My fiancee’s timing belt on her 2003 Jetta snapped on the highway going about 60 mph. I am assuming there is some valve and/or piston damage. She owes about as much as the car is worth on the loan and she doesn’t want the car anymore. Should/can we sell the car as is with the damage or for parts, or should we fork over the repair costs and try to retain some of it selling it fixed? Which is more cost effective? Thanks in advance.
Agree; sell it for parts; a mechanic can likely locate a used engine and make something out of it.
Get out now. It is toast. VW is not like a dodge. The parts are not cheap and the labor is more. Yes BTW the engine is done, a full rebuild or junk replacement is needed. As to parting out the car this is a common problem for people who did not do the belt replacement. Lots of dead engines and plenty of people selling good cars with dead engines
Dis she hear any noise when it died?
Some motors have no damage when belt breaks, then it would be best to fix.
If damage happened sell for parts.
Maybe its just a bad time of year for VW’s - or perhaps some sinister corporate plot involving a remote activated timing belt self-destruct. (There is is coincidence, but that’s not nearly as exciting). I don’t know. But see this thread that also just started today:
when she’s shopping for a new car, make sure she gets one with a timing chain instead of a belt. While changing the belt and water pump is expensive($500~1000+ depending on the model, and I’m pretty sure VWs run into the 1k+ range), it’s not nearly as expensive as replacing the motor when it breaks.