Outback vs. Passat wagon?

[pgh]

Your right about the number of people that have major problems with VW or german cars in general. Guy up the street from me has a 99 Passat that has had minor problems in the his last 10 years of ownership and his son now drives it. One thing for sure is they are expensive to repair. They (German engineers)tend to over engineer where the Japanese will be more cost effective.

That said ,I just completed a 200 mile round trip up the mountains of Colorado. I had 4 people on board with stuff and a mountain bike attached to a new Yakima bike rack on the roof. Ride was comy and quiet with no wind noise from the rack. AC was on and I used less than a half a tank of gas total. I'm very happy with this car so far.

[ghawk]

Originally Posted by pgh

Your right about the number of people that have major problems with VW or german cars in general. Guy up the street from me has a 99 Passat that has had minor problems in the his last 10 years of ownership and his son now drives it. One thing for sure is they are expensive to repair. They (German engineers)tend to over engineer where the Japanese will be more cost effective.

That said ,I just completed a 200 mile round trip up the mountains of Colorado. I had 4 people on board with stuff and a mountain bike attached to a new Yakima bike rack on the roof. Ride was comy and quiet with no wind noise from the rack. AC was on and I used less than a half a tank of gas total. I'm very happy with this car so far.

From which side? Denver and I-70, or another location.

I wish people would add to their profile at least an approximate location,

[pgh]

I live in Littleton CO. We spent the weekend at a summer condo at lake Dillon.

[ghawk]

Very nice; been thru both places. Have friend who lived 20 years in Vail, and I visited several times, and moved back east to be nearer her folks on Maine coast.
Have cousin who lived near Lake and sailed a lot on Lake Dillon. He may have owned a sailboat. He was builder in summer, and worked near/at A-Basin in ski seasons. He moved back east to be near his failing dad, and his two sisters.

Been those area roads many times - beautiful area. Thanks for info, which gives a better perspective when we all see where one lives. In my case, I'd rather not be very specific, so I wrote central New England. I am north of Boston!

[wxlidar]

I traded in a 2000 Passat for my 2010 OB. There are times when I miss the Passat. Definitely had that european feel. I never had any problems with the Passat. Normal maintenance over the 10 years of ownership.

I fortunately have not experienced any of the major issues with the OB that others are experiencing. But there are a few small items that kinda sours me on the OB. Not big enough to make me want to sell the OB but noticeable. The increased towing capacity and off-road capabilities are big points for me with the OB.

[steve10]

I just got done listening to a podcast on NPR of Click and Clack the Tappet brothers (Tom and Ray). They had a caller who said he and wife were looking at VW Passats and Subaru Outbacks. The issue he had was that the VW cars tended to make him nauseated when riding in them while he felt fine in the OB. Tom and Ray seemed to think the problem was the plastic that German car makers (VW, BMW, etc.) use in their dash boards since Tom (or Ray?) said they had the same problem when riding in BMW's. Apparently the plastic that the Japanese use does not cause the same problem and the caller said they did buy the Subaru instead of the Passat.

I realize that this may only affect a small segment of the populace but was wondering if any others out there have heard of this.

BTW, Tom and Ray said they really like Subarus and they came up with a new Subaru sales slogan: "Buy a Subaru, it won't make you sick". :-)