2009 Volkswagen Passat Pricing and Specs

The VW brand has been tarnished somewhat with the automatic gearbox and the diesel emission issues, and that could be turning people off. It does sound like a decent car, however, one that would be worth looking at. It might be a case of setting a price that no one can ignore. The guiding price range is $11,000 to $13,000, so perhaps consider dropping it below that.

There have been a couple of recalls relating to the DSG gearbox, the latest being in November and affecting model year 2013 vehicles. The earlier one, in June this year, affected vehicles produced between 2008-2011. From that you would have to believe that most models with the DSG gearbox are afflicted with the problem. The current models have DSG gearboxes and there's no reason to think that VW will move away from the technology. It is brilliant technology if it works, and you can only assume that they will get the bugs ironed out and when they do it will be a very good gearbox. I couldn't advise you to change to another brand, that's a decision for you and you alone, but if you are concerned about the DSG technology then look around at other makes. But in doing that remember that many companies are going to DSG technology as well as VW, so check to see what gearboxes are being used by any alternative make you might choose to switch to.

THERE are all sorts of issues. It affects fuel-economy calculations, service intervals, warranty periods and the resale value. After all, if the odometer is 10 per cent out like the speedo, a car that reaches 100,000km, when warranties typically expire, has in reality only done about 90,000km and the warranty should still be active.