Faults:

Turbo (expensive).

EGR valve.

Clutch.

Plus all the usual maintenance and wear and tear parts replaced.

General Comments:

I had this Passat a long time, it was a durable and great performing car. Good looking and nice to drive. My car was blue, much better color than the usual silver ones you seen about.

1.9 TDi was a common engine that was reliable enough if looked after. Pulls very strong with 130 bhp, and did 50 mpg. Watch for the turbo failing however, this is an expensive replacement.

The car's interior was nice and comfortable, I had no complaints. Not as refined as it should have been however, my previous 1999 Ford Focus was actually quieter on the move.

So all in all a decent car, but just had some expensive repairs; I drove it carefully and looked after it and it lasted 20 years, cannot say fairer than that.

Faults:

Cost £3,000 used, 7 years old, dealer service history.

Car was misfiring when I bought it, did the coils and air-mass meter, now runs perfectly.

Scuttle area drain hole plugs up with leaves, accumulates large volume of rain water under the battery, I now clean this out regularly.

Track-rod ends, near-side CV joint and off-side headlamp done at about 80,000 miles.

Electric fan for aircon system replaced at 85,000 miles.

Transmission oil and gear-stick knob and arm-rest cover changed.

General Comments:

Excellent car performance, very quick. The turbo-lag takes a bit of getting used to in 1st and 2nd, trying to make gear changes smooth.

Turbo cars have to be run on the highest quality fully synthetic oil 5W/40 in mine. I change it once a year regardless of mileage.

I do try to give the turbo a minute of cooling time at idle after each trip, unless the engine was not fully warmed up.

Never let me down yet, but it might be that the American cars are built somewhere where the quality control is not as good as in Europe.

Average 29 mpg, but I do short journeys.

Faults:

Sensors kept playing up, specialist couldn't find a fault for weeks, glow plugs, burning oil, blowing blue smoke out of the exhaust, suspension, brakes sensors playing up.

In total, for having the car a year, this car cost me £2000. The turbo had to be replaced along with hoses, which was costly.

Would never touch another Volkswagen, even if I was paid.

General Comments:

Yeah OK the car was pretty rapid, it is comfy, and nice to look at, but that's the only things I can say. The car spent more time in the garage than it did on the road.

Faults:

Engine to drive section.

Steering arms.

Seat problem.

Numerous engine problems.

Computer lights (bad).

Service lights.

Fuel problem.

Main agent problems.

Etc etc.

General Comments:

Don't buy a second hand Passat. Mine looked immaculate and had a full service history. One owner. Dealers not too interested in helping.

Faults:

General wear and tear as you would expect. Snapped a coil spring at 113,000 miles probably due to rusting under the plastic cover. General electrical faults including the engine warning light being on for the last 50,000 miles. Driver window cable snapped due to rust. Front headlights are starting to appear scratched.

General Comments:

Good engine with lots of pull even though it only has 115 BHP. Looks modern and feels well built.

Faults:

Clutch and flywheel (UKP1300) at just 56k to solve clutch judder.

Rainwater soaked footwells thanks to pollen filter housing leak. The water going where it shouldn't also wrecked an expensive control unit that runs the alarm system (UKP550 all in with labour to strip the interior and dry it, and replace the control unit)

Drivers window regulator disintegrated (UKP150)

Front suspension bush wear (UKP350)

Uneven front tyre wear (can't be fixed)

General Comments:

Any good qualities it has (engine, styling, interior materials) completely overshadowed by disgraceful reliability. This was a VW main dealer supplied car and still has a full VW history.

My old Avensis wiped the floor with it as a piece of engineering.

Just under £2.5k worth of unscheduled repairs and component failures in the 3 yrs since the warranty expired. A supercar wouldn't cost much more.

Will never own another VW.