Hi everyone,

Welcome at my video series about buying a second hand car. We will look at desirable used cars that are now 10 to 15 years old and come from respected manufacturers.

In the previous video I looked at the passat B5.

The B5 is still a good car to this day, but if you want more modern technology maybe the B6 is more up to your liking. The passat B6 was produced between 2005 and 2010. It came to the market as a saloon, wagon and the CC which is a very stylish coupe.

The facelifted version of the B6, is the B7 that we will cover in the next video. Basically the B7 is based on the B6, the B7 is a thorough facelift that Volkswagen introduced as a complete new model.

At the timing of recording, the passat already has a B8 model on the market, so this car is two generations old, but that should not be a big issue in my eyes.

Engines

As you expect from Volkswagen, the car has plenty of engines to choose from, from the petrol and diesel engines and even a very potent R36 model which had a 3.6 liter VR6 engine producing 300 HP.

All of the petrol engines for this generation are FSI engines, Volkswagen ditched the old 1.6 and 2.0 naturally aspirated engines in favor of the gasoline direct injection engines.

For the diesels, never change a winning engine, TDI’s with various upgrades are available for people that eat the German AutoBahn for breakfast.

Here’s an overview of all petrol and diesel engines from the Passat.

Transmission

Now let’s look at transmission choices, you could opt for the 5 or 6 speed manual transmission or you could go for the DSG automatic gearboxes, the automatics were available with 6 or 7 speed. The DSG fits best with the characteristics of the car.

Some motor journalists said during the introduction of the car that the 2.0 liter TDI with 140 HP and DSG is not sportive enough. I think this depends on the location of where you drive the car.

Obviously when you drive the car in Southern Germany or Austria, maybe 140 HP feels not quite sufficient, but in the Netherlands, 140 HP is more than sufficient.

This has everything to do with the different altitudes in the landscape you are driving. The 1.9 TDI and 2.0 liter TDI are the best to pick since they combine sufficient performance and fuel efficiency.

For petrol heads there is also enough to choose from, all petrol and diesel engines for this Passat have turbochargers to add more performance, while keeping the engine fuel efficient.

When it comes to the statistics, this B6 model is quite reliable as it seems, but no car can escape from some weaker points, so let’s call them out.

These are some of the issues when it to the B6 and what you should look out for if you want to buy such a car.

Issues

Electrical issues have been reported with the keys. The key is a very neat feature of the B6 but also slightly vulnerable.

Electrical issues sometimes even result in problems starting the engine. Next to that there are some reports of torn cylinder heads when it comes to the diesel engines, as well as balance shaft failures. Other then that, the car is one of the most reliable in its class.

In general the B6 passat is a safe, reliable and quite refined car. The wagons are popular due to its practicality and the sedans and wagons are used as taxi’s in Europe.

The space on the back seats is more than sufficient for adults.

As you step inside the Passat B6, the first thing that pops up is the upmarket quality offered by the cabin. Materials look and feel good, hinting at premium models – like the Audi A4, for example.

Couple that with a sturdy build and you’re looking at an excellent all-rounder that looks ready to battle more high-class cars, at least in upper-spec versions where the dashboard can be had with wood or metallic trim.

R36

If the normal passat is too boring for you, then Volkswagen has a trick up its sleeve with the R36 version. The R36 was unveiled in september 2007 at the Frankfurt motor show. The engine is the 3.6 VR6 engine that produces 300 HP and 350 newton meters of torque. The R36 has many distinguishing features over the other Passat siblings, such as a redesigned front and rear spoilers,4 wheel drive, Dsg gearbox with paddle shift on the steering wheel which is flat bottomed.

The passat is the most important car from Volkswagen since this is the most sold VW worldwide. In Europe the Golf is the most sold. This has something to do with the different markets on which these cars are sold. In China the Passat is called Mogotan, and the mogotan is produced by Volskwagen Shanghai.

Passats from this generation can be picked up starting from about 3000 euro’s for models with lots of miles on it.

Reasons to buy a Passat are practicality, reliability, a certain feel of solidity and for some people the brand.

If you have any questions about this car, or you want to share your own experiences from owning this car, please leave a comment.

If you want more car buying reviews, hit the subscribe button and somehow you will find our video’s coming your way.

Drive safe, see you guys in the next video.