2.0 TDi SE 140

A great car let down by shoddy quality

Where do I start with the Passat. I've just sold it after nearly 4 years and 60,000 miles. I bought from a main dealer and paid more than I ever would normally for a car in the hope I was buying myself a trouble free car from a trusted manufacturer. Wrong! BUT the Passat is NOT all bad. Lets give it some bullet points:

GOOD BITS:

Superb MPG (55 average, best ever 71)
Great to drive
Massive inside and boot
Great radio and interior design
Long service intervals
Very powerful and surefooted especially in the snow

BAD BITS:

Electric Handbrake Reliability (each side costs at LEAST £500 to repair and that's NON VW)
Dashboard lower plastics are awful and rattle
Suspension Creaks constantly
Battery drained whilst I was sat at work several times
Alloy wheels corrode very quickly (the SE ones seem worst for this)
Sometimes the car just wouldn't let me in! I had to use the emergency key and set the alarm off
Tyres very big and expensive (maybe just me but I thought excessive)
Cambelt... why do cars like this have a cambelt?? 500 quid every 4 years or 80K
AirCon very weak
Plastic bits come off the underneath a lot when you drive through puddles
Very annoying constant buzz from rear view mirror
All injectors replaced under warranty (luckily)
Very smoky always (quite embarrassing)

All in all a disappointment. I wanted to love the Passat. I sold it recently after the right side of the handbrake started sticking and giving warning messages (already changed the left side) and after reading about the oil pump horror stories on BKP engines (of which mine was one). What a shame. Made worse by VW who have a habit of politely looking at you like an i**** when you report something that is all over the internet... "injector problems sir? No we've never heard about that" Moral of my story is read the reviews first. I KNOW all cars have some bad reviews but the Passat has a lot, even considering the amount sold. Come on VW give your customers some credit. Well, the ones you still have left (I won't be one again sad to say)

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