[thenew3]

Hi All,

We're debating whether to keep the wife's 2007 passat 2.0 or to sell it. One of the main things affecting the decision is up coming maintenance/repair costs.

So far it's been relatively reliable. We've owned it since new (just about 9 years now) and the wife has put 48k miles on it. So it's pretty low miles. We've had the oil changed every 4k to 5k miles at the dealer and the only repairs we've had to pay for is a new battery last year, key recoding/reprogramming, CV boot replacement (2).

We'll need new tires soon (probably within 6 months) and the big $$ item is timing belt. Dealer is recommending replacing it at the 10 year mark, even though we'll only be at about 52k miles at that point.

what is everyone's recommendations regarding timing belt change? Should it be based purely on mileage (i.e. at 90k/100k/120k miles etc) or based on time (i.e. every x years) or some other factor?

The dealer wants a lot of $$ to do the job. The only good local independent shop is actually not any cheaper than the dealer. (other local shops will do it for less but have very bad reviews on the quality of work and honesty).

If we have to get new tires and timing belt service within the next year, that's likely over $2k which will highly influence our decision to sell it before we get to that point.

But on the other hand, it's been very reliable thus far, and hasn't really cost us much in terms of maintenance or repair costs and the wife only puts on 3k to 4k miles a year commuting to work (6 miles each way), so $2k is going to be cheaper than payments on a new car. But I don't want to leave the wife stranded (with a baby in the car), or not be able to sell the car for much if the timing belt breaks and causes engine damage.

What is everyone (especially those who have owned older vw's with timing belts) recommendation as far as timing belt replacement? do it every 10 years, or wait till 100k miles? (which in our case would take her another 12 years or so to reach that milestone. by then, the car would be 21 or so years old).

 

[jddaigle]

My two cents: keep the car, do the timing belt.

Service intervals are either mileage or time. The reason is that fluids and consumables/wear parts do age, even if the car isn't running. Fluids absorb water, oil additives come out of suspension, belts oxidize, tires age from oxygen and UV rays, etc. So you should be following the time-based intervals for all your service: oil once per year, timing belt at ten years, ATF every 4 years, brake fluid every 2 years, tire rotation and alignment every year, etc. So even if your belt hasn't worked for 100,000 miles of driving time, it's still aging and getting brittle.

The cost of regular maintenance on your car will almost certainly be lower than the up-front costs of buying a new car (taxes, registration, down payment) and lower than the running costs (insurance, loan payments, subsequent years' registrations). A year in a new car with a $300/month car payment, $500 in insurance, and $250 registration could buy you $4350 in maintenance and repairs. If you're spending less than that every year you're coming out ahead financially by keeping the Passat. As long as you keep up on your maintenance and get it thoroughly checked out once a year it should last for a good while longer, especially with such low miles per year.

 

[Bill6211789]

If the passat has been reliable and you still like/enjoy the car keep it, no car payment is worth the maintenance.

Also id say replace the belt, better safe then sorry and ur set for the another 10yrs/100k

Sent from my Galaxy Note3

 

[B6TURBOWAGON]

I feel you and here's what I did....

I have a very early build(11/05, but not in service until 08/06) 2.0T Wagon with 150k miles. I've just done everything to it and I feel it was well worth it.

First off, tires are cheap and easy, I bought Pirelli P7 All Seasons. Got them for $575 installed with an alignment. Mail ordered from TireCrawler.com.

Second off, I effed up and let my cam follower toast my cam and hpfp. While in there, my indy mechanic noticed the guide to the cam chain had disintegrated. So, cam, hfpf, chain, tensioner, follower had to be replaced.

While in there, I had him do the timing gear(which the OE kit from the dealer cost me $312 wholesale), and the vacuum pump.

Third thing, had to be done. Shocks were completely toasted. I knew they were bad, but really nothing left. So, some new Bilstien OE style replacements with new sway bar linkage up front.

Tremendous difference all around. Feels 75% newer, drives great, as usual.

That's where the problem is right there. What are you going to spend if you replace it, and will it feel like you settled for less if you didn't spend significantly more.

Now what I have done may sound like a lot but, all in, I'm out three grand for what will be another 75-80k of reliability. The way I see it is that I self insured my warranty since 100k, and now I have to pay something. So be it.