Buying Advice

[Lightthom]

Hi All,

This is my first post.

I used to have an A4 avant 2.0tdi b7 and the oil pump went. Since then I downsized to a Cooper s but need something bigger. I’m on a bit of a budget and noticed the Passat B7 was within budget but I don’t know what to look for as I I don’t know the engines or electronics.

How high mileage is too high?

Are there any common faults I need to be aware of?

Ill predominantly being doing 10-20 miles a day of which is fast roads and long drives at weekend plus euro drives.

[Gazwould]

Most reliable used cars you can by in the UK revealed and the vehicles to avoid | Express.co.uk (https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1094862/reliable-used-cars-UK-Ford-Fiesta-Focus-BMW-3-series/amp)


https://i.imgur.com/RzV1DfT.png

[Lightthom]

Based on the above, the Audi A4 avant b8 is more reliable...

[DieselMonster]

I wouldn't take the above results too seriously. Surely the most unreliable cars are those with big engines which have double if not triple the parts that a 2.0 tdi has. From what I've seen, expect this if you own a Passat b7:

Egr failing
Intake manifold flaps failing
Dpf issues if you don't drive often enough
Electric coolant pump
Electronic parking brakes may give you issues
Electronic turbo actuator

That's about it, you may get other issues but those are most common. The engines themselves are built well, bottom end is strong, top end is too. So it the manual gearbox. It's just parts around the engine fail after time which would occur on most German cars. Some parts are expensive and some aren't, depends on whether you fix it yourself too. It depends on luck too I guess, some cars just run forever while others are non stop issues, absolute lemons like my B6. It had egr, turbo, balance shaft, electric brake, A/C, heater core, steering column, injectors, timing belt tensioner, instrument cluster, fuel tank pump fail and coolant and oil leak. It kept me busy ;)

I'd recommend jap cars but even them are now full of tech. Best reliable cars are old cars but now they are so old even they are falling apart. the good thing about the B7 is there isn't much that will kill it, it doesn't suffer from a porous head, oil pump issues, just keep the high pressure fuel pump happy or it'll send metal fragments throughout the fuel rail out of the injectors!