Estates – Passat 140tdi or BMW 520D? Need to decide quickly

Due to change in circumstances need to get an estate as a stop gap car, maybe for 4-6 months, bike and crap lugging, £4.5k budget, need sorting by this weekend. Will add a few thousand miles & resell in a few months and would hope to get bulk of money back. 2 near me for sale just been to look at, both bang on 100k mileage, both with roof rails and towbar;
2007 light blue VW Passat 140tdi £3.6K, lease then family owned, FSH, great nick, recent service, years MOT and new tyres.
2006 black BMW 520d, £4.5K will need tyres soon and only one key (expensive),ditto leased then family owned, most SH, good nick drives well, 7 months MOT

This is the advertised price, haven’t haggled yet, should get prices down a bit. Seen the Honest John reviews. Head says Passat, heart says beemer..any real world experience help? Other than the usual saying both will be crap & suggesting I get all these other things etc
Cheers

Passat. I’d only go for the Beemer if it was one of the big engined ones.

Lancia Stratos.

Will add a few thousand miles & resell in a few months and would hope to get bulk of money back.

i might be tempted to shop at a lower budget?

if you need a good bmw tech. iridium in southampton or bartleys in totton are good. VW: go to monks, near lordswood.

Passat, not least as its at the lower price so you have less money tied up / at risk. If you think the BMW needs tyres now your potential buyer is going to think so too after you put on a few 1000 more miles. Passat newer. Only negative for the Passat is the colour, might impact ease of resale.

From what you’ve written, Passat.

My brain says ‘If it’s a stop gap the cheaper one’, my heart says ‘stop eating so much fatty food and go for the BMW, it will be more fun’

If in doubt, the red one.

The 520d isn’t underpowered, it has 174bhp to the Passat’s 140.

As for which car, The passat has a nicer interior, the BMW is bigger. It would depend on condition and spec for the BMW.

The BMW would be eligible for BMWs 6 plus plan, which means cheap servicing.

BMW, it will be more fun

2.0D BMW vs 140 Passat each with 100,000 on the clock, perhaps a bit more fun but not so much …

EDIT Just seen @daffy’s post 174bhp, that’s quite impressive, my 2.7TDI V6 Audi was 177

The Passat will be on the PD engine yes? If so, there are quite a few known issues. Not saying it’s a poor engine, just making you aware that you might like to Google re due diligence. Whatever you do, get the full history for both vehicles and check with main dealers (and others if you have records) etc what was done, especially with 100k on the clock.

apparently the beemer is the 163bhp (not 174) version the bloke told me, and of course said it was much more reliable than the later ones or 530d engine as he would

Two words: Electric handbrake. If it goes on the Passat its an expensive fix!

This one? 😀

beargrease, I like Hondas but OH and offspring say they are old people’s cars and wouldn’t be seen in one, I don’t care though, could you drop it off on Sat morning, only about 500 miles from where you are….

Well, a friend has a 520d (saloon mind you) he bought at around 80k and is now around 120k’ish.

He seems happy with it and having been in it & driven it, it certainly doesn’t feel old or high mileage. As far as I am aware he hasn’t had many issues either, other than the usual consumables.

@avon, it’s hard to make a case that a Passat Estate is less of an old persons car than an Accord 😉 I had an Accord at 25, probably says more about me than the car though …

Passat.

My brother had the same as you mention, only changed it when it got run into. Got a slightly newer one!

Accord is a good car- had a 54 plate for two years, no hassles.

Either could run with no costs (except fuel, tax and insurance) or go pop tomorrow…

I’d be inclined as a stop-gap to go for the cheapest.

If you do go for the bimmer, check out the swirl flaps.

I’ve had the earlier model of both, well, 100bhp pd Passat and 525d BMW (so probably irrelevant comments!). Both were quite expensive in terms of things going wrong when I first got them – Passat probably a bit better in the long term from that point of view. BM much nicer to drive on fast roads – Passat better round the lanes.

I’d go for the Passat on price alone.

I’m a BMW man, and I’d would buy the Passat if only keeping it for a few months. Cheaper, well thought of, new tyres. SOLD.

Passat all the way , 3 chaps I know have had major turbo problems after 110k ,one skipped its chain and took the complete engine

Got a 55 plate b6 passat. 1.9 mapped to 140 bhp. 130,000 and its going strong. Check round the number plate lights for corrosion. Its a known issue that vw will only contribute towards sorting. Bit disappointed really. Its not a bad car but nothing special.

Private or dealer?

Is the TDI 2.0 or 1.9? Not the BXE engine hopefully.

Both private, Passat is the 2.0 140, leaning towards that, like the one in pic above

Could you face the embarrassment of having a BMW on your drive?

I’d prefer the Passat. Easier to sell on? Try and aim to pay towards a PX price that way short-time you could change cars again with minimal pain (if that makes sense?). On the one-key, paranoia but check logbook loans.

I buy most of my cars privately.

I’d go BMW. The Passat has a number of issues which could prove very expensive. Personally I’d look for one of the later old shape Passats with the 1.9 130bhp engine – so much better built than the later version and a looked after 1.9pd is a great trusty engine. Loads of refined car for the money and cheaper than the 2 you’re looking at 😉

Beemer, seems like a good price

I have a 2004 e61 525d, perfect workhorse for my use

BUT, it needs to have some toys in it – sat nav, Bluetooth, xenons, parking sensors etc

My 05 pd is sweet as a nut and was £1400. Highline. Full leather etc etc

As the other poster said 2.2cdti accord executive – cheap, reliable, and a Honda. 4-6 months driving a boring cheap car – 2 grand in your pocket

I’ll sell you this one for £3250….

2.0 tdi Sport 140bhp DSG
131k miles
Service history / 9 months MOT
Electric windows /mirrors
Dual zone climate control
Electric heated seats
Full leather
Auto headlights & wipers
6 disc cd/mp3 player
Parrot Bluetooth handsfree
Steering wheel controls
Auto dimming rear view mirror
Hill hold, electronic handbrake
ABS/ESP/Traction control
Parking sensors
17 inch alloys

Good runner
A few marks and scuffs in relation to it’s age, but generally a nice clean motor
Good tyre condition

Im also a BMW man / fan but I would go the Passat at this price point.

fwiw i has a 320d with the 163 engine & the turbo went after 57k…

Passat. Dull, but Google N47 engines. Our BMW 320d has one, would not have another.

ciderinsport – O/T are those bikes and rack within the weight limit for your roof/carrier? I’m sure my Thule etc had a limit of 35kg.

I would have the BM. I would imagine a car as big as a Passat with a 1.4 engine would struggle to pull your foreskin back, never mind maintain 70mph on the motorway.

Passat. Dull, but Google N47 engines. Our BMW 320d has one, would not have another.

Op is looking at an ’06 which was M47 and like swirl flaps as mentioned. N47 didn’t go into the 5 series until late ’07 so should avoid the timing chain/crankshaft problems.

I would choose the 5 series every time.

Sandal, in that case, definitely a 5 series.

hooli – Member

I would have the BM. I would imagine a car as big as a Passat with a 1.4 engine would struggle to pull your foreskin back, never mind maintain 70mph on the motorway.

The Passat a 2 litre with 140bhp……

Sandal, in that case, definitely a 5 series.

I have a ’08 N47 5 series that’s had a full engine rebuild. I did a lot of research when it started rattling from the back of the engine bay!