which gives less trouble 05 passat or 03 BMW?

robin3

Looking to change the car, currently a BMW 318i, v old one,
Considering another BMW, either another 318 or a 320d but have seen a v nice new model passat 05 1.6 highline

have no more than 7k to spend so it'd prob be 03 BMW, possibly an 04, but wonder would an 04 be wise as they changed the shape in 05.
Worried about the vw being full of electrics, would it be more liable to problems?
What questions should i ask seller? etc

greenasgrass

I would avoid a second hand BMW at all costs

I had a '01 320d for 18 months and spent nearly €4k on it in that time. Shocks, wishbones, brake pads, brake discs, loads of stupid electrical things

Eventually I took it in for a service and there was a buckle in two of the alloys and a crack in the catalytic converter. Was going to be another €2-3k to repair. Luckily I got a trade in for a '04 Accord diesel and never looked back. It's expensive to tax but so much more reliable.

Two of my mates had '02 and '03 3 series BMWs at the same time and they had a bucket of trouble too but worryingly none of the same issues. They had issues with the turbo, fuel pump, ABS among a lot of other things. Avoid BMWs with more than 100k on the clock like the plague.

I'd plump for the VW if you're set on one of the two but not too much experience with them except they are expensive to service.

g

Anan1

I'd be looking at each actual car on its own merits - condition, service & maintenance history etc.

mickdw

Dont buy an 05 passat if its the model that was introduced in 05 as they are very troublesome. BMW is also troublesome from exerience when they get to about 140k miles.

triple-M

I had an 06 passat tdi 2 years back which gave me a fair bit of trouble,electronic handbrake didnt always release first time and once it didnt release at all causing me to have to get the car towed,the fuel pump failed on it,the turbo failed,the dash was very creaky and annoying the engine randomly seized the exhaust had an issue cant exactly remember what but it had to be replaced,thankfully it was under warranty at the time and i sold it pretty soon after I now have an 05 passat b5.5 (older model) and it hasnt given me any hassle,I have no experience with bmw's but my dad has a 1992 bmw 320 and its the most rock solid car he has ever owned

spiggotpaddy

modern emission laws might be good for planet but not for diesel engines. in an effort to appear super green there becoming super expensive to repair.
oil change intervals are being stretched to the limit of cam shaft endurance.
i changed the oil on a 318ci recently and it was so black i thought the owner had skipped the last service, but the book was all up to date.
so really as said allready judge each vehicle on condition and service history.
there both good cars if they've been lovingly cared for and vice versa.

bazz26

I'd be reluctant to buy any car in the first year of that model's production run as they tend to have teething problems that get sorted out in later years.

I'd go with the 318i. Simply because a 03/04 E46 only had about 12-18 months left before it was replaced by the newer model meaning it was less likely to suffer from manufacturing defects. On the other hand the new shape 05/06 Passats are known to have problems, fuel pumps, steering racks and electronic handbrakes among the most notable ones. All expensive to put right considering the VW warranty has long expired.

SpannerMonkey

i love bmw's and normally praise them but higher mileage diesels are troublesome better off with petrol bmw's if your going older or high mileage , diesel passats similar

ronaneire

New passats are not a patch on the one it replaced. I wouldn't buy a 1.6 petrol.

Fishtits

I'm with Anan on this one.

There's an awful lot of rubbish (hearsay, non actual experience etc) stated.

If you get a good one, assuming you're not an animal then a 318 will serve you well.

Its a bit unfair to compare a Passat 1.6 (who authorized that?) its underpowered, thirsty, and dog rough.

I know everyone raves about BMW 6 pots but the BMW 4 pot 1.8/1.9 is a brilliant engine, take a look at the torque curve. I'd bet there is no other engine as flexible and as economical. Not to mention bullet proof.

I wish my M54 was as driver friendly...

PaulKK

I have an 04 320d and my father has an 06 Passat.

If I were you I would go with a 318i if you are not doing big miles, its 140bhp and economical enough. A friend of mine had a 00 318ci with 165k miles on it, no problems at all besides a bushing or two. I doubt 7K will get you a good, well minded 320d, but I may be wrong. Don't be put off by comments re expensive parts etc, if you do end up needing to replace anything, you can buy anything you need online, original part manufacturers from the likes of eurocarparts quite reasonably.

To give you an idea you can get a full set of OEM(Pagid/ATE) brake pads for about 70e from them for the 320d.

I would recommend the 320d, I really like mine, but get an 04+, as the turbo and manifold were upgraded in early-mid 04 so they are less troublesome, and I don't think your budget will get you one.

Plus you need to mother them a bit, ideally 7k oil changes, you need to do crankcase breather, swirl flap removal, worry about the DMF, aint worth getting into if your not prepared to mind it really well. I do with mine and take care of it, but some people don't want that hassle.

My fathers 1.9TDI passat has had all the bearings replaced in the gearbox and a new clutch and flywheel @ 80k miles. The newer ones are supposed to be better, in fairness its a nice car to drive and its perfect now, but I would go for an 07+. The 1.6 however, will be dog slow, the passat is a big car and the 1.6 will be very hard to shift on when your finished with it.

SpannerMonkey

PaulKK wrote: »

I have an 04 320d and my father has an 06 Passat.

If I were you I would go with a 318i if you are not doing big miles, its 140bhp and economical enough. A friend of mine had a 00 318ci with 165k miles on it, no problems at all besides a bushing or two. I doubt 7K will get you a good, well minded 320d, but I may be wrong. Don't be put off by comments re expensive parts etc, if you do end up needing to replace anything, you can buy anything you need online, original part manufacturers from the likes of eurocarparts quite reasonably.

To give you an idea you can get a full set of OEM(Pagid/ATE) brake pads for about 70e from them for the 320d.

I would recommend the 320d, I really like mine, but get an 04+, as the turbo and manifold were upgraded in early-mid 04 so they are less troublesome, and I don't think your budget will get you one.

Plus you need to mother them a bit, ideally 7k oil changes, you need to do crankcase breather, swirl flap removal, worry about the DMF, aint worth getting into if your not prepared to mind it really well. I do with mine and take care of it, but some people don't want that hassle.

My fathers 1.9TDI passat has had all the bearings replaced in the gearbox and a new clutch and flywheel @ 80k miles. The newer ones are supposed to be better, in fairness its a nice car to drive and its perfect now, but I would go for an 07+. The 1.6 however, will be dog slow, the passat is a big car and the 1.6 will be very hard to shift on when your finished with it.

on the bmw 320d the turbos were upgraded in November 2003 and the manifolds in mid 2005 even some E90 320d have the old manifold and thats the build date not date of first registration

PaulKK

davy_b wrote: »

on the bmw 320d the turbos were upgraded in November 2003 and the manifolds in mid 2005 even some E90 320d have the old manifold and thats the build date not date of first registration

The manifolds were upgraded mid 04 with stronger spindles, the part number was only upgraded in mid 05

Regardless, both versions of the manifold are reported with flap failure.

nogoodnamesleft

There is a kit you can purchase to address the swirl flap issue in the early 320d

http://www.pmwltd.co.uk/swirl_flaps.pdf


I have a 2003 Tdi Passat Highline (b5.5) and have had very little problems with it. Could have gotten a 2005 Passat at the time for roughly the same money but with all the faults that have been reported with them I stayed clear. One of the lads here at work has one and the latest thing he had to bring it to the dealer for was because the headlights stopped working:eek: