I have 92000 miles on my 99 GLX Passat and had very few repairs! Bottom line
cars cost $$$$ to keep going, some more $$$$$, some less $$$$. But it sounds
like you got a good Passat...

I can't satisfy your 50K mile requirement, but my '02 Passat GLS 1.8T
Wagon with 33K has required only replacement of expendables (plus the
ignition coil recall of course).

We had a long standing misfire problem in our 2002 1.8T that began just
before the 50K warranty ran out and then dragged on for about 10K more
miles.  Woodchuck disgnosed the problem correctly right here in this
newsgroup, but it took four visits to the dealer for them to finally
figure out that #1 and #2 coils needed replacement.  Since it was still
under that drivetrain warranty, it cost us less than $100 total to get
it fixed (they may be incompetent, but our dealer bends over backwards
to keep you happy).  

But the dealer is a 160 mile roundtrip drive and we did a lot of driving
to get it fixed.  Especially since we left it with them for a week
twice.  Then when it had about 63K on it, I was checking the brake pads
for wear (I just checked one side of the car) and found a blown outer CV
joint boot.  I took it in for replacement and they found the other one
was blown, too!  Fortunately, they used rebuilt axles and the whole bill
with an oil change was a reasonable $550.  But while I was waiting, I
resolved to buy an extended warranty (as Woodchuck recommends).  

I checked into the warranties...it seemed like WarrantyDirect was best
and the estimate was about $1500 for 2 years, $2000 for 3 years.  Plus a
$100 initial inspection cost.  Then while I was perusing area VW dealer
websites looking for a GTI...I saw that VW was offering a $1500 owner
loyalty cash back on new Passats.  Suddenly, I started to do the math:  
$2000 + 1500 = $3500 advantage to just simply buy a new Passat.  So we
traded the old one in on a 2007 2.0T.  It was a "loaner" with 5500 K
miles, but it was spotless except for a few tiny stone chips and was
$3000 under sticker.  Although the styling of the new Passat is somewhat  
ummmm...unusual?..., the new Passat is IMO head and shoulders above the
2002 B 5.5 in drivability and performance.  And it's quiet on
interstates.  I'm very impressed with it and glad we bought it.  And we
recently made a 1200 mile round trip to Texas and got 33.7 overall mpg
on 89 octane fuel.

So, in my opinion...if you want to keep your 2002, for piece of mind you
probably ought to get an extended warranty.  Otherwise, trade it in.

Bill

On Apr 18, 1:37 pm, himilecycl...@yahoo.com wrote:

I have a 2002 Passat Wagon 1.8 Turbo since new.  Now 57K miles.

The vehicle had many initial quality problems which, thankfully, were
covered under warranty, though nevertheless annoying and inconvenient.

Post warrantly, an A/C sensor has failed.  Diagnosis and repair around
$400.

The most consistent problem has been ignition coil failure.  VW had a
recall regarding these but has been repairing them only as they fail.
Two of mine failed on two separate occasions and, ironically, noting
your post, a third just failed yesterday.  I fully expect that the
fourth (one per cylinder) will also fail at some point.  Because they
should be covered under the recall, it is not economical to repair
them in advance, but their failure, which is sudden, makes the vehicle
effectively inoperable.

The symptoms are a "bounce" after which the vehicle begins to vibrate
in relation to acceleration.  The check engine light then goes on.

When the car is working, it works very nicely.  However, the iginition
coils are your biggest problem.  Failure can leave you stuck
somewhere.

Given the age of your vehicle and my experience, I would guess that
one or more of the ignition coils has already failed.  If you are
lucky, all four have already been replaced.  If not, be prepared.

See http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2003/02/04/154251.html

The article states that VW was to start replacing the coils
proactively.  As far as I know, this never happened.  I never received
notice of that recall and the last time a coil failed my dealer
claimed they were only being replaced as they fail.

If I learn anything differently, I'll update this message.