Daughter bought from personal owner. Lied about car being in great condition. 200 miles later the timing chain brakes and leaves her 3800. repair. How do I get Volkswagen to help with this?
You don’t because the daughter is not the original owner and the warranty is expired . And I doubt if the original owner knew the timing chain was about to break . The vehicle probably did not get the service it should have which is the chance one takes buying a used vehicle.
That is why it is a good idea to have a shop inspect any used vehicle before you pay for it.
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In every state with which I am familiar, private car sales do not include a warranty, except (perhaps) for the ability of the vehicle to pass a state safety inspection.
Manufacturers do not normally “help” with the cost of repairs on a 10 year old vehicle.
Very likely. Unless the car has been driven for a HUGE number of miles over the past 10 years, the most likely reason for a timing chain to break is failure of the previous owner(s) to change the oil as often as they should have.
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This car is far out of warranty, so you can forget that idea.
For what it’s worth, this is probably a sign that the oil was badly neglected.
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That’s an assumption. We don’t know what the mileage is and what the history of the car is.
+1
an additional contributing factor here can be that German cars are known to require the oil of the higher spec/grade, which would be clearly indicated in the owner’s manual, but a lot of people pay no attention, including “quick lube” places… eventually it leads to faster wear on the components, including timing chain
The OP didn’t include anything about the car’s odometer mileage, and it is very likely that the buyer doesn’t know the history of the car. So, all we can do is to speculate, as I did when I stated…
When we are provided with very little information, all we can do is to speculate and/or assume, based on the most likely scenarios.
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likely a correct assumption, though. Timing chains don’t typically break when the owner is changing the oil every 5k miles. And @VOLVO_V70 is 100% correct, when you buy used you take the chance that the previous owner deferred maintenance.
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Yes, there is also that factor.
If (yes, I know that we are assuming… 
) the previous owner(s) did not use the specified oil, that would be a contributing factor. And, if they delayed oil changes while using the wrong-spec oil, that would essentially be a “perfect storm” for timing chain breakage and other potential engine problems.
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There was a class action settlement and warranty extension for the VW timing chain problem but it too late to file;
Thank you: What a bummer
Hmmm…
Perhaps we now need to suggest that prospective buyers of used cars perform due diligence on sites like CarComplaints, in addition to doing a pre-purchase mechanical inspection.
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Buying a 10 yr old vw/Audi turbo 4 cyl with a history of turbo/riming chain issues and complaining when they pop up is kinda hard to sympathize with. They look good. Sitting still. It’s the moving part that is the problem.
Well, in defense of the OP and her daughter, if they are not car-oriented folks, the checkered history of those VW/Audi timing chains was not likely to have been on their radar screen.
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That truly would be wise. My daughter wouldn’t let me help and now look what happens. She did good with research but trusted the lady because she was a
nurse? Can’t trust anyone any more. Not even a hand shake was etched in stone back in my day.
I sure hope that was the issue. Thanks for a positive outlook.
I was brought up to not trust anyone trying to sell me something.
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Motors on today’s cars are covered in delicate bits. Chains, tensioners, turbos, balance shafts, cam followers and buckets that like to wear oddly when oil changes are neglected. And you have no history if any other system is next? Since you never got to drive it.
The Nurse may be just another person who does not fully understand vehicle maintenance . This site gets questions all the time from people who don’t know how to check their oil level , don’t grasp the miles or months for service or just drive and put fuel in the vehicles and think that is enough .
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What would a nurse know about Volkswagen reliability?
Your daughter shouldn’t ask me for medical advise.
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