Car not worth repairing - what to do to get rid of it?

FrankGrimes · 24-08-2011 12:44pm #1

My 03D Passat 1.8 turbo petrol had the timing belt go at the weekend just outside Ennis and the engine is screwed. A friend of a friend is a mechanic in Ennis and towed it to his garage for me but couldn't find a second-hand engine suitable despite making loads of calls around the country.

I have decided to purchase another car instead of getting that one repaired (separate thread on here gathering some very useful advice). The mechanic made a few calls to see if there's interest in buying my Passat even for scrappage but the offers given were only around €300-€360. He's trying a couple more options today but it doesn't look like it'll be easy to shift.

What do people generally do in this situation, is there another approach I should be looking at? If I managed to get the car back up to Dublin (where I live), would there be any better prospect of getting more cash for it (I'd have to find a way to not incur tow fees)?

If I do go for scrappage and take one of the low offers, what are the Do's and Don'ts? Do I need to get the purchaser to sign the transfer of ownership or does it work differently if I'm giving it over for scrappage?

If I send in my tax disc to the motor office, can I get a refund (about 10 months left on it)?

Thanks.

24-08-2011 2:08pm

Donedeal it

But you won't get the tax back then, may be better to scrap it and get your tax back really.

Chavways · 24-08-2011 9:09pm

Park it in a rough part of town and leave it open

Nissan doctor · 24-08-2011 9:12pm

Why will your mechanic friend not fix it?

The engine could be made good as new for alot less then a new car.

Greyfoot · 24-08-2011 9:24pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Why will your mechanic friend not fix it?

The engine could be made good as new for alot less then a new car.

+1 on that, probably valves bent for a good measure its around 500quid to fix them, including skimming the head or so.

-Corkie- · 24-08-2011 9:31pm

I will give you 350 for it and you will have no hassle with any logbook. I will get Nissan Doc to fix it up like new..:)

Nissan doctor · 24-08-2011 9:32pm

As above, less then 1k would have the car fully repaired properly with all new valves, complete new headset, new timing belt and water pump etc.

There would be no further damage done other then bent valves unless maybe the belt broke at max rpm.

FrankGrimes · 25-08-2011 12:32pm

Thanks. The belt broke at about 140km/h. He did offer fixing the engine as an option but I've had some ongoing problems with the engine (e.g. oil sensor) so it sounded like it take somewhere between 500-1000 to fix it and even then I wasn't sure if it'd be fully alright and how long more it'd last. That's why I was looking more towards getting a replacement engine but he wasn't able to source one.

If it'd only take around €500 to fix the engine, I'd give that consideration. Should it be relatively simple for him to determine the extent of the damage or does it take a lot of work to drop the engine out in order to be able to tell how much damage has been done?

FrankGrimes · 25-08-2011 12:34pm

-Corkie- wrote: »

I will give you 350 for it and you will have no hassle with any logbook. I will get Nissan Doc to fix it up like new..:)

Not sure what you mean about hassle with the logbook?

It's the getting the car from Ennis to Dublin/Louth in its current state that might be a problem?

Greyfoot · 25-08-2011 1:29pm

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks. The belt broke at about 140km/h. He did offer fixing the engine as an option but I've had some ongoing problems with the engine (e.g. oil sensor) so it sounded like it take somewhere between 500-1000 to fix it and even then I wasn't sure if it'd be fully alright and how long more it'd last. That's why I was looking more towards getting a replacement engine but he wasn't able to source one.

If it'd only take around €500 to fix the engine, I'd give that consideration. Should it be relatively simple for him to determine the extent of the damage or does it take a lot of work to drop the engine out in order to be able to tell how much damage has been done?

I guess your mechanic already knows the extent of the damage-its 99.9% that valves bent. Making sure involves taking off the head to see and then he can see that if there is any damage done further down(which I doubt).
So you see no need to drop the engine out, taking the head off, replacing valves, skimming the head, replacing head gasket, waterpump, t-belt is sufficient.

Nissan doctor · 25-08-2011 1:53pm

You don't need to strip anything more then the spark plugs if you have a properly equiped garage and know what you are doing.

A simple leakdown test will tell you if valves are damaged and even which ones are damaged.

Plug · 25-08-2011 2:00pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

You don't need to strip anything more then the spark plugs if you have a properly equiped garage and know what you are doing.

A simple leakdown test will tell you if valves are damaged and even which ones are damaged.

Could the head be fcuked, camshafts etc? He was doing 140kph and the RPM's there would be around 4000.

darragh o meara · 25-08-2011 2:03pm

Get somebody else to have a look, A friend of mine with a golf gti (same engine ) had a similar job done recently and had the whole lot done for 550 including a new water pump and belt etc. It can be a bitch of a job and some lads will prefer not to do it but any competent mechanic would be able to do it in no time. If there is further damage this will be evident at an early stage when he removes the head.

In my opinion Id have him take off the head to assess the damage, If its too bad then scrap it if not you'd be a fool not to fix it.

Nissan doctor · 25-08-2011 2:12pm

Plug wrote: »

Could the head be fcuked, camshafts etc? He was doing 140kph and the RPM's there would be around 4000.

Unless a valve spring or retainer failed there is only a certain amount anything can move. The clearance overlap between the piston and the valve is usually a couple of mm at most.

Also, there should be no question on how long it will last after the repair. If done properly, i.e valves lapped, seats recut if required all tolerances checked correctly, all new gaskets and head bolts used etc etc then the head will last as long as a brand new one.

I've heard so many people say over the years that a car will never be the same if you get a head gasket repair or broken timing belt repair job done...but the only reason that would be the case is if it hasn't been repaired properly.

FrankGrimes · 25-08-2011 2:39pm

When posting this thread I was expecting it to be about scrappage, but now that repair is being raised as a possible viable option, it's important I add some more background:

My mate's mate is actually a crash repairs guy and has a mechanic come in 2 days a week. He just had a quick look at it and said the timing belt went, I'll ask him for more details. There were intermittent problems with the engine sensor for about a year - it'd flash red but the VAGCOM would show no issue and my own mechanic mate in Dublin could see no issue. He changed the oil sensor and it was grand for ages but when I saw the sensor flash on Saturday night, I foolishly put it down to being the same old false alarm problem so I kept ploughing on. 30minutes later (yep, at about 130km/h I'm sorry to say - was foolishly more focused on making it to Ennis in time for a cycle race registration deadline), the engine got really underpowered and started making really loud noises and then it went kapput.

That's why I'm wondering if there's probably more damage done than a normal timing belt failure. I'm an AA member with Rescue Plus, so I'll find out if they would tow it to Dublin, that way I could have my own mate work on it.

Nissan doctor · 25-08-2011 2:44pm

Tbh, it sounds more like you may have suffered the oil pump failure that those engines are prone to, causing the crank to seize and resulting in the belt breaking.

If this is the case...I retract all previous repair recommendations:P

goodstuff! · 25-08-2011 2:46pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Tbh, it sounds more like you may have suffered the oil pump failure that those engines are prone to, causing the crank to seize and resulting in the belt breaking.

If this is the case...I retract all previous repair recommendations:P

+1

goodstuff! · 25-08-2011 2:47pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Tbh, it sounds more like you may have suffered the oil pump failure that those engines are prone to, causing the crank to seize and resulting in the belt breaking.

If this is the case...I retract all previous repair recommendations:P

+1

ek9er · 25-08-2011 2:59pm

try ashline motors over on the kilrush road. They're specialists in vw/audi/seat and i've found them pretty cheap before. 065 6823055 they should be able to get you an engine if they dont have one but honestly you'd be better rebuilding your own or you're you could end up with someone elses old problems

Nissan doctor · 25-08-2011 3:04pm

ek9er wrote: »

try ashline motors over on the kilrush road. They're specialists in vw/audi/seat and i've found them pretty cheap before. 065 6823055 they should be able to get you an engine if they dont have one but honestly you'd be better rebuilding your own or you're you could end up with someone elses old problems

If the engine seized at the speeds mentioned by the OP then it will require a new crank and this essentially writes off the engine.

A friend or a friend gave up looking here for one of these engines for his wifes TT, he had to import one from the UK.

FrankGrimes · 25-08-2011 3:21pm

Yeh sorry for leaving out that detail in the initial post - I was more focused on the scrappage side of things, but can certainly see it would've been more helpful to have included it.

Now that the oil pump is being mentioned, I think I had the oil pump replaced about 2 years ago so it could be an underlying problem causing the oil pump to fail again? Anyways, it was definitely a two or 3 phase failure: engine light went off with no noticeable performance difference, then 30mins later the engine started making a horrible sound, couple of minutes later the whole thing seized - I lost power (including electrics) right in the middle of the road, was lucky to get it to the side of the road before it ran out of momentum.

So, I just have a bad feeling about getting it repaired as I think it may have too many problems. The guy couldn't find a suitable AWT engine anywhere despite ringing several places around Ireland, so the replacement engine option might not be possible - would that still not address any oil pump or crankshaft issues anyway?

So, looks like scrappage may be the best option?

conzy · 25-08-2011 3:27pm

Id say if you cant find a donor engine scrap it. Its a tough decision, I had a car for only a few weeks and the gearbox failed, but the turbo was also on the way out and the DMF was probably on the way out and it was a Laguna haha so I just had to scrap a car i just spent 2000 euro on

Car not worth repairing - what to do to get rid of it?

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