 We have owned three Volkswagens and loved all of them.  The Passat wagon is fun to drive, great on long trips and comfortable for our family of four day to day, not to mention it looks great.  It has been in the shop several for various things such as the brake sensors going out, replacing tie-rod ends and cracked oil pan.  It developed the typical oil leaks around 80,000 miles and sometimes we still get a whif of oil smell well after it was repaired.  It is great to drive and easy to maintain.  Find a mechanic who knows Passats inside and out, they have helped us anticipate several things before they became costly. There have been some issues, but I would by another one tomorrow