HermanH's Site

Welcome to my site! You probably came here by way of ClubB5. If not, let me tell you that the Volkswagen Passat under the latest platform designation, B5, is one of the best VW's that have come from Germany in a long time. Older Passats have been built in places such as Brazil and Mexico but starting with the 98' model cars, the Passat are assembled in Germany. I have updated this page in September of 2002, 4 years after I have purchased the car and I can tell you now, it's one of the most solid VW's I've driven. Read on and you'll find out how I came to own this fantastic vehicle.

Back around mid-to-late 1997, my trusty old 1986 GTI was in great need of repair. New tires were going to be required, the rear window seals were leaking profusely, and a major tune up was at hand. I was quick to note that next year, 1998, I would be turning 40 and the so-called "second childhood urges" began to sink in.

My original replacement was going to be a replica 427 SC Shelby Cobra from Factory Five Racing. The sports car in me was calling but my wife quickly disconnected any ideas that I would be getting such a vehicle, need she remind me that child #2 was quickly arriving by December. After weeks of denial and eventually, resignation, I set out upon getting something with 2 more doors than I had originally planned. Seeing that my 1986 GTI was my 2nd VW (preceded by an 84' Rabbit GTI), I began to research what VW was offering for 1998. I also decided that in the 10+ years since my GTI, I now enjoy a better paycheck to afford perhaps a low-end Mercedes, BMW, Audi or Saab. It helps of course, when the wife, who so handily axed my Cobra idea, allowed me free reign on any vehicle I wanted, so long as it was a four door sedan that I would completely enjoy.

I set out my search on the Edmunds.com site and set up a criteria for my search - a $30,000 or less, 4 door sedan, A/C, stereo, cloth interior, 5 speed, sunroof. It's been awhile, but I seemed to recall ending up with the following: BMW 318i, BMW 323i, Audi A4 and Volkswagen Passat. I ignored any and all Japanese makes. The Mazda 626 would have fallen in this category but my wife already owned one and I only mildly liked the car. I've driven in a Honda Accord and it's nice... for a Honda. Maxima's looked ugly. Same with Saab's. Toyota's are completely gutless at this level. I considered the BMW's but I just didn't want the entry level BMW. If I wanted to do justice in the purchase, the 328i (the largest at the time) would have been my choice but it was well over $30,000. I also realized after some calculations, that , I had to scale back to a more manageable $25,000 vehicle. This just the left the Passat and the A4. At this point, I felt it was time to do some window shopping.
I took my first test drive of the Passat sometime back in January of 1998. I tested both the 1.8t (GLS) and V6 (GLX). I simply loved the kick in the pants feel of the 1.8t when the turbo spooled up, but I also enjoyed the instant torque of the V6! At the time, the GLX were only being sold in automatics, while the GLS was getting both 5 speed and tiptronic. I then made my way to the Audi side but was quickly turned off by the price tags... no model that I saw was selling below $25,000... MSRP! The lowest was a A4 1.8tqM for about $25800; compared to the Passat 1.8tM at $22,600, I quickly realized that no Audi A4's were coming into the US stripped down; they were all nearly fully loaded. I was told I could order one to my specs, but it would take about 6 months on average before receiving it.

During this time, I discovered two important forums on the internet: A4.Org and VW Vortex. These newly developed sites were very informative about both the A4 and Passat as most of the suspension, engine and drive train components are shared between the two. In fact, I had no idea up to this point, that VW owned Audi! To make a long story short, after spending weeks on the forums, I made up my mind that the Passat 1.8tM would be the car of choice. Three major factors were very clear in my thinking and final decision: pricing, value and the aftermarket. In fact, it is these 3 factors that drove my decision on the two GTI's before. But the last point is very important as I discovered there were a great number of upgrades and/or modifications I could perform on the Passat that would transform the car from an everyday family hauler, to a daily autobahn burner!

OK, we're not talking M3 proportions by any stretch, but in terms of "family sedans", I believed I found a sleeping giant. When you go to the "Modification Page", all will be clear.

On June 28, 1998, I signed the papers at Sunnyvale Volkswagen and paid the princely sum of $23,897.65 for my 4/98 built Passat, 1.8t, Windsor Blue, Grey Cloth interior, 5 speed and a sunroof as my only extra option. There was only 11 miles on the odometer prior to my test drive; the papers show 16 miles at the time of delivery. The negotiations were swift (test drive plus 10 minutes) and the bargaining price started with the $22,650 MSRP and talked down only slightly, to $21,599.02; yes, tax and license are quite a bit. It wasn't the best deal I could have made but back in 1998, these babies were scarce so the laws of supply and demand took over. I have no regrets.

HermanH