1999 Volkswagen Passat

Uh, where do I begin? Well, These cars a gorgeous! They look great inside and out and are a joy to drive. Trust me, there is nothing like it in this class of car and not much better in a class “above” it. There’s the good, now for the bad and the ugly.

The engines are very troublesome. The 1.8L turbo is prone to sludge build-up that will result in at the very least annoyingly expensive repairs that will creep up at an alarmingly regular pace or will require engine replacement costing you $7,000 and more! What can be done to prevent this? Well, if the car has been using full synthetic oil from day one and has had it changed more often that recommended you may be able to avoid it, but I doubt it. So, let’s just agree to stay away from the 1.8L engine. That leaves us with the V-6. These appear to be more reliable but still have an issue with the sludge though I haven’t seen many (but then again, I see 7 or 8 1.8L’s for every 2.8L). There are issues that the 4cylinder engine has that don’t seem to appear on the 6 cylinder. The timing belt will fail if left too long but any engine but these engines are “interference engines.” What does this mean to you? Thousands of dollars in repairs if/when it breaks. If you buy one, change the belt unless you have PROOF that it was changed in the last 75,000 miles. Change it TOMORROW!!

The Mass Airflow Sensors fail fairly early, as low as 30,000 miles and will cause rough running and a check engine light. This will set you back more than $400. But you should know that VW did extend this warranty on 99 and 98 models for 7 years or 70,000 miles from new. Yes, these are now 10 years old so why do you care? They have more than likely been replaced under warranty, but ask to see proof.

The Ignition Power Stage fails. What’s this you ask? Well, let’s just call it expensive. It’s part of your ignition system and when it fails it will cause poor running conditions and a check engine light. It’s going to cost $200 or more to fix.

Water pumps fail a little early and can cost you an engine replacement. Figure $450 or more on the 4 cylinder (are you STILL thinking about one of those?!?!) or closer to $600 for the V6.