What is the life expectancy of a 2001 Volkswagen Passat?

Answer 1

Sadly these automobiles appear to have been designed to have a short life. Poorly made components and ill-considered under hood layout coupled with high stress on lubricant all contribute to a shorter life than many of us would expect from, say, a Japanese vehicle. These vehicles seem to have been designed with the dealers in mind rather than the owner. My guess would be that you could expect increasing unreliability after about 80,000 miles; maybe more or less according to the vigilance/quality of your servicing.