B4V Wagon Unicorn

Thought this might interest someone. I just ran across on CL. It's exactly like mine with 200k less miles! and less rust too

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d/1996-vw-passat-b4v-wagon-tdi/6546544662.html

dre77vw said:

Thought this might interest someone. I just ran across on CL. It's exactly like mine with 200k less miles! and less rust too

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d/1996-vw-passat-b4v-wagon-tdi/6546544662.html

Click to expand...

Good to see.

"Holy Grail"!

Seller sounds a little full of himself.

Price is on the high side for the flaws. Ad doesn't talk about the repair above the passenger side rear compartment window. Doesn't even mention the repair to the passenger rear door (bottom).

Windex said:

"Holy Grail"!

Seller sounds a little full of himself.

Price is on the high side for the flaws. Ad doesn't talk about the repair above the passenger side rear compartment window. Doesn't even mention the repair to the passenger rear door (bottom).

Click to expand...

This. I am vaguely interested and it is near enough to me but I don't even want to deal with the seller.

Interesting, pin strips on both front fenders, but nothing rearward? I suspect Windex is correct, much more o the story.

Also keep in mind that '96 B4s were prone to clusters failing. Mileage shown may not be actual. If someone is a serious buyer I'd want documentation proving the mileage.

There have been a few of these for sale here lately and it causes me to wonder how people think of these cars now. Not collectable, in my opinion. And as a daily driver they leave a few things to be desired. They're loud, and parts (doors, windows, interior bits) are fragile. I drive my sedan occasionally, and I'm surprised in the difference in refinement between it and my A4s. The A4 still feels like a modern car, despite being a 20 year old design. The B4s feel old to me. And parts are getting scarce.

So why would someone buy one? I'm sincerely curious. If my B4 Sedan were my daily driver I could be happy with that. They have some driving characteristics that are endearing. But I'm not sure what the motivation would be to buy and save (or improve) one.

IBW, interesting thoughts from a principal of one of the parts company. I do enjoy my B4V. Despite the door handle issue, etc. I there is much to be said for the platform. While not as refined as the A4 platform or newer cars, they are time proven. I find the extra space/interior volume & size comfortable for my normal use. If making a long distance run, I use one of the other cars. Just this afternoon, while visiting a buddy that owns a used car lot, as I was leaving & started the B4V, one of his wholesalers that was there heard the engine start, inquired if I had interest in selling & asked my to please keep him in mind if I decided to sell or ran into any more like it. While they will never be a highly collectable car as some are, they do have a following. I must admit, that a few of the recent FS adds of nice A4V's have me wondering....

I`m biased as I miss my B4V, but if a clean one came up available for a good price, I would probably snag it.

It`s the combination of interior volume, especially rear legroom, cargo capacity, range and fuel economy.

It will do everything a minivan can (minus the third row) and use less than half the fuel doing it.

Ultimate road trip car. Range is limited only by bladder capacity.

While I was selling mine, which I have now done, a buyer contacted me that has been to see this white one.

Something doesn't add up. He said it smoked white smoke on acceleration, but he also said the seller was selling as they were going to convert a gas B4V to diesel, which seems like a lot of work when you already have essentially the same car, he said $4k would buy it.

Second hand information so take with a pinch of salt.

Mines now in New Jersey I miss it.

Great road trip car except for the NVH. If you get out of a B4 and into a MKVII GSW (which Bob S. probably does on occasion) the difference in engine, road, and wind noise is remarkable. And the interior of the MKVII GSW isn't that much smaller than the B4. I've taken road trips in the GSW with 4 people and we've all been comfortable. However, it has about half the range of the B4, which is annoying.

I do love the way the B4 rides and tracks. It's more stable and predictable than a lot of newer cars. But I've taken to wearing earplugs when driving it distances.

Ok guys, I've been working on my B4V and was playing with a project for 24 hours of Lemons - a VR6 B4U = B4 Ute because I'm a jerk like that. Now that we paused that for a year I have cars to get rid of. On TDI wagon we sucked it up and pulled the dash, carpet, seats, etc. Heater core replaced, blend doors done, I'm pulling & redoing insulation (IBW for your ears), some nicer speakers, leather in Wagon (tan, sorry), but the car won't be perfect

Anyway, Lemons insanity netted me a bunch of extra parts and a pinstripe black body + beat down green body.

So available is a mish-mash of B4 green sedan with low mileage, my Black B4V and two gasser parts wagons (one black & one green; 5 lug swap option for both TDIs + extra 5 lug parts).

Sedan is a daily with A/C taken out (I have a compressor). B4V has been a project since largely retiring it when my son (now 5) was born. I picked back up late last year & now want it gone.

Given for a questionable provenance, and folks are in a commenting mood, what is honest range for B4 sedan & a B4V + extras worth these days? I welcome your higher, reasonable offers as I have a Merc I need to fix (that has provided many a drinking story) and wife that cringes every time she pulls a B4 door or tries to roll down a window...

Cheers,
Kyle