Picked up a Passat W8 Wagon Motion...

TerryBPP · 05-28-2009, 05:41 AM

...anything I should be looking for? Issues?

To be honest I was not aware VW made a Passat wagon with the Phaeton engine in it.

rammstein · 05-28-2009, 06:05 AM

Something went wrong with my father's Passat W8 at 50k miles- a camshaft or something. $5000 to fix. A lot of that was labor.

NICKG · 05-28-2009, 06:49 AM

they are a niche car and VERY expensive to fix...is it a stick? I would advertise that on Vwvortex...they are cheap i hear(at auction)
Great car though...but not a phaeton engine. it is ONLY a passat engine, the phaeton used a V8(same as an audi or taureg) and a W 12

kaisen · 05-28-2009, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerryBPP

...anything I should be looking for? Issues?

To be honest I was not aware VW made a Passat wagon with the Phaeton engine in it.

The W8 4Motion was/is a VERY nose heavy car so the already troublesome control arms wear out fast

onewhippedpuppy · 05-28-2009, 01:59 PM

I've seen multiple W8 cars for sale cheap due to internal engine issues. Never a good sign. Ultra complex and VW aren't a good combo.

ruf-porsche · ruf-porsche's Garage

Get the extended warranty.

Dottore · 05-28-2009, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

I've seen multiple W8 cars for sale cheap due to internal engine issues. Never a good sign. Ultra complex and VW aren't a good combo.

Ditto. You can buy them here all day long for very little money.

kaisen · 05-28-2009, 07:21 PM

Was it a black '03 with just under 70K miles?

MattKellett · MattKellett's Garage

Terry

I have one. Mine is a '04 which I purchased with 4000 miles in '05. I now have 75000 miles on it and have only had one problem so far - the camshaft adjusters!!!!!

Luckily they were replaced under warranty at 45,000 miles and I've had no problems since. I believe they updated this part, so you should see if they have been replaced in your car. They seems to have failed on so many cars, so they probably have been changed in your car. I would check with your local VW dealer to see if they have been replaced.

Oh, I had to replace one of the HID bulbs at $120 ouch!!!!

This has by far been on of the nicest cars I have owned, so smooth, and a real sleeper and comfortable for 4 adults. I use it mainly for my 70/day commute and I change oil at every 5000, not the 10,000 recommended. My first set of tires lasted 45,000.

Did I mention this thing flies? I have the auto, I imagine the stick shift to have even better performance.

Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine, but I would say that the thought of the cam adjusters failing again is always in the back of my head.

rammstein · 05-29-2009, 07:00 AM

hmm.. I wonder if what happened to my father's car was camshaft adjusters- looks like yours broke prematurely (as in, before the 50k mile no more warranty mark

). How much would that fix have been without warranty?

MattKellett · MattKellett's Garage

What happens to the adjusters is there is a small metal screen to filter debris. This screen has been either getting blocked or tearing, especially if the oil changes have not been performed frequently. So then the adjusters either fall from lack of lube or because of damage from the metal filter. I believe they have now changed the filter so that this problem doesn't re-occur. Most cars have failed around 40-60k. Luckily as I mentioned mine failed before the warranty was up, which is 50k or if you live in California is 70k, because this is an emissions control device!

Of course when I bought my car, these problems hadn't surfaced, as I don't think I would have bought it had I know that most car have had this failure. That being said, I love driving this car and I'm just hoping the problem doesn't re-occur.

I believe most repairs for this are between 6 - 8k!!!! All because of a small mesh screen - crazyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

rammstein · 05-29-2009, 07:26 AM

They certainly do make nice sounds- opening the exhaust a bit would be wonderful.

TerryBPP · 05-29-2009, 10:38 PM

onewhippedpuppy · 05-30-2009, 04:01 AM

Terry, is that for you or the biz? Personally I don't dig the aftermarket mods, the grille and eyebrows look odd and the OEM wheels look better than those aftermarket ones.

MattKellett · MattKellett's Garage

I'm with Matt on the mods, although I think the wheels look ok, but those eyebrow things just look dumb. The rear spoiler which was an option looks good though.

Terry, if you are keeping it for yourself, you really should check to see if the cam adjusters have been replaced. I think it's too risky to keep if this hasn't been addressed. Also the other problem this model has is with the torque converter, mine has been fine, but I know some people have had to replace them early.

If there wasn't the uncertainty about the engine, these cars a such a bargain, really drive so smooth with a lot of pick up.

kaisen · 05-30-2009, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaisen

Was it a black '03 with just under 70K miles?

Why yes, I see it was!

TerryBPP · 05-31-2009, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattKellett

I'm with Matt on the mods, although I think the wheels look ok, but those eyebrow things just look dumb. The rear spoiler which was an option looks good though.

Terry, if you are keeping it for yourself, you really should check to see if the cam adjusters have been replaced. I think it's too risky to keep if this hasn't been addressed. Also the other problem this model has is with the torque converter, mine has been fine, but I know some people have had to replace them early.

If there wasn't the uncertainty about the engine, these cars a such a bargain, really drive so smooth with a lot of pick up.

Its for sale through the biz, picked it up on trade. Good advice on the cam adjusters, I had my guy check them out and they have been updated, thank god.

MattKellett · MattKellett's Garage

Good luck on the sale Terry, I would say that having the adjusters updated is a good selling point. They really are a lot of car for the money.