Curious, did you get at least a carfax report? If yes, what did it say?
Sorry 4 this difficilty. Nurse seeems unlikely to blame, just bad luck combined w taking on some xtra risk given make model reliability history. Suggest best course to fix then follow maintenance schedule rigorously. Best of luck.
For what itâs worth, most chain failures are due to neglected oil changes, running the oil low, or in rare cases; using the wrong oil. Even if you wanted VW to help they would only do this if you could prove a proper oil change regimen way back to whenâŠ
Just my humble opinion on this matter but I tend to think that many people who sell a car in a private sale are more dishonest than the sleaziest corner lot dealer. Many dealers buy or take cars in trade and may not even drive them any further than the auto detail shop; which may be on the same lot. Therefore they know little about the actual car.
Many individuals find out their car has a serious problem so they decide to unload it as is and play dumb about any problems they full well know all about.
I sympathize with you. About 15 years ago my daughter wanted this car. A quick look over gave me a gut feeling it was a total POS. No matter how much I argued the point she proceeded. Then dad ended up with a much closer inspection at home and in all seriousness, it turned out to be a 100 times worse than I even imagined. Radiator to tail lamps; nothing but pure unadulterated crap.
My suggestion was to sell it for 500 bucks and take the loss. Nope. Another 5 grand later and that car was still worth 500 bucks. At some point afterwards she unloaded it and would not tell me how much but I know the loss was heading towards 5 digits. Not quite there but it was aspirationalâŠ
Unfortunately no
Yes, which is why I hope the $3800 repair was a complete rebuild or replacement of the engine, not just having the timing set replaced and the bent valves replaced. If the engine was run low on oil in the past, or subjected to unreasonably long oil change intervals, the broken timing chain could be just the beginning of a long string of problems with this engine.
I am not so quick to blame the customer, with maintenance computers vehicle owners are more aware and nervous about vehicle maintenance. Every day I see vehicles that are in the shop for a tire rotation because the maintenance light is on, yet people fear going out during the corona virus?
Many vehicles have oil level monitors, when the engine is a quart low vehicle owners generally seek help to get the warning message removed from the instrument cluster.
I donât believe that VW owners are responsible for the timing chain failures.
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Iâve seen a video with âan opinionâ from the engine rebuild shop owner who in general curses VW for the overly brittle design.
He also made a point that some owners tend not to follow the VW-specific requirements for the oil grade, which is LIKELY a contributing factor to the early wear.
https://www.underhoodservice.com/acea-oil-guide-understanding-european-motor-oils/
I have a friend who is fond of German engineering (VW/BMW on his fleet) and who has OCD about using exact oil required by the spec and strictly following all maintenance intervals.
I will not tell his cars are 100% trouble free, but at least he is well past 100K miles on his BMWs and close to 50K on his VW and engines are in very good condition.
All this analysis and assigning blame when no one here has any idea about the history of the car, the mileage or anything else. WowâŠ
By the way, what will they be repairing for âonlyâ $3800? Thatâs not even close to tearing the engine apart and fixing it or replacing the engine?
Supposed to be rebuilt engine and what ever else is needed. They are a reputable company. Said they see this all the time.
Maybe now sheâll listen. Doubtful
Rebuild and pray it will last
Regular oil was used. So probably knew when it started acting up. Iâm trying to think she didnât but not working
Wrong oil and antifreeze in oil? Lasted 200 miles. 154000 miles.
Are you saying the engine oil used did NOT meet the VW specs . . . ?!
If thatâs what youâre saying, VW would never have offered any financial assistance, even if this had occurred a few years earlier.
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Does that mean that, other than synthetic engine oil was used during the life of this vehicle and not the oil that meets VW specifications?
I use irregular engine oil in my Dodge and beat the hell out of it.
For VW, this car had amazingly long life, IMHO.
Myself, I would never buy a used VW with 54,000 miles on it, spare 154,000 - itâs a ticking bomb.
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Is this a question or are you saying that antifreeze was found mixed with the oil?
If that is the case the car may have a bad head gasket, allowing water to mix with the oil. It wouldnât take long to damage the engine, even causing the chain to break due to a lack of oil flow.
Antifreeze and oil mixed together changes the viscosity of the oil and can cause minimized oil flow. That wouldnât be good for any engine.
Timing chains are moving parts and moving parts wear out and worn out moving parts will break. Even looking at a timing chain a mechanic canât tell you it will break in 200 miles. They can only recommend you install a new one and their recommendation is based on mileage on the vehicle and the history of such vehicles. Donât be foolish and think the seller stiffed your daughter. Your daughter did not buy a new vehicle. But VW will help you â they will sell you a new one at retail cost.