Hi. I am thinking of buying a the new VW Passat and am interested in getting some feedback from anyone here who just bought one recently. I'd be grateful to get some feedback from you about any experience you've had so far with the after sales service, performance of the car, actual fuel efficiency achieved, and whether you'd make the same choice today. As I am limited to buying CKD cars, I'm also considering the Camry too.

Many thanks in advance. Ken.

Thanks for all the suggestions and responses, and zweimmk in particular. The Kia Optima (and Pug) is a nice looking car indeed, but I am limited to CKD models only because it is a requirement of the REP programme. While I agree that the new Camry isn't very appealing, it is one of the few recent CKD cars in this segment and I have very good first hand experience with this model. My father's 7 year old Camry is still running well with no problems since the day he bought it. Interior noise is still low despite several minor knocks and scrapes here and there. I guess it is hard to know how these new generation of engines with turbo will perform in the long run (after warranty expires) with Malaysian fuel. zweimmk - Were you able to find any information on this potential issue?

This post has been edited by okyjace: Oct 9 2012, 12:03 PM

The terms and conditions of the approval pack does not specifically mention whether the car has to be new or not. However, this is implied by the procedures I will have to go through to enjoy the benefit (won't bore you with details). FYI, there is no requirement when selling the car to price it below market. Rather, if the car is sold within XX years after purchase, then I will have to make good the taxes initially saved. Basically, the way I see this incentive working is that I will be able to cover much of the cost of depreciation of whichever car purchased, be it a Passat, Camry, or BMW. Just sharing my own perspective, I think that luxury cars draw too much attention to one's self in Malaysia as compared to Europe or America. So as I prefer to let others have the attention, I am unlikely to pick a luxury car before I start living in a big bungalow.

Thanks for the heads up and sharing your research findings. So what car did you pick in the end with your REP incentive?

Carried out a test drive of the Passat today. I'm pleased to report that the car is pleasant to drive and acceleration is good. For me, I was a little let down by the CKD model not coming with GPS and Bluetooth. Seems rather pointless to have a big touchscreen for just radio functions, though I understand the intention to keep costs down. There is also no keyless feature, but that's not a big deal for me. Looking forward to doing a test drive on the Camry next.

Haha. Noted.

kadajawi - Thanks for your suggestions. From my brief research online, it appears the C5 is a CBU car. So, I have to rule it out as my benefit is restricted to CKD cars only. That's a shame because the C5 is indeed a nice car from what I see.

cybermaster98 - Happy to share the limited information that I have. Le tme dig up and post later. Generally, the Sales and Excise duties seem to comprise about a third of the listed sales price for CKD models. However, the price quoted for the VW Passat was only 15% less, which surprised me. I didn't pursue the matter at the time as I haven't decided yet on the car.

So far, I haven't come across any unpleasantness from the dealers I have visited: VW, BMW, Honda and Kia. They've been professional and courteous. Appreciate your heads up that the experience might change once I decide which model to go for.

Below are the prices I have received so far before any further negotiations.

Camry 2.5L 125K
Passat 1.8L 142K
BMW 320d 170K
BMW 520d 242K
Merc C180 154K
Merc E200 259K

Haven't managed to test drive the 5-series or E-class yet. But for me the 3-series and C-class are just a little too small after having a very close look at them today. In terms of interior space, I'd say they're more comparable to a Civic/Altis. It's the kind of cars I would consider if I already had a big SUV as the main family car - or if I was in my mid-20s with cash to burn.

Yup, I found that strange myself. But I didn't pursue the matter with the agent as I am not particularly keen on the car (no sense wasting time). The prices quoted exclude insurance. I was told by some agents that the insurance is based on the selling price, so the annual premium might be lower in my case. However, I haven't tried to get a quote to confirm that.

Test drove the Peugeot 508 yesterday which I learnt is also CKD, however, I came away feeling quite unimpressed by the experience. The lack of storage space makes the car less practical for me. Hardly any space for things like coins, spare glasses, Smarttag, etc. Although the car is priced quite keenly, it's such a waste to know that I'd be paying for useless heated seats and a built in GPS that cannot be enabled. Turbo lag was quite noticeable.

Sorry for the long silence and inactivity. I have been busy with buying a place to stay and renovation work, so I put the car purchase on hold. But happy to say that I've finally done the admin stuff with Talentcorp and am planning to pick a car very soon. In case anyone is interested, I have found out that there will be some taxes to pay when I sell the car. However, these taxes willl be based on its second hand value at the time. So the savings with the REP incentive is still significant, but not as great as it could be. It seems that the longer I keep the car, the greater the value of the REP incentive. The best price I have received so far is a myr10K discount on the 2.5L Camry, if I go with a 2012 make car. Hence for an upfront cost of myr115K, I'm sorely tempted. Will probably go check out the Passat again.

There are rumours online of CKD versions of the Mazda6 and CX5 coming. Anyone here has a firmer idea of the timeline for this?