I’m in the market for a new car and this $1300 VW has caught my eye, however it needs a new oil pump, is it worth it to buy the Jetta?
Millage on the VW? Any repair history? Would the current owner allow you to have it towed to your mechanic to get it inspected?
Edit: any rust and/or is it from the rust belt?
It’s going to be hard to get a car for less than $1300, so that’s one thing in this car’s favor, low price. I’d be pretty skeptical about buying a car that needed an oil pump tho. That’s a very rare failure item from reports here, not just on a Jetta but on any car, , and oil pump failure could indicate the engine has serious problems remaining. It might still make sense, but think of it maybe as you are buying it without an engine, and intend to install a replacement engine from the junkyard from a wrecked Jetta. Good idea anytime buying a used car to have your own mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection. For $100, well worth it to get a pro’s opinion, someone who has put the car on a lift and did an inspection.
IF the oil pump is legitimately bad then the entire engine is bad.
Don’t you think that if the part providing the engine’s life blood has failed that the parts lubricated by it have also gone south?
Usually what happens is the engine is worn out for whatever reason, the oil light is flashing, the oil pressure is in the tank, and someone is erroneously blaming the pump.
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RUN AWAY! Seriously. A car with a ‘bad oil pump’ can have a number of VERY expensive problems. And being an old VW only makes it worse. Keep looking.
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The most commonly used phrase when someone is selling a problem child car…
“It just needs a ___________”.
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