I have an '05 Passat TDI wagon I bought used at 160K miles. It's somewhat common knowledge that the AT goes out around ~150Kish miles. I shipped to a mechanic in South Carolina who has a strong reputation for his knowledge on these TDIs. He imports OEM manual transmissions from Germany, and installs them. Apparently, it's simple to do.
For the past two years, I've been driving a 5MT, '05 Passat TDI wagon. He put a performance chip in it and it's a quick car. 42ish mpg highway and uber reliable. Apart from replacing a pcv valve just after I got it, I haven't done anything, except change oil. I'm smitten. It's so much more fun to drive than my prior Outback.
MT's rule!!
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