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FJ (Johnny) 2001.5 Mojave Beige VW Passat 1.8T - Built April 2001 - Delivered June 2001
It's an honor to start the year off as the oneB5 for January 2007. There are many great rides on B5one, so I'm flattered to be included in the group of featured cars.
My B5.5 is my third VW. I had owned two Jettas previously, the second one I bought when the B5 Passat was first introduced in the US. The mod bug really bit me hard on my second Jetta and if anything, it prepared me for the Passat. Even though I enjoyed my Jetta, I followed the progress of the B5, and when the B5.5 was introduced, I was ready to upgrade.
I was fairly certain that I wanted to go with the 1.8T due to tuning options and because it was such a great engine. I went to the dealership to check out my options and test drove two models with V6s, one a stick, the other a slushbox. I also test drove the 1.8T with a stick. I knew that the only tranny choice for me was the manual if I was going to own the 1.8T. I liked the sound of the V6, but noticed that it seemed to "run out of breath" at higher RPMs. The extra weight of the engine was also a noticeable difference that I didn't like.
So, the decision was made, I was going with the 1.8T and a manual transmission. I had to have the black leather interior and I wanted a light exterior color. As things would work out, the dealership didn't have what I wanted in stock. Luckily for those of us in the Houston area, VW/Audi ships cars through the Port of Houston and has a HUGE lot of new inventory at the Port. The dealer searched the inventory at the Port and I was out of luck. What was hurting my search was that most of the B5.5s coming to the US had the Tiptronic transmission. The dealer then searched new inventory that was "on the water" between Germany and Houston. That's where they found my car. Mojave Beige was not my first choice. I had initially wanted Reflex Silver, but I didn't want it so bad that I'd take one with a gray interior (those were in stock and had miles on them). Luckily, one of the managers at the dealership was driving a GLX in Mojave Beige, black interior, and tinted windows.
I walked outside to check out his car and was hooked. It was a great combo and they expected to receive my car in about 3 weeks. So, I put a deposit down and they purchased the car from VW. They later told me that after they had purchased the car, several other dealers contacted them to see if they could to a dealer trade for it. That made me feel even better about my decision.
Since I had at least 3 weeks before the car would be in Houston, I had plenty of time to get my initial mods ordered. When I was done, my condo looked like a parts warehouse...all I needed was my car. The following mods were "in stock" and waiting on my B5.5:
The week my car was scheduled to arrive at the port was a wet one. Tropical Storm Allison had moved in from the Gulf of Mexico and dumped rain on the area as she moved north through Texas. I received a call from my salesman on Thursday that my car would be ready for delivery at the end of the week and we scheduled it for Saturday. I also told him to make sure that everyone that had access to a drill at the dealership was told to NOT drill the nose and install the front license plate mount (one of the benefits when not buying from inventory). Friday night was a wet one. I wouldn't have been out in the mess, but a friend of mine had recorded a CD and was hosting a release party at a local club where she was playing that night. Around 9 pm, I got a phone call letting me know that Allison had turned around and was moving back through Houston and dumping rain on the area. A buddy of mine also got a call from his wife about the situation and we both left. I went through some high water in the Jetta, but got home and turned on the TV. Flooding inside Loop 610 was bad and getting worse. One of the TV stations was showing the water entering their studio. My buddy called me to let me know that he saw on TV that there was already 10 feet of water on the below ground portions of Highway 59 (the picture with the curved bridge). The same road he had been on an hour earlier!
I started to get concerned because the dealership was located inside Loop 610. I didn't want my new car to be flooded...then again, it wasn't mine yet, so I knew that all it would cost me is time if there was an issue and I had to find another car. Thanks to Allison, the area inside Loop 610 received 33 inches of rain because she moved slowly through Houston (where I lived only received 9 inches of rain). Almost 37 inches of rain fell at the Port of Houston during Allison's five day trip.
I got up Saturday morning and headed to the dealership. I couldn't take the freeway because many sections were under water. The high-water mark from the night before was more than 20 feet in some areas of freeway that were below ground. When I got to the dealership, I saw tow truck after tow truck delivering flooded VWs and Audis. The dealership's service department worked 7 days a week for several months as they worked on repairable cars (they turned away basic service needs like oil changes, etc). They had so many cars, that they used a third of a sporting goods store's lot for overflow. A week later, I was at the store and saw the cars in the lot. Seeing condensation on the inside of car windows with the words "totaled - St. Farm" written on the windshield was depressing. Some of the cars were almost new.
Back to my delivery. I found my salesman who assured me that all was well with my car and it was. He was impressed that I was there to take delivery. His other 2 deliveries had canceled. An hour after I had gotten my car home, my HU and changer were installed. I never did program radio stations in the stock HU.
The office building my company used had its basement flooded, so we worked from home. I didn't. I worked from the window tint shop, the suspension shop, stereo shop (had them install component speakers in the back shelf). All of my initial mods were installed during the first week of ownership. Allison helped me complete everything ahead of schedule!
A few months later in September, I pulled the computer and took it with me on a business trip to California. We didn't have a chip tuner in Houston and there was one in Northern California. I dropped off the ECU at the GIAC dealer, picked it up the next day, and installed it when I got back to Houston.
I have enjoyed owning the B5.5. It is solid, fun to drive, and as you all know, an Audi at a VW price. It now has around 37,000 miles on the clock and I look forward to driving it for many years to come. When my dad was in the market for a new car in 2004, I took him to the VW dealer so he could check out the new Passats. He drives a Silver 2004 1.8T w/tiptronic. Converting him over to VW was no small task. This was the first imported car he has ever owned and it has been his favorite.
Mods
 Hope you enjoyed the reading about my B5.5. Happy New Year!
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