Used Volkswagen Passat Rear Tailgate

The Passat has gone through several distinct generations sold in the UK: the B5 ran from 1997 to 2005 (with a facelift, the B5.5, from 2000), the B6 from 2005 to 2010, the B7 from 2010 to 2014, and the B8 from 2015 onwards. Each generation uses a completely different tailgate, so the generation is the first thing you and your breaker need to establish. Giving your registration to the breaker is the quickest way to confirm exactly which platform your car is built on.

No — the estate (Variant), saloon, and hatchback body styles each have a completely different tailgate and rear body structure, so they are not interchangeable at all. You must source a tailgate from a car with the same body style as yours, and this is the single most important thing to get right before anything else. Always tell the breaker your body style as well as the year and generation.

No, the B6 and B7 are separate generations with different body pressings, so a B7 tailgate will not fit a B6 car and vice versa. The B7 facelift boundary in 2010 represents a full new generation rather than a minor refresh, meaning the rear panels changed substantially. Stick to sourcing from the same generation as your car and confirm the exact platform with the breaker using your registration.

The B7 generation ran from 2010 to 2014 and is generally considered a single body style throughout, making early and late B7 tailgates likely compatible. However, there were mid-generation pressing or detail changes possible within a run that are not always well-documented, and whether a specific panel swaps cleanly across those years is something you should confirm with the breaker against your exact registration. A good breaker will check the panel details before quoting.

Trim level does not affect tailgate fitment on the Passat — the shell and pressing are the same across SE, SEL, R-Line, and other grades within the same generation and body style. You may find that higher trims have a rear badge, emblem, or spoiler lip attached that differs cosmetically, but these are add-on items rather than differences in the panel itself. Any trim-level cosmetic differences are easy to swap across, so don't let trim put you off a good used tailgate.

The B8 Passat received a facelift during its run, and whether the tailgate pressing changed across that boundary is something you should confirm with the breaker against your specific registration rather than assume. Name the generation (B8) and body style (Variant estate) clearly when you contact a breaker, and give them your registration so they can check the exact panel specification. Never assume two cars from the same generation will swap without that check, especially around a known facelift point.