Passat wagon owners

[Cumberland]

I am trying to decide whether or not to buy the extended warranty for mine. It is $1800 bucks which is a good chunk of change. I have had it since 16k miles and very few problems- I have used the warranty twice in 25k miles- neither time for any big problem. I just notice that you dont see really old passats on the streets like you do civics or accords. How have yours held up?

I think the wagons are a little newer for VW. I know the sedans were out before the wagons but can't remember by how many years. So maybe that's why you don't see the older ones but I see quite a few around here.

$1800 is a chunk of change!

Buy it. We bought it for ours and it has enabled us to keep the car in much better shape than we would have otherwise. The electronics are the problem w/all VW cars. My uncle is the engineering editor for Road & Track magazine (Dennis Simanaitis if anyone wants to look him up), and his comment on VW is "They've been 'working' on their electrical since 1964". Every VW repair shop I've repeated this to smiles and agrees.

We used ours - for nothing major (read: dangerous), but things that would be expensive. VW repair is not cheap -- at all. Our "check engine" sensor went on every so often, usually it was a weird sensor and nothing engine-related, but would have been expensive to check otherwise. We probably used our warranty for around $2 or $3K worth -- a big chunk at the end right before we hit 80K. My cousin had a Jetta, and one by one the windows broke (the up/down thing). Each would have cost $800 to replace if she hadn't been able to strong arm the dealership into doing it for free (the electrical on Jetta windows were actually recalled, but starting w/a year after hers). It sounds like a problematic car, but in fact - I love it.

If the warranty covers the electrical - buy it.

[Cumberland]

One of the probs we have had so far is the electrical on the brake lights went out. I hope that is not a sign of things to come....

They've been 'working' on their electrical since 1964". Every VW repair shop I've repeated this to smiles and agrees.

We traded in a car for our the Volvo wagon that I drive because I couldn't feel good about meeting the sucker who got the Landbruiser. Downside was that we didn't get as much as we could selling it ourselves. Upside was that the car came with the extended dealer warranty. I figure we paid about $1000 for it (what we lost on selling and buying through the paper). I feel pretty good about it since we had $800 in repairs shortly after buying the car. One thing was minor but expensive -- $400 to replace a part to sync up a door lock with the remote. Luckily, no repairs since! But I'm sure I will need it for something in the next 4 years.

The Volvo extended warranty is great and is the same as the factory warranty to 100,000 or 4 more years. BUT, we had an extended warranty on a prior car that *sucked*. It came with the car because the last owner bought and I wish I never went through the hassle of changing the name on it. It covered very few systems of the car and we never used it.

I had an 00 Jetta and it had about 90k miles on it when I sold it last year. I had some electrical problems with it pretty much since I bought it....nothing major, just air bag and check engine lights coming on for no reason. The air conditioning and water pump went out around 80k miles. Those were about $3000 to fix. I bought an extended warranty for $600 through my credit union and it was definitely worth it. $1600 is a lot of money, but is worth it if you plan on keeping the car for a while.

[KCwife]

We had a 2002 Jetta Wagon GLS TDI. By far the coolest car we have ever owned (we have owned several BMW's, Mercedes, Porsche, etc.. )(yes, yes, I am a slave to German cars) It ran great, almost no maintenance, 50+ mpg, comfortable, etc.. We opted not to buy the extended when we bought it new, and subsequently regretted this decision. My husband is fanatical about vehicle maintenance, and everything working 100% perfect. This was the case for the first 60K, then as the warranty expired a few things started to go not-so-perfect. The radio went out (twice) and a number of other small, but very expensive electrical things happened (like my heated seats burning thru and catching my arse on fire...well, not really but it did burn my pants) Then, the transmission just died one day going down the highway. We were lucky and got a used one installed for the LOW price of $2300.00. The extended warranty would have paid for itself at least twice, and we would have had a loaner car each time the thing went in.

We loved the car, but recently sold it when gas prices rose, and people were (and still are) paying exorbitant prices for the TDI due to the fuel economy.
Long story short, if you plan on keeping it for a long time, buy the warranty.

[Phoebe]

Ok now you guys are scaring me! We own a 2003 Jetta without an extended warranty! We have had the check engine light come on twice in two years with it being nothing. It is a good thing to know about VW and their electrical systems.

Jennifer

Is that $1800 quote for an EW via the manufacturer, or from an outside company? I have heard good things about http://www.warrantydirect.com. You can often obtain equal or better coverage by obtaining an EW through another company.