What a Pile of Junk

[SteveRi]

Not too sure where to post this but here goes.
I have an 08 plate Passat i use as a Taxi and what a heap of rubbish
Engine sesors, inlet manifold EGR valve, just about to have its second steering rack fitted, last one fitted in Nov 10, no i havent hit anything, in tank fuel pump, new flywheel before 80,000 miles new one due up soon, rear shocks, the list just gores on and on.
Purchased it thinking I would have a sound reliable car for the job, what a mistake.
I will never ever put money into VW coffers again and that includes all of the subsidery units, SKODA SEAT AUDI.
Totally fed up with it and just about to get rid.

Cheers

[Eshrules]

And yet 1000's of private hire drivers would completely disagree with you.

Second hand demand for passats, superbs and (no, seriously) A4's has gone stupid thanks to cabbies snapping them up - doesn't say anything about their reliability though does it.

I smell a troll.

[neilos100]

Damn....was about to offer him a really cheap Bentley......but as it's a VAG?......oh well nevermind.....troll indeed.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Xparent Red Tapatalk

[Sam]

Sounds a lot like the chap who used an Octavia as a taxi.

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?124886-Octavia-that-defies-all-customer-reviews

How many miles are on the Passat?

[SteveRi]

Damn....was about to offer him a really cheap Bentley......but as it's a VAG?......oh well nevermind.....troll indeed.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Xparent Red Tapatalk

No not a "Troll" just someone that has got a really bad car from what is supposed to be a company built on reliability.
Look on the site here and see how many other disappointed "trolls" are about, steering racks, rear tyre wear, handbrake buttons fule pumps high and low pressure, and exhaust sensors by the score. Yes I know a couple of Disgruntled Bentley owners too, some manufacturers would have done recalls on some of the faults highlighted in this forum.
Yes there probably are many others that are "satisfied" with their car, I expressed an opinion This is a forum and people are entitled to an opinion with having a tag placed against them.

[Sam]

Sounds a lot like the chap who used an Octavia as a taxi.

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?124886-Octavia-that-defies-all-customer-reviews

How many miles are on the Passat?

?

[Teflon]

Preumably, the OP bought his car from new, has known and lovingly cared for it and has been deeply scarred by the mounting repair bills that he has not deserved.

Or maybe, he bought a second-hand dog of a car that has been to the moon and back and only ever saw fresh oil when the warning light came on. Perhaps he's also one of that select bunch of taxi owners who drives like he's nicked it and is devoid of any sensation in his clutch foot. Running it on chip fat might be a contribution to the problems.

We just don't know. Should have bought a Peugeot. He'd really have something to complain about.

Or even better, an E-Class Merc and stick to the airport runs.

[Stuart W2]

And yet 1000's of private hire drivers would completely disagree with you.

Second hand demand for passats, superbs and (no, seriously) A4's has gone stupid thanks to cabbies snapping them up - doesn't say anything about their reliability though does it.

I smell a troll.

Not sure why you think he's necessarily a troll; you must admit that the B6 does have several 'issues', particularly the earlier 140 models.

Which is what I've got, and consider myself to be relatively lucky since it's been a taxi since new, but it's self-evident that plenty are not. DSG4ME being an obvious example on here, although admittedly there aren't enough taxi drivers on the forum to be truly representative.

The only perhaps slightly unusual thing about the OP is that his list of faults perhaps doesn't look like the usual suspects. And on most modern diesels with a DMF it looks like 100,000 is about the limit, never mind for a taxi.

And perhaps Steve's being a bit hasty about condemning the whole VAG, because after all the Skodas (particuarly the Octavia) have been particularly popular with the taxi trade for a good few years now.

[Eshrules]

?

x 2 ^


No not a "Troll" just someone that has got a really bad car from what is supposed to be a company built on reliability.
Look on the site here and see how many other disappointed "trolls" are about, steering racks, rear tyre wear, handbrake buttons fule pumps high and low pressure, and exhaust sensors by the score. Yes I know a couple of Disgruntled Bentley owners too, some manufacturers would have done recalls on some of the faults highlighted in this forum.
Yes there probably are many others that are "satisfied" with their car, I expressed an opinion This is a forum and people are entitled to an opinion with having a tag placed against them.

It was me that tagged you with the term, not Neil.

regardless of that, to use an owners forum to judge the reliability of a vehicle is the wrong. Look at any review site, many will go online and furiously warn others of their disappointment. How many bother to offer their positive review?

Look at any owners forum, regardless of marque and you'll find the same trend.

Presumably you bought the passat used, what's the mileage, what's the history (full service?), was it bought through a dealer, an indy or an auction?

[Eshrules]

Not sure why you think he's necessarily a troll; you must admit that the B6 does have several 'issues', particularly the earlier 140 models.

Which is what I've got, and consider myself to be relatively lucky since it's been a taxi since new, but it's self-evident that plenty are not. DSG4ME being an obvious example on here, although admittedly there aren't enough taxi drivers on the forum to be truly representative.

The only perhaps slightly unusual thing about the OP is that his list of faults perhaps doesn't look like the usual suspects. And on most modern diesels with a DMF it looks like 100,000 is about the limit, never mind for a taxi.

And perhaps Steve's being a bit hasty about condemning the whole VAG, because after all the Skodas (particuarly the Octavia) have been particularly popular with the taxi trade for a good few years now.


Definition of a troll

"One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument."

New member signs up, first post is one slating the brand on which this forum has been built and exists to discuss - ignores several questions made by several members but picks up on the troll comment immediately.

Of course there are faults, I realise that - there are common faults with each and every single car on the road. Common, because they're reported on forums such as this - not common in that every single vehicle made for that model display them ;)

Disclaimer - if the OP proves not to be a troll I will hold my hands up and apologise in advance.

[Stuart W2]

Definition of a troll

"One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument."

New member signs up, first post is one slating the brand on which this forum has been built and exists to discuss - ignores several questions made by several members but picks up on the troll comment immediately.

Of course there are faults, I realise that - there are common faults with each and every single car on the road. Common, because they're reported on forums such as this - not common in that every single vehicle made for that model display them ;)

Disclaimer - if the OP proves not to be a troll I will hold my hands up and apologise in advance.

Well the OP's language is certainly a bit stronger than that used more normally, but other than that I can't really see anything self-evidently trollish about the post. Of course, it may offend some people of a certain disposition towards the VW brand, but clearly in the model sections people will generally come on to criticise (explicitly or otherwise) rather than praise.

From my perspective a troll has to be something a bit more than someone merely expressing themselves in strong terms in their first post or ignoring questions; for example not being a genuine VW owner at all or providing other false information.

Assuming he has had a lot of trouble with the car then perhaps it's more of a catharsis rather than a troll, but then again I'm not a moderator ;)

And in the final analysis how do you decide whether or not he is a troll?

[Cyberplod]

Due respect, this is not really Troll behaviour. For once, I do know what I am talking about ;) Investigating predatory and aggressive Trolls used to fall directly in my working remit. Disgruntled? - yes - Provocative? - maybe.

Everyone has a right to an opinion and people express things in different tones. It can be a little counter-productive, though (I actually felt a bit uncomfortable about buying my B6 because I started looking for problems that have never arisen in the thousands of miles since, following forum research).

I don't think, either, that we can stereotype taxi drivers and their driving styles. . My trusty 1.9tdi A6 went, at 167K, to a taxi driver in 2008. It is still on the road and on the job - I guess it must be closing on 300K by now. On the other hand, a few years ago I bought an Omega from a "posh" private hire firm (no cars over 3 years old) with a verified 69K - it turned out to be utterly <removed> out. Omegas were maybe not the best car ever, but it took some mistreatment to hammer one that hard!

[PHASTAZPHUK]

Perhaps he should have done his research before buying the car!

[mrjmanik]

i have my 06 passat and no complaints
all services up to date etc
sometimes it's just the luck of the draw

[Crasher]

Whatever the chap’s attitude I have to say that the Passat 3C, although a very nice car dynamically, it has been an absolute disaster where reliability is concerned, some of the pre 2008 versions were so bad it defies comment. The list of maladies is huge, flywheels, injectors (now a huge recall of nearly 80K cars in the UK alone), leaking heads, exploding turbo’s, faulty steering column units, failed front wishbone bushes, rear tyre wear, hand brake callipers and ECU failure, washer jet wiring, central electrics units, dashes, OIL PUMP DRIVES!!!, fuel pumps, software issues, gearboxes, wiper motors, creaking/groaning noises, radiator leakage, radiator fan failure, ABS pump pressure sensor failure, consul bushes, door locks, general electric issues for the whole car, windows opening for no reason when parked, boot hinges seizing and water leaks everywhere. This is just a list from memory; the VW list of recalls and dealer notifications is longer than the whole of the rest of the VW range put together, an absolute joke and an embarrassment to VW and people like myself who love the brand.
One chap over Christmas called me and said his car would not move because the handbrake was stuck. I went out to it late on Christmas Eve and the right rear calliper was jammed as usual. He was OK to leave it until after the break and so a few days later I went out and did the usual trick of removing the calliper motor and winding the pads off so I could drive it back. To fix it required a new motor AND a new ECU at a cost of nearly £1k. A few weeks later the other calliper failed and that cost another £300 odd to fix. Whatever happened to a lever and cables?

[mhurer]

I can relate to many of the posts here.

I did my research, mostly via this forum, and purchased a 56 plate 170 TDI SEL with 20k on the clock back in 2008. It had one private owner. I took into account that most of the posts on the forum would be from people with faults with the car and not necessarily a true representation from all owners.

However, in the 3 years of ownership with average mileage, the car had many of the faults crasher listed. It spent many days at the dealer (i'm now on first name terms with most of the staff). Most were covered by the extended warranty, but not all. Some of the faults were just niggling (e.g. parking sensors would stay on continously despite being on their second set, which meant I would have to switch them off every time I put the car into reverse) but enough to take the pleasure out of driving the car. At the last service I was also given a long list of "advisories" e.g. door control modules on 2 front doors about to fail. Last year I had enough and bought a second hand A4.

I'm sure the 2008+ models are a real improvement, in terms of reliability, and many owners with pre-08 have not had problems, but just giving you my own personal experience of a car only 5 years old with less than 50k on the clock.

[DSG4ME]

I think Crasher has it spot on, it's a slung together car using the cheapest and thinnest materials available.

Superb MK 1 102k on the clock, silent and tight, 1L oil between changes, turbo silent, autobox smooth.

Passat B6 56k on the clock, sounds like a Ford OHC engine, inside like a sinking ship about to break it's back, 5L oil between changes, turbo siren, DSG clunk. (DMF no doubt)


I rue the day I saw one, and the one I bought I knew I shouldn't have when I saw it, salesman had me disadvantaged due to distance, so if you want a VW make sure you don't buy it in Barnsley.

Infact the only plus point of it is joining this forum where I've made good net friends and such a lot of info is available.

[auxservo]

I would with the above statement. I have a similar issue with an A4 2.0tdi 170 quattro 07plate. I have driven quattro's to best part of 20 years and taken these cars to over 150000 miles with little machanical issues but the A4 I have now is a Friday car. The steering rack was first to be replaced and then the turbo failed next, both replaced under warranty, then the injectors have just been replaced due to a recall during this work I was advised that I have oil in the coolant system but no advice to what is the cause and I now guess a large invoice. All these faults have occured in 40,000miles of normal driving.

The car is assembled well but I do question the quailty of the compnents fitted.

[daveyboy467]

Yep i also agree with op... Friday cars... Yep i agree... Total uncertainty if its a jona or not....
BUT.... Very nice to drive when all is good. Fact.

[daveyboy467]

Also would never tell a friend to buy one.... Without my above comments.