my next car will be a passat estate, which one??

[londoncalling]

Evening everyone

This is my 1st night on the forum so please bear with me if I'm a little clueless!
I will do a hello all, if there's a "Hello all I'm new section" but I will get down to the meat of my question.

It's a big question as it's a big choice........Which passat shall I get?
What I want is a passat estate but when I started to have a look at them on ebay and autotrader i was amazed at the amount of different engined cars are about. There arem petrols, diesels, turbo's v5's, 4motions...........I was a little swamped so I thought I would join up with a helpful forum and seek some advice.
I supposeI do 12-15k a year which includes some but not much motorway mileage.

I'm 29 with 5 years no claims on the insurance so thats not to bad for the larger engines.

I must admit my preference would be petrol, but saying that I haven't ever had a modern diesel so I could be swayed.
I have a budget of max £3500, might not sound much but it will be the most expensive car I have ever owned so I want to be careful.

That's about it really so anyones help would be gratefully recieved.
When I do finally get it, she will be coming to a big VW & Audi loving family as our current fleet includes a mk3 cab, a 2lt t4 van and a 79 bay camper.

thanks

londoncalling

[JayB5UK]

I have always been a petrol head, until now. If you can find one, get a nice SE or Sport TDi 130, which is the engine in the facelifted (2001 onwards) models.
I am well impressed with mine, has plenty of torque for pressing on and if you take it easy is excellent on fuel.
I have had 2 Audi A4 1.8T's and this TDi is more than a match for the standard one I had in terms of torque. It used to do approx 360 miles to £55-£60, whereas the Passat has done 350 miles from full tank (£60) and is only down to half now.
Test drive a TDi 130 and a 1.8T and you'll see what I mean. Doing 12-15k a year, I would think anything else would be a mad choice considering the price of fuel.

[sdk778]

I agree with that, go for a TDi 110 minimum, SE spec i prefer to the Sport, although the Sport has a nicer steering wheel! Better seat trim in the SE though, cracking car's, still pining for mine. Sniff.

[chrisvrscrx]

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VOLKSWAGEN+PASSAT/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-11-18-55-4294967158-4294967159/advert.action?R=200803301977075&distance=69&postcode=L9+1ER&channel=CARS&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=PASSAT&min_pr=3000&max_pr=4000&max_mileage=
This one looks good for the money. Doesn't state millage tho!

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VOLKSWAGEN+PASSAT/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-11-18-55-4294967158-4294967159/advert.action?R=200806303408145&distance=127&postcode=L9+1ER&channel=CARS&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=PASSAT&min_pr=3000&max_pr=4000&max_mileage=

[JayB5UK]

But the top one is green and the bottom is a petrol!

I don't wanna look anymore, I only got mine 2 weeks ago and looked all over the place at 3 different ones.

[londoncalling]

Thanks for all your help, I had a test drive today on a 2000 tdi and it was ok............but I did keep thinking it was a tractor whilst on idle.
I will take my time looking as it's a serious wad of cash for me.
Thanks again for your advice.

[JayB5UK]

LOL, you'll get used to the tractor thing, it all goes away when you get up to speed on an A road or Motorway, then you'll be glad as you are doing 50% more miles for the same money.
Good luck, make sure you get a decent amount of history and find out about the cambelt and waterpump, as in when they were changed. If there is no proof or it is nearly due, budget on around £300 for the job at a VW independent garage.

[keelstow]

make sure its fully VW serviced checking documents for recent work. as these can be found ex lease company cars you will get a real bargain

clock miles are not a problem and can be verified by service details. do not accept any faults as they will cost and maybe reason for sale

try to buy directly ffom owning comany or 1st agent

great car to own

[keelstow]

sorry forgot to answer you main question!

you will not get any better than a TDi engine and this is the main reason to buy. mine's only 90bhp and gets better insurance quotes

[kalas]

I have had my 2004 plate TDi 130 6speed sport for a year now and have put 34000 miles on it (155000 total) and i'm averaging 46.1 MPG. The service costs arn't too bad if you can do it yourself and insurance costs me (33 yrs 0 no claims business use) £460. The car has not missed a beat and I would recommend one of these anyday..... :)

[FLIPKEY]

The sort after engine is the 130 pd, its a belter of a motor, personnaly I would go for the sport model, susupension is quite hard tho, the 6 speed box is very economical on long runs and short runs come to think of it;)

[billza1967]

I have always been a petrol head, until now. If you can find one, get a nice SE or Sport TDi 130, which is the engine in the facelifted (2001 onwards) models.
I am well impressed with mine, has plenty of torque for pressing on and if you take it easy is excellent on fuel.
I have had 2 Audi A4 1.8T's and this TDi is more than a match for the standard one I had in terms of torque. It used to do approx 360 miles to £55-£60, whereas the Passat has done 350 miles from full tank (£60) and is only down to half now.
Test drive a TDi 130 and a 1.8T and you'll see what I mean. Doing 12-15k a year, I would think anything else would be a mad choice considering the price of fuel.
i agree mate tdi 130 best of both worlds plenty power and plenty mpg

[MalcQV]

Not an estate but a 2.0 130 petrol. I used to think that was a little noisy on start up, but I now hear my two neighbours with their Toyota diesel van and Merc C class diesel which both sound awful.

I do around 13k a year. The cost of buying a diesel over petrol (even 2nd hand) I decided was not worth it, and I don't really like diesels anyway.

The car is reliable to a point and only let me down once in 18 months (water pump, should it of let me down at all?) It is 2003 with 60k now it had 46k when I bought with a VW warranty.

OK here is the crunch, I love the car but when the time comes to change I will go for something else. It does leak like an old boat :p

[londoncalling]

Again, thanks everyone for all the helpful advice and I will take note of what everyone says as this will be a big car for me.
It's funny a couple of you should say about the water pump going, just had a brand new water pump on my T4 van last week, must be a vw weak point.
Well i had another few test drives over the last couple of days, had to sneak a few in while at work.
I tried another tdi it was a 51 plate with 160k on the clock........not that impressed but I just think that was because the one owner from new was a lazy swine who didn't look after his car. I pulled up in my van and he asked me that he would give me £500 for the van if I liked the car! I told him I would be in touch (in touch when every other car in the world is taken off the road and the only 2 left are his and a ford focus)
The other one I tried last night was a bit special, it was a 2.8 4motion in blue on a Wreg. This was a rocket ship! and even though my sensible head said it would cost a fortune on insurance and petrol I must admit it was very nice and only £3000ish.
Am I being a little foolish thinking a 2.8 will not cost me an arm and a leg in petrol,insurance and speeding tickets????

dave

[JayB5UK]

Again, thanks everyone for all the helpful advice and I will take note of what everyone says as this will be a big car for me.
It's funny a couple of you should say about the water pump going, just had a brand new water pump on my T4 van last week, must be a vw weak point.
Well i had another few test drives over the last couple of days, had to sneak a few in while at work.
I tried another tdi it was a 51 plate with 160k on the clock........not that impressed but I just think that was because the one owner from new was a lazy swine who didn't look after his car. I pulled up in my van and he asked me that he would give me £500 for the van if I liked the car! I told him I would be in touch (in touch when every other car in the world is taken off the road and the only 2 left are his and a ford focus)
The other one I tried last night was a bit special, it was a 2.8 4motion in blue on a Wreg. This was a rocket ship! and even though my sensible head said it would cost a fortune on insurance and petrol I must admit it was very nice and only £3000ish.
Am I being a little foolish thinking a 2.8 will not cost me an arm and a leg in petrol,insurance and speeding tickets????

dave


Ha ha, it will cost an arm and a leg yes, my mate had a VR6 Golf, jesus, 20 mpg anyone!
Make sure you specifically try a 130 TDi, they still made 100 bhp ones on the base model trim I believe, worth seeking out a 130 to try if it is gonna be your most expensive car to date.
I agree with the point that a Diesel will probably cost more in the first place, but at 12-15k a year in 2 years it will have saved you at least that and still be worth more to sell on. These things don't stay for sale for long.

[MalcQV]

I agree with the point that a Diesel will probably cost more in the first place, but at 12-15k a year in 2 years it will have saved you at least that and still be worth more to sell on. These things don't stay for sale for long.

;);)

[grhdylan]

Yep, i agree also, i've got one!

[clint]

i was in the same boat as you and searched for a decent tdi but couudnt find one at the time,i ended up with a 1.8t sport and have been very happy with it,super smooth power delivery and good handling,37 mpg on a motorway run too,got it booked in for a remap soon as well!

[m4xmw]

I wanted a tdi estate, but the prices were so much higher than for a petrol version.

So I`ve now got a 1.8t sport estate and I`m averaging 32mpg with a mix of town and motorway driving.

I love the 1.8t engine, quiet refined and power at nearly all engine speeds.

Its got 117k on, doesnt use oil and is very easy to maintain.

Mark