What is the life expectancy of a 2003 passat VW?

Answer 1

With proper maintenance you should get well over 250,000 miles before you declare it toast or too expensive to maintain. Here's the caveats:

4-cylinder turbo engines have a shorter service life than the larger 6-cylinder engines. This is because the smaller engines work under higher compression (pressures) and require more revolutions per mile than the larger engines.

Regular oil changes are a must, particularly on the smaller engines due to the formation of sludge that occurs more easily at higher temperatures. Sludge can clog up the internal oil lines and prevent engine parts from being properly lubricated. Running synthetic oils can reduce the likelyhood of sludge build up and increase oil change intervals to 10,000 miles or more.

Timing belt and tensioner replacements MUST be done on schedule. These engines are "interference" engines. The only thing keeping the valves from being all the way down when the piston is all the way up is the timing belt. Valve can punch holes in pistons and trash the engine if the belt breaks.

You'll probably come across a time where something seemingly trivial but expensive needs to be done. I just spent $700 on new gaskets for my wife's 2002 Passat. Oil was slowly dripping out the engine. Normally I'd say screw it and periodically check the oil levels but this particular leak dripped on the exhaust causing a horrible smell. $700 for new gaskets or pay $400 a month for 60-months to replace the car. No brainer since the payoff was only two months.

Other things like brakes, bushings, tie-rod ends, ball joints, struts and shocks are affected by how you drive and the road conditions. Lots of interstate driving on well maintained roads puts less stress on the suspension than lots of city driving on less well maintained roads.