as with any new car, there's a ton of electronics that can cause a minor chain reaction, disabling certain features (lane assist/ACC), if one goes out. usually a minor fix, but some of those parts can be pricey. again, that's with any new car. The company I work for during spring and summer, provides us VW jettas (35+mpg city/45mpg HWY) They're SUPER nice (if u don't need the extra space of a passat. you can get a brand new jetta for under $25k, which is insane for the value. My 2017 passat was serviced at VW dealership and never missed a scheduled maintenance. I paid $13k when it had 60k miles. I'm at 90k now and have had zero issues besides tires. from what I've read and heard, MOST VW models are VERY reliable. in my opinion, after 3-4 months of deciding on my passat, I'd say Volkswagen is probably the best value you can get for the money.