Faults:

Replaced timing belt upon purchase. $300.

CV Boots replaced at purchase. $250.

Blew the alternator from my stereo. $300.

Fuel Filter at 176000. $100.

Rear Muffler (this car has 3). $250.

Ignition Switch, failed at 178000, began working at 188000 (I really don't know why)

Radiator hose at 188000, overheated on the highway, no damage luckily. $45.

Lost the heater core with the rad hose, in excess of $700 (!) to replace so I had the mechanic bypass. Most heater cores are found under the entire front dash, and it is a 6+ hour job which is why the high cost. I'm going to attempt to do this myself this summer.

Emergency brake cables seized, only the left cable works.

Rear brakes totally redone, new calipers, rotors and brake pads. $400 in parts, did the work myself.

Power driver side mirror stopped working at 188500, began working again yesterday at 18900.

Driver side mirror itself rusted from behind the glass, only half the mirror is use able.

Rear right passenger window motor no longer works, stopped at 174000. Motor appears to be between both pieces of steel when I attempted repair.

General Comments:

This car sure is nice to look at, however is quite an under performer. The 4 cylinder engine produces 138hp, and was originally built for the 1990 golf. Considering this is a 4 door sedan, performance is very poor with 4 adults.

The auto transmission shifts quite rough when in economy mode, is better (but not perfect) in sport mode, but uses more gas.

Steering is a little heavy however very precise. Suspension is tight, and with the stock rims/low profile tires handles very very well. Quite fun to drive _down_ (not up!) long twisty roads. If this car had a bigger engine it would be a blast to drive.

Also, most people won't notice, but a lot of things vibrate with my subs turned up loud. I used some 2" thick foam and crammed it anywhere I could to stop the rattles.

Faults:

Coolant Fan blew.

Distributor failed.

Head gasket blew.

Fuel sending unit failed.

Ignition failed.

Windows failed.

Catalytic converter plugged.

General Comments:

This car robbed me of all my money. I bought this car because I loved the drive of it, and don't get me wrong, this car handled extremely well. Nice brakes, nice suspension, firm gripping tires. I thought that I would fix it a BIT and drive it for a long time.

Well, after a year and change worth of ownership, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't trade it in because the VW dealership said that they won't accept any Passats of that gender due to the sad reports on them, I couldn't sell it, so after putting over 5k on repairs alone, I called a junkyard to take it away. It was running, but one of the valves were going in it. I didn't want to see it in my driveway anymore.

Too bad about it all you know, I starved, didn't buy new clothes, or even go out to nice dinners, because my car drained my bank account.

I now have a Honda Civic which is far less a maintenance pig, and much cheaper to get repaired, and it actually looks quite nice to see a car in my driveway that I own, instead of a rental car.

Faults:

Turning the steering wheel left to its maximum causes a clunking noise. The dealer couldn't fix it.

Exhaust leak at about 6 years.

Head gasket started to leak after 5 years.

Engine burns a lot of oil.

Heater coil leaked at about 8 years.

Thermostat switch broke recently, at 10 years.

General Comments:

The car's suspension isn't smooth enough. I can even feel the painted lines on the road. This causes a very rough ride on many of the roads in my town.

But, after all this negativity, the car is a blast to drive on the highway.

Good feel even at speeds over 140kph.

Faults:

A lot:

Spark plug wires (2 sets), cylinder head gasket, O2 Sensor, power steering (4 overhauls), tires (2 sets), injection control module, instrument cluster, fading paint, rear brake calipers, muffler (after 2 years), parking brake wires.

General Comments:

Those problems were encountered in the first 4 years of ownership. For the last 3 years the car has been pretty reliable if you consider its age (7 year, 158 000 Km). The body is still in very good shape (no rust). I now only use this car in winter and plan to sell it this summer. This car was my 7th volks and the least reliable. I now drive a Volvo V70.