Jetta - Passat Anyone drive one of these?

The boyfriend recently traded in the Jeep (single tear he doesn't like to talk about it) for a Jetta Wagon. It's an '09 used, manual transimssion.

It's spacious and comfortable. We can fit both mountain bikes in it! It runs great. Right after purchase he bought new tires for it, but he hasn't needed anything else for it. It handles pretty well, too.

The origional owner bought it when they were offering free scheduled maintenance and that transferred to the new owner.

Any specific questions?

I owned a 2001 (I think) Passat. I liked most things about it except one. It had an engine sludge problem that had to be repaired. IF (and only if) I could prove it had had all its regular oil changes, then VW would pay for the repairs. Well after I had to pay a lot for the first oil change (car had a stupid under engine panel design that had to be removed to change the oil) I did all my oil chnages myself. Thus, no proof and VW would not pay to fix the sludge issue. Last year I got a class action settlement notice. However, I cannot find the paperwork for the cost of repairs and will never see a dime of the settlement money.

Now, enough time has past so that they have resolved those issues. The car got good mileage back then and is probably better now. It was roomy and handled well. I did test drive the Jetta, but there was no comparison to the Passat.

x2. I have a 2001 Jetta VR6. Worst piece of junk I've ever owned. My 1989 Honda Accord breaks down far less and it's over 200k miles. It's also not cheap to fix.

I've had a 95 jetta, an '01 golf and currently the business car I often use is a new jetta tdi.  I have loved all of these cars. 

Wasn't paying attention to gas mileage with the 95 jetta, but it was a fun little car to drive and I did not have any problems with it until AFTER I crashed it into a guardrail - it was never the same after that but that's not really surprising. 

The '01 golf, I was getting 35 mpg just doing intown commuting (e.g. not highway miles).  Loved having a hatchback, but the car might be small for some people (I'm 5' tall so a non-issue for me). 

I LOVE the new TDI jetta - I've become a total torque addict, I love the way the car sounds.  It's taken some getting used to but I also love the turbo aspect.  The DSG is nice, although I've always driven manuals before, so I do miss shifting to some degree.  Some people don't like the "decontenting" that vw did for this edition of the car - but I have found it just doesn't bother me. We've been getting about 42 mpg in mixed driving and if I try to milk it I can get to the store and back and average 50 or 60 or so mpg for the trip.  The car has a lot of leg room in back (not relevant to the 5 footer here, but some people care about this) and it is bigger than previous jetta's so it rides very nicely on the highway without blowing around.  However, we haven't really had it long enough to know what kinds of problems may crop up. 

One problem that seems to plague vw is with the windows.  In the golf I had and also other people I know who have had cars of that vintage they have at least one story of putting the window down and having it not come back up.  It seems to be a major design flaw.

2002 Jetta 1.8 turbo - no problems (other than the initial windows clip problem and the Bosche ignition coil BS back in 03), at 160K kms. 200hp/275tq and 30 mpg.

I'm always at car shows, looking at the new models - and have been looking for awhile, but nothing is that much better to make me switch.

Most parts are no worse than Toyota, but every car has those stupid "gotcha" repairs where you have to drop the engine to replace a gasket.

Only catch with TDI is it takes awhile to heat up (efficient) which takes awhile to get heat in the cabin when it's freezing out.

They don't have amazing city mileage - TDI's do best on the highway once they are warm, so if you're looking for short trips you'd be better off with a Prius. 20+ miles a trip would be TDI country.

My sister in law and a friend both had Jettas and could not wait to get rid of them.  Nothing but problems.  My friend had hers in the dealer repair shop almost monthly.  

We have an '02 Passat that my husband still drives and we love it.  No problems with it whatsoever.  

From talking with lots of people the Jettas seem more prone to problems.  

I had this on 2 of my windows.

My VW is a 2005 Beetle. Very cute Cyber green, total piece of crap mechanically.I have a stack 2 inches think of in-warranty repairs, but was relieved almost when the warranty ran out and I could take it to a local general mechanic. VWs have some good points, but too many stupid sensors that go out to be worth the price and just weird mechanical junk that you never hear happening to other cars. (Like the steering column wire casing melting. Happened to me twice.) So, if you're a mechanic, go for it, otherwise be prepared to study up. I can't change a car's oil, but I can do headlight casings, MAF sensors, fuses etc. the knowledge which has been necessary with such a jacked-up car.

I'm still driving my 2001 Jetta.  LOVE IT!  I have the vR6 and it's zippy!  Also, safety is excellent on it.  I was T-boned by a Jeep Cherokee (only 3 months after owning it) and I didn't move an inch!  No bruises, cuts, nothing.  Just broken glass everywhere. 

As someone else said: buy with confidence!!!!

All 2009 and newer VW's have a 3 year all maintenance covered including oil changes. I drive a 2009 Passat 2.0 Turbo and my wife drives the VW routan van she just got this week. So far no troubles with the Passat. I also had a 2010 GTI and had no issues with that either. But i did sell it with about 60K on it so I shouldn't have had any isssues by then.

I know two people with the TDI golfs and they love them.  

Forget the Jetta, go with the diesel Phaeton!! Beautiful car!

I don't know anything about VW's but my suggestion is always to find a forum for the vehicle you are looking at and either post there asking for common issues or do some reading.

When I bought my truck I joined a forum first so I could make sure I got the right year and model. Specifically my truck is an 05 Dodge Ram, most on the Ram forums will agree that this is the best year for a used truck as it has the least amount of issues. You should be able to find a similar site for VW diesels, they will be able to tell you right away what to look for, what to stay away from and what year to buy.