Be Excellent To Each Other

How rare are the parts?

Unusually for me I have been doing a fair amount of research into this car and apparently a lot of the gubbins is shared with other high-end cars from Audi/VW/Seat/Skoda (as you'd expect really). For example the DSG is the same six-speed you'll find elsewhere, the four wheel drive (4MOTION) is the same, and so on.

In that regard, getting bits for it shouldn't be that difficult, although apparently a couple of the body panels/bumpers are unique, I read that in one place at least.

MORE REPORTAGE.

Went out again today with Mrs Hearthly and Hearthly Jnr, off out for another drive. The good news (or bad news depending on your point of view) is that they both loved it. Mrs Hearthly found it comfortable and quiet in the back, very refined, and of course she has her own doors now - overall a nicer place to be than the Civic. Hearthly Jnr said 'It feels as if I like it', which is high praise from her.

I had a few specific things to check as well from my RESEARCH, so gave the DSG a good workout by doing a couple of 'launches' to check that the DSG doesn't hesitate or judder (it doesn't) and finds all the gears quickly and smoothly (it does), also flick around the gears a bit with the paddles and check the same as above (this was all fine).

(As a side note, the 0-100mph charge is ridiculously quick.)

Under heavy braking it's solid, straight, no judder.

No uneven tyre wear.

It's had three VW dealer services from new. It has had the DSG oil and filter done (critical every four years/40K apparently), but no evidence of the Haldex having been done (as above). He got on the phone to check with their workshop and apparently it's a £63 kit from VW, he assured me they would do this as part of the full service they'd do before passing it over to me if I buy it.

I'm still undecided TBH, on the one hand the car does seem solid but even a 'perfect' one (as close as you can get on a six year old car with 58K on it) isn't going to be cheap to run. Yes it'll have a year's tax on it and insurance won't be much more, but I'll be worse-off on petrol, apparently they eat tyres a bit, a major service is around £700, and so on.

Also, I wanted to give the speakers a test as I do like my music, only to discover that the SD card reader doesn't seem to work, chucking a 'SD CARD ERROR - PLEASE CHECK CARD' message with a card that should work in the unit (a 4GB SDHC card), a bit of a Googling around on this suggests that the RNS510 unit (which is what this has in it) has a tendency to have a fucked card reader on it after a few years. Only a small thing but could be a right pain in the arse for me.

Dunno, it's a magnificent car in many ways, but something just doesn't feel right somehow, it's impossible to explain.

I didn't commit to buying it on the spot and was told he has someone else coming to look at it tomorrow, and it'll be going back to the UK next week if it doesn't sell as they've had it a while now (they have seven dealerships) - but I wasn't going to be pressured on it.

Some pics, including the rather alarming (well I think so, looks like sand!) gunk and rust in the engine bay, and worn switchgear.

I'd rather see an engine bay with the normal amount of grime for the car's age than a spotless one because some doofus has been at it with a pressure washer.

Tattyness at that age usually mean ex Rep car.

If you're having second thoughts at this stage id say walk away.

Yeah I would walk. The paint alone will cost £500 to put right.

What Zardoz said, to be honest.

I'd you're not completely sold on it by now, you will probably find something better.

Cheers for the comments guys I think you're right and I need to let this one pass

The thing is though, I am sold on the car insofar as I definitely want it, but I'm just not content with the state it's in, even though everything appears to work perfectly well. Like, if you were a dealer trying to sell a car like this, surely you'd fucking clean it and valet it, and fix REALLY OBVIOUS stuff like the crack in the rear bumper and it having popped out of its housing (as per the pic above). And, y'know, clean the alloys, that sort of thing. Maybe try and sort out the brakes where the signature blue paint has come off, how long would that take.

Also, just the overall condition of the car with these little imperfections make me think it's not been that well loved, which on this 'class' of vehicle you'd really expect. (So for example, if I owned this car and the brakes looked like that, I'd get them sorted. Makes me wonder if Zardoz is right, although it's a bizarre car for a repmobile.) And all that crud in the engine bay worries me, I take markg's point about 'normal grime' but for example my Civic is a year older than the Passat and my engine bay doesn't look anything like that, and the weather on the Isle of Man (where it's been all its life) isn't necessarily 'pleasant' all the time. (In fact, I've never seen a car with a proper coating of dirt/sand in it like that. Has this thing been under water at some point?!?!?!)

It's such a shame because it's a stunning piece of technology, and I love the way it's visually understated but is actually one of the fastest cars on the road! (VW's fastest ever production car at the time of its launch, fact fans.)

Also, according to How Many Left there are just over 150 of them in all flavours registered in the UK, that's a rare car.

Gah! Need to let my head win out on this one, although the truth of the matter is, my heart is telling me it ain't right either.

Sounds like you want it.

Can the cosmetics be sorted easily?

Well the dealer has said they'll do the cosmetics if I buy it. i.e. Sort the bumper out, full valet, and the best they can with the other little scuffs it's got. But why is it in that state to start with? From what he was saying if it doesn't sell it's going back to the UK next week, presumably to one of their other dealerships, who are then going to try and sell it with all the same things that need doing - why not just do it now? Why try to sell a car like that with a rear bumper cracked and popped? I spotted that within 20 seconds of arriving on the forecourt.

Also I can't get over the mess under the bonnet, lots of dirt, lots of sand, bits of grass and stuff, and quite a lot of rust too. I scraped some of the crud out with my finger and there's definitely sand in there. (In fact in the pic above you can see the straight line of blue paint which is where I've scraped the layer of sand/dirt out with my finger.)

Having done MORE READING about the head unit the card reader in the head unit may be fine, it's possible it's one of the older hardware and firmware revisions, which didn't support SDHC cards and topped out at 2GB SD cards. It may be possible to flash the firmware to a revision that supports SDHC, but no guarantee. (Or the card reader could just be fucked.)

Also why has the Haldex service been missed? It's had three dealer services and yet the Haldex box hasn't been ticked on any of them, and it should have been done at four years/40K. Now yes the dealer here says he'll do it as part of their service but with the best will in the world how would I know?

What I'd probably end up doing is putting it in with a VW specialist for a full inspection and service for my peace of mind, and that'd cost big ££££s of course.

And then you've got the pic below, the brake calliper in there is supposed to be bright blue, the paint has completely gone. My Civic has coloured callipers and they all look perfect.

Also a pic of the other side of the engine bay - and just noticed, isn't there a screw completely missing there? The rusty hole in the upper left of the pic?

That really does look like it's had a rough time of it - I'd stay clear, and if you like the type just look for one that's in better condition.

Very few people want a big petrol engined Passat so it's definitely a buyer's market for something like this.

I suspect I may never see another one on the Isle of Man for as long as I live! And bringing cars like this across can be a total ballache as they have to go through the Manx Test which is like a very tough MOT. That's one other thing the dealer here said, the car would go through the Manx Test and be on Manx plates before they sold it to me, so anything terrible safety-wise would at least be picked up and have to be remedied before they'd give it a certificate.

At the moment it's still on UK plates and hasn't had the test, which I guess is why it'll be making its way back to the UK soon. It also doesn't have any tax on it, which makes me wonder about the legality of them letting it off their forecourt for test drives.....

(There's only one place on the island that can perform the Manx Test, and it's run by the government, and those boys are thorough.)



I suppose so but I'm wondering if this car is almost into the category of one that'll hold its value pretty well from now on because it's so rare and potentially cherishable.

A bit like the Citroen C6 with the 3.0L twin-turbo diesel engine in it, the 2.7s are relatively common and priced accordingly, but you almost never see a 3.0L come up because it's a massively better engine and really desirable in C6 circles, and there are less than 50 registered in the UK.

The R36 is a car I'll keep an eye out for from now on just out of curiosity's sake, I've done the same with C6s since I got rid of that.

On the plus side with passing on the R36 that's the best part of four grand that's still in my pocket!

Mate, if it's a relatively large petrol-engined family motor you want, try a C- or E-Class Merc, a 5-Series maybe, or an Audi A6. (Of these, I'd have the Beemer personally as they're much more driver-focused, but then I'd go for a smaller 3-series anyway as they weigh less and therefore break less, do you really need a big motor?)

The point being, at least for me, all of these were manufactured as "quality" type motors, whereas this Passat is just that - a volume car that was never really intended to carry a large, powerful (thirsty) engine, and sorry to say it but this one looks to have been particularly unloved, too. Ten large for that...? They're taking the piss IMO, it's not even worth half that (again, IMO).

There's a reason so few people took up these cars; it's the same type of deal with those big Vauxhall Omegas and all that sort of stuff. Why pay out all that money (incl. running costs) when you can have a still faster, better made "premium" motor that holds its value better and lasts a lot longer?

Apart from anything else, the Passat isn't all that to drive - usual dead VW steering and nose-heavy understeer etc., which I'd have thought would be particularly bad with this boat anchor of an engine sat up front? That's totally OK for a boggo 2.0d repmobile that's £20k new and comes with 45-50mpg and a half price tax disc, but less so for something like this.

Edit -

In fact, here's an absolute minter for less than half that asking price, 24k certified miles with FVWSH, only 2 owners, all the toys, leather etc.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... &logcode=p

OK, it's "only" the 3.2 litre V6 but I mean, come on. That's actually a nice motor for that price (and doubtless you could knock 'em down to 4-4.5k as no-one is buying these cars), pretty much as new. Cripes, whoever bought it from new must be crying into their soup with that depreciation, that big ol' engine is barely run in.

Yes all fair points there Cavey, one way or another it all points to the R36 not being the right choice.

If you look at GazChap's £7.5K 750i on the previous page of this thread it does make that R36 seem a bit daft, although TBH if the R36 was pristine I think I'd probably have gone for it.

On your wider point though, I do like cars such as the R36 on a 'conceptual level' if you will, like the Citroen C6 (which I've had), or the Honda Legend (I do fancy one of these), or indeed the R36.

I'm not sure who actually lashes out £30K-£40K on these cars in the first place, but I doff my cap to them A top-end BMW or Audi is a bit of an 'obvious' choice, dropping £32K on a mental Passat is a far more interesting choice IMO (That R36 would have been £32K new with the options it has on it.)

Also it should be noted that the R36 isn't just a normal Passat with a whopping great engine plonked into it, there's a lot of work been done to the suspension, six-speed DSG, it's got the 4MOTION system which is very similar to Audi's Quattro, upgraded interior, top-line spec throughout etc.

It'd be rather like comparing a 318i with an M3 and saying the M3 seems dreadfully overpriced for what it is.

Buy my Jag!

Are you sure they are rare. Just ran past a R36 in my village last night.

So they're not even that fast then.

How Many Left says around 150 in the entire UK. Maybe you just haven't been looking before

There were 222 right-hand drive M5 estates made in total, not all of which ended up in the UK. I had one of them, no doubt some were written off or exported, so they're pretty damn rare - yet I've seen two others recently (neither of which was my old one) and both fairly local.

Diesel is now cheaper than petrol?!?!!

I saw that on the way in this morning. It's to do with the oversupply of petrol, apparently.

It makes a pleasant change to be 2p cheaper certainly.

Boring story mode..

The other morning I had an appointment with my care worker (that's what they call em now). Any way, Mrs JC had gone out also to drive to the hospital for her check up and as I walked down the road I saw a wing mirror. My immediate thought was "Fuck, I bet that's ours !". Well, the back casing of a wing mirror any way.

So I went about my morning and just as I was leaving Mrs JC sent me a BBM message saying "Fuck, back of mirror broken off, can't claim on the insurance over £500 or so, will have to bite bullet".

I went quite potty at first using expletives. Then I remembered the mirror on the ground so we walked around and by the grace of he who looks over us it had one tiny mark on it and clipped back on perfectly. Not even one clip was broken.

Pheeew ! that could have been a real kick in the cods.

Right, if thete's a green lane on the map I can drive up it, yeah? Of I get stuck will the AA come, or do I need a winch now? Should the winch go on the back or front?

Green lanes are legal rights of way but some of them get closed for certain parts of the year.

The AA advertises they will come and drag you out (so does the RAC), so shout like buggery when they won't actually come and rescue you.

Winches are fucking complicated and fucking expensive. You want one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-TON-HEAVY-D ... 1106416674

And one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-rover-4x ... 463e655cb3

And probably one of thse:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-2M-4X4-RE ... 53dfddbc75

And a set of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIMEX-JUNGLE- ... 35d9e463bc

Noted. They will fit in tje spate wheel hole.

I have two of these on the front, bizarrely with road tyres on the rear.

The Green Lane runs up the Cat and Fiddle to the pub and we saw some MX bikes going down it so I figured it would be a laugh. It is mostly loose rocks.

Nice. Get two more of those tyres for the back

Actually, in seriousness, whip the ATs off the front and put them on the back. You will get better handling on the road and better grip off it.

That would not have occoured to me in an age. Thanks. I will try and swap them at the weekend. What I really want is the gold wheels, though...

Just booked a three day test drive of a Nissan Leaf for next week, as I can't get the thought out of my head that paying to own the 750i AND tax it AND fuel it is stupid when I could have virtually-free fuel instead.

I see loads of those around now, they're also becoming very popular as taxis round here. I guess what you need to consider though is how much you will possibly save during the three weeks you own it for.

Someone around here uses an Octavia vrs as a minicab. And in Bradford I have seen a golf r32. Which seems legit.

Leasing a car might be the thing that forces me to hang on for a car for longer.

Currently looking at an '07 5-Series 525d M-Sport Auto, will be taking it out for a drive on Monday. (It's the '07 revision which gets the 3 litre putting out just shy of 200bhp, as opposed to the tamer 2.5 at 175bhp that earlier 525d cars got.)

Checking out a few owner reviews on Parkers, admittedly this isn't for the same model (530d as opposed to 525d) but this chap doesn't seem happy with his experience at all.

It was the comment about the umbrella that brought forth a genuine LOL though.

As for the car I'm looking at, I know Bangle's styling wasn't to everyone's taste, but I rather liked his work.

200 ponies seems a bit wimpy for something that size.

Could be the case I suppose, I'll see how it drives and take it from there. It's supposed to be a very nice engine.

I really wish I could be one of those people who just sees a car as a 'device to get from Point A to Point B', and if it performs that function, it's fine.

The fucking money I've burned on cars over the years is absolutely obscene.

But I do like them so much.

200bhp from the torquey diesel should be fine. If you do buy it though, swap the run-flats for normal tyres (or perhaps even negotiate that as part of the sale?) - that review isn't wrong, runflats make a meal out of the ride comfort on any BMW - it's the reason that the 7-Series was never fitted with them as standard, nor were the M5s that were built on that body shape.

It's not particularly bothersome to park either.

And yep, Bangle's designs have aged rather well - I much prefer the look of the E60 5-Series compared to the current one.

So what's the deal with the run-flats? The mere concept of such a thing seems rather strange, 'cause tyres are filled with air and when the air goes out of them they're not working tyres until they have air in them again.

TO THE GOOGLE-O-TRON!

Can you tell from the pic if it's got the run-flats on it or not?

As for parking it, I got used to parking the C6 which was so big it very nearly didn't fit into a car wash, so I'm sure I can manage the 5-Series (And with sensors it's not like you can go wrong anyway.)

It's 0-60 charge takes 7.5 seconds, so it's clearly not a slouch of a car.

I have now learned all about run-flats.

They sound really shit.

Thing is, decent new tyres all round for that car are probably going to set me back about £600 I'd guess. Tsk.

Yeah they're pretty awful. Our Mini used to have them (no spare and no place for one) but Mrs JC and I decided not to fit them when then were worn out.

We have AA cover and our tyres are insured so we're OK. They were very bumpy in our little Mini.

The more I read into this run-flat malarkey the less I like it.

By all accounts RFTs (as the parlance would have it) are crap. Lots of road noise, knacker comfort, poor handling, ironically vulnerable to punctures (something to do with the reinforced sidewalls), don't last as long as regular tyres, prone to uneven wear, expensive and sometimes hard to get except from gouging BMW dealers etc etc - it's genuinely hard to find a single positive comment about them beyond the odd occasion where they've saved someone from otherwise being stranded in an awkward place. (Which is a total non-issue for me as I live on a small island, in a pinch I could just fucking walk home from anywhere on the island.)

In short, you don't want these things on your car.

So that now leaves me in the position of having to haggle down for a price of decent tyres for the car - (I hate haggling, it's just begging by a different name really) - and the subsequent ballache of getting them fitted.

Meh, I'll go along as planned tomorrow and take a look, but I'm less interested than I was before reading into all this RFT crap.

Walked past the Honda Dealer this morning and they've got the brand new Civic Type-R GT sat outside, so I had a good look around it.

ZOMG PURE SEX.

Part of me wanted to go in and start signing pieces of paper until I'd signed enough of them to be able to take the car away.

306bhp from a 2.0l turbo unit, and it's set a new lap record around the Nürburgring. And it looks stunning as fuck.

WANT.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/honda/civic-type-r

*wanks cock*



*spaffs*

That does look pretty, though.

I just can't help thinking that most of the engineering effort has gone into trying to overcome the inherent shortcomings of starting with a FWD hatchback.

Those new Type-Rs look way too fussy for my liking I guess that's hot hatches for you though. 306bhp doesn't seem all that impressive from a 2.0L turbo either? The Celica was doing 255 way back in the mid 90s, and with mild fettling (and I do mean mild, all I've done is change the radiator for an aluminum one and upped the boost a bit) I have a reliable 320bhp out of mine.

Most likely emissions regulations killing them there though!

Man, I know I'm getting old (and boring) but, I just cannot imagine who is going to be in the market for that Honda? To my jaded old eyes it looks like a MaxPower(tm) wet dream that's had one trip too many to Halfords' bolt on tat dept. This cannot seriously be described as a pretty car either in "cooking" or "hot" trim.

Realistically, the sort of people who have £32.5k plus options (GT version) on a hot hatch are 30-something professionals; are they really going to want to be seen dead in something like this? Or are they going to buy a much more conservative 4wd Golf R, in a nice dark blue/grey, with no torque steer?

On the other hand, the real hard core MaxPower lot are surely going to plump for the much more powerful forthcoming Focus RS (360PS+ word has it), which is 4wd (so much for all that "RevoKnuckle" crap eh) because you know, hallowed "RS" moniker?

Seems to me, then, Honda have mis-pitched this car, but we'll have to wait and see.

Unless it beat the 6m48s set by the Radical, I suspect it's actually set the FWD production car record. Fucking cool looking, though.

[edit]Turns out it's the FWD sort-of production car record with a 7:50. Vroom!

/waves

There's no accounting for taste.

But seriously, each to his or her own.
Personally I really do think this looks 'orrible but I daresay they're not looking to sell 'em to old biftas.

You can't really use the list price of a car as a basis for that kind of thing any more. Almost nobody these days pays list price and most certainly don't "buy" the car, it's all in the leasing isn't it?

Hence the demise of the chavved up MaxPower mobiles that you used to see roaming around the country - these days most college students and young adults are leased up to the eyeballs with Vauxhall etc.

The sort of people who could afford to insure it would most likely want it, though. Not for me though. I mean, that Type-R makes my Celica look subtle.