Something is seriously wrong with that description. One does not just “replace piston rings”. If on edid, the engine would burn oil like a fire in a tire pile. The cylinders would have to be checked for wear, bored on necessary, and properly honed. And then there’s wear at the rod bearings to consider.
Beside, if an engine with 43,000 meeds rings, I’d love to see what the main bearing slook like…
Run away. Something is seriously wrong here.
RUN AWAY. It’s that simple.
Who replaced rings? Can u ask them why? I am surprised dealer would even divulge his info since it is “sensitive info”? Uh, we can tell u major work was done but not why?
I am surprised dealer would even divulge his info since it is "sensitive info"?
Who says it was done by the dealer?
The major work being performed is the problem. Why and what else.
I wouldn’t exactly run away yet, but i would not buy it unless I knew why it needed new rings. If the explanation is one that I could live with and the deal is good enough, then maybe it is worth pursuing.
It could have been due to an oil change malfunction, i.e. forgot to put in oil or double gasketed the oil filter. I would be concerned about the bearing though in this case. Maybe VW got some bad rings like the ones used in the 2006 Nissan Altima’s. Nissan had to recall all of them to re-ring all the engines. This would be an acceptable explanation for me, but I’d want to see documentation and I’d like some guarantee on the ring job, say 150k miles like Nissan did with the Altima’s they re-ringed.
I wouldn’t give a used car that has had major internal work done a second look, even if I knew everything that happened (which is almost never the case). Used VWs are a dime a dozen, why bother?: (unless, of course, I was an accomplished VW mechanic and could deal with any problems that later cropped up. But that’s not the situation)
I wouldn’t want that car unless they guarantee that thing for another 9 years and they stand behind their work and put that in writing and they offer it for a crazy low price.
If you do end up buying it, drive it like you stole it for a while. Don’t be gentle.
If it has serious hidden defects, they’ll shake out - one way or the other.
Buying a car like this is similar to visiting the home improvement store to purchase a length of rope before you’re led to the gallows… 
With the right dirt cheap price and an iron clad warranty, then maybe…
When I worked for VW I got tied up in something like this and it wasn’t due to a manufacturing fault. The exact cause was never really determined but was believed to have been done by a salesman or make ready guy and this led to wiping the rings and cylinder head out. The latter was not even repairable.
The back room friction between the dealer and VWOA led to the dealer having to eat this car with a new head and ring job followed by sending it off to auction.
This poor vehicle had less than 500 miles on it from new when the end came…
Hello again, Everyone…
Hey, can’t thank you enough for TALKING ME OUT OF THIS DEAL. I also talked with a family member who is a mechanic, and he said exactly what you all told me: Walk away. And so we did.
Before we cut the ties, I called the dealership, spoke to the young man who was hoping to make the sale, and he said he’d check out the history on this VW EOS. Now, I liked this kid. Young, honest and probably a little new to the game. But I gotta tell you, when he called me back, this is what it sounded like: “I spoke with our service / repair manager, and he said YADDA YADDA, BLAH BLAH, YADDA YADD, BLAH BLAH.” I said, “OK, so I probably understood about 5% of that YADDA YADDA / BLAH BLAH, but what did you repair manager say was THE REASON that this car had to have new rings and a new head gasket at only 45,000 miles?” More YADDA and more BLAH, but no clear explanation. (Cleary, they had no idea, or weren’t going there.) Repair manager then called me directly, but I never returned the call. Why bother.
We found another EOS. Newer model, fewer miles, for less $$$. Good stuff. Have a good Thanksgiving.
Congratulations. You did the right thing all the way through the process.
And thanks sincerely for the follow up.
Happy motoring.
"OK, so I probably understood about 5% of that YADDA YADDA / BLAH BLAH, but what did you repair manager say was THE REASON that this car had to have new rings and a new head gasket at only 45,000 miles?"
The kid giving you the information probably new LESS then 5%. I’ve met maybe 2-3 car salesmen who knew anything about cars.