Trading in the S3... for a Passat??

Dolph

Dolph

Dolph

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Joined
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Specifically, a Passat R36. 300PS (296bhp in real money), 3.6 litre V6, 4WD, DSG and more toys than you can shake a stick at.

I can already hear keyboards being sharpened, so let's get a few things out of the way.

(a) Handling - Yes, it's typical VAG group 4WD, which means grippy, predictable but ultimately a little boring. Yes, a BMW would be slightly more involving, yes, I have test driven a 335i, and no, I don't want one..

(b) Cost - I fully accept you have to be insane to buy one of these new, so I'm not, more on this later. The new S4 is too expensive, and the V8 one is a few years older than I would like

(c) Why get rid of the S3 - It's too small, and starting to get too impractical for the future, my left knee is still buggered and the price was right. It is also perfectly within the plan for the S3 that was never intended to be kept long term car, as it was a heart rather than a head purchase.

With those answers in mind, and following looking at changing for a new A4 (the cost to change was ludicrous for anything approaching the spec I wanted), I took a trip up to Bristol last week to test out an R36 that caught my eye.

2008 saloon in Biscay Blue
Just under 2300 miles
Full sat nav
and a few other options, as well as the very, very well specified standard spec (even on an S4 you would be looking at approx £3k of options to bring it up to the standard spec of the R36).

Took the car out and had a drive, the DSG and the V6 work brilliantly together, the car is fast (0-60mph in 5.6 seconds, so pretty much identical to the S3) although a very different character, and because you don't get the rapid rate of change in torque it doesn't feel as fast, but a look at the speedo quickly proves otherwise. The car was also comfortable, the seats with the adjusting side bolsters and airbag back adjustment are really nice, and the car, while clearly firm, rode better over the minor (and not so minor) imperfections in the road than the S3 does, as well as feeling more settled (although the longer wheelbase and wider track could well be a big part of this). My wife was also very comfortable in the car and it didn't set her on edge (which some cars do, all the problems with her neck stem from a car accident when she was younger), something that couldn't be said about some of the other cars tested.

Suffice to say, we liked the car enough to talk money, and the money said that high intital deprecation is your friend, we were offered a good (better than Audi and above book) trade in for my S3, and after spending some thinking time, we went for it and will pick it up on monday, and will have a car that should be last us for a few years now and is practical enough for the future.

I'll leave you with a few reviews, and come back later to say how much I paid for this car...

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives...swagen-Passat-R36-CAR-review/?content-block=0

http://germancarera.com/Articles/79/VW-Passat-R36-Reviewed-by-Top-Gear.aspx

http://www.carenthusiast.com/reviews/article/3039/-/2008-Volkswagen-Passat+R36/First+drive.html
 
FIRST IN EPIC THREAD

picard-facepalm.jpg
 
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Lost for words. So many cars available for the sort of budget this will have cost you and you've chosen a Passat.

I really can't think of anything else to say. Love the way you say there wasn't an S4 in budget - as if the S4 was a comparable car!

What was it about the twin turbo 306bhp available cheaper 335i was so bad it made you chose a Passat?!

Always had you down as a real driving enthusiast :(
 
[TW]Fox;15268776 said:
Lost for words. So many cars available for the sort of budget this will have cost you and you've chosen a Passat.

I really can't think of anything else to say. Love the way you say there wasn't an S4 in budget - as if the S4 was a comparable car!

What was it about the twin turbo 306bhp available cheaper 335i was so bad it made you chose a Passat?!

Always had you down as a real driving enthusiast :(
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I haven't said how much I paid yet (thereby defining the budget)... and I'm guessing the reviews that have all been positive about the car, and very negative about the cost and likely market for the car, aren't written by real driving enthusiasts either?
 
Well if its under £20k I'll shut up and go away, if its above £20k, my point still stands.

Seriously you've ignored 335i, E60 M5/530i (272bhp), previous shape S4, various hot Jags, etc etc in favour of.. a VW Passat :confused:

And don't tell me you were not gleefuly looking forward to the huge debate we are about to have spanning many pages ;) The only fly in the ointment being that you are the only person who both a) knows this forum exists and has b) Seen yet driven a Passat R36 :p

Must say those reviews don't make it out to be anything special. Just seems to be 'not bad'. You've spent a lot of money (I know, I know, we dont know how much yet) so I would presume you'd want something more than just 'not bad' especially when there are many cars in budget which are 'absolutely very good'.
 
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£21k, so pretty close to your cut off

The cheapest 335i in the approved dealer network is £19k, is a 2006 car, so two years older, and doesn't have anything approaching a similar specification. A £20k S4 is the same...

As for the debate, of course I was ;) You've made your snap judgement opinions on the R36 well known, and cannot comprehend that the motoring press might be right and you might be wrong with regards to the car itself. (The new cost and the alternatives at new being better I fully agree with however)
 
You should have gotten a BMW, they would wipe the floor with a Passat in my humble opinion, as long as you are happy with it I guess.

This fox guy above me seems to know what he's on about though, so I'll let him argue the toss and save myself some typing :p
 
The fact I've been 10 minutes trying to find a huge plethora of links to show you the amazing cars you should have bought instead but have yet to find any means perhaps this wasn't quite the daft buy that, on the surface, it appeared to be. I still hate Passats, but...

You are right, there is a single 335i. It's a few years older but obviously this is to be expected - its a better quality, better brand car so it wont be the same price, but its just a single car, so if its not a good example then there are no others without spending circa £25k..
 
The R36 will be worth about 5p in 3 years time. Drivers Republic did like the R36 even compared it side by side with a S4 and said it was just as good but slightly slower. However my money would have been on a 335i/d or a A4 Avant 3L TDI come resale time they will have cost less.

On a different note I have the Sat Nav system in my Golf and it is superb. If it doesn't have the add on bluetooth get the Fiscon unit which is based around a Parrot kit but interfaces with the RNS510 and the instrument cluster/MFSW and is better than the VW one. The pop out from the badge reversing camera is cheap and easy to retrofit if it doesn't have that aswell.
 
Sounds like you got the kind of car you were after for the kind of money you wanted to spend. Perfect, and I'm sure you'll be happier knowing you didn't spend an extra £4k just for a BMW badge and a bit of 'passion'.
 
[TW]Fox;15268776 said:
Always had you down as a real driving enthusiast :(
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Ehhhhh he had an S3 ?

And people recommending an S4 - strange world we live in ! I vaguely know someone who has an R36 and he really likes it - its like getting an S4 and not being disappointed from what he has intimated !
 
[TW]Fox;15268870 said:
The fact I've been 10 minutes trying to find a huge plethora of links to show you the amazing cars you should have bought instead but have yet to find any means perhaps this wasn't quite the daft buy that, on the surface, it appeared to be. I still hate Passats, but...
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Despite what the first thought may have been, I had actually done my research. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't buy any other Passat, nor would I buy one of these new (because there are better options at that sort of price), but this car, with the spec it's got, was a steal. (It's coming from the main VW dealer in Bristol, who have given a full 5 years of warranty cover as well as part of the haggling as well).

You are right, there is a single 335i. It's a few years older but obviously this is to be expected - its a better quality, better brand car so it wont be the same price, but its just a single car, so if its not a good example then there are no others without spending circa £25k..
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I'd agree with the brand, not so sure about the build quality aspect, the Passat is certainly good enough in that area, pretty close to the S3 in all honesty, and close to the more generic A4s that I've had a couple of times recently.
 
k3wt said:
IMO an r36 is better than S4
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I wouldn't go that far, the new S4 is faster (slightly) and handles differently (it's more tail happy than the passat), but to get an S4 with equivalent spec to this would have meant spending £40k... I have to look forward as well and couldn't really justify spending that kind of money even if I could comfortably afford it given that there are other uses for that money.
 
I really like the R36, and don't suffer from the same brand snobbery that everyone else on this forum seems to.

Looks like a good buy to me, and seems like you got it for a decent price.
 
I'm not sure what id do with exactly 21k

A bit more gets you a VXR8 or BMW 335i

But its not quite enough for those. Insignia VXR is still too new, as is the Jag XF and the S4 probably a bit dull. Your looking at the best part of 30k for a 2007 onwards 550i, and the 530i looks slow in this company. m5 has statospheric running costs

Its at a really awkward point in the market, that the only stuff down from the above, is stuff like the Vectra VXR and Mazda 6 MPS, which are both significant step doing being last gen cars, and feeling it as well.

I honestly don't think that i would have bought anything else with only 21k to play with.

However, i would have saved up and got a 335i or a VXR8 rather than a R36 i think.
 
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