Which Passat Model? Total Noob.

[clinton.lear]

New to the Passat market after coming from Ford. Wanted a change and did a bit of reading up and found Passat to be a good all rounder.

I'm going to be doing 60 miles a day to work and back and wanted to know which engine is better on fuel / low maintenance. I'm currently looking at 2.0TDi Sport models as the spec seems to be more of what I'm looking for.

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[Gazwould]

Good all round lemon .

[DMitch16]

Oddly enough the B6 model in which section you have posted this question is one of the most unreliable marques overall during its early years 2005 to 2008, improving in later years of its production from 2009 to 2011. The B7 and B8 models fair much better for reliability and took the Passat from one of the top 10 unreliable cars into the top 10 reliable ones between 2011 and 2015 slipping slightly recently to around 12th best. Other brands fair better such as Kia, Volvo, Skoda, Seat, Hyundai and Suzuki but with the exception of Volvo, Seat and Skoda are not comfortable well built mid range models with quality interiors, good handling and a less plastic feel. In fact Seat and Skoda fair better than their more expensive VAG Audi and VW cousins and could be a better option. Audi, BMW and Mercedes although seemingly more high end brands have slipped down the reliability charts despite being well built good handling 'luxury' cars. Jaguar are in the mix with these 3 also.

I really like my B6 but have had to spend a quarter of its purchase price in fixing issues on top of its extreme depreciation (pretty much a record considering VW used to build super reliable cars in the past which held their value).

That's my two penny's worth but it depends on what you can afford.

[Rob69]

I've been running a 2005 B5.5 passat for the past 3 years, I bought this in preference to a B6. Recently i've been viewing a few 2011+ Octavias and Superbs in preference to another Passat, but will probably run the B5 until it dies. I'd buy a petrol in preference to a modern VAG CR diesel, residuals on diesels likely to plummet in the near future IMO and DPF / EGR cooler and CR injection problems expensive to fix out of warranty.

[Gazwould]

Skoda Superb's are just that...

[clinton.lear]

Skoda Superb's are just that...Must admit... the Skoda Superb has been my other choice.

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[Gazwould]

Why they're so good is that they are the last to receive the Audi technology so by then it's more sorted .

[Rob69]

Nice cars the superbs, but I'm a bit wary of the petrol engines, been looking at 1.8's with some rattly timing chains, most likely the reason why they're up for sale !!

[DieselMonster]

I'd go for the common rail engines over the PD early B6 due to the newer diesels having improved components such as an improved balance shaft, immobiliser and parking brake. In fact, stay well away from 05/07 Passats! They're like depreciated Bentley's, anyone can afford them but they're a money pit to run. Issues with CR engines is usually the high pressure fuel pump, if car is driven with low fuel and runs out of it at times. The cranking can damage it and send metal shavings straight in your head. Go for a cr that has had its turbo and clutch/dmf replaced, high mileage and looked after. See the paper work and test the car. Don't be attracted to low mileage ones, how they run is the deciding factor!

[Gazwould]

Still the 77mm oil pump drive issue with CR .

[DieselMonster]

Yes, but it's gear driven so one less thing to worry about ;-)

[Gazwould]

True , but a CR can have a 100mm or 77mm key .

Comparing the two oem set ups the 77mm provides just 15mm contact length in a non hexagonal balancer shaft keyway the same not ideal but deeper keyway is used for the 100mm but this time it provides over double the contact length at 35mm .

I know which one I'd rather have...

[DieselMonster]

Or if he's brave enough he can just delete the whole crap which I've been thinking of doing, some say it leaves the engine with a bit more vibration while others say they can't feel nothing. The 100mm hex key is being sold at an extortionate amount which doesn't help.

[Gazwould]

The longer key is not a fix as it will not fit as it will poke beyond where the 77mm is retained by a circlip in the oil pump cassette .

100mm keys are usually sub £10 , what were you quoted ?

I'd just renew with the two better aftermarket engineering components , balancer shaft keyway being the re-enginnered part .

A delete is more work .

[DieselMonster]

Didn't you just say that the 100mm provides double the contact point?

I was looking at KMB that sell it for £210, another on eBay for £150 after you give your old one in. Problem with buying just the hex key, the shaft it goes into can also become problematic so that needs looking into too. It's also another £25 for the balance shaft locking tool. I do have a spare bkp engine so I'm going do a trial on that first. I'll be selling that and many other car parts to fund my big project. I will be sorting the shaft out, rear crakeshaft seal and a new clutch/dmf kit in one go. Turbo also needs to have its actuator adjusted. I've been told it can be done on the engine with them curved 10mm wrenches.

Yes I know it is, I've seen everything that's involved but if you know what you're going you'll be fine.

[Gazwould]

Yes , oem 77mm has 15mm contact length .

100mm oem , 35mm , over double , I wonder why they did that !!!

[DieselMonster]

There's so much hate for the b6, they really did introduce new innovative features but at the expense of reliability. The immobiliser for the new fancy key fob, EPB and balancing shaft needed more time. I think the 2010 b6 has a 100mm hex right? I do know it went through three hardware revisions. Lesson learnt though! Never buy a new shape car, always wait till the face lift or the last models of its model come out. My sister got the 330D and it's when the new shape was introduced, it too is riddled with issues.

[Gazwould]

Very true , never get the new model , they don't seem to long test anymore .

After the dreaded B6 experience a product ( the first of a newly invented model ) with a little more faith was purchased with the remainder of a Korean 5 year / unlimited mileage , wrong....

4 warranty claims , all common faults that affect the model including an engine change @ 45K because it was losing coolant because the cylinder liners are porous , FFS .

The other terminal issue not experienced was malfunctioning dpf which requests multiple regens or a failed pump seal that puts litres of havoc wrecking diesel fuel into the engine oil .

Passat B7 ( really a B6.5 ) is a safer bet after 2010 , but THEY ruined the looks, I liked the front and rear lights , real loss those rear Skyline lights .

[DieselMonster]

Yes B7 is mechanically an improvement however those lights are so dull. The B8 really is a huge jump in improving the b7. The Bi Turbo R-line B8 is stunning, just a shame due to VW not being the flagship brand, Audi gets the 3.0 tdi's in the saloons. I've been drooling over a 3.6 VR6 B6, with supercharger and few mods it turns into 500+hp monster.