Avoid the VW, period.

VW's are great cars, especially the Passats. I've had two for the past 10 years.
If you can afford the proper maintenence they are great drivers cars.
HOWEVER. I can relate dozens of horror stories about my Passats(1992 &1995) as well as my two sisters-in-law's Passat (2003) and Bug (2005).
They will eventually nickle and dime you to death with recurring problems, mostly electrical. Sometimes they'll even strand you in the middle of intersections or on the freeway...Just two of my stories.

The reason I mention affording proper maintenence is because VW is part of the VW/Audi group. There are many parts, including complete engines, that are shared between these two companies and what that boils down to is you will pay Audi prices in parts and labor for a VW.

I'll bet that '05 wagon is right on the verge of expensive things needing to be replaced or repaired.

Go buy the Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide, whether you like CR or not, for 2009. It's $10 well spent. Then see if you can find earlier years at the library.

This is really the only way to see a high sample rate for the cars you are considering.
In my case, the CR guide simply confirmed what I lived through with VW's.