Passat Wagon MY13 - big enough for family car

[VAG newbie]

Yeah 2 years warranty

Wasnt aware that you get extended warranty of your car from a third party? Does it work the same?

In terms of extending the warranty you can still pay that much if you are under 10,000 km or else it increases to 4.5k

No, I am with factory warranty, mine is with Skoda though, but all under VW Aus anyway. I read the fine prints and it is actually with Allianz. They cover whatever is covered by the original warranty with exactly the same terms and conditions. At the time of purchase, I got my broker to search around and there are some 3rd parties that would do for the same at much lower price. At the end I happened to negotiate to have extended warranty for free so that's why I took the factory one. (it was a long story. Straight after I took delivery, Skoda was running a campaign to include 5 year warranty. I just missed out so I pushed for it. The dealer say they'll ask Skoda Aus but they didn't think I was eligible. Anyhow, couple of months later I got a letter from Skoda saying I got it!)

[Hillbilly]

Yeah 2 years warranty

Wasnt aware that you get extended warranty of your car from a third party? Does it work the same?

In terms of extending the warranty you can still pay that much if you are under 10,000 km or else it increases to 4.5k

I have a Passat TDI wagon and a POLO Both under 2 years old and under 10000km

I was quoted $1500 for a 2 year extended warranty from VW dealer.

Shopping around I got a 3 year from Swann for $1750 and a 3 year for the Polo for about the same from Allianz who underwrite the VW version.

The 2010 Polo is more expensive than the 2011 for unknown reasons DSG faults maybe.

I realise both maybe not 100% of the VW one but certainly better than none.

I did them through a broker as you cant buy direct from Allianz.

[anthony]

Before buying the Passat,I would definatly look at the Insignia wagon,as its a great looking car,aimed DIRECTLY at the Passat....

[FSI 220]

As a family car... Passat does fantastic (for a mid size wagon), but if you are comparing that to the Territory for size they are different leagues....( i am assuming you are considering diesels otherwise a Kluger AWD trumps a Territory in everything except driving dynamix)

This was a trip to the farm for us... Myself, Wife (one), Kids (two), Dogs (two), Cat (one) and all the stuff that wife/kids/pets need for a week (+ a little bag for me)... an interference fit optimising puzzle. In our Kluger we throw in much more and it is just easy and much more comfortable.

[kleung]

This was a trip to the farm for us... Myself, Wife (one), Kids (two), Dogs (two), Cat (one) and all the stuff that wife/kids/pets need for a week (+ a little bag for me)... an interference fit optimising puzzle.

<cue the Tetris theme music>

The cargo compartment is very square, and has a flat floor which makes it a little very usable. The actual usable space is probably a bit limited with the cargo blind drawn, but with it open, it's cavernous. It's a shame that Passat-specific cargo barriers are not more commonly available.

OP - In terms of reliability, I think the jury is still out. VWs seem to be a bit prone to squeaks and rattles, but the overall materials and build quality seems to be a cut above.

Maintenance cost varies - if you're going to a dealer for servicing, make sure you ring around for quotes first. The other option is a reputable independent VW specialist, which will undoubtedly be cheaper than dealership servicing.

When comparing servicing costs, don't forget that the standard maintenance interval for the Passat is 15,000km or 12 months. Factor that in when comparing servicing costs with other makes, which are commonly 10,000km/6 months.

[Mingers13]

<cue the Tetris theme music>

The cargo compartment is very square, and has a flat floor which makes it a little very usable. The actual usable space is probably a bit limited with the cargo blind drawn, but with it open, it's cavernous. It's a shame that Passat-specific cargo barriers are not more commonly available.

OP - In terms of reliability, I think the jury is still out. VWs seem to be a bit prone to squeaks and rattles, but the overall materials and build quality seems to be a cut above.

Maintenance cost varies - if you're going to a dealer for servicing, make sure you ring around for quotes first. The other option is a reputable independent VW specialist, which will undoubtedly be cheaper than dealership servicing.

When comparing servicing costs, don't forget that the standard maintenance interval for the Passat is 15,000km or 12 months. Factor that in when comparing servicing costs with other makes, which are commonly 10,000km/6 months.

Does it cost anything to update GPS in Passat? S it a good GPS system

[FSI 220]

<cue the Tetris theme music>

It's a shame that Passat-specific cargo barriers are not more commonly available.

The Passat comes with a pretty good flexible cargo barrier that retracts into the cargo blind cross bar, when you load it fully you flip up the front of the cargo blind which kills the visibility when you load to the roof (but so does loading to the roof so no problem)... it is all pretty cool... I wouldn't load the car like that without a barrier... with our car it was set once, and I never put the barrier down again...

[booba]

There is also a partition grill that you can get, i have attached an image. I guess whilst we are talking about the cargo area, I have all the parts arriving today for a cargo management system retrofit, pics also included.

The Passat comes with a pretty good flexible cargo barrier that retracts into the cargo blind cross bar, when you load it fully you flip up the front of the cargo blind which kills the visibility when you load to the roof (but so does loading to the roof so no problem)... it is all pretty cool... I wouldn't load the car like that without a barrier... with our car it was set once, and I never put the barrier down again...

[kleung]

The Passat comes with a pretty good flexible cargo barrier that retracts into the cargo blind cross bar, when you load it fully you flip up the front of the cargo blind which kills the visibility when you load to the roof (but so does loading to the roof so no problem)... it is all pretty cool... I wouldn't load the car like that without a barrier... with our car it was set once, and I never put the barrier down again...

Thanks for that. I've used the vertical flexible cargo barrier before, but I just don't trust it to hold back anything big and heavy, and there are large gaps on either side of it. Most of the time everything fits under the horizontal blind. I'd be more comfortable with a metal cargo barrier, like the one booba posted (thanks booba).

It's very pricey though, and some googling hasn't revealed whether it's easily removable or not. I did find one site that said no drilling was required, so maybe...

[passatpout]

I'm about to have #2 arrive in 2 months, and I don't see any issues with rear seat room coming up. We have shifted our baby seat around over the past 3 years depending on how we've needed to use it, and had no hassles there. I've also done some reasonable trips with either 2 adults and the baby seat, or one adult and one baby, including 2 in the front.

In March I took my 6' father from Melbourne to Echuca and he had no complaints, which was unusual for him for a few reasons - he rarely ever went in the back seat of any car, he had just had his licence taken off him, and had been diagnosed with terminal cancer the week previously.

I've done 3 road trips of about 5,000km each with my car, with one taking our 3 dogs. Again, it's been comfortable and economical for that sort of stuff.

The only thing I can say is that the reliability has been pretty ordinary in the past, but that aside I think it's still pretty hard to go past the VW for the overall package.