 I've experienced the common problems 
with the Passat (control arms, window 
regulators, coil packs) that shouldn't 
be present in a car/company with as 
much manufacturing history as VW.  
Having said that, I think you get what 
you pay for.  Mind you, I bought mine 
used for $13K and I will certainly get 
my money out of it.  Best decision I 
made was to purchase an extended 
bumper-to-bumper warranty to 100K 
miles that has already paid for itself.