Discussion
Hi there
I recently bought a car from ebay for my daughter. (private seller / paid using paypal)
Everything seemed fine except there was a vibration when I started the engine.
I took the car to a local garage for a service and asked them to check out the vibration problem.
They first said it could be the cambelt but have now said its likely to be a bent conrod.
As its ebay / private sale I seem to have no comeback so this car is turning into a nightmare. It was only £1000 but to me this is quite a bit of money.
Any idea of the cost to fix. The car is a 1998 Seat Arosa 1.7 SDI.
I guess the other option is a replacement engine. That doesn't sound much fun either.
I feel sick.
Thanks for any replies
Phil
I recently bought a car from ebay for my daughter. (private seller / paid using paypal)
Everything seemed fine except there was a vibration when I started the engine.
I took the car to a local garage for a service and asked them to check out the vibration problem.
They first said it could be the cambelt but have now said its likely to be a bent conrod.
As its ebay / private sale I seem to have no comeback so this car is turning into a nightmare. It was only £1000 but to me this is quite a bit of money.
Any idea of the cost to fix. The car is a 1998 Seat Arosa 1.7 SDI.
I guess the other option is a replacement engine. That doesn't sound much fun either.
I feel sick.
Thanks for any replies
Phil
Thanks for all the answers.
When I collected the car I had already paid. The original seller was very clear about the fact he needed to be paid straight away. He has a 100% feedback so this was one of the reasons I bid. He was moving house and seemed a genuine chap.
I wish he had mentioned the vibration problem. Like a typical english person I didn't complain though. Perhaps I should have.
As soon as I drove the car, I knew there was a problem. However I am not mechanically minded and assumed (wrongly) it was a case of the tracking off or something. The next day I booked the car into our local garage. They do all our cars and are very good. They did a service like i asked for. I also asked if they would investigate the vibration problem. A day later I got a call saying they had driven the car and thought it was too slow and they thought the car the slowness and vibration problem may be linked. It runs fine. The vibration happens when you start the car. Anyway they had the car for a week. They think the car has been driven through heavy water (although the seller denied it) as they found water in the air filter.
They haven't given me a full diagnosis but at worse its a bent conrod (which is £250-300 to fix). I did get some quotes for a new engine and the cheapest one was £450 but then there is also fitting (£200) so its just not worth it for me to fix the car. This car was supposed to be a surprise present for our daughter. Its turned into a complete nightmare.
I have now bought another car (a Daihatsu Terios) from a different local garage and borrowed the money from the mother in law to do so! There is no guarantee the Terios will be better but I get a warranty this time and if anything goes wrong I can just take it back.
The result is I have a car (Seat) which could be fixed. But I also want the vehicle to be a surprise for our daughter and not "Aby we have got you a car and by the way, it's at the garage for the next 26 days!"
The Seat Arosa is currently back on ebay... currently at a massive £100 - so a £730 loss if it sells. I tried contacting ebay but they said I had no comeback.
When I collected the car I had already paid. The original seller was very clear about the fact he needed to be paid straight away. He has a 100% feedback so this was one of the reasons I bid. He was moving house and seemed a genuine chap.
I wish he had mentioned the vibration problem. Like a typical english person I didn't complain though. Perhaps I should have.
As soon as I drove the car, I knew there was a problem. However I am not mechanically minded and assumed (wrongly) it was a case of the tracking off or something. The next day I booked the car into our local garage. They do all our cars and are very good. They did a service like i asked for. I also asked if they would investigate the vibration problem. A day later I got a call saying they had driven the car and thought it was too slow and they thought the car the slowness and vibration problem may be linked. It runs fine. The vibration happens when you start the car. Anyway they had the car for a week. They think the car has been driven through heavy water (although the seller denied it) as they found water in the air filter.
They haven't given me a full diagnosis but at worse its a bent conrod (which is £250-300 to fix). I did get some quotes for a new engine and the cheapest one was £450 but then there is also fitting (£200) so its just not worth it for me to fix the car. This car was supposed to be a surprise present for our daughter. Its turned into a complete nightmare.
I have now bought another car (a Daihatsu Terios) from a different local garage and borrowed the money from the mother in law to do so! There is no guarantee the Terios will be better but I get a warranty this time and if anything goes wrong I can just take it back.
The result is I have a car (Seat) which could be fixed. But I also want the vehicle to be a surprise for our daughter and not "Aby we have got you a car and by the way, it's at the garage for the next 26 days!"
The Seat Arosa is currently back on ebay... currently at a massive £100 - so a £730 loss if it sells. I tried contacting ebay but they said I had no comeback.
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