Might buy a Misfiring VW Bora (2001) HELP!

[Whatnotacos]

I have been thinking of buying a Volkswagen Bora 2001 which according to the seller is misfiring on cylinder 4, it also is very lumpy and he said it would have to be towed away.

In anybody's experience would it just be Injectors. coil packs or plugs? All of which are not to expensive.

Thought of buying to sell, if it comes cheap enough. Worth the risk?

Any input would be lovely

[steveo3002]

wouldnt mind betting its been looked at and not a simple fix and now theyre being cagey with its description

budget for it being the worst

[996TT02]

Could be nothing or could even be a cracked head etc so eyes wide open and know what signs to look for.

[anonymous-user]

Being a VW of that era and a misfire supposedly tracked down to a single cylinder its fair to say its probably a coil pack issue.

[Whatnotacos]

steveo3002 said:

wouldnt mind betting its been looked at and not a simple fix and now theyre being cagey with its description

budget for it being the worst

I see what your saying

Spoke to the guy, he says it has trouble ticking over (He says it was sitting for a couple of weeks) so could be battery
When it dropped below 2000rpm it would start to cut out and over that it would run fine.

still considering it

[Hoofy]

Knackered battery wouldn't do that.

[soad]

Is it cheaper than most? A potential project car...

[ecsrobin]

If it was a simple or cheap fix I'm sure the seller would do that to get more money.

[Whatnotacos]

Starter motor maybe,

Still could be blow head gasket ass well,

Would it still be head gasket if it runs fine over 2000 rpm, I would think headgasket would cause a constant miss

[andy-xr]

I think if it is headgasket then getting it to 2000 rpm for any amount of time isnt going to really do the car any good, or make it any better.

The best thing would be to try a fault reader first before you buy it. If it's a £30 sensor or a loom out job you'll be in a better position to work out if it's for you. Or just take a punt on it and see what happens. If it's scrap level money then worst case you can break it.

'Simple fix, havent had time to do it' usually means it's been diagnosed, second, third and fourth opinioned and it's going to cost money to sort out that the seller doesnt have or isnt willing to spend.

[curlie467]

Starter motor? No.

Most likely a coil pack but negotiate on it being a head problem as you don't want a nasty surprise if you buy it thinking it will be simple and cheap.
It has to be in the few hundred notes bracket really, what model is it?

[hairy]

If it's a 2.0 it could be lambda sensor, it does sound like a coil pack though.

[davamer23]

I'd say that the headgasket ass is probably ok.

[Whatnotacos]

Might go for it, Maybe £250-300 pounds for my limit

What do Y'all think could be a possible cause for the problems ticking over?

I hope it would just be a coil pack, If I do buy I will keep the thread updated

[curlie467]

Coil pack breaking down under a certain load hopefully causing a misfire at low revs.

[jkh112]

I presume it is petrol and not diesel?

[Whatnotacos]

jkh112 said:

I presume it is petrol and not diesel?

Yep petrol, 130k miles

[Escy]

It's not worth buying to sell. They aren't worth anything so no point going through the hassle of it all for a couple hundred.

[marmitemania]

I wouldn't bother, the car would be worth 7 to 800 tops when done. Does it have a long M.O.T? Are the Tyres and brakes good? The only way you might make a useful profit on it is if the chap gave it to you. I am of a mindset that if a car was a cheap and easy fix, as is so often stated in adverts, why has the vendor not done the cheap and easy fix themselves? The car especially if it has a short M.O.T is worth scrap money £150/200

[OldGermanHeaps]

Just been through this with a friends bora, swapped all the usual suspects, still misfiring, was a burnt out exhaust valve. Had to recut the valve seat too. O2 sensor was knackered too. Paying garage rates wouldhave scrapped it.