“Drivers have door handles in their hands.” We studied with an expert the body of the most problematic generation of the VW Passat
Volkswagen Passat has been known as a "people's" car for Belarusians for decades, but not all generations walk the same way. Cars in the back of the B6 have suffered from fans of the brand for poor resistance to corrosion - and for good reason. Today, together with an expert, we will study the “be sixth” of 2010, which has survived to this day in exemplary condition. It happens? Let's try to confirm this ... well, or refute it.
“Raising a VW Passat B 6 from its knees will cost crazy money”
This station wagon is owned by Pavel from Minsk. The man got a car of 2010 release relatively recently - in 2022. As it happens, the protracted repair made me change the fresh Skoda Octavia (A7) to an older representative of the VAG concern.
- I bought this Passat from a person who personally drove it from Germany in 2013 and drove it very little. So that you understand: the car drove into Belarus with 130 thousand kilometers on the odometer, and I got it at 220 thousand. The mileage is original, and this is confirmed by the condition of the car.
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- I had a 2016 Octavia with a 1.6-liter diesel engine - also in the station wagon. A personal car was required for work - not in a taxi. I own a business in which such a roomy car helps me. In addition, I bought an apartment in Minsk, where I immediately began to make repairs. At some point, I realized: I can’t take it out! And then the Russians came in large numbers to our "secondary", the prices for the car crept up. I visited a crazy thought: maybe Skoda will be profitable enough to sell? I fitted it for $12,000 with a mileage of 190,000 kilometers, and sold it for $14,400, despite the fact that in two years I brought the numbers on the odometer to 300,000! Pavel remarks, not without surprise. “The point was to make some money on resale and buy another used station wagon, albeit an older one.
- I understood that I would have to take the VW Passat B6: I didn’t see anything else for myself. Yes, they have trouble with bodies, so I was preparing for a long search for a candidate. By the way, the selection took about two months. This particular instance turned up by accident, and I immediately took it.
The engine was alive, suspension — in the factory. Of course, the body had small age-related nuances, but not global ones.
“I can’t say that I had to put my hand on the car. He was in good condition. Rather, during the operation, I was forced to seriously serve it, which is not surprising. Dual-mass flywheel complete with clutch and release - $ 700. Replaced two front wheel bearings … If you buy Chinese from us, then they are $30. I often visit Europe, so I bought SNR in Lithuania for 50 euros apiece. Rear brake pads - €30. Stabilizer struts - another $ 10 per unit. I went through the rear suspension: I changed the silent blocks on the toe levers along with the bolts and the silent blocks of the trailing arms - it took $ 200.
Replaced timing belt after purchase. By the way, he was still standing here original to 220 thousand kilometers! The kit with the pump cost 150 euros, and the work cost $70. Moreover, the factory particulate filter is still installed in this Passat.
- By the way, one of the many "sores" of this machine is the electronic parking brake. They didn't even do anything to it in my Passat . The handbrake must be used every day several times, otherwise it will fail, - the owner notes with a grain of salt.
— There have always been many trade winds in Belarus. Were there enough spare parts? The last year has shown that even the components for age models can be in short supply.
“In the months since the price regulation decree went into effect, the cost of spare parts has dropped dramatically. Even while I had a Skoda, the price of an ordinary oil filter increased from 20 rubles to 50-60 BYN. Fuel, good quality, generally offered for 150 BYN. In short, it was not easy with parts even for old cars, the owner concludes. - Now there is no such thing. Still, you won’t put cheap consumables in this car: they don’t leave their own. VW Passat B6 will not save, take my word for it!
If you buy this model in poor condition, then picking it up from your knees will cost crazy money. I took a tired car - it will undress you.
- Unlike the chip-tuned 1.6-liter Skoda Octavia, the current Passat B6 2.0 TDI (CBBB) rides much nicer: the 170-horsepower “engine” has more torque. The behavior of the suspension is also different - this car is definitely trail and softer on the chassis. Noise isolation is better here, although Octavia still had more modern multimedia. Well, the years are different!
- If you do not "drown", then the on-board computer shows the consumption of 7-8 liters of diesel fuel in the city. Under ideal conditions on wide avenues - 6.5 liters. In winter - about 8 liters. In the highway cycle at 120 km / h, 5.2-5.5 liters come out, if you do not exceed the speed of 100 km / h - up to 4.5-5 liters.
“Whatever element is a headache”
To check how the body of the 12-year-old VW Passat B6 was preserved, we went to the KROWN anti-corrosion protection center. Together with Denis Zudov, a permanent expert of the column, we will voice the weaknesses of the sixth generation of the “people's” car.
While the service specialist lifts the car, the owner notes:
— The original paintwork was before me. I cosmetically painted the front and rear doors, trunk lid and rear fenders. Everything else is still in the "relatives". I periodically dig chips - this will prolong life a little, but not globally.
- Let's talk about the car in order, - Denis starts to inspect. “Every element here is a big headache. This copy may not be bad, because it is still a relatively fresh year of release. Along with him there are representatives who are about to turn twenty years old. Viral videos on the Internet about how drivers have door handles in their hands are absolutely true in relation to the Passat B6. The car of our hero at first glance is in very good condition. Let's study it in more detail.
- The first problematic place of the model is the junction of the bumper with the wing. Structurally, this corner on the connection of elements from dissimilar materials suffers the most. Salt, dirt and sand fly into the seam, creating an abrasive effect during friction. As a result, the paintwork is erased, and the metal remains unprotected. Rust is starting to feel at ease here.
Plus, the front fender rots from the inside. It has a technological opening where moisture with reagents also gets.
- The inner edge of the wheel arch - with a uniform layer of corrosion. Due to the design and sharp shape of the element, a decent amount of dirt is clogged there. As a result, the metal is actively oxidized.
Salt and sand get behind the wheel arch liner, which closes the threshold and the fender inside. The press from such a dangerous cocktail can be collected for years, if you do not remove the protection and do not clean these "deposits". As far as I know, even installing mudguards does not save the situation. The method of prevention is a thorough high-pressure washing with anti-salt.
In this car, we have so far only observed swelling of the paintwork, but no through holes. Judging by the "bugs", the wing is still in its native paint. A little later we will check this with the device.
- The next "fun" part of the VW Passat B6 is the doors. Under the door handles, this car is able to rot through. This happens because of the water-based paint (thanks to environmental standards): it is not very strong and easily beats off when opening / closing the handle itself.
In winter, ice forms under this element. The owner is trying to open the door by pulling on the frozen handle, and with it he is tearing off part of the paintwork. Here, under the mechanism, everything is clean - there is no rust.
— The owner clarifies that seven months ago the door was cosmetically painted. The device captures up to 300 microns. We see even a slight use of putty around the molding, which is also a sore spot. However, if there were no swellings after the winter, then there was no serious rust on the element.
- In the doorway there is another interesting place - the junction of the threshold with the body. If you look closely, you can see small "bugs" on the paintwork. Global blisters have not yet been observed, however, this door sill over time, like a knife, cuts the paintwork.
We slightly bend the molding - these are the first symptoms ... In order to prevent spread, it is better to remove the trim (it is installed on clips), and then make a body repair of the threshold. Both sides will have a similar pattern.
- In this model of the Trade Winds, the doors move rather tightly: the guide, which is responsible for the stepped opening, is rusting. It occurs without exception in every instance, so it should be treated with a light lubricant.
The bottom of the door is in good condition, and around the drainage holes we see traces of anti-corrosion treatment. With the back door, too, complete order - both with a edging and under the handle.
— In the rear right doorway is already more significant swelling of the paintwork on the threshold. The minimum program with the color of the carrier element will not pass to the seam - it is advisable to cover it entirely. Unfortunately, not all owners look under the overlay.
- We also include the border of the rear wheel arch to the weak points. Sandblasting knocks off the paint, because of which the metal begins to rust. Here the element is visually alive even from the inside.
- The shock absorber mounting bracket, or rather the welded joint of the bearing part of the body, has a corrosion center around the spot welding site. By the way, there is no factory processing in the arches.
- Trunk lid ... As I said, in this model, each element has its sore spots, - the expert emphasizes. - First of all, the paintwork swellings appear around the lights and the opening button, then the paint peels off under the glass and under the chrome trim. The trunk has a secondary color, but the element itself is in good condition.
- Glass, by the way, was cut out before painting the lid. There was no rust under the sealing gum,” Pavel clarifies.
— Normal approach to repair. Usually, when the "collective farm" begins, namely the painting of the lid without cutting out the glass, the corrosion center is only masked.
- In the rear right wheel arch, rust is already showing through from under the swelling of the paintwork. To begin with, you can simply remove the bumper and cover the center with a corrosion converter.
The niche behind the fender liner holds a lot of surprises in the form of a repository of dirt and salt.
“Sandblasting the rear arches… But only seven months have passed since the painting,” the owner notes sadly. — On the passenger side of the door in the factory coating.
— Under the door handle of the passenger door there is a small pocket of corrosion, although the metal of the element itself is alive and strong. In the openings, scuffs are symmetrically found on the paintwork, which arose due to the fault of the lining.
The front passenger door (or rather, the area around the handle) demonstrates why this area is considered a disease of the car. Under the moldings and on the bottom everything is fine.
“If you do not wash under the protections, then corrosion will reach through holes in the side members”
From listing the problem areas of the VW Passat B6 on the outside of the car, Denis Zudov proceeds to the study of the wrong side - the bottom and hidden cavities of the station wagon.
- The front suspension is mostly aluminum here: this applies to the fists, levers, fasteners and even the subframe. There are factory plastic protections all over the bottom, which is not bad from the point of view of car preparation. However, VW Passat B6 repeatedly came to us with through corrosion of the side member. Yes, it happens!
- All the most interesting - sand, dirt, moisture and salt - is hidden under protection. Let's even remove these overlays so that the picture is as clear as possible.
“That was what was required to be proved,” the expert states, demonstrating the accumulated dirt. - No wonder they removed the protection. The sand-salt press is stuffed under the lining and closely adjoins the body, which grinds the metal. Moreover, sand is hygroscopic and dries very poorly. Accordingly, moisture and road chemicals create an ideal hotbed for the reactive corrosion process.
This is the insidiousness of the bottom protection. It is recommended to remove them (fortunately, they are easily unscrewed), and then clean them with a high-pressure washer using an anti-salt solution.
— You need to understand that ignoring will lead to serious problems. Under protection are threaded studs, welds and junctions of dissimilar metals - all areas most susceptible to oxidation.
This Passat does not yet smell like a disaster, but leaving the metal in this state means writing out a sentence for the supporting structure of the car.
- Minor rust present on the inside of the sill as well as behind the heat shield. The thermal shield itself is made of aluminum, which crumbles over time, which causes the mount to suffer.
A small amount of surface corrosion is present throughout the bottom. It is better to carry out the treatment with a penetrating composition: the barrier anticorrosive will only mask the foci, but will not stop.
- The rear subframe at Volkswagen is also a sore spot. The suspension element is made of non-galvanized metal, covering it with technological black paint. Over time, it crumbles, leaving the component unprotected.
- The rear spars also have surface corrosion, but in hidden cavities - live and pure metal. From the factory, treatment with an oil-wax composition is noticeable - on the endoscope it is displayed as yellowish smudges.
Let's finish the inspection by naming one more problematic place. This is the edge of the roof above the windshield. The design of the sealing gum does not allow moisture to be removed from there. As a result, the process of corrosion starts. If this problem was “treated” in the Passat of the sixth generation, then it is not recommended to buy such a car: in a year or two it will remind of itself again.
- The condition of today's car cannot be called unique, although there are very few living VW Passat B6. If the goal is to save the car, then you will have to process it and repair those problem areas that we announced today. The color of openings is a very expensive procedure. Plus, the dismantling of the bottom protection, washing with anti-salt and processing are necessary. With some effort, this copy will last a long time.
Even though this Passat is not the best in terms of body condition, however, coupled with a modification of the engine and a complete set, the price for it will be higher than the average market.
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