Got a good deal on this in northern GA. Had to tow it 250 miles home. The seller was very honest about everything the car needs, so I definitely feel like this was a good deal.
I've got a 1996 Passat Variant too - with the 110HP AFN engine. What i like best about it is its 25 gallon fuel tank (when you push the little knob inside the filler neck while pumping diesel) in combination with its >40mpg efficiency. I dont know any other car capable of making 1000miles on one tank.
The hardest part is removing the gauge needles without pulling the gauges apart. You have to pull the needles to remove the gauge faces to get access to the circuit board.
What is the deal with the damn trunk lock? I've gotten it to work a couple of time... annoyingly (German) overengineered? Does the mirror adjuster fail?
I dunno what the heck with the external button.. one of my three, it works perfectly. On my gray one, it would work with the key in the lock, but i lost the trunk key.. found one in the junk yard recently, and it worked without the key in it and the key happened to be in the car, so i harvested it.
I have never had the switch actually fail, but the clips do eventually break off the unit and then it won't stay in the door any more, which is quite annoying. In my gray car, I just removed the switch... that way, if anyone else drives my car, they can't screw up my mirror positioning. xD
It seems to only happen when you run the car long enough without the alternator providing a charge to the battery. Previous owner ran with a dead alternator for an unknown period of time. Check voltage with multimeter while the car is running.
Smoking? When i start the car? Or cigarettes? The wiring smoked because the cruise control switch was stuck.. cigarettes because my willpower is crappy.
