Used Ford Focus / Vw Passat

[Aza90]

Hello

I am in the market for a new (to us) second hand car. I like the Ford Focus and was thinking of a 3 yr Focus 2.0 ghia for around 500,000 baht. However, looking around yesterday Myself and the Wife came across a VW Passat 1.9TDi. Very nice 2004 model and ended up taking it for a test drive. I like the idea of a diesel car and was very impressed. Since then I have been looking around and am now thinking of a 2.3 V5 model (petrol) as well as the TDi. I used to have a Golf VR6 in the UK and I have driven a Golf V6 4 motion in the UK. Now I know these two models are 2.8 but I would like peoples opinions as to the Passat generally and compared with the Focus. Would people go for the TDi or the V5? I know the Passat is bigger but what about reliability and running costs.? I like the idea of many airbags (8 in newer Passat models) compared with 2 in the Ghia and a pi__taking 1 in some Focus's. I do however like Ford's too and think they offer great value for money in LOS compared with the usual. Peoples opinions would be greatly appreciated. Also, any idea of a service cost for VW here? Many Thanks.

[Sonkind]

I had a gold passat 1.9TDI from new in 2003 until 2005. Nothing but good memories with it. Very nice quite(for a diesel) and was just an overall nice place to be. The quality was very good but the services were expensive in South Africa.

I changed from a 320d to the Passat and never regretted it.

So imo from having it for 2 years:

Positive Points:

Lots of space

Good solid design and feel

Powerful engine

Huuge boot

Very comfortable ride

Negative's:

Fuel consumption was a little high compared to other Diesel's i had 320d

Services were expensive (in south africa not sure about LOS)

Boring styling outside.

Takes a bit of time to learn the dimensions of the car(i scratched both ends of the front bumpers in the garage on many occasions.

All and all I would highly advise this car especially for long distances. One thing I need to add is that if it is a auto check some forums as I remember there being a problem with the gearing on them(I had a manual).

Hope this helps

[WarpSpeed]

It's really quite a bit of a toss up given that they are really different cars from each other kinda like a Bimmer and a Honda Civic serving different purposes and tastes and consumer class.

From the stand point of resale here that sucks in both brands but then you have age, engine size/type and market interest so when you go to sell the Passat your market will be more middle class young couples and such.

The Focus caters mostly to a different demographic then the up market Passat when it comes time for resale. So depending on the age of the car you may pay more for about the same resale value if you get a newer Ford for example.

The Passat is on par with a mid range Bimmer the ride, comfort, cargo and reliability is top and add even more being a diesel and value cost wise, unless you can manage to find a similar diesel in a Focus, but it's going to have to be a much newer model to do that..

VW's are not so expensive to get serviced here any more so then a BMW or other similar level model so IMO that's not enough of a deterrent for me were I in your position. To throw you another bone though if you'd like to have a bit more sport flair and styling with many of the same features maybe you might also consider a SEAT Toledo which is all basically VW with Spanish styling and some technology but VW under the skin, albeit most with 20v 1.8l engines which is a good compromise on performance and mileage and you can get one anywhere from 25,000 to even more for less money and equal or newer model..

The price is cheaper because most don't know the SEAT brand and moreover don't understand the association with VW..

Bottom line I'm partial to the VW given the 2 choices and my long time intimate history with VW having owned many both here and in the West and also having driven them in competitive conditions as well for many years, so, then it comes down to the best package for your budget, purposes and tastes from there..

Edited March 21, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[Aza90]

Thanks very much for the replies so far. What worries me most about the Passat is reliability as if anything major goes wrong then its going to be very costly. I always thought that VW had few reliability issues and in the UK my Golf gave me no problems so maybe I just need to be very thorough with the "book service" info. I appreciate that the cars are different but cos the residual is crap for both of them here in LOS, they both seem to offer excellent value for the cost. Am going to take a looksy at two Passats and maybe a Focus ghia tomorrow and then off to the motor show Sunday. Thanks once again, Paul

[Gary A]

I have an old 2004 Nissan 2WD pickup and a 2007 Focus Ghia. The car is in the shop right now having all the plastic junk replaced from hitting a dog. It has been trouble free mechanically but it has only about 26.000 kilometers on it. That is the last car I will ever own up here in the boonies. I'm going to see about trading it for a 4X4 pickup.