2006 Volkswagen Passat

2.0T Sedan

2.0 liter turbo charge 4 cylinder

Automatic

WVWAK73C56P048137

Clear

Gasoline

It's a German Sport Sedan. 206 HP, great handling, and a 6 speed automatic with Sport Mode, and Tiptronic Mode that makes you wonder why anyone would want a manual shifter. This is a fun car..... We are moving to California and are reducing all the stuff that has to go across the country to the absolute minimum, so, among many other things, we have to sell two of our 3 cars. (Anybody want a 1995 LeBaron convertible?) The boring family car (Camry-yawn) won and so I have to sell my Passat. This thing has been great to drive and I will miss it. Please don't mind if I go on a bit about the features. Engine and Transmission. The power in this engine is ample, 200 HP, with some very nice turbo boost. (Torque is 207 ft.lb.) It can really push you back in your seat. And the turbo makes a truly delightful growl as the rpms climb. The usual turbo lag is really minimized if you drive in Sport Mode. This puts the transmission into a more aggressive shifting pattern, maximizing delivery of torque by delaying upshifts and hastening downshifts. In Sport Mode you can also trigger a downshift by hitting the gas pedal once, really quickly. It's nice enough that I almost never bother with the Tiptronic feature. For Tiptronic you move the shift lever over to the right hand slot and then "tip" it forward or backward to go up and down through the gears. (See photo.) It's the same double clutch mechanism found in paddle shifters. And as long as you are looking at that photo, note the Auto Stop button to the left of the shift lever. Auto Stop. Press that to engage the Auto Stop feature. This means when you come to a complete and total stop, the brakes will stay engaged even if you take your foot off the brake pedal. I love this feature. If you do a lot of city driving this will spare you leg fatigue, or just allow you to reach for something without having to keep your foot on the brake. The slightest depression of the gas pedal, to get going again obviously, instantly and smoothly releases the brakes. I am going to miss this so much driving that Camry. Electronic Stabilization Program (off switch). This switch is next to the Auto Stop button and it turns off the anti-spin, anti-slip control. I never use it because we don't have ice here in Florida and I am not otherwise interested in spinning the tires! If you are stuck on some ice or snowpack and actually want your tires to spin so you can power out of it, then hit this button to turn off ESP and it will happen. Hit again to turn back on. It will also turn back on automatically when you restart the car. In patchy snow and ice, and where patches of water may prove slippery, the ESP will keep your car running straight very reliably, so I would leave this on all the time unless you are really on solid ice and stuck. Brakes. Front rotors and pads were replaced very recently and the rear brakes are fine. A word about brake design: I had to make an emergency stop a couple years ago to avoid an accident. I hit the brakes as hard as I could. The anti-lock braking feature worked perfectly, but what was more impressive was how fast the car stopped. I was blown away. In the two seconds or so it took to stop, I thought I noticed the rear of the car dropping slightly as the car came rapidly to a halt. Checked with VW. Sure enough, that's what it is programmed to do. It shifts weight to the rear to maximize brake force to all four wheels. No rocking forward with traction loss in the rear. Tires and wheels. The car handles like a German Sport Sedan. Do I need to say more? When I got it, it had Kumho Ecsta ASX tires on it. I was so impressed with the grip that when I replaced the tires I got the same ones. They are Ultra High Performance rated (W class - 168 mph) All Season tires. Very sticky, they really grip well. See the photo of the tread remaining—I think you will get several thousand miles more on them before you need to replace them. I do not know whether the "mag" wheels are steel or alloy, but they are nice and clean as you can see in the photos. Trunk. Lots of space. Split rear seats fold down to open it up completely. When you put the rear armrest down there is a small opening to the trunk. I like this for moving AC air to the trunk when I have groceries back there. In addition, you will note in one of the trunk photos there is a pull down with two hooks on it to hang bags on so they don't go sliding around. There are also two chrome plated d-rings for tie-downs built into the wall of the trunk just behind each of the rear seats. There is a detachable storage net across the back wall and, as you can see in the photos, there are also small walled compartments on each side for little items. The large flashlight shown is included with the car. The spare tire is full size and is an unused Michelin, located in the well under the trunk carpet. Electronics. The AM-FM radio is excellent and the CD player works fine. The decals have pealed off the buttons and that's why the controls in the photo are white. I have new VW decals specific for this radio and i am going to have a pro put them on Tuesday morning. It's easy and quick so I could do it, but he's doing it for free and I want to get it just right, so excuse the delay. I will try to post another photo later showing the results. This pealing problem is common with these older Passats, and the solutions are simple and various. I have replacement switches for all the buttons where the pealing is happening. (See photo.) But I am realizing now that just cleaning off the surface and putting on new decals is easier. Just a matter of finding the decals online somewhere. Or you can custom paint with some black model train paint (which I have in the glove box). Or apply some more creatively modified generic decals. Or just don't bother! Two 12V adapter outlets: one in the front and one below the rear AC vents in the back of the center console. (See photo.) Windows. Power windows all work fine. A quick "down" tap of the driver's window buttons causes each window to go down all the way. An "up" tap and they go up all the way without the driver having to hold down the button. Less distraction... Driver's computer display. There is a computer display built into the driver's instrument console between the tach and the speedometer. You cycle through the various readouts using two toggle switches in the windshield wiper control arm on the right side of the steering column, The displays include: Route—how far you have driven, since last reset and since you last started the car; Gas Consumption—mpg, 2 averages and realtime; Range—miles until you get down to almost no gas, calculated on the basis of your current driving pattern in real time; Speed Warning—set to get a beep when you go over a certain mph; Speed—two averages; Travel Time—2 running calculations. "Key" features. Next to the driver's door switches for remote opening of the gas tank lid and trunk there is a lock which allows you to lock the trunk opening switch. I guess this is so the parking valet can't get into your trunk. How so, if he has your key anyway? The electronic key has a regular key hidden in it. You squeeze the side of your electronic key and it slides off the regular key which just stays attached to your keychain. The valet (or dealer, or mechanic) gets the electronic key while you have the regular key still with you. There are similar key locks at the top of each of the split rear seats so you can restrict access to the trunk through those seats as well. I leave these unlocked all the time so I can fold them down any time I want. (On our Camry you have to go into the trunk and pull a release each time you want the seats to fold down. Arghh.) I have two of these full feature double keys for the car. Starting the car requires insertion of the car's own coded electronic key into its slot in the dash. The keys include an alarm trigger in addition to remote door lock, unlock, etc.. The car has an OEM security system built in, not after-market add-on. Armrest Refrigerator. What? Well, okay, it's not really a fridge, but there is an AC port built into the front armrest storage compartment, and it is just for that purpose (See photo.) You can fit up to 5 standard cans in there, or a couple cans and a bunch of sandwiches. It may not get it as cold as a real fridge but it will definitely keep things cool. Driver's door extras. Umbrella holder. Note the photo. You can fit a very large collapsible umbrella into the hole. The holder opens into the bottom of the plastic lined driver's door storage area so that if the umbrella is wet, the water will drain down in there and evaporate. Each of these front door storage openings have a rounded holder towards the front for really large cups that don't fit the middle console cup holders, also good for big jars or bottles. You may notice in the photo a small dent in the line of the door upholstery just below the window. Don't know how this got there or how to fix it economically. I saw a similar dent in another ad for another Passat. That really mystifies me.... Windshield. I got a rock chip in the middle of my windshield a few months ago and, thanks to Florida insurance law, it meant a brand new replacement by Safelite (the best) at no cost to me. So the windshield is perfectly clear, with none of the hundreds of tiny tiny little chips that come from sand impact over the years. Headliner. The headliner was replaced two years ago along with the lighting console at the front of the headliner. AC runs great. New compressor and tubing in 2014. All the 100,000 mile items were done a little before the 100,000 mark: new timing belt, serpentine, water pump and belts. One of the cams was replaced at that time under a special extended warranty from VW. That was in 2011. The car also had some minor damage to a fender which I had repaired and painted for $375. Obviously, not major damage; work not done by VW, but so well done that you cannot see which fender it was. If you use Buy It Now and can pick out which fender it was I will refund $100 of your payment! I still have the invoice for that repair if you want to see it. No Leaks. I have replaced a number of seals and gaskets in the last couple of years. The powertrain is tight with no leaks from worn seals. Alternator. Replaced in April of 2016. This is the best, Bosch part supplied and installed by the VW dealer. All mechanical work on this car during my ownership (since 2011) has been done by VW dealers. I have all the invoices for all repairs and service. The car has always been smoke free while I have owned it. . .no lingering aromas. More Cool Extras:Secret compartments - in the dash on either side of the hazard light button. Also there's a cd storage compartment, pull on the tab in the roof of the glove compartment and it drops downBlue, not green glass in all windows.Sliding sun visors. You can slide the visor out along the rod it is mounted on to block the sun when it is at a difficult angle. 3 blink turn lights—tap the turn indicator for three blinks and then they go off. Turn lights in the outside mirror housing as well as the bumpers.Plastic clip on inside of driver's side windshield to hold your parking permit.Electro-mechanical power steering. Doesn't rob power from the engine and doesn't use power steering fluid which has a devastating affect on the environment. The Electro-mechanical power steering can even compensate for cross winds.Put the Passat in reverse and the fresh air intake valve closes and the air inside the car is recirculated. Prevents you from breathing your own exhaust. The Passat doesn't just have a micron air filter to block pollen and dust. It also has a charcoal filter to stop odors from entering the car.Brake Wipers. When your windshield wipers are on, your brakes apply slightly, "wiping" the discs every few minutes. Keeping your brakes dry and muck free. This definitely helps the Passat stop quicker in adverse conditions. In addition, on examination you will note that these OEM wipers are aerodynamic to reduce wind drag. Fresh air intake has a lid that will come off to clean out debris.Transport of the CarIf you are not able to come and get the car, I am willing to help with arranging transport, but transport is still basically your responsibility. On Nov-01-16 at 09:25:03 PDT, seller added the following information: NEW Radio decals and new Parking Brake switch installed today by Color New Auto Interiors of Sarasota. It was so easy Noel did not charge me for it. See the two new photos and compare to the older photos earlier in the listing. Like new now! On Nov-05-16 at 08:07:18 PDT, seller added the following information: WRONG PHOTO!! I accidentally put in the photo of our 1995 LeBaron engine compartment! The VW engine compartment is clean and, being more modern, is a lot more full of engine cover, equipment, etc. The photo would show a completely normal 2.0T engine compartment, but I can't add more photos as I have used the full 24 allowed and eBay customer service is closed on the weekend so I can't find out how to correct this. I have photos of both cars as we have to sell both. (Actually, as of now we have donated the LeBaron to CharityCars.org.) I am so embarrassed. Please excuse the error. Thanks to 0320gg54 for pointing this out!