I have the oppurtunity to get a 1998 VW Passat GLX with 80,000 miles on it for $7000, i havent seen it yet, it is in good condition so i here, and is lightly modded (mods not known). My real question is are thier any defects i should know about, any bad problems with these cars, or anything i should look out for on this car?
thanks, Joe.
Well you can start at the “Volkswagen” part when it comes to any problems with it.
with 80k, be sure that it has had the timing belt, waterpump, related pulleys and tensioners replaced. Also, this should be a 2.8L 30v v6. One big expensive common problem on these cars are the cam seals on the front of the engine. make sure there isn’t any evidence of oil leaking around that area.
If it’s got a round logo on the front grille with a W and a V in it, then that’s a bad sign.
OK lets get seroius, what motor?
^^^
What motor? Control arms shit the bed yet?
It had the A4 V6? Not a VR6? Hmm, ya learn something new every day…
'98 and up passat GLX = 30v V6. i forgot to mention the control arms. basically, these cars are FWD Audi A4s (B5). They share many of the same issues.
It’s not a VR6.
The 2.8L is actually quite reliable, BTW.
I have the 01 version of that car, and it is my favorite daily driver to date.
X…
the heated seats wont work
the power windows will break if they havent already
motor mounts are probably squishy
the ignition is probably f’d, or the starter sticks
the doors WILL freeze in the winter and you will be driving down the road holding your door closed
the idle control/throttle plate motor thingy will probably be gummed up, or need to be replaced
these are all the problems i can think of… i only owned one for about 3 weeks, and these are all the things i had to fix.
If it happened to zerodaze’s car, it will definitely happen to all of them… oh and your’s is completely different from his. But it will still definitely have all of the same problems within 3 weeks.
i found the answers to all my problems posted a number of times on vwvortex. i would say they are all common issues.
honestly how can you argue that?
.
entirely different car.
X…
oh, that’s a B5
so that one had the other issue with the power windows and ish 
There are 10 balljoints in the front suspension, with that mileage, maybe only half are bad
So i bought it today, it is the 1.8T motor, with 18x8 axis wheels, and tein coilovers. im pretty happy with it as of now so yeah, thank for all the help.
Joe