hey,

My friend needs a cheap big car, i suggested a mk3 passat estate cos you can get them cheap, they look pretty sweet aswell.

the problem being i dont know much about them, how reliable are the petrol/diesel engines? any things to look out for other than bodywork?

thanks in advance

adam

Try E38, they have a Passat specific section there!

wicked, nice one mate...

Uk-passats would be a good place to ask also, loads of helpful people there.

You may have to wait a day or so for a response as its not as active as the likes of clubpolo but worth the wait.

ok man thanks...

Mate I've looked at a few of these, the best advice I can give is check the wheel arches and the front subframes. Haven't seen any other rotten bits apart from slightly scabby door bottoms - and it's VERY salty around here.

Good cars. I had a '93 VR6 estate. Did occasionally have a starting issue that was traced back to an £8 relay.

8 valve petrol engines are best imo. My ex's car is a white 16 valve GT saloon(she is a member on UK Passats) and she loves it to bits. It's probably the best specced Mk.3 Passat in the country.

Avoid the diesels in the Mk.3 as they are painfully slow. TDi lumps in the Mk.4's were a lot better.

Bodywork rust issues usually stem from poor repairs and bad maintainence(ie not touching things up quickly).

Good cars are out there, but they are being broken up for spares by the Golf boys for the engines

my grandad has a H reg one i think and hes had it for tiiiime

just runs and runs and runs

cool, thanks for the replys.

am i right in saying that they are known as b3's not mk3's.

Is the 16v Gt the same 16v used in the mk2 golf 16v?

what engines do the 8v petrol come in? is it just 1.8 and 2.0? good for mpg?

Known either as B3 or 35i.

16v engines the same as a mk.2 golf in 1.8l(KR) form but different on the 2.0l(9A) as that uses KE injection system.

8v engines come in 1.8l(PB) and 2.0l(2E). Both give good MPG and more responsive round town.

'91 2.0l 16V.

What sort of economy do you get from the valver? I'd imagine breaking into 30 mpg territory would be hard work?

Driven carefully, she managed over 40mpg.

34-38mpg seemed to be the average(iirc) on a long run that involved a fair bit of motorway work at speeds around 85mph.

Oh, and the 1.8l 16V engines must run on super unleaded only(98ron min)

That is a hell of a lot better than a 16v Mk2 Golf. Main thing putting me off a 16v GT Passat was me assuming the economy would be piss poor.

I'm impressed! Passat GT 16v estate... Yes please

Just make sure it's not a 1.8!!!

Unlikely to be. I'm 18, and my current insurers would want £980 for a Passat GT 2.0 16v, or £1309 for a GT 1.8 16v?

So 2.0 it is! Is the 2.0 any quicker? It seems they are down on power from the KR due to cam choice...

Hmm they appear hard to get hold of

They are a bit rare due to the aforementioned Golf boys robbing them of the engines.

For instance... clicky

The KR has better cams(inlet I think is the different one) but the 2.0l is better geared up for emissions and normal unleaded. They also have a cat that can be removed to free up a few horses(1.8 doesn't)