Would you buy this car or walk away?
Discussion
I'm looking for a runaround which will hopefully last me 2-3 years... I've seen an 08 plate VW Golf that looks to be in nice condition, genuine reason for sale, I test drove it and it drives well.
The only issue is that the aircon makes a horrible rumbling noise when turned on, initially I wasn't fussed by this as could live without aircon but from googling it seems that even if I did nothing ie didn't fix it and just put up with the noise when using the blowers it could cause damage to the engine.
Does anybody know anything about VW Golf engines and whether the grinding/rumbling noise is something to be wary of in that it could affect the engine?
I'm grateful for any input as know nothing about cars!
The only issue is that the aircon makes a horrible rumbling noise when turned on, initially I wasn't fussed by this as could live without aircon but from googling it seems that even if I did nothing ie didn't fix it and just put up with the noise when using the blowers it could cause damage to the engine.
Does anybody know anything about VW Golf engines and whether the grinding/rumbling noise is something to be wary of in that it could affect the engine?
I'm grateful for any input as know nothing about cars!
Only you can answer that question really with full view of the condition and price of the car.
A/C systems should not rumble but without having seen the car we don't know whether the noise is a £15 roller tensioner or a bad compressor which has spread bits of metal throughout the system which might cost four figures to put right.
The question, then, is do you really want a car with non-functioning A/C and is the car cheap enough with this in mind?
Remember that the Golf is not a rare car and reasonably priced ~10 year old Golfs are not in short supply.
A/C systems should not rumble but without having seen the car we don't know whether the noise is a £15 roller tensioner or a bad compressor which has spread bits of metal throughout the system which might cost four figures to put right.
The question, then, is do you really want a car with non-functioning A/C and is the car cheap enough with this in mind?
Remember that the Golf is not a rare car and reasonably priced ~10 year old Golfs are not in short supply.
md4776 said:
What does the current owner say about this rumbling noise?
Just that the aircon makes a horrible noise, they were meaning to get it fixed but hadn't got round to it.I'm not sure if it's only when the aircon is on, or whether it's the blowers in general - I could put up with the noise if using them wouldn't affect the engine but have no idea how the aircon is connected in a Golf (or any car actually)!
clueless78 said:
Thanks, I've no idea if it's a separate belt or not - I literally know nothing about cars apart from driving them! It's not that cheap but it has a nice history, only two owners and nothing horrendous on any of the previous MOT's.
That is purely circumstantial information HustleRussell said:
Only you can answer that question really with full view of the condition and price of the car.
A/C systems should not rumble but without having seen the car we don't know whether the noise is a £15 roller tensioner or a bad compressor which has spread bits of metal throughout the system which might cost four figures to put right.
The question, then, is do you really want a car with non-functioning A/C and is the car cheap enough with this in mind?
Remember that the Golf is not a rare car and reasonably priced ~10 year old Golfs are not in short supply.
Thanks, it's not cheap enough if it could potentially cost four figures!A/C systems should not rumble but without having seen the car we don't know whether the noise is a £15 roller tensioner or a bad compressor which has spread bits of metal throughout the system which might cost four figures to put right.
The question, then, is do you really want a car with non-functioning A/C and is the car cheap enough with this in mind?
Remember that the Golf is not a rare car and reasonably priced ~10 year old Golfs are not in short supply.
What was concerning me was mention of the belt being attached to other stuff so using it could damage the engine.
As I don't have bags of money to spend it looks like this could be a no-go
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
lucido grigio said:
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Thanks, I'm in the UK so could live without aircon but not heating!heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
The car is a fair distance away so are there any Q's I could ask the seller to try and narrow down what part is broken i.e. if it's aircon noise only or whether the noise is present when using the hot/cold blowers
lucido grigio said:
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Yes it is, misted up interior, constantly wiping inside of screen. heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Pica-Pica said:
lucido grigio said:
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Yes it is, misted up interior, constantly wiping inside of screen. heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
How do we get by ?.......
lucido grigio said:
Pica-Pica said:
lucido grigio said:
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Yes it is, misted up interior, constantly wiping inside of screen. heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
How do we get by ?.......
lucido grigio said:
Pica-Pica said:
lucido grigio said:
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Yes it is, misted up interior, constantly wiping inside of screen. heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
How do we get by ?.......
clueless78 said:
lucido grigio said:
What you need to find out is whether the noise is the air conditioning compressor or perhaps as you've mentioned the
heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
Thanks, I'm in the UK so could live without aircon but not heating!heater/blower motor.
If it's the latter ,there is no connection to the engine itself but it'll be very inconvenient if that fails altogether.
Assuming you are in the UK ,living with a duff AC system is no loss.
The car is a fair distance away so are there any Q's I could ask the seller to try and narrow down what part is broken i.e. if it's aircon noise only or whether the noise is present when using the hot/cold blowers
They're literally hundreds of golf's for sale.
If it only rumbles when the ac is on then stops when you turn it off then the bearings in the compressor are on the way out.
New compressors are probably gonna be between 2-300quid plus fitting. I had a similar issue on an Toyota a few years ago. Got a compresser from a breaker for less than £100, fitted it myself, easy peasy. Then got it regassed by a mobile AC guy for £50.
You'd have to get them to knock£4-500 quid off to allow for getting it changed. Not sure about that engine but if the compressor clutch seized I'd and casued the belt to snap or the pulley to shear off it could possibly ended up doing some serious damage. It might not though too.
New compressors are probably gonna be between 2-300quid plus fitting. I had a similar issue on an Toyota a few years ago. Got a compresser from a breaker for less than £100, fitted it myself, easy peasy. Then got it regassed by a mobile AC guy for £50.
You'd have to get them to knock£4-500 quid off to allow for getting it changed. Not sure about that engine but if the compressor clutch seized I'd and casued the belt to snap or the pulley to shear off it could possibly ended up doing some serious damage. It might not though too.
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