2004 Volkswagen Passat

I bought my Volkswagon Passat new in 2004. I bought the car because it was reasonable in all respects, including price. We live in a downtown neighborhood and do not have off street parking. The Volkswagon Passat didn't seem like the kind of car that one would steal or break into as it is not a fast car and it pretty minimalistic inside. We also liked the fact that the car seemed pretty down-to-earth and unpretentious.

That being said, I am not entirely satisfied with this car. It seems like some maintenence light is always on. In addition, we have had major problems with leaking from the sunroof. At one point, my car had 6 inches of water in it from the rain. I had been told by Volkswagon service that this is due to leaves from parking it in the street. About once per year I find my car flooded. Initially, my car was under warranty so all of the carpeting was replaced. Now I have to pay for it and it is extremely expensive. After that big rain, when I was at Volkswagon, there was another person in front of me complaining of the same leakage.

Other things about the car that I find annoying is the windshield wiper fluid tank. The tank is so small that you have to refill it after you wash your windows 4-5 times. It is defiitely a design flaw.

As far as mileage goes, I think I get good mileage. I would say around 20 for city driving and 28 for highway driving.

My biggest problem with the car is that I haven't found their service departments to be helpful. One time we were on vacation in New Hampshire when the car starting leaking in the front passenger seat. This was a different kind of the leak than the rain issue previously mentioned. This was from the air conditioning. We called our VW service who directed us to the local VW service station. The local VW service station would not fit us in knowing that we were on the road trying to make it back home which was an 18 hour drive.

The overall comfort of the car is good. We have found the car to be spacious even with a baby and a 100 lb dog. It is a fairly smooth ride.

There are a lot of minor things inside the car that have broken including the cigarette lighter and drink holders. The leather parts have not aged well over time and I do not spend much time in my car.

Despite all of these minor issues, the car has been reliable though I think this is the last Volkswagon for me.