1996 Volkswagen Passat

Sedan

4 Cylinder 1.9 Liter Diesel

Manual

WVWGG83A7TE094186

Diesel

Air Conditioning

You are bidding on a 1996 Volkswagen Passat TDI. We bought this new in 1996 and have been very pleased with it. Finally had the money saved up for a replacement and just bought a Jetta TDI. This car still runs great. We have never had any issues with the engine or transmission. From reading other listings it sounds like our experience has been similar to others. The windows and doors handles have been our bane. I will not try to list every little thing about this car. Below are the known issues that might be a concern. While it is a great car, at the end of the day it is 14 years old and is being sold "as is". We take good care of our cars but after that many years a measure of wear-and-tear does occur. There are some paint chips from rocks on the front and paint is worn on top of the side trim. A couple of very small dents like someone pushed in with their finger, etc. You will want to get new seat covers and floor mats. Thought about doing that but decided the new owner would probably prefer to pick out their own. The seats are firm and comfortable. The driver seat had worn places a few years ago and we bought seat covers but those are about worn out now. I recently re-glued most of the head-liner. Mileage is high 30's around town and mid-to-upper 40's on the highway. Depends on how you drive though, of course. You may get more or less. These cars were geared for the 55 mile an hour speed limit and if you driver 55-60 you will probably get around 50 on mileage. I like to drive the speed limit so I take a hit on mileage on the interstate. The car has a 18+ gallon tank so you can drive a long ways without a break. Known Issues (of greater concern than a paint chip or worn seat cover) Glow plugs are new but after having them installed the shop folks were nice enough to tell me they don't work. Doesn't affect the running of the car at all but if you are in a really cold climate and will keep the car outside it will be a concern. It has been rare, if ever, that I couldn't get the car started in the winter but when it gets down around zero it takes a little more effort. They couldn't figure out the problem and I didn't want to spend a bunch more money for them to keep looking when the car worked fine. Odometer shows 102,225 miles at the moment (still drive it some) but there are approximately 65,000 miles that does not show because the instrument panel had to be replaced. (Side note: While 167,000 miles may sound like a lot for a car it really isn't for a diesel engine. One more thing I love about them.) Back driver side window doesn't work Mirror Control may have an issue. I think they broke it the last time I had it in for service. The driver side has a different key (refer to comments above about door handles) than the rest of the doors and ignition. I do have the old door handle and supposedly the locks can be swapped. Back passenger door handle works but does pull out a little. Ask any questions you might have and I will answer them to the best of my ability. Again, this has been and is a great car for us. If we hadn't had the money (I hate and avoid loans) for a new one we would still be driving it.