OT: Thoughts on passat vr6

[SC David]

Funny you mention this. My dad just sold his '97 VR6 wagon. It was a fun car, relatively nimble and handled well. It had some problems like were mentioned above. It went through oil pretty quick, some parts of the interior were kind of cheap, namely the cupholders. The drivers power window went out twice I believe. Aside from those things, it was a great car. I was considering picking it up from him, but I have no need for two cars and don't want to get rid of mine after all the $$$ I've spent in bringing it back to good health. Definitely get it in a 5 speed though. The autos I've driven (like the M20 E34s ) are absolute dogs.

[SC David]

I am convinced, no vw. I want to buy a car with a manual transmission so that when they get old they won't be totally clueless about how to drive a 5 speed. Hard to find a used volvo or a bimmer with a 5 speed.

I say do it! This generation (B4) Passat with the engine/tranny combo your looking at would be a great first car. They are built solid and safe, have enough power to have some fun with, but not so much to get you in trouble, and are reasonable as far as maintenance goes. As with any car, as long as these VR6's are looked after they will run for a good while. I've heard of them making it to 250k without many problems. My dad's had 175k on it.

I think a lot of people here are basing their opinions on the late 90's VW's which were plagued with problems. My friend with a 99 Passat 1.8T had tonnnss of problems with his, and it was in the shop monthly. That thing leaked out of places you didn't know it had.

[Ross]

A good friends wife bought one new. It was always a problem and even though under warranty the constant attention(repair) it needed prompted them to sell it.
Parts cost more than BMW also.

[Qube]

Well, look at it this way. You have experience with the e34 platform. Get a 520/525 depending on where you are and you can share parts... experiences... repairs

[MTechnik540i]

Thinking of picking up a 1996 passat vr6 5 speed with about 200K miles as a spare car for my boys to drive. Price is around $2k. I have never owned a vw and would appreciate your opinions.

Unfortunately, I work within VW Service and can honestly say I'd avoid these cars at all cost.

Pick up a good E30, or an E36 for your Boys...A much better choice.

[SC David]

Haha, looks like everyone else has had much different experience with them! Oh well, I guess some get lucky.

[brick8]

I had an e30 convertible, was a great car, but didn't let them drive it. Way too much fun and too easy to get in trouble, if you know what I mean.

[John B.]

I'm thinking about picking up a mid 90s Volvo 850 for my daughter as her Sentra is getting beat & I hate working on it. Is that vintage 850 a good car & how are they to work on?

[brick8]

The 850 is a very solid car that is easy to work on. I have had several, including a T5 wagon, a 1993 GLT with a 5 speed and the current 850 n/a. The only somewhat difficult repair I have had on this one was replacing the neutral safety switch, but that was mainly because I had to do the repair in an unheated garage when it was 10 degrees. There is often times a harmless accumulation of oil on top of the motor that looks really bad (helps when trying to buy at a lower price) because people don't know that the gasket on the oil filler cap needs to be replaced every other oil change. There is plenty of room under the hood to work on things. The n/a is pretty slow so it is a good choice for younger drivers. The anti-lock computers on the newer 850s have bad solder joints causing lights to blink on the dashboard. You can remove it and send it out to be rebuilt for under $150. The turbo models are much more fun to drive but need more maintenance.

[John B.]

Thanks for the info! I have heard that the early 850s can be problematic. True? I'd be looking at a non Turbo model to keep my daughter's insurance down. Is it tough to find a 5 speed? How do the autos hold up over 100k?