mimjed 0 Posted December 5, 2011 been offered a potential decent motor. need an estate and was looking for a passat 2.0 tdi really. but one of my old mans neighbours has decided to get shot of his 9-5 2.0 turbo. i know its been well looked after and had a new turbo less than 1k ago. its got nearly all the extras on it and full leather. he says he will mot it and i can bag it for £900. its on a w plate and has 180k on it, not overly worried about the miles as i do bugger all a year now. i am concerned however at the alarming bad reviews on reliability and eyewatering parts costs. the fact it shares many parts with a vectra doesnt fill me with confidence either. so does anyone have any informed knowledge of them? it wont be a keeper anyway, just to trev around in till later next year when i can afford a passat. selling my car and buying this will free up funds to buy a mk1 caddy too :) plus i figure worst case scenario i can sell a few bits off it to get my pennies back if it self destructs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
i que 0 Posted December 5, 2011 crap crap crap ,lets just say they aint like the old uns .had plenty of them(thru car trade) cheep to buy tho expensive to fix, handle like a boat even aeros and viggens.its a vectra,make sure the oil is changed with a fully synth every 4k max.(the book says 8k????? with semi?????)this mistake is curentley being fought out in the states where owners are claiming money from gm for blown engines due to missinformation.i got them coming in all the the time with engine probs, if it runs noisey leave it..infact just leave it an buy sumit else Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mimjed 0 Posted December 5, 2011 fair answer! are you a grease monkey then? jesus even the evos can out last them on oil then! haha i did read some interesting stories of people struggling to get them round corners! only problem being finding something else which has been taken care of and doesnt cost the earth. have spent close to 60k this year so im not exactly in a position to splash out. still debating a passat but that will have to involve finance and its not something ive done before or ever really wanted to. bloody children!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
floppyman 0 Posted December 5, 2011 +1to that.... Get the passat Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scarlet_vr6 0 Posted December 6, 2011 handle like a boat even aeros the exact words I was going to use! I'm not very well informed, but I did borrow my boss' brand new one for a few days about 6 years ago, and I thought it was horrible to drive. I was very relieved to get my C back... not sure my boss was though cos he had to give the Porsche back that he had borrowed and go back to the barge lol Good luck sorting something out :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tony_ack 0 Posted December 6, 2011 You should be able to pick up a 1.9TDi B5 Passat wagon for around that price and a similar age. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mimjed 0 Posted December 6, 2011 youd be surprised! half the passats seem to be in very bad condition, so for one thats alright they command a decent price. think i will knock it on the head though. cheers fellas. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted December 10, 2011 If you have a little more in your budget, I would recommend the mk2 saab 9-3. Completely standalone from GM when they made them so not based on anything vauxhall. I had a 1.8t vector sport on an 03 plate, and sorry if I'm being blasphemous (however you spell it!) but it was my favourite car! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevemlc 0 Posted December 11, 2011 Just to give a different view, I run a 2.0t 9-5 estate as a daily as well as a vr6 corrado and a mk2 gti. Of course it doesn't handle as well as the corrado but it's pretty composed overall and comfortable over long distances - seats and sound system are excellent as is refinement. Performance is pretty good too with a stage 1 remap to 225bhp for a lot less than the vag folks charge and still gives 30+ per gallon. Points to watch are engine sludging ( drop the sump and clean out the oil pickup for peace of mind - updated pcv sytem advisable) front arb drop links ( £20 a pair and 30 mins to change) and DI cassettes which can fail. I change the oil (fully synth £20 from Asda) and filter (£5 from dealer or eBay) every 6k miles as I do on my vag motors. Overall a lot of car for the money and a bit different from the norm - just make sure you drop the sump and run it on fully synth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dec 1 Posted December 11, 2011 I've driven a 9-3 Aero for almost the last two years, and it has been a great car! At 210 Bhp it's pretty quick, and acceleration from 30 mph plus is impressive. Handling is better than my old B5.5 Passat (once I removed the budget tyres that were fitted to it when I bought it). It has not had a single thing go wrong with it since I have owned it, has a 20K, 2-year service interval...and in terms of power, comfort and gadgets per £, I think they are a great buy. Downside is insurance costs and mpg isn't great...... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted December 11, 2011 +1 on the above 2 posts. To add to what I put, I think they are classier and far more understated than the equivalent BMW/Audi/Merc, and you get far more for your money. I found insurance pretty good tbh, I'd only been driving a year att and was fully comp for just over £800. Economy was the only thing I can fault tbh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
