Yesterday, I had the timing belt and associated parts replaced on the Passat. It hit 97K miles last week. I'm always a bit paranoid about running a timing belt too long on an interference engine. Remarkably, the belt and the accessory belt were in pretty good shape. The water pump was weeping a bit and causing that lovely coolant smell, at times; so it was all due for replacement. On the VW 2.0L TDI, it's all a part of the belt replacement - timing and accessory belts, idler and tensioner pulleys, the water pump, and the one-time-use fasteners that go with all that.
It's hard to believe I've had this car four years now. Bought it with 53K miles in October '19, and it has almost 98K as of this morning. That's just over 11K per year. It's daily-driven, gets right at 33 mpg farting around town and in Sport mode, and it's just a wonderfully comfortable highway and in-town car. I'll be happy to put another 50 - 60K on this VW. Rarely have I had a DD that I've kept over two years. I think my C4 Corvette hung around for just over two years. Two years seems to be the time I get the itch to get another vehicle. My wife's Buick has been around for six years!
for about 12 plastic bags of food
