Have I bought a weird VW?

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Thu 8 Apr 2004 01:22
Have I bought a weird VW? - Wee Willie Winkie
Ladies and Gents,

After much deliberation - I've sold my Pug and bought something a bit cheaper.

The car in question is a Nov 1997 VW Passat S TDi 110. With 131,000 on the clock. It's got full service history with everything changed at the right times, and has been really well looked after by 1 local owner. All for well less then 3 grand.

Anyway, my question is this. Should I have remote central locking? I know VW were a bit miserly with standard spec then, but I've only got two keys, no blippy things! Is this right?

Also, has anyone got anything else I should look out for? I've looked at the car by car breakdown - and have also spent an hour poking around the car to check for things, but I've probably missed something!

For those who know him, RTB is doing well back oop north.

Cheers.

DB
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Thu 8 Apr 2004 03:23
Have I bought a weird VW? - HF
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Thu 8 Apr 2004 09:27
Have I bought a weird VW? - BB
My 97 Passat came without a remote key. Cost me £60 from VW to get a new one and have it programmed.
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Thu 8 Apr 2004 09:31
Have I bought a weird VW? - Kuang
Yoinked from Parkers.co.uk, for the 1997 model.

S has elec front windows/mirrors, twin airbags, central locking, adjustable steering column, height-adjustable driver's seat, 4-speaker RDS radio/cassette, split rear seats. SE also has elec sunroof/rear windows, alarm, remote locking, 8-speaker RDS radio/cassette, height- and lumbar-adjustable front seats, velour upholstery.

So apparently you should have - give Veedub a buzz and ask them about the model history.
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Thu 8 Apr 2004 09:33
Have I bought a weird VW? - Kuang
Ah, I misread that - I wasn't looking for the 'remote' bit..

*bangs head on table*

It's not my fault guv'nor, it's early and I'm decaffeinated...
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Thu 8 Apr 2004 10:39
Have I bought a weird VW? - madf
Thnings to watch out for:

Faulty baffles in catalyst: noise when idling (rattles), loss of power. Manufacturing fault on welsding.

Front suspension bushes: creaks and rattles.

Turbo : watch all associated piping for cracks/wear.

Air conditioning: condenser can fail.

Inevitable: timing belt and TENSIONER - check for metal deposits around tensioner (rust) - shows it is breaking up .. or noise on idle.



madf


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Thu 8 Apr 2004 20:47
Have I bought a weird VW? - andymc {P}
Have also heard of problems with doors refusing to unlock. This happened to one of the rear doors on mine sporadically for about three days, then it magically sorted itself out!

If you really want to depress yourself about the Passat, read my earlier post on another thread here:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=20...3
Now that you're depressed, console yourself with the fact that you've bought a well-maintained model which shouldn't give as much trouble as all that, and is still (IMHO) better than the car you replaced!
andymc
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Tue 13 Apr 2004 12:05
Have I bought a weird VW? - Wee Willie Winkie
Thanks to all.

Two new tyres later and a couple of suspension bushes and I'm happy!

Cheers.
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