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Volkswagen Passat

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Dwight of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA March 15, 2008

Dwight of Rancho Palos Verdes CA (03/15/08)
I took my 2004 V.W. Passat to the dealership because the oil light came on and STOP IMMEDIATELY began to flash. The dealer said there was oil sludge in the motor and needed repair at a cost of 2800.00. I did not get the repair because I wanted to check with another repair shop for a better price to fix the problem. I went online to check for complaints and found out there are several others who had this same problem out of their passat. I am outraged that this defect in the automobile has been passed on to the consumer to fix when the dealers know its a defect in their automobile.

Leon of Wells, ME February 10, 2008

Leon of Wells ME (02/10/08)
2005 Volkswagen Passat has had spark plug coils burn out 3+times and has cost 500.00 each time plus towing to be fixed. This has all taken place in less than 80,000 miles. The problem has not been addressed by volkswagen and it appears that there has been several hundred complaints.

Zafar of Manchester, NH February 5, 2008

Zafar of Manchester NH (02/05/08)
I purchased a 2001 vw Passat from a dealership with about 140,000 miles on it. I drove it for about two months and one day when I was driving to work the engine light went on followed by brake stop light and ABS brake light sign with some noise. I spent 1100 to fix the brakes. The dealer is asking 3100 for fixing the engine light issue which I can not afford. I will never buy vw car in my life again. This is the worst car in my life.

Phyllis of Bronx, NY February 3, 2008

Phyllis of Bronx NY (02/03/08)
Add me to the list of disappointed VW Passat owners. I bought my 2002 VW Passat in 2005. This is my first car. Everyone thought it was a good car but it hasn't turned out to be. Right from the beginning, a few days after purchase, the check engine light came on. I took it back to the dealership and was told it was the coils and the sensors were faulty. I

 left it and when I picked it up, I was told the problem was fixed. A few days later, the same thing. I took it back and again was told it was fixed. After one month, I was told my warranty with the dealership was expired and I needed to take it to a VW dealership. Shortly thereafter, on my first oil change, my oil light began to come on with the ominious STOP immediately. I was terrified. I took it in and was told my oil filter was changed. As soon as I drove away, the Stop immediately came back on and I drove it right back to the VW dealership.

I was told I had sludge in the engine and was quoted an outrageous price to fix it. Luckily I called my insurance and they enforced the warranty without any trouble and the 5000 claim was paid with me paying the deductible. Recently, I had the tires changed and noticed a knocking sound when I made turns. In addition, I noticed that the rear passenger footwell was filling up with water. No one had ever heard of this and couldn't understand the reason for it. I had resolved to take it back to the dealership when I got my refund since I didn't know how much this was going to cost and the problem didn't seem so serious.

Well, while driving from the Bronx to the Woodbury Outlet in Central Valley, my car began to shake violently and make the loudest noises as if I had a flat tire (which is what I thought). Thank God, this happened as I was pulling off the exit and not on the hiway since I had three kids in the car and this could have been fatal. My car was towed, I and these kids were stranded a great distance from home and had to pay 130 for a taxi to get back to the Bronx since the trains and bus had stopped running after 9 p.m. I don't know how much this latest episode with this car is going to cost.

I read all the horror stories on-line and can't believe that this could be happening with little to no repercussions to VW who are putting the public and peoples lives in danger. Why isn't there a class action suit? How are they be able to treat the consumer so poorly? I just wanted my story out there to let people know that VW is not a good car and not a dealership you want to have to do business with.

Jennifer of Ogden, UT January 25, 2008

Jennifer of Ogden UT (01/25/08)
My own reincarnation of Satan is how I refer to my 2000 VW Passat V6. It was the first car I bought on my own in 2004, with about 65,000 miles on it, under the horribly inaccurate presumption that VW's last forever. Well within a month I was rudely awakened. It started with a small leak. No check engine sign or anything. I took it to a relatives shop and they were booked a week out so I left with the car planning on bringing it back later. So a couple of weeks later my husband was driving on the freeway when it flashed stop and as soon as he pulled over it died. The timing belt had broke and took out the water pump which had blown all 36 valves in the engine. Well that was a nice 2800 repair. Ignorantly, I decided to keep the car because I had already lost so much money on it and figure not much else could go wrong. Boy, was I mistaken. I have had to replace three different power window regulators. And honestly so many other things I cannot even remember. The speakers short out and crackle when it is cold. When the heater is running it sounds like something is burning up so I took it to a shop and they were sure what was wrong. It could be the heater core but that is a 800 fix. So instead they just replaced some filter and tightened the caps on my valves for 90. This summer the check engine light was on so I brought it in and they replace a few switches and hoses or something. All I know is that it cost me almost 500. Not a damn thing on that car has cost less than 200 to fix, even if my dad is doing the repair. Just recently my car stopped running. The engine just wouldn't turn over so first we replaced the battery. No go. Then we replaced the starter which we found out was bad. Then it ran for a good 20 miles. Now it is doing the same thing. That was another 200. I could go on and on with the many repairs I have do to the car. It is no use dumping more money into the worthless piece of German engineering (if you can even consider it engineering.) I will just make the payments and let it sit and rust. It will be cheaper that way. I know I will never recoup my expenses from the worst purchase I have ever made. I just want to warn people that VW's might be cute and perform well for a while at least, but they are not worth it. Volkswagen deserves to go out of business that is how bad their products are. They charge such a high price for inefficiency and unreliability. They refuse to recall most things that should be recalled. I have never had anything cause me more stress than that car. Every time I put a dollar in it, it needs 20 more. I can never sell it because there is always and I mean always something wrong with it. I just want to take out all my frustrations on it with a baseball bat. It would be worth paying off the remaining 6000 with nothing but a pile of metal and plastic left of it. I am especially unlucky because I bought it from a private seller without a warranty. But even with a warranty expect to be without a vehicle while your car is in the shop every few months. VOLKSWAGENS ARE WORTHLESS!!!!!!!!! Please reconsider if you want to buy a VW. They are not worth it.

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