Used car buying guide: VW Passat R36

Indeed, the estate remains the most coveted R36 variant, primarily thanks to its enhanced practicality, although both versions hover around the same price point, despite the saloon’s even greater rarity.

Today,they cost a fraction of the R36’s original £30,590 asking price in 2008 (which is around £41,700 in today’s money).

We found a saloon on sale for £8500, fitted with an abundance of extra equipment on top of the already-generous haul, including a DAB radio, rear window blinds, 19in alloy wheels and the RCD 510 Dynaudio Sound Pack.

One surprise find was a Japanese import in showroom condition with only 15,000 miles driven.

The R36 lived a short life, lasting only two years until it was removed from production in 2010 to make way for the new B7-generation Passat, so used numbers are dwindling. If you see a good one in the classifieds, act fast, as it won’t hang around for long.

How to get one in your garage

An owner's view

Joe Agar: “I chose a used R36 estate two years ago over the Audi RS4 Avant because of its lower price. Its engine sounds great and is responsive, and it feels good on the road, despite its age. We use ours as a daily driver and on weekends when we go biking and we’ve not had any problems. It can be expensive to run, but I think its rarity offsets that. You can drive it for weeks and not see another R36, and people always come up to us saying that they’ve never even seen one before.”

Buyer beware…

â–  Transmission: Some owners have reported issues with the R36’s mechatronic dualclutch gearbox, which it shares with the Golf R32. A replacement could be costly, so give any used examples a thorough inspection and make sure that the gears shift as normal in both manual and automatic driving modes.

â–  Brakes: It’s recommended that you swap the brake disks and pads every 20,000 miles; the R36 is heavy, at 1747kg, so they won’t hold up long under sustained hard use. Reconditioned and repainted brake calipers can be tracked down for about £300 per pair.

â–  Engine: The timing chain is supposed to last the car’s lifetime but has been known to stretch over time, putting the cam-position sensor out of calibration and potentially messing up the ignition timing. Replacing it is a gearbox-off job that could cost around £3000.

â–  Bodywork: The low-riding, big-rimmed R36 is prone to minor bodywork and wheel damage from stones and kerbs, but you can still find the odd one knocking around the breaker’s yard, so don’t let a little nick or scrape put you off. Rust bubbles are more serious but can be stopped in their tracks if caught early.

â–  Fuel: Most R36 drivers claim to use premium fuels only and that you should do the same. This will be expensive, but the V6 will thank you in the long run.