Heavy Oil leak on Audi A4

[LewisKate]

Hi, I hope I am posting this in the right place, please let me know if I'm not.

I've seen a car I'd like to buy (2004 Audi A4) but when I checked it online I saw in its recent MOT that an advisory was "heavy oil leak"
I know very little about cars, infact I know nothing except any leak doesn't sound good.

I'm aware from research online the cost depends on where the leak is and how serious it is...

I guess my question is, as someone who knows nothing about leaks and cars should I just avoid this purchase all together? Are oil leaks often serious problems or are they mostly easy and cheap to get fixed? When viewing the car are there any ways I could tell if the leak is a minor or serious problem?

Any advice is most welcome. Thank you

[Wombat3]

LewisKate said:

Hi, I hope I am posting this in the right place, please let me know if I'm not.

I've seen a car I'd like to buy (2004 Audi A4) but when I checked it online I saw in its recent MOT that an advisory was "heavy oil leak"
I know very little about cars, infact I know nothing except any leak doesn't sound good.

I'm aware from research online the cost depends on where the leak is and how serious it is...

I guess my question is, as someone who knows nothing about leaks and cars should I just avoid this purchase all together? Are oil leaks often serious problems or are they mostly easy and cheap to get fixed? When viewing the car are there any ways I could tell if the leak is a minor or serious problem?

Any advice is most welcome. Thank you

Oil leaks can come from one of a hundred places. Could be cheap, could be expensive to fix. Could be serious, could be nothing to worry about & easy to fix. No way of knowing from what you describe. Suggest get it inspected by someone you trust who knows what they are looking at.

Besides, it may well have been fixed anyway , there could be a receipt to show garage work to sort it out, have you asked?

[LewisKate]

Thanks for your reply. I haven't asked if the leak has been fixed, I just noticed it had just recently had an MOT and passed, but the advisory "heavy oil leak" was on the newest MOT statement.

I shall call the seller and ask if it's been fixed. If not I shall avoid it as sadly I don't know anyone who knows enough about cars to view it for me.

I just don't want to buy the car and it end up costing a fortune in repairs

Thanks for your advice

[DuraAce]

The seller could tell you anything. What if they say it is fixed but in fact they haven't done anything about it?

Get the car inspected properly, or at the very least take someone along with you who knows about cars. You will get your fingers burnt otherwise.

[LewisKate]

That's a very good point DuraAce, they could lie to me!

As I know nothing about cars and I don't know anyone who knows enough about cars to diagnose the problem, I think I'll leave it altogether.

I'm looking for my first car, I'm 30 but only passed my test in Dec 15. (Not that it took me from 17-30 pass, just never felt the need to get my licence before now)

I want something stylish but reliable. Maybe the A4 is a bit too adventurous...

Thank you so much for your reply and advice