Thanks for the advice! I think I've done too much research on this car I've been considering. This year 1.8t was one that vw covered for sludge related damage up to 120k miles and 10 years from first date of service. I spoke to vwoa today and they would honor any sludge related warranty claim even if I have no oil change history or proof. However its only good till Aug 2012. The dealer had his mechanic drain the oil and run a scope into the engine to check for any evidence of sludge. Also they checked from the oil filler cap too and there was nothing he found to cause concern. To remove the oil pan for further inspection at the oil pump pickup sounds to be quite involved on this car due to the subframe being in the way. All the negative feedback on the b5 passat I read on various forums indicates it has much higher than average reliability issues. On the other hand, the car looks perfect and routine maint like timing belts, water pumps, and fluid changes doesn't bother me but I just don't want to worry about the car breaking down while a good way from home on a trip or something.
The timing belt likely will need to be changed since there are no records to indicate it was already done - although the belt for the 2003 1.8t is rated for 105k miles before the first change. It is approaching 10 years old if original so that may have more of an impact on life expectancy than the miles at this point. I'm still thinking about going for this car, but not this weekend at least. On Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 7:02 PM, Galen Bergthold <[email protected]> wrote: > Free advice: > Change the timing belt and related components before 100k, I think there are > 105k mileage timing kits available. > Change the auto trans. "lifetime" fluid and filter at 70k and at least one > more interval after that. > FYI, the gas fuel filter is also "lifetime", this car is a TDI so the fuel > filter is changed routinely. > GBergthold > >> Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:38:10 -0500 >> From: [email protected] >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [a2-16v-list] 2003 passat 1.8t automatic >> >> I'm thinking of getting a 2003 passat 1.8t automatic which my wife >> will likely drive most of the time, while I'll probably drive it on >> occasion. Is there anything I need to be aware of as far as >> reliability of major components on this car? The car has 70k miles. >> >> I don't have any experience with the 1.8t or any vw auto >> transmissions. Should it last to 150k miles without any significant >> concerns? I've been told the engine has been run with synthetic oil >> from the start... single owner car. >> >> Thanks. >> _______________________________________________ >> a2-16v-list mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list > > _______________________________________________ > a2-16v-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list _______________________________________________ a2-16v-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list
