stereo buttons on the steering wheel. Much easier than the stalk/panel. Also I was advised when looking to keep away from the V5's but I can't remember why.

[makedonia]

ive also got a 2003 Passat SE V6 , i got steering wheel controls etc
havent much problems with it , its done almost 190,000kms
only problems were the person i bought it from was servicing at so called " vw specialists " that wernt even servicing properly , i had to change my Brake Discs , Pads , but other then that the car is good

[mitchell_84]

I've got a 2003 V6 SE and haven't had a problem with it. It had 30k on it when I bought it in 2006 and now has 141k. They are a quality car, but run premium unleaded and go through lots of it around town. I've never done any better than 10l/100k in town. The 4 Motion will be much harder on the juice. Fantastic on the freeway. Trips to Melbourne typically run a bit under 9l/100k with cruise set to a shade under 120. Service is expensive but one every 15k is not too hard to take. 90k service I think involves water pump and was well over a grand.
The only thing I'd change if I could would be to take out the lag in the transmission in full auto which I understand is a feature (not a bug).
No rattles, no squeaks, it rides beautifully and has tons of power and acceleration (after the bloody lag).

Sorry, also should have said to go for the upgrade model with the cruise control/stereo buttons on the steering wheel. Much easier than the stalk/panel. Also I was advised when looking to keep away from the V5's but I can't remember why.

Thanks mate, so every 15k service/1 year is not bad for me as i don't plan on driving any more than that per year - can work a budget for around 400-800ish a service i guess (this will be a business car so get to claim part of it abck at tax time)

any chance you can scan the service schedules from the log book pleas - should be 2-3 service types

Thanks - Mitchell

[mitchell_84]

ive also got a 2003 Passat SE V6 , i got steering wheel controls etc
havent much problems with it , its done almost 190,000kms
only problems were the person i bought it from was servicing at so called " vw specialists " that wernt even servicing properly , i had to change my Brake Discs , Pads , but other then that the car is good

If i got i would plan on only having it services by a VW specialist who is known as being good

spoke to a mechanic i know and even he said that this sorta car would need specialists to look at aspects

[Glennb]

We've got a 2004 V6 SE passat and had it since new with 90k kms on it now. I think this is the same model?
Anyway, it goes through oil quite quickly, but VW service centre have always just topped it up for free, and apparently this is normal for this engine.
Original Battery died just recently (after 5 yrs) but cost $400 for a new one! (ouch).
Timing belt & tensioners were done at the last service (100k or 5 yrs), so check that this major service has been completed if buying one.

All of our work has been done at the dealership, so probably a bit of a premium paid, but typical service is $500.

The other thing is that we go through front tyres, brake discs, and pads very quickly. We're on our 3rd set of the above already, so we're only getting 20k kms out of them. This is my wife's car, so not driven hard, but all that V6 weight over the front axle on a FWD car makes the brakes & tyres work very hard. Tyres on our 17" rims are $250 each.

Other things that have been highlighted as issues for our car is the front end drive shafts need re-conditioning, and the rear shocks are about gone.

Basically, VW say that at 5 yrs, a lot of the plastics are starting to deteriorate and need to be replaced to keep everything sealed up. Mainly in the engine bay with drive shaft bushes & seals etc.

If you have any questions on costs of parts, let me know and i'll dig out the receipts.

Overall though, it's been a very reliable car with not electrical or transmission problems at all. Everything inside is still in great condition with no broken plastics etc (even with kids climbing around in it), so i'd say that the build quality is very good on these.