Thinking of getting a Passat 1.8T estate (97-01)

[E30]

Hey guys, first post on the forum, was thinking about getting a passat estate 1.8T (97-01) model in the not so distant future, and don't really know much about them at the moment. Having a brief look on the forum i see alot of threads about problems with these cars, are they prone to things going wrong alot, and what are the main things to look out for on these cars? Im pretty handy with cars as i've just finished building a BMW E30 with M50 engine conversion, but due to getting a house and general growing up etc...im having to get rid of it and get something more sensible. I like the look of the passat estate and the extra space etc will be very helpful. My dad used to have a passat 1.8 for his company car and always enjoyed driving that so looking to get one for myself now. Also is there any useful websites i can read to get more info on the model im interested in.
Thanks

Matt

[ChillOut]

Hey guys, first post on the forum, was thinking about getting a passat estate 1.8T (97-01) model in the not so distant future, and don't really know much about them at the moment. Having a brief look on the forum i see alot of threads about problems with these cars, are they prone to things going wrong alot, and what are the main things to look out for on these cars? Im pretty handy with cars as i've just finished building a BMW E30 with M50 engine conversion, but due to getting a house and general growing up etc...im having to get rid of it and get something more sensible. I like the look of the passat estate and the extra space etc will be very helpful. My dad used to have a passat 1.8 for his company car and always enjoyed driving that so looking to get one for myself now. Also is there any useful websites i can read to get more info on the model im interested in.
Thanks

Matt

Bear in mind people come to Forums with problems generally, so don't take it too much to heart.

Considered a TDI 130? A friend had the 1.8T and the only thing he said was wrong with it was that it was not as good as the 130TDI he replaced it with!! Real world performance on the TDi exceeds the 1.8T and of course the TDi is more economic by some margin. A heavy foot can't achieve less than 40mpg and 50mpg is easily averaged on a long run. For the 1.8T you are looking under 30mpg if you use it.

My other car is an Astra 2.0 Turbo Petrol (200 BHP), so I am no Sunday afternoon pootler. Day to day my Passat 130 TDI is the better car and more driveable. Unless you are prepared to thrash the petrol cars, the TDi's feel quicker most of the time.

(The Astra is VERY fast when you push it hard, but I overtake nearly as much in the Passat as I do in the Astra, and with considerably less stress.)

[E30]

Did consider the diesel version but the "rattlyness" does put me off a little bit, and also the otherhalf might try putting petrol in it as well, which wouldn't be to healthy.
Not to worried about the quickness at the moment, as thats what my E30 was for, geared only to do 110mph but got there damn quick with a 0-60 under 5 seconds.
Just thought the 1.8T would be an ideal choice as it would be quite around town and still have enough grunt to be comfortable on the motorway.

I also heard somewhere that you can do a few choice mods including chip to realise around 200bhp? If i really felt the need for extra power.

Is there anything to look out for, regarding choosing this model car, i.e. the BMW's had the nikasil issue on most of the 328's to look out for?

Thanks

[Phil155]

In my opinion it's difficult to justify the extra cost of buying the TDI unless you are doing 20,000+ a year you will never get the money back through fuel economy.
I bought a 1.8T sport saloon in February and am very pleased, i'd been driving a 130 TDI at work for a while and yes, to be fair performance wise there's not a great deal in it unless you really thrash it, then higher up the rev range the petrol keeps pulling and the diesel dies!
The big decider for me is the 'NOISE' I just can't stand the clatter at start up and although they are a lot more refined than some diesels out there, It's still a diesel!!!

For the money and performance it's got to be the 1.8T (only my humble opinion of course)

[E30]

Good to have an opinion from someone thats owned both, definatly think the noise factor of it will sway my choice. And i don't do alot of milage a year so doubt i'll reap the benifits of owning a diesel.

Thanks

[wayne]

I have had my passat for 3 years and absolutely love it. I have to hide the car keys or the wife is always taking it out. It is a bit heavy on the fuel but I do wear heavy boots if you know what I mean. I am doing alot of miles at the moment so have been considering swapping it for a diesel. Whilst looking for the right vehicle to do the swap my electrics have started pleaying up. The remote locking works when it wants to and if I enter the car via the key manually the electric windows and mirrors don't work. Shame. I will be gutted if I do sell it but it is tearing me up to do it very reluctant.
Regards
Wayne

[Huweth]

I bought my 130 TDI from a good friend who owned it from new. His previous car was a 1.8T. He was always dead against 'oil burners', but I convinced him to take one for a test drive. He fell in love with the TDI, saying it's a far superior car to the 1.8T, and put in an order there and then. He says he'll never buy another petrol car, and he's a car fanatic. He's collects his new Passat TDI 170 next month.

With regards to noise, you can't tell it's a diesel above about 20/30 MPH. If anything, it's quieter than many petrol cars when cruising due to the lower RPM's at the same speed. At low speeds and idle you can tell it's a diesel easily, more so when cold, but this becomes less different to the petrol once warmed up. I actually prefer the sound of a diesel as it's more purposeful.

The TDI is a little slower than the 1.8T on paper, and you can just about tell in reality. I must say that I love the torque of the TDI. You can just power up steep hills in top gear while all petrol cars are jerking as the owner shifts to a lower gear and floors it.

Don't go and buy a 1.8T or the TDI until you have driven both so you can make a comparison. Only you can make up your own mind, but I wont be buying a petrol car again...

[davegwynn]

Whereas I agree with all of the comments about the modern diesel engines, it is only the later diesels in the 97-01 passat (the TDI PD115) that are up to near the performance of the 1.8T unit. If you can afford to, then you should probably go for the B5.5 (passat 00-05) diesel varients. The guy that sold me my passat only did so because the latest diesels are as good as they are, similar performance and 10-15mpg more economy.

For my pennys worth, if you are looking at the 97-01 passat, and you aren't a fan of older diesels, then go for the 1.8T. I get about 35mpg as an overall average, and with a bit of care they can run forever.

[dgh938peg]

I don't think you should worry about the problems about VAG cars you get to hear about in the forums. The amount of problems you hear about no matter how re-occurring is insignificant compared to the number of cars there are about!

I think the forums are used to find out on passed experience with and repairing said faults. No car is perfect they're put together by us imperfect humans for a start!!! I am on Audi #5 now and aside general maintainence and general ageing (touch-wood) i have had no major problems with VAG motors.

I currently have the tdi 130 engine on an Auto box in my A6 saloon - a big car. It pulls like a trooper right through the speed range. Went on holiday last week from Kent to Cornwall (350 mile each way) towing a boat and camping gear weighing in around 850kg. It was absolutely effortless and returned 35mpg. Show me a petrol engine that will do that!

I am diesel all the way.... but would like to get my hands on an old G60 Corrado for a bit of weekend fun!!! I uppose it boils down to how much growing up you want to do!

Cheers, Audimandan!

[davidlandy]

I have had 3 passats all diesels and have found them great - they have all been company cars whereby petrols have been availalbe and most people were at first going for them over the diesels - when they drove mine they always went diesel for the next one.

99 T plate 110 bhp se
00 X plate 115pd bhp SEL
03 plate 130 tdi sport

the big change was between the 110 to the 115 bhp car - it was a big improvement - when i went to the 130 car there wasnt as much a change.

for fuel economy the 130 was the best averaging about 49mpg on the journey for me for work.

I have now for a change got a new 06 Golf gt tdi with the 170 engine - that is a flyer!