Torn! Passat or Galant

Drax

I am torn between a 1.6L 1999 Passat or a 1.8L 1997 Misubishi Galant... The Galant seem to have more 'extras' (sunroof, alloys) but the Passat feels bog standard. Passat feels a bit more solid but great acceleration from the Galant.
Plus I think I prefer the styling of the Galant... Have read different issues with both.

Hmmmm... any recommendations... cheers!:

Mr Magnolia

Personnally, I'd go for the Galant, the 1.6ltr Passat would be fairly dead, but depends on the condition, milage, service history, etc.. though.

spartacus93

Couldn't recommend a 1.6 Passat. We had a 98 one for 5ish years and it gave loads of trouble. It's underpowered. It also cuts out. Numerous VW dealers said they have lots of problems.

They revised the model in 99 or 00 (im not sure which) and this "new model" (now replaced with the 05 model) is meant to be much better.

Ratchet

not great power from both mentioned 1.8 engines but Galant would be my choice. great looking car and solid as a rock

Ginger83

Galant all the way man, looking for one myself, classy motor, built like a tank!

colm_mcm

plastics inside the Passat will be less shiny, otherwide Galant all the way!

Sandwich

Can only comment on the passat. Nice and solid. Power OK IMO, how fast do you want to drive?
But the cuttingout problem was a real pain and worse, a danger. I am surprised there was never a formal recall. VW mechanic I now said they had loads of them (all 1.6), a design flaw that VW never resolved. Very unnerving though when cruising at 60mph and the engine suddenly dies - what was scary was the struggle with the steering once the power was off. I became quick at restarting it on the fly tho. Cutting out was worst when slow and putting your foot on the clutch. Many a car I nearly hit when parking, as the engine stops, the steering becomes heavy, and you nearly ram the car in the spot beside the one you're turning into.

To check it try this: acellerate quickly upto 100kph the hold clutch to the floor. You will see revs drop below 1k - somtimes it stalls, sometimes not. A 'cleanout' as my mechanic called it used to help reduce the problem tho 2 or 3k miles later it would be back as bad as before.

take care.

KeRbDoG

Sandwich wrote:

Can only comment on the passat. Nice and solid. Power OK IMO, how fast do you want to drive?
But the cutting out problem was a real pain and worse, a danger. I am surprised there was never a formal recall. VW mechanic I now said they had loads of them (all 1.6), a design flaw that VW never resolved. Very unnerving though when cruising at 60mph and the engine suddenly dies - what was scary was the struggle with the steering once the power was off. I became quick at restarting it on the fly tho. Cutting out was worst when slow and putting your foot on the clutch. Many a car I nearly hit when parking, as the engine stops, the steering becomes heavy, and you nearly ram the car in the spot beside the one you're turning into.

To check it try this: accelerate quickly upto 100kph the hold clutch to the floor. You will see revs drop below 1k - sometimes it stalls, sometimes not. A 'cleanout' as my mechanic called it used to help reduce the problem tho 2 or 3k miles later it would be back as bad as before.

take care.

That issue is due to the throttle body getting clogged up with gunk. This is a common problem with VWs of those years and can be easily solved with removing the throttle body, 20euros worth of carb cleaner and a tooth brush. A known problem, but an easy to solve one.
I had this issue for awhile, got a good trusted mechanic to clean it up for me and no problems since. Yea can even clean it yourself.
If it still give gib, get another throttle body.

Remember, your not meant to hold your foot on the clutch for a long period when driving at 100kph

bazz26

Drax wrote:

I am torn between a 1.6L 1999 Passat or a 1.8L 1997 Misubishi Galant... The Galant seem to have more 'extras' (sunroof, alloys) but the Passat feels bog standard. Passat feels a bit more solid but great acceleration from the Galant.
Plus I think I prefer the styling of the Galant... Have read different issues with both.

Hmmmm... any recommendations... cheers!:

I thought the Galant only came in 2.0 and 2.5 V6 from 1997 onwards? Are you talking about the one that kind of looks like a BMW from the front or the one before it?

Mailman

Galant is extremely reliable.
You can neglect a Galant and it'll just keep on going.
Know two guys with Galants on high milage and no major trouble with either.

Sandwich

kerbdog wrote:

That issue is due to the throttle body getting clogged up with gunk. This is a common problem with VWs of those years and can be easily solved with removing the throttle body, 20euros worth of carb cleaner and a tooth brush. A known problem, but an easy to solve one.
I had this issue for awhile, got a good trusted mechanic to clean it up for me and no problems since. Yea can even clean it yourself.
If it still give gib, get another throttle body.




Remember, your not meant to hold your foot on the clutch for a long period when driving at 100kph

Yeh, but who needs the hassle. internal combustion engine has been around for a long time now. Your remedy reminds me of my GrandFathers stories of how he used to keep his Model T going.
Come on just giving the guy a way to check out the charm of this flaw

opus

Results of the What Car? Reliability Survey might send you in the direction of the Mitsubishi.



Interesting how Seat & Subaru come above VW

Ginger83

All japs, top marks

jayok

But eveyone here who's owned an <manufacturer removed> for years has never given them an ounce of bother!

maidhc

jayok wrote:

But eveyone here who's owned an <manufacturer removed> for years has never given them an ounce of bother!

Except for the sting of Avensi I have encountered:
1) Avensis parked outside door: got its third clutch last week on the advice of Toyota, but still impossible to downshift (sometimes only). Seems like something to do with the selectors or something now. Has been an on going battle since the car was new. As rattley as hell too on the road too, and doesnt seem to like staying in tracking.
2) Avensis we once had: Needed to be towed out of blackpool after head went and started overheating, got all new suspensions becase the originals bottomed out over ramps.
3) Avensis owned by a friend: Got a new VVTi engine because they all drink oil!

All of these cars have been serviced at least every 9k... goes to show you can get plenty problems from a "reliable" manufacturer too.

TempestSabre

Work out which is better value AND which you'll enjoy more. VW's tend to be overpriced even considering the resale and build quality.

Drax

Thanks for the help guys. Have decided not to go with the Passat, but still thinking about the Galant!
cheers!

KeRbDoG

Sandwich wrote:

Yeh, but who needs the hassle. internal combustion engine has been around for a long time now. Your remedy reminds me of my GrandFathers stories of how he used to keep his Model T going.
Come on just giving the guy a way to check out the charm of this flaw

True, but I think VWs feel a lot more 'together' than anyother cheap car Ive been in.