I was shocked to see the car in such a state. It will be tough for me to find a replacement but I would like to stick to the VW group.

BHPian Rajamass recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Adieu to my VW Passat Limited Edition

My relationship with the VW Passat ended abruptly—a very tough past two weeks. My Passat met with a collision on Jul 5th and got damaged severely on the right front side. My Wife got distracted with her mobile and hit a parked 1996 Ford F150 pickup truck with a solid steel cargo loading bed. So, all the impact got onto the right bumper, fender, door outer skin, or metal sheets. Her speed was around 20-25mph. I did not find any damage to the skeleton or the pillars so I thought it could be repaired easily.

I was shocked to see the car in such a state. I called VW roadside assistance, as the car has three years of coverage, and towed it to the nearest VW collision center (Niello collision center, Sacramento, California). To my shock, the collision center manager refused to accept the vehicle as the facility was 100% full at capacity. He did not even allow me to keep the car for an hour before I talked to my insurance. The towing service also did not allow me to speak to my insurance. They threatened to take the vehicle to their yard or leave it on the streetside.

After wasting my time with VW roadside assistance, I finally towed it back to my home by paying 145$. VW customer care, as usual, has no proper response on how to deal with it. Pretty much useless. All they said was that they are responsible only up to the nearest center, but when I asked how they deal with the collision center refusing to accept the car, they had no answer. I told them to tow it to any VW-approved collision center, so they put it on me, saying I asked for it. The nearest collision center other than this is at least 70 miles away.

In summary, their roadside assistance was not much use to me. This is the first time I ever availed of roadside assistance in India or the US, and it's a bitter experience. I should have availed the insurance towing service.

The insurance company Geico was kind to arrange another towing service immediately and suggested I give the vehicle to their approved center, Caliber Collision in Sacramento. Since the authorized center has no appointments for one month and considering the timelines, they take here even to generate an estimate, I agreed. I was unsure if they would estimate based on OEM, non-OEM, or refurbished parts. I called them several times, and every time they said they use only genuine OEM parts.

After close to 13 days (9 working days), I finally had an initial estimate of $20352 after my $500 deductible. A lot of parts were non-OEM and also refurbished. California law requires the repair facilities to state the source of parts clearly to the customer, so they cannot hide it. The labor charges alone came to around $10000! When I saw the estimate, I realized it would be a total loss since everything else in the vehicle is pristine and fetches an excellent residual value.

The next day, I got a mail from my insurance company that the claim had been sent to the total loss team for review. I was worried about how the adjuster would evaluate the car's actual cash value (ACV) before the accident. My research showed that the Kelly blue book (KBB) offers a close match to the insurance claims in the US, with the insurance offerings being a little higher than KBB value. Now the insurance adjuster has called me and said they arrived at a value of $30831 after my $500 deductible. I should accept the offer. I paid $31808 for it when I bought it in Feb 2022; since then, I have driven 24500miles. So essentially, they are paying me almost all the money I invested, which is the only happy part of the story. When I initially bought it, I was lucky as the offer was good for me, with 3000-4000 less than the market value.

I am going to miss my beautiful red limited-edition Passat. No other car on the market offers the same features and luxury at the same price. It will be tough for me to find a replacement but I would like to stick to the VW group. I am also moving to a colder place (Wisconsin state) next month. So, I am divided on buying an all-wheel drive compact SUV like the Tiguan or the Taos or a performance-oriented sedan along the lines of the Jetta GLI.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The brand has already confirmed that the Golf and Tiguan nameplate will not be retired.

Thomas Schafer, CEO of Volkswagen, recently spoke with a German publication about the brand's future. As per reports, Schafer confirmed that the carmaker is nearly done with launching new ICE-powered cars.

Volkswagen will launch the next-generation Passat and Tiguan later this year, while the new-gen T-Roc will arrive in 2025. These will be the final ICE cars to be launched by the brand. Schafer stated that the T-Roc will be the last new combustion engine-powered car in Europe. While other models will get big product upgrades, there won't be any "completely new" vehicles after 2025.

Thomas Schafer also hinted that the Polo might be reaching its end. The upcoming Euro 7 emission regulations will make the sub-compact hatchback too expensive, especially after adding a hybrid setup. Schafer stated that a new Polo could cost as much as the 2025 ID.2all, questioning whether it would make sense to sell such a small hatchback.

Reports though do suggest that VW intends to retain the names of some of its models in the EV era. The brand has already confirmed that the Golf and Tiguan nameplate will not be retired. VW already has plans to introduce the ID. Tiguan sometime in 2026. The electric Golf, on the other hand, will arrive sometime by 2028 and will be based on the upcoming SSP architecture.

Source: Automobilwoche

It's a 2018-19 Highline variant with many interesting features such as ventilated seats, adaptive dampers, 360-degree camera, etc.

BHPian elampumpkin recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Greetings to everyone!

My family currently owns a late 2018/2019 Passat Highline. Even though we don't have plans of changing the vehicle anytime soon, I was just checking the options out there. To my slight disappointment, I couldn't find a car which had all the features offered by the Passat (Adaptive Dampers, 360° Camera, Ventilated Seats) under a reasonable price point.

I am open to considering pre-worshipped vehicles as well, so suggest away.

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

You are driving a car that is extremely difficult to upgrade from. For one, the Passat itself is very accomplished. Second, after a certain price point (say 35 lakhs), the law of diminishing returns kicks in. From 40 lakh rupees and up, increasing the budget by 30% (as an example) doesn't necessarily lead to 30% more car.

Either go pre-worshipped, buy another car from a similar price band (e.g. Camry Hybrid, Kodiaq, Ioniq 5) or be prepared to pay through your nose for a new luxury German.

Here's what BHPian rGT had to say about the matter:

A pre-owned 530d G30 (pre-LCI or LCI) is a possible upgrade, or else, a 330Li LCI, if rear seat space is a necessity. If you want both space and power, then you can look for pre-owned W213 E350ds, as the rear seats can gobble up entire galaxies, and the smooth V6 can provide you with driving pleasure when you want.

The Passat is such an accomplished car, that there are only a handful of cars within a fathomable price that can feel like a genuine upgrade from it, much like the Endeavour 3.2. So taking the pre-owned route is the only probable option for a genuine upgrade.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

After the RC transfer, I got the service history from VW, so I am good for another 29K km for DSG service.

BHPian MageshSai recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I bought a 9-year-old Volkswagen Passat Highline AT from a FB marketplace ad. posted by a dealer, in Mar 2022. What I found during my search was, FB marketplace and OLX are the two places where we can see almost all the pre-owned vehicles that are for sale, in Bangalore. The dealers also post ad. there and so are the authorized dealer's used car outlets. For instance, Renault Select (Trident) post the cars on its own site as well as in OLX.

My buying experience:

The dealer from whom I bought the car was near Agara Lake, through their FB marketplace ad. Coming to my buying experience, overall it is fair. They allowed me to take the car to a VW dealer and get a general checkup done. With the result of a general checkup, I could negotiate and get the price lowered by 30K for what amount I had booked and paid a token advance.

Two things were disappointing:

1. The spare key: These guys had bought the car through an online auction and hence the spare key and RC original had to come from them, which came a week or two after I took the delivery of the car. I had asked them to send the key through dunzo since I didn't want to travel 30 km (up and down) just for the key. After receiving the key, it was not working. I assumed it to be a battery issue. So bought a battery from Amazon and replaced it (had to take help from a youtube video for how to do it!! That's how complex it is) but no luck. Left it for checking with the VW dealer later. When I had gone to put A/C vents and suspension link rods later at the VW dealer, I was told that the keys cannot be repaired and the only option is to buy a new one. Passat has a smart key which would cost 15K.
2. After a few months, found that the spare tyre had a sidewall cut and hence was not usable at all. The damage was on the bottom side of the tyre when mounted in the boot. The tyre had good treads so I did not check the tyre thoroughly. It is not fully a mistake of the dealer though they could have warned me about it. It was the mistake of VW SA and myself. The service advisor told me the spare tyre is weak (or maybe I interpreted it like that). After 9 months when I checked the report for something else, it was clearly written as damaged. Maybe since no amount was mentioned for that, it didn't catch my attention.

I didn't even do an oil service or a DSG oil replacement after buying. The MID showed the service is due only after 12,000 km or 8 months. I did service only by that schedule and had no issues until then. After the RC transfer, I got the service history from VW, so I am good for another 29K km for DSG service.

Two other things which I could have been a bit more careful about are:

1. Headlight throw; when I had seen the car before buying and during TD, the car had some external bar lights fixed. During delivery, I asked them to remove it if it is dysfunctional. Since I did test driving only during day time, I didn't have a chance to use and see the lights. I had assumed, the previous owner had put external lights as an enhancement in poor taste. Little that I knew, the projector lenses had become too old and clouded. The visibility was not sufficient even within the city. Upgraded the lights at the cost of 35K. Everyone was saying, with new lights, the visibility is great. But I had difficulty in visibility at night when it rains. The windshield had sun protection films which were causing this issue. Removed the windshield sun films at a cost of 3K.
2. The suspension issue: During the TD itself, I was able to feel that the suspension has some issues it needs to be fixed. VW SA did a poor job here. He said only 2 link rods need to be replaced. After the link rods were replaced, it became smoother but that was not sufficient. I was getting suspension noises and was not able to push the car comfortably beyond 90-95 KMPH. The car was floating and did not give sufficient confidence to push it further. Also, the car used to bounce after crossing the speed humps and get hit on the under-body. Even the SA from an FNG, after a test drive, felt that nothing is wrong with the suspension. Only after they removed parts and checked, found that several components needed replacement. Replaced 4 shocks, Rear link rods, Rear struct ket and Lower arm ball joints. parts, labour and wheel alignment together cost 44K.

For the purchase cost of Rs.6.5 lakhs, these expenses were okay. Only that, it took longer to get the desired condition of the vehicle due to some careless mistakes.

Images: VW general check-up report, delivery of the vehicle, pooja, old headlights, testing low beam and high beam after the upgrade, spare tyre damage, After first professional wash & interior detailing.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It's a pre-owned car but had only around 198 miles on the odo. Also, it's a limited edition model.

BHPian Rajamass recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Prelude

Rewinding to Sep 2021, I just moved to the US for my post-doctoral research with my family. In this long thread, I discuss my US car purchasing experience and ownership experience with VW Passat Limited Edition. I owned a Ford Figo Aspire DCT in Bengaluru, which was sufficient for my needs. We also own a VW Vento TSI+DSG in our family.

Car Purchasing Experience in the US

I have a fair idea of public transport problems in the west, particularly last-mile connectivity. Hence, I planned to buy a car as soon as I moved, but the market scenario worsened so severely that I had to wait nearly five months to get a car.

Moving to the US helped me as the prices of vehicles are a lot cheaper with few maintenance costs. People advised me to go with pre-owned vehicles as they are more affordable, but I realized most of them were driven crazily beyond 100k miles (>156k km). I was not comfortable. VW cars are my favorites, and I wished to buy a new VW Jetta SE variant which would fit my budget of less than 25000$.

In Aug 2021, just before moving to the US, VW announced a refreshed Jetta for the North American market with an upgraded engine and other features. Due to the chip shortage, new cars that were supposed to arrive at the dealership in Oct got pushed to the March 2022 time frame. I started to look at used cars, but the prices of pre-owned vehicles had gone crazy by then. For example, a Toyota Corolla of 2015/16 model with 1 lakh miles (160k Kms) was selling for 17-18000$. The actual price of the car would have been around 20000$ back in 2015/16, insane!

Left with no other option, I had to wait a few months to save some money and buy a new car. Pre-owned cars sell quickly here, especially those with clean Carfax history and are well-priced. I had an opportunity to buy a pre-owned 2012 VW GTI in Nov 2021, but by the time I confirmed my deal, the car was sold in a few hours. I took Carfax 6-report subscription for 100$ before starting my search. This is something I wish to have in India. The Carfax reports will have most details related to ownership records, service, and accident history. It also mentions if any major parts are replaced, like the water pump, fuel injectors, etc.

In Jan 2022, I came across a white VW Passat R-line 2020 model offered as a certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle with an additional two-year or 24000 miles warranty. It has driven ~8500 miles (~13000 km) and was well maintained. The price was reasonable with 25000$ + Taxes and department of motor vehicle fees, a total of around ~28300$. I took personal time off and went to see the car on a weekday, traveling 75 miles (110 km) away from my place.

The showroom was not of VW standards. I can vouch for the VW showrooms in Bengaluru, which are well maintained than this one. I checked the car and instantly liked it. The sound system was excellent with standard speakers. The spacious interiors were something I had not experienced before. I was ready to pay the advance and take the delivery on Saturday. The dealership asked me for a driving license, which I had not yet. I told him that California law does not require DL for buying a vehicle and there is no need for an international driving license. California law allows people to drive as long as they hold a valid driving license issued in their home country for up to a year.

We negotiated the price and fixed the date and time for delivery. The next day the dealer called me and asked me to come and make the payment. The service advisor warned me they would sell the car to other customers if I didn't turn up. I was furious and frustrated. I decided to go the next day and called him before leaving. The service advisor told me the vehicle was sold by then. In hindsight, I realized that the dealership does not want to sell the car to someone who pays upfront in cash. They have tie-ups with banks and prefer to sell the vehicle to someone willing to take a loan and get more margin. I could not take a loan as I didn't have a good credit history built by then. Some banks offered interest rates as crazy as 40% APR. The wait continued, but I firmly decided to buy the VW Passat.

I came across another VW Passat listing in the first week of February. This time it was a top-of-the-line 2022 limited edition variant with Aurora Red metallic exterior. VW announced the retirement of Passat from the North American market and hence produced a few models with limited edition badges and exclusive features to the variant. My first glance at the ad made me suspicious. The mileage posted for the used car was just 198 (300kms), and it has a clean Carfax report showing Nov 2021 as the month vehicle was first registered. It was priced at 29491$ plus taxes and a DMV fee. The limited-edition Passat will cost me >35000$ if I buy a new one.

The price was shocking, considering the demand and supply issues then. I looked at the seller, a Lexus dealer (Lexus of Fremont). I called them immediately and confirmed the car's availability. It was on Wednesday, and I was cynical about its availability until the weekend. I called them again on Friday, and it was still available. I immediately scheduled a visit for Saturday morning time. This time I prepared myself to buy it on the first visit if I liked it. I made sure that I had the required cash in my account. I cleared my driving license test by then but have yet to get the physical copy. I just got a provisional driving license.

The Lexus of Fremont is one of the largest dealerships I have ever seen. They were at the heart of the Bay Area and Lexus, having an excellent reputation in the US, helped them. They had a vast catalog of Lexus and other branded cars, which they got as trade-ins, including the BMW i8. The showroom was excellent and had class interiors all over. The sales associates told me that they sell 20-30 cars daily!

The service advisor then took me to the parking lot and showed me the red beauty. This one looked more beautiful than the white one I saw earlier. I will discuss the features shortly. I test-drove and found everything okay, nothing suspicious. Since it was almost brand new with barely any mileage on the car, it carried all OEM car benefits, which included a 7-yr perforation warranty, 5-yr VW car-net subscription, 4-year/50000 miles warranty, 3-year roadside assistance, 2-year free maintenance. I knew I was making the right decision. I could bargain a few hundred dollars and proceed to the formalities.

VW Passat Limited Edition Features

VW announced that this would be the last iteration of the Passat for the North American market. The current model is a seventh-generation car based on the old platform named Passat NMS (NMS for new midsize sedan built on A32/33 platform). It's a downscaled version of the premium Passat offered in the European market but larger. Currently, the Passat sold in Europe, and China is built on the popular MQB modular platform.

Being an older platform, it missed features like the fully digital display offered in the lower model Jetta. VW North America had no plans to update the existing platform. Hence decommissioned, the model with a few limited-edition cars (1973 in number). The number reflects the year VW Passat was first launched in Germany.

The red one I own is made only 411 in number. Limited edition cars come with special interiors which pay homage to the city of Chattanooga in Tennessee, where the Passat is built. Being a top variant, it has an extensive list of features. The technical specifications are listed here. For variant-wise comparison, check this PDF. I will list my favorite features and why.

The ten great features I liked

• Top Safety with Level 2 ADAS features: The car has all level 2 ADAS safety features, including adaptive cruise control, lane assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear-traffic cross alert, forward collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and automatic emergency braking. It also has automatic braking post-collision and an intelligent crash response system that makes emergency calls and unlocks doors. The braking is also powerful with all-wheel ABS disc brakes.
• Steering wheel: The multifunction steering wheel is a leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel I have always wished to have. IMHO, it looks beautiful and more practical than the round steering wheel.

•  Audio: A 400W Fender premium audio powers the car with a dedicated subwoofer. Fender is a Californian music instruments company headquartered in Los Angeles. They are well known for electric guitars. Several VW vehicles sold in the US were associated with the Fender premium sound system. The sound is explosive, and the audio quality is superb, with excellent bass. The audiophile in me always smiles while driving the car.

• Roominess: The Passat has a wheelbase of 2804mm. The interior legroom is extraordinarily spacious—friends and relatives who boarded rave about the car's roominess.
• Seats: The car has comfortable sports seats with a perforated Vienna leather seating surface. Both driver and passenger seats are electronically powered with adequate lumbar support. The driver's side is 12-way adjustable with 3-seat memory, while the passenger side is 8-way adjustable without seat memory. Even the ORVMs position gets saved. The front and rear seats have a heating function, a rare feature in this segment. Most cars are offered with only heated front seats. Before buying, I never realized how important this feature is. The winters here in the central valley of California go as low as 0° C and chill in the morning. The heated seat aids in the comfort pretty quickly.
• Lighting: The car is equipped with VW light assist (or adaptive front-lighting system), which includes an array of features like curve adaptive beams, incoming traffic adaptive, auto headlamps, auto high beams, and low beams. The low beams are projector LEDs, but reflective mirrors assist the high beams. Driving at night is a joy, but the sensor for the incoming traffic light is too sensitive and switches to low beam much before. During ignition, the lights display a pretty cool basic start sequence. The LED projectors are steering-sensitive or curve-adaptive. The rear brake and turn lights are also LED but not dynamic.

• Interiors: The interiors are all black with wooden accents and piano black inserts. The dashboard is made of carbon fiber and invokes a sense of feeling when touched.

The switch controls for windows are chrome-tipped, enhancing the vehicle's look and premium feel. The gas and brake pedals are made of stainless steel. They are classy and give the car a sporty look.

• Wheels: The car has 18" special edition dual-tone 15-spoke alloy wheels with dimensions 235/45/R18. They look stylish.

• Park-distance control: The car has parking sensors on all sides that can detect static objects within five feet. A handy feature and the wife's most-liked feature of the car. The passenger side ORVM positions itself when the reverse gear is engaged to assist in parking.
• Extraordinary Mileage: Mileage is something I never bothered in India. Here in the US, petrol is a lot cheaper. So never looked at the mileage aspects before buying the car. The EPA rating for the 2022 Passat was 24 miles per gallon (MPG) for city driving and 36 MPG for highway driving. This translates to 10.2kmpl for the city and 15.30kmpl for the highway. The city mileage is a little less than this, but the freeway driving yields me close to the 38-40mpg range (16-17kmpl). Sometimes I get more than 40mpg depending on wind direction. During my last trip, when I descended from 6500-500ft altitude, the trip meter showed >70mpg (>25kmpl) for close to 45mins and a 40-mile drive. Considering this is a 2-liter turbo engine, I feel the mileage is extremely efficient without sacrificing power. Also, I make fewer trips to the gas stations as the fuel tank capacity is 18.5 gallons (70 litres), giving me a range of 600-700 miles (900-1100kms) on a full tank freeway ride.

Mileage displayed on the MFD while I was descending from a hill station

Missing Features

• Electronic parking brake: Despite the topline variant, VW could not provide an electronic parking brake. The hand brake lever and the asymmetrical dummy buttons in the gear shift panel make an eye sore.

• Heated steering wheel: The steering gets chilly in the winter and sometimes to the extent that we can't hold it for more than a few seconds.
• Ventilated seats: Last summer taught me that ventilated seats are essential in hot Californian weather. The summer goes as high as 45° C with nearly 100 days of hot weather over 35° C.
• Wireless Android auto or Apple car play: VW offers wireless Android auto or Apple car play in the top two variants of the lower model Jetta. No excuse here!

A few things I did not like in the car and need improvement

• Tire noise: Not sure of the source, i.e., whether bad roads or tire themselves. The noise insulation is average. The tires are also from an OEM I never heard of (Giti). I also observed that the freeways are not laid with smooth tarmac like the ones in India but have excellent markings and no potholes or speed breakers. I recently traveled in a friend's Merc C300 on the same road I frequently use and noticed that the noise is way better insulated in my Passat.
• Indirect tire pressure monitoring system: The car can sense the loss of tire pressure in all the wheels based on the wheel rotation data generated by the ABS sensors. Though not as accurate as the ones with sensors on the wheels, it does get the job done.
• Backup Camera: The rearview camera resolution sometimes appears good, but it needs improvement.
• VW Car-Net App: The car came with a 5-year free subscription to the VW Car-net app. The vehicle is connected (Verizon network) and can be locked or unlocked with the app. The app also shows odometer readings, parking locations, etc. It has driving behavior scores based on acceleration, hard braking data, etc. But this never worked for me. The app never updated any scores. I spoke to VW customer care for several days and gave up. The app and its features are managed by a third-party provider (Bosch), and VW offers no support. I contacted Bosch several times but failed to get any resolution. I will not pay for this subscription once the freebie is over.

Features I felt redundant and never used

• Navigation: The car has inbuilt navigation powered by Tom Tom, but pretty useless. The reason is that maps need to be updated manually once in a while. Live traffic update requires a Sirius XM subscription. Moreover, searching for a point of interest is a pain. The android auto excels here with various media integration.
• Semi-automatic parking: The car has semi-automatic parking that can control steering, but acceleration and braking need user input. So far, I have never tested this feature.
• Sunroof: The sunroof is not panoramic, and I rarely use it.
• Remote Start: The key fob has a remote start option to cool or heat the car (depending on the outside temperature) before we get in. But the range is minimal, often less than 30m without any obstacles or interference. VW does offer a long-range key fob (300m range) but at an additional cost.
• Auto high beam control: The sensor for auto high beams adjustment for the incoming traffic is too sensitive and turns to low beams when the incoming car is even at a ½ mile distance. Most of the time, I manually switch between high beams and low beams.

Accessories Installed

Thanks to being in the US, I can buy stuff from AliExpress. As soon as I got the car, I started searching for a good dash cam, and VW being a popular brand in China, also helped me with many options. I came across this model, which does not require tweaking any wires. It's a plug-and-play model that harnesses power from the rain sensor wiring for automatic wiper activation. The installation was simple, with no cables in and around the dash. The quality is decent enough but nowhere near the claimed 4K resolution. It has automatic recording capability in case of any suspicious activity. The app support is the worst, or fair to say non-existent. The advertised Wi-Fi direct also never worked. I have to remove the SD card every time to copy the footage.

Bad Experiences

Alloy wheel scratches

The dual-tone alloy wheels are elegant but prone to scratches due to the tire size provided. I already had scratches on a couple of wheels

Windshield Damage

One fine morning when I was on a day trip to the nearest beach. I suddenly heard a sharp sound. I was on a phone call and was not sure what had happened. After a few minutes, my wife noticed a crack in the lower part of the windshield. Lack of knowledge and awareness, I kept going and later realized at the end of the day that the crack had grown considerably big. I thought my insurance would cover it, but I kept a 1000$ deductible for this event in the comprehensive plan. I did not expect this to happen, as even in India, with lorries carrying asphalt, it never had an issue.

I visited the windshield repair facility Safelite in Sacramento. The technician told me it couldn't be fixed with a gel and needed replacement. I called the nearest VW body shop for help, but they don't repair windshields and suggested Safelite. I asked Safelite for a quote, and they took details of the model and came to me with a 980$ bill. I asked them why it costs so much for a windshield installation when the price of the part itself is around 400$.

Here came the depressing news from them telling me that since the car has a lane assist feature with a camera mounted on the windshield, every time it's replaced, the camera needs calibration with lased guided checkerboards on a flat surface. This itself costs close to 500$ outside (VW quoted 800$ for calibration!). Since my deductible is 1000$, I decided to go with out-of-pocket expenses. I found an excellent technician named Shaud in Palo Alto who is an expert in windshield work. He quoted me 500$ for installation and sensor calibration, provided I bring the windshield. Luckily, I got a good deal on the OEM part at Stevens Creek VW, San Jose, and fixed it at his workshop.

Passat front camera being calibrated with a laser-guided checkerboard after the windshield replacement

Hard lesson learned, and I immediately changed the deductible to 0$ by paying more premium.

Car Vandalism

The next day, after fixing the windshield, another heartbreaking incident. I parked my car at the workplace within the university but outside the paid parking zone. When I returned to take the car in the afternoon, I noticed a big dent on the driver-side front door and minor dents on the driver-side rear door. When I first saw it, my intuition was this was not an accident or rear-ending, but I did not have anything to prove.

I called my insurance agent, and they said it comes under collision and has 500$ deductible as per my plan. I voiced my frustration and said I didn't collide with any vehicle, but they could not help. The next day I received mail from my building manager that they had video footage of someone kicking a red car in the parking lot and asked us to identify ourselves.

I immediately approached them and saw the footage, and was heartbroken. Some stranger kicked my precious red beauty mercilessly multiple times out of frustration or mental health issues. A moment later, I was surprised at how they got the footage. They said one of the Janitor had sent them the video. I met the Janitor and asked him how he got the video. He said his car had recorded. I asked him which car, A Telsa Model S! Tesla cars have sentry mode: 360 cameras monitor the surroundings all the time (if enabled) for suspicious activity. The trick here is it will save the pre-5mins footage only if it involves a Tesla car.

The person who vandalized my car also kicked the Tesla while leaving, so it automatically saved the 5min footage before he kicked it. All gods on my side, a very rare chance of occurrence, I got the footage of the incident. I immediately approached the insurance, and they converted the case to vandalism with a 0$ deductible. My insurance approved a quote of 1500$ for the work. I gave the car to the nearest VW-approved collision center (Niello Collison center) and got it repaired with an eye-watering bill of 6400$ for the two-door metal panels with parts accounting for 2000$ and 4000$ for labor.

The cost is only for the metal sheets and does not include the doors' electronics or glass panels, which were not damaged. They refused to remove the dent and went ahead with the replacement of both door panels. The rear door has a small dent which I struggled to image for insurance purposes. I honestly felt bad for the insurance company and was surprised that they approved all this with photos. This would have been repaired in India for a mere 400$ for the work in the VW showroom.

Engine Oil Consumption

In less than 13500 miles (~20000kms), I had to top up the engine oil four times. This is annoying, but the VW service advisor assured me it's quite common for a new engine to consume oil. The issue persists even after the first service at the 10000 miles mark.

In conclusion, I am a happy VW Passat owner. I made the right decision when the market prices were volatile and super expensive. There is always a smile on my face whenever I am driving it. It has more features than I had wished. I hope to keep the car with me as long as I stay in the US. I am looking forward to an incredible journey together. Thanks for reading my post.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

They came up with a solution of adding extra material at the front, at the cost of US $62 per vehicle.

Back in 2019, Volkswagen's flagship sedan, the Passat, failed an unofficial crash test in China, conducted by an Insurance Industry body. According to a media report, the video of the failed crash test went viral across China, triggering a massive backlash against Volkswagen in the country.

The result of the failed safety test was that it sent sales of the Passat plummeting downwards. Though Volkswagen responded immediately and fixed the issue, the sales of the Passat continue to remain low, with no sign of picking up anytime soon.

The Volkswagen Passat had previously passed the C-NCAP test as per the Chinese government regulations. However, the CIRI safety test is said to be a bit more stringent, which resulted in the Passat receiving a low score.

The sedan is manufactured in China by the SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture who immediately responded to the failed test. They came up with a solution of adding extra material at the front, at the cost of US $62 per vehicle. The solution allowed the Volkswagen Passat to pass the CIRI test the second time, but the damage was done.

According to the report, in 2020, SAIC-Volkswagen witnessed the sales of the Passat sedan drop by a massive 32%.

Source: Reuters

Thanks to Tamilarasan for the heads up.

The Passat has been Europe’s best-selling non-premium midsize sedan.

According to a media report, Volkswagen could discontinue the Passat in USA and Europe by 2023. The decision is likely to be taken as the company shifts its focus to electric cars and SUVs.

While it could be the end of the road for the Passat sedan in Europe, the estate version of the car will continue to be sold in markets like Germany. Reports suggest that the next generation Passat estate could be introduced around end-2023.

That said, it seems unlikely that VW will cancel the Passat in the Europe given its popularity. It is Europe’s best-selling non-premium midsize sedan. VW sold 88,478 units in October 2020.

In comparison, sales performance of the Passat in the US market hasn’t been as encouraging. The carmaker sold just 16,190 units in the first three quarters of 2020. Therefore, cancelling the model in the US would make sense.

As far as the Indian market is concerned, VW will continue to offer the Passat for the time being. In fact, test mules of Passat TSI have been spotted on the roads. The car is likely to be powered by a BS6-compliant turbo-petrol engine.

Source

Many new cars today are opting for the e-parking brake & there is no denying that it frees up space on the center console. Most owners will also prefer flipping a lever versus a mechanical handbrake which can sometimes be cumbersome to disengage. This is a "premium" feature that will inevitably make its way down to mainstream cars (new Creta has it too).

My main problem = its STUPID location! End of the day, this is a small lever that can & will be accidentally engaged. On a recent outing, I'm driving with my friend in the passenger seat and suddenly, the 530d starts decelerating . After being disoriented for a second or two, the warning on the instrument console reminded me that the e-parking brake has been activated, mistakenly by my friend. I'm pretty sure its happened to others too.

This can be outright dangerous if it happens on the highway. Imagine being rear-ended by a truck! The primary issue is the e-brake location and I'm extremely surprised that manufacturers didn't think of this. The center console is where the co-passenger rests his hand too. Humans have a tendency of fidgeting with their free hands & it's far easier to engage an e-parking brake than to pull up a mechanical handbrake. The problem can be amplified if you have a mischievous youngster on the front seat (in some cars, the e-brake switch is easily accessed from the backseat too!).

My suggestion is to move it to the dashboard. I would prefer to have it on the right of the steering so that only the driver can reach it. However, I do understand that the passenger would sometimes need to access it. In that case, it can be to the left of the steering (on the dash). But for heavens sake, placing it in such an easily accessible spot where we rest our arms is just asking for trouble. I'm willing to bet that we'll see a lot of crashes once the e-brake gains volumes via mainstream cars.

Some do have it on the dash. Mercedes - being safety-obsessed Mercedes - has smartly placed it out of accidental reach, and so is the case in a handful of other cars. The dashboard is the only place to have this control. All Indian car manufacturers read Team-BHP and I hope this thread influences some of them.

In the current E-Class, the e-parking brake is located on the right of the steering wheel. In the Jeep Compass the switch is located on the centre console, within easy reach of the front passenger. Weirdly, in the VW Passat, the switch is on the passenger's side of the centre console, which is clearly a carryover from the left-hand drive markets.

Thanks to Medhaj Shetty for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

A test mule of the Volkswagen Passat petrol has been spotted. The 'Petrol' sticker near the fuel cap indicates that it is likely to be powered by a turbocharged petrol (TSI) engine.

The updated Passat has a chrome grille with new LED headlamps and a redesigned front bumper. It appears to have redesigned tail lights and rear bumper that has integrated reflectors. It has the Passat lettering on the boot lid. The test car is riding in silver alloy wheels.

The old BS4-compliant model was powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine producing 174 BHP @ 3,600-4,000 rpm and 350 Nm @ 1,500-3,500 rpm. The engine was paired with a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Thanks to ScoopMeister for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

A test mule of the Volkswagen Passat has been spotted. We are told that there was a Petrol sticker near the fuel cap, which indicates that it could have a turbocharged petrol (TSI) engine under the bonnet.

The updated Passat has a chrome grille with new LED headlamps and a redesigned front bumper. It appears to have redesigned tail lights and rear bumper that has integrated reflectors. It has the Passat lettering on the boot lid. The test car is riding in silver alloy wheels.

The old BS4-compliant model was powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine producing 174 BHP @ 3,600-4,000 rpm and 350 Nm @ 1,500-3,500 rpm. The engine was paired with a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The new Passat is expected to get BS6-compliant engine options. It is expected to be launched sometime in 2020.