would you buy this passat over a jetta?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/ctd/5070942202.html

04 passat tdi 62k miles $8500

Quick info. I'm looking for a daily driver and would like a tdi. 06 or 09 jetta under $8500. Most jettas in finding are 06s with 120k to 150k for about $7k.
I came across this passat and it seems pretty clean and has low miles and timing belt changed at 30k miles. What would be a good price to talk them down to? $7k?

Also seems like the passats may have more issues then the jettas with the balance shaft issue and possibly a worse auto then the jetta dsg.

Should I stick to only jettas?

The Passat tdi had a few issues which are well documented on here and easily cured albeit the balance shaft issue and the GMR tranny could be expensive. If the 62k is accurate on the tranny, changing the fluid will probably get you a lot more miles. Bottom line is drive both. The Passat is a far superior ride in all respects. Factor in highway or in town. A jetta is fine in town. The passats are awesome highway (lots of those in Arizona) cruisers. I have both A4 and B5.5 and that's my take.

I'd rather pay the same or slightly more for one that has the expensive maintenance items taken care of or even a manual swap.

Has to be automatic unfortunately it's a 3rd vehicle for both me and my lady. Seems like 90% of tdis for sale have unknown maintenence histories. At least with this one i know timing belt 30k ago (5yrs though so it's getting old) and glow plugs were replaced at 42k miles.

I drive mainly freeway too so that's good to know that the passat is a little better cruiser. This vehicle will also be our road trip car.

I think the price needs to come down a little because its an 04 Gl With cloth interior. Fully loaded 06 jettas are the same price just have 120k miles on them.

Why were the gp's changed? And, unless he was well versed in maintenance items, why did he change the TB with only 30k on it?

I'm in the same boat; trying to decide between an '05 Passat TDI and an '09/'10 Jetta TDI. Really torn between the two. Any folks who have owned or regularly driven/rode in these two would be very welcomed voices.

I own a couple B5s, they are a far superior highway cruiser than any of the A cars. But they are not as frugal, as they weigh more, are all automatics (with the diesels, anyways), and the diesel engine is significantly more powerful and not quite as fuel efficient.

So while my B5 TDI can get 35-40 MPGs pretty regularly, even driving very fast, it won't ever get the 45-55 that the smaller lighter less powerful A4 and A5 cars can get.

So for my 100 mile a day drive, I use a Golf. But for a cross country cruise, or a night on the town, I drive the Passat.

They are all good cars, IMHO. Just some have different things to be concerned about over others, and some stuff is more expensive. Some of the 2009+ cars' problems can be real jaw droppers price wise.

At least it is young enough in miles that it shouldn't have too many lack of maintenance problems.
But with the B5.5, one has to be prepared to drop $2-$4K sooner or later to get all the main issues addressed.

At 62k, I would think the Cam would need reground or replaced sooner than later. $700~
Balance Shaft Module delete $500~
Eventually Transmission and/or Torque Converter $800-$3000~

If you are doing work yourself some of this stuff might be cheaper.
But like OilHammer says, every car is good, they just all have their own issues. Keep up with the maintenance and keep an eye on the car and they are very nice to run.

I never thought I would like cars, but I love the B5.5.

If you can get it for $7-$7500, that gives you an extra $1k to put towards addressing the above issues.

Plenty of these transmissions last 1/4 million miles or more. They should be flushed every 60k miles (according to ZF), so that may be able to keep that particular transmission in good order for years to come since it has such low miles already.

It won't need a cam. And if you use the correct oil, it most likely won't need a cam for a very long time.

I don't like BS deletes, the car just vibrates too much in gear. But I would upgrade it to the gear drive, however with that low of mileage you likely have some time before that anyways.

My diesel B5 has 170k miles. The ONLY things I have done to it is the BS upgrade, the newer alternator pulley (both done at 80k), an RC1 tune (a worthwhile option, but not necessary), the newer steel glow plugs (also done around 80k), an alternator at 160k (it was born with a Valeo , it now has a Bosch), a few bulbs, a pair of outer CV boots proactively at 100k, one door latch, and I upgraded the shocks to Bilsteins. Everything else is normal scheduled PM, every 10k miles, with proper 505.01 5w40, Mann filters, and an ATF flush every 60k. It is on its 3rd set of Michelins, about 10k miles into them, original brakes.

My gasser B5 is at 210k miles, and is also on its original ZF slushbox, also flushed at 60k intervals.

mohawk69 said:

Why were the gp's changed?

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Probably due to the recall. Perhaps a diligent owner who did it immediately before the recall was recalled.

mohawk69 said:

And, unless he was well versed in maintenance items, why did he change the TB with only 30k on it?

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TB timed out (age) before hitting the mileage limit?

That price is ridiculous.

Do a nationwide search for vehicles.

For $8500 you should be able to get into a 2010 with under 100k all day long.

The 06 should be $6k in absolute perfect condition.

Note, I'm in Tampa and using our prices as a reference point.

Something like this:
http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/5044126754.html

the timing belt was changed in 2010 so it was 6 years old I would guess that's why it was changed.

that florida car has 240k miles (8x more then this car) but i get what your saying . the prices in arizona are a bit steeper. most tdi's under 100k miles are $10k or more these or 2009 and newer. most 06 jettas around here have 120k to 150k and are around $6-9k and of course most have no maintenance history.

Not sure what your time frame is, but perhaps keep an eye in the For Sale section here. For that price, you can find B5.5 TDIs with the cam, transmission, and balance shaft module problems all addressed. I'd much rather have a B5.5 with 150k miles with all of those problems addressed, rather than a relatively low-mileage 62k miles that had those issues still to be addressed. Shipping cars isn't all that costly, and you can have a local 'guru' do a pre-purchase inspection on it for you without you having to be there.

poormanq45 said:

That price is ridiculous.

Do a nationwide search for vehicles.

For $8500 you should be able to get into a 2010 with under 100k all day long.

The 06 should be $6k in absolute perfect condition.

Note, I'm in Tampa and using our prices as a reference point.

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I sold my 2006 Jetta TDI for $8500, right away, before I even got a chance to list it for sale, and the buyer bought it sight-unseen, came from a couple states away to get it, and was tickled pink with the car. I continued to get calls for the car, again, just word-of-mouth, I never even got a chance to "officially" list it for sale.

We've sold multiple BRM cars for well over a measly $6k in the last two years. We just sold a 2004 Jetta sedan with 130k miles for $6200. And again, no haggle on the price, went to the very first person that called, he came from out of town, and we continue to get calls on the car.

So I guess our ridiculous prices must not be so bad, eh?

BTW, we just had several people just about get into a bidding war on a 2015 Q5.

I'm guessing the to timed out but even many here have run way past that. Someone that was driving hardly at all surprises me that he would even have given it a thought.

Spring1898 said:

Balance Shaft Module delete $500~


I never thought I would like cars, but I love the B5.5.

If you can get it for $7-$7500, that gives you an extra $1k to put towards addressing the above issues.

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A Balance shaft delete parts with timing belt kit is at least 500.00 alone. Labor is around 1000.00 I'd guess. I agree you can talk them down to 7500 or 7000. The main factor is how much room you need/like inside. If you are ok with small, the jetta family is much cheaper to own . I like roomy and I like my 2005 passat wagon better than any vw I've had.

If I was going to spend 8000 on a roomy sedan though, I'd be looking at a 2005/2006 Mercedes cdi. Same mpg as passat. They are selling cheap right now. I actually got one for my wife about 6 months ago for 9000. I drove the passat wagon 150 miles to pick up the 2006 E320 CDI . Driving back the passat felt cheap compared to the mercedes. Not real bad cheap like toyota corolla cheap but definitely you could tell you were in a new league in the mercedes. A 1998/1999 Mercedes E300 turbo diesel is a great car too and are about 4-5000 for a good one.

Good luck

I like the cdis but there closer to 12k.
Can I expect 35 mpg with this passat and is 40 mpg possible?

Too bad you wouldn't be willing to have a manual trans. I just completed a 1128 mile round trip to Chicago this week in my 2004 Passat TDI sedan that I completed the BS module delete/5 speed manual trans swap/stage 2 tune and got 49.1 mpg actual on the trip.

I prefer the cloth seats in the Passats, I own all three varieties currently. I have a 2004 Passat wagon with cloth (5 speed manual), 2004 sedan with "pleather" and an auto, 2004 sedan with cloth awaiting a 5 speed swap, and the 2004 sedan with real leather and woodgrain trim mentioned above.

I owned an E 320 and prefer the Passat in fit and finish, as well as highway comfort. My 320 had "pleather" though, and was a 4-matic so it was great in snow.

Brian is right about the vibes with a BS delete with an auto. My auto has the geared BSM, but all of my 5 speed swap cars get BS deletes since it doesn't idle in gear at a stop light you don't really feel the vibes.

dogdots said:

Too bad you wouldn't be willing to have a manual trans. I just completed a 1128 mile round trip to Chicago this week in my 2004 Passat TDI sedan that I completed the BS module delete/5 speed manual trans swap/stage 2 tune and got 49.1 mpg actual on the trip.

I prefer the cloth seats in the Passats, I own all three varieties currently. I have a 2004 Passat wagon with cloth (5 speed manual), 2004 sedan with "pleather" and an auto, 2004 sedan with cloth awaiting a 5 speed swap, and the 2004 sedan with real leather and woodgrain trim mentioned above.

I owned an E 320 and prefer the Passat in fit and finish, as well as highway comfort. My 320 had "pleather" though, and was a 4-matic so it was great in snow.

Brian is right about the vibes with a BS delete with an auto. My auto has the geared BSM, but all of my 5 speed swap cars get BS deletes since it doesn't idle in gear at a stop light you don't really feel the vibes.

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I really would prefer a manual but my lady cant drive a manual and I sold the idea of a tdi as a car we could both use for work or trips. The clothes seats will be better for this arizona heat but makes the interior seem a bit more basic looking.

treykoile said:

I like the cdis but there closer to 12k.
Can I expect 35 mpg with this passat and is 40 mpg possible?

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Thats what they should be. But I got mine for 8000 plus i had to put about 1000 into it. It had 146,000 miles on it. For some reason they are selling cheaper. Check out this page : http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367151-2005-6-cdi-shopping.html I know someone that just got one for 7500

You can't go wrong with a passat or a cdi.

Ok update to this story I bought a tdi! But not a passat I ended up getting a 2006 jetta package 2. With 145k for $5400.

treykoile said:

I like the cdis but there closer to 12k.
Can I expect 35 mpg with this passat and is 40 mpg possible?

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I regularly get 40 in the summer time and probably 37-38 in the winter. 2004 Passat TDI, 263,000 miles, original auto transmission.

Well, for anyone interested, I ended up getting a 2010 Jetta. Brought it back to CA from WA only to find out that the car has a P0401 code and what seems like a cracked DPF (lots of soot in the tail pipe). Good news is I got it for what I think was a really good price. I can say I am a little disappointed with the low mpg's I've been seeing so far, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to do some light modifications to improve that area. Time will tell.

The best way, in my view, to get an expected average MPG is to get as much data as possible. Go to a site like Fuelly or similar.