In the B5 generation, Passat = A4, and Passat 4Motion = A4 Quattro. Other VW-branded cars with 4Motion have crappy AWD (mostly awful Haldex), however.

 

if you are going to get the b5 and want 17's i have a set of b5 s4 wheels that are painted black you can take from me for 375 shipped, but you will need new tires.. if you get a vw they will work you will just need adapters.... pm me if you are interested

 

I'm the third owner of my B5 (Santorian Blue, 2.8) and other than routine maintenance (timing belt, break pads, tires, thermostat, etc) I've never had a problem and it handles like a dream (not to "fluffy" nor too bumpy of a ride). since it's a family friend, I'd say go for it!

 

does the 2.5 mean you've owned the car 2.5 yrs?

 

My bad, I typed this late at night, I meant 2.8, being the size of the engine. Although I have had the car for about 2.5 years, good guess haha!

 

i was hoping you weren't calling it a 2.5 ltr motor

 

just an update..

went to see the car today

its really nice its a 2000 a4 actually, has 108k miles

fresh timing belt, rotors and brakes @ 100k miles as well as winter tires the owner bought last winter (this is only its second winter using them)

and has summer tires with a set of the same exact stock rims


the only issues the car has is the gas gauge isn't working (will end up just usnig the trip meter to track miles)

and he said he would probably change the struts and wheel or ball bearings if he was me

i don't know what those really are.. i have friends who are very mechanical inclinced and could help so is that really expensive to fix?

I doubt i could a car this clean for what he wants which is 2.3k so it seems like im going to join the audi community soon which is great

 

I'm assuming he means wheel bearings and ball joints, and since ball joints are changed by changing the control arms, you're looking at maybe $800-1000 in parts and a weekend to change the stuff if you have the necessary tools, or probably $1500-1800 at a mechanic. Did you ask him why he suggests those things? Are they definitely in need of replacing or is he just saying that because of the mileage? If we're just going by mileage, you should pull the turbo and inspect it immediately if you buy the car. I bet it will need a rebuild at the very least; K03s do not last that long. You'll probably also need to replace some oil seals such as the rear cam "half moon" seal, etc., soon. Your coolant flange could be a liability if it hasn't been changed. O2 sensors will probably need changing if they're original. Your ABS is going to fail if it hasn't yet. (I say "your" because you implied that you're buying the car.)

 

if you want the fuel gauge to work you will most likely need a new fuel level sending unit or just replace the wire that broke on it (99% of the time its the wire that goes bad). a new fuel level sending unit is like $120+/-, a new wire a couple cents haha . very easy job to do, just unscrew a couple of screws to get to the fuel tank and fix the fuel level sending unit

 

I'm not sure, it sounded like replaced them due to mileage.

He said he replaced a few things at 100k miles which would lead me he probably had the whole thing looked at and fixed what was urgently needed like the timing belt but perhaps because he only wants around 2.3k because he realizes they should be changed really soon? If the struts+ wheel bearings and such could wait another month or two i could get them fixed easily but if it needs to be done asap i would just have a car sitting in my driveway for the winter..which is not what i need.

he drives the car everyday hes a physical therapist that drives to his clients houses so i mean its not like the vehicle is undriveable so im not sure how badly they need to be replaced



maybe i should have a mechanic look at the car... my cousin works on pontiacs+buicks daily but would he be able to understand a euro car just by looking at it?