Overview & Reviews

After promising the availability of all-wheel drive this year, Volkswagen, in a last-minute product change, has cancelled the Synchro all-wheel-drive option on all Passats for 1999 and will not be offering the GLS wagon with a V6 engine.

• Tight structure, fun-to-drive, comfortable seats, nice sound system, artful design, an Audi at Volkswagen prices.

• Excessive squat and dive when accelerating and braking.

User Reviews:

Showing 181 through 190 of 202.00

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  Great car! - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By jonnybgud - March 11 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car to drive, its fun, agile, responsive and practical (holds a bunch of stuff in the back) and feels very safe. Plus the turbo 1.8 with the 5 speed accelerates briskly when needed. Its my commuting car, but my wife takes it whenever she can. Sound system is great for a stock unit. Really good gas mileage, too - we get 32 to 35 mpg on trips doing about 75 -80 MPH and pretty full of traveling stuff, too.

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  Buy Japanese - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By schmidbo - February 10 - 10:00 am

  I guess I was expecting the same sort of reliability from this car that Ive experienced from my 1992 Toyota Camry XLE. The Passat is fun to drive - handles like a dream and has plenty of pep. But the mechanical reliability leaves a l;ot to be desired. In my opinion, the water pump and radiator should not give out at under 70,000 miles. My Toyota has nearly 200 thousand on the odometer and its going strong. The Passat will never go that sort of distance.

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  happy with decision to buy...... - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By Happy with decision - February 1 - 7:33 am

  I purchased this car only a few months ago, but Im very happy with the decision to buy. I read other reviews about people who had many promblems with their cars, but have to say to those people that all cars will have problems, dont always trust the big dealerships when it comes to repair work, remember they are in it make money. This car is so fun to drive and handles very well, gets great gas mileage, I got over 38 mpg on vaction this year, over 520 miles on a tank of gas:). The sound system is awesome with the CD changer. I had the water pump and timing belt replaced - this is normal for any car with 60,000 miles. My advice, purchase a well maintained Passat and have fun.

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  Great Car....wish it were mine! - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By VW4Life - December 23 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car for my wife and two kids. Previous cars were no big deal for her. After a year of owning this one, she LOVES it. Great on trips, excellent pick-up and one of the best exterior designs on the market. This is my third VW, and my next one will hopefully be the new Toureg. Ive experienced some of the same "suspicious" mechanical problems, but a reliable VW mecahanic can take care of them for a whole lot less than the dealers. VW home office is no help (never has been) but fortunately, havent had to use them much. Will keep buying VW until product stops performing.

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  HATE IT - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By cassie1988 - November 25 - 11:16 am

  I totally agree! I just got the car fixed and got it back two days ago and it already has a new set of problems. I have never had a car with so many problems or heard of any one having a car with so many problems. First chance i get im trading in this car and will NEVER EVER buy another VW again..not worth the time, stress or money! Anyone whos thinking about buying one...DONT!

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  Unfortunate Experience - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By Former Passat Lover - November 18 - 11:00 am

  Everyone told me that I should expect at least 150,000 out of this car. Well, it just died at just over 100,000 miles. Perhaps that is not just a bad story, except that I had to get the engine rebuilt at 75,000 miles, the oil pan replaced at 50,000 miles (the dealer gave me a hard time about the warranty too!), and just about everything else replaced along the way. Since owning the car, I have spent probably about half of the purchase price just trying to keep it in working order (and I am a responsible driver who takes it in for all the checkups). Drivers beware.

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  Great Car - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By dharjo/buhshe - November 2 - 10:00 am

  The Passat is a fun car to drive, it is peppy. The main reason we bought the Passat is for all of the safety features it offers and that it is featured on the Highway Safety web page as a great pick with the highest review. We get great gas mileage as well, plus it is a great looking car. We have been real pleased with the vehicle and hate that we have to sell it to get a larger vehicle as our family is growing (in numbers) and we need more seats.

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  VW Needed to Provide Lemon-Aid - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By VW - October 28 - 8:23 pm

  Ours is a single owner 1999 Passat. Problems started the first month and thousands of dollars later, they continue. We have had 2 major brake repairs. We have had a number of electrical problems ranging from irritating-- the trunk latch, the dashboard lights and emergency sounds, the riders side window--to completely unreliable--the ignition, the starter. The undercarriage panel fell off while we were driving. The wiper fluid reservoir has a hole in it, the oil reservoir leaks. Lots of small plastic pieces inside have broken or fallen off. The car has had to be towed more than the total of all of the cars weve owned in 25 years of marriage and it only has 55,000 miles on it.

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  poor performer - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By neveragainvw - September 19 - 2:00 am

  everyone seems to say its fun to drive but i dont see it. acceleration is slow, car just lacks in performance. you have to dig through the entire front end just to get to the engine. and WAY too expensive to fix. would never own another vw. ill stick to the japanese imports and domestics

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  FamilyOfFour - 1999 Volkswagen Passat
  By FamilyOfFour - July 21 - 2:00 am

  Reviewer: Perspective is that of a family looking for a fun but reliable car. Although this is a pleasant car to drive and is very nice for the family we have gotten to know the dealer much to well for having a car with only 50K miles on it. VW covered most items but the dealer service is awful. I would absolutely NOT recommend as a long term car. Do NOT buy used ... you are due to find many problems. See list below. Bad: Acceleration. Reliability: Side Mirror motor, cup holder (twice), airflow vent control, rear sear pasenger window, door misaligned, pulls to the left slightly ... dealer will never admit it.