Selling a car with a design flaw, when to tell potential buyers

Del2005

I'm going to be selling my car shortly and with all the threads about dodgy private sellers it got me thinking.


My car has a know design flaw where the VVTi Corrolla burns oil due to the design of the engine oil drains. When in the sale process should you mention design flaws and the need to check the oil every week?

I know I can say nothing and let the new owner find out the hard way but that's just bad. But I don't want to say it too early and drive them away.

So when should it be mentioned before or after they hand over money?

BrianD3

What age is the car, if it's relatively old/cheap then the buyer won't (or shouldn't) be expecting perfection

I'd volunteer the info on the oil burning while they are examining the car. If the car has recently passed the NCT, I'd have the white sheet ready to show that the emissions are OK

If I was the buyer and I knew about the design flaw before viewing the car I would wait to see if the seller mentioned it without being asked. If he did mention it, that would give me a good impression of both the seller and the car.

dougie-lampkin

Unless it's your own fault through ragging the car that it burns oil, you don't need to say anything. A potential buyer should have done their homework and be aware of the common problems of any car they go to view.

Would you also tell a potential buyer that the Corolla has floor mats with a tendency to slip under the throttle and jam it open?

How much oil does it go through ? If it drank a good bit you should tell them, what goes around comes around and all that. In saying that you do want rid of the thing so a rough estimation of the oil usage that is a tad inaccurate wouldn't be too bad.

YouTookMyName

My missus 2000 1.4 Corolla burns about a litre every 1000miles.

Grimreaper666

Lots of Toyotas do that anyway but at least they'll give you a new engine if you make enough noise about it. VW's do it too but don't hold your breath if you're looking for any help from them. Bad and all as Toyotas are lately VW are taking the p!ss with the crap they're selling as cars nowadays.

Grimreaper666

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

Lots of Toyotas do that anyway but at least they'll give you a new engine if you make enough noise about it.

Yes, lots of toyotas with specific engine versions built in specific years have the oil burning problem.

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

Bad and all as Toyotas are lately

Are they? news to me.

dell1211

its only fair that you do, if you dont the buyer could drive the car and a few weeks later blows the engine due to no oil, which would be preventable, all you have to say is keep an eye on the oil as it burns a small bit

Grimreaper666

Deleted User wrote: »

Are they? news to me.

Haven't you heard of all the recalls? They're still ongoing as we speak. Modern Toyotas are nothing like the ones built in the 90's and early 2000's.

Del2005

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

Haven't you heard of all the recalls? They're still ongoing as we speak. Modern Toyotas are nothing like the ones built in the 90's and early 2000's.

It these ones which have the oil burning issue.

Mine is below 1l per 1000km. But some weeks it burns more then others, driving style.

dell1211 wrote: »

its only fair that you do, if you dont the buyer could drive the car and a few weeks later blows the engine due to no oil, which would be preventable, all you have to say is keep an eye on the oil as it burns a small bit

Sounds like the plan.
Thanks

Sikie

Grimreaper666 wrote: »

Haven't you heard of all the recalls? They're still ongoing as we speak. Modern Toyotas are nothing like the ones built in the 90's and early 2000's.

Nothing is made perfect!! The manfacturers do their sums on issues they uncover and determine whether they need to recall or leave it flow out past the warranty at which stage design/reliability problems emerge as commom themes on motoring forums.

Capt'n Midnight

OP your link points to a '00 Toyota so it's probably safe to assume it's been run in at this stage.

as long as it isn't behaving like a two stroke and as it's a known problem it shouldn't be a big concern especially if you can show that the NCT emissions are OK

keeping an eye on the oil is one thing, drinking oil is different.

With a car a decade old I'd expect some problems and keeping an eye on the oil isn't a biggie in the grand scheme of things.


My mum's car used to go through a jam jar of oil every tank :pac:


Reminds me of the B36 , you never had to change the oil on those things they leaked that badly.

But that wasn't good for the spark plug. It had 6 engines (70m wingspan) each with 28 cylinders. So 336 spark plugs to change :eek: and if you were based in Thule (max temp in Jan/Feb was -20), Greenland it was too big to fit in the hangers

Mr Benevolent

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Reminds me of the B36 , you never had to change the oil on those things they leaked that badly.

But that wasn't good for the spark plug. It had 6 engines (70m wingspan) each with 28 cylinders. So 336 spark plugs to change :eek: and if you were based in Thule (max temp in Jan/Feb was -20), Greenland it was too big to fit in the hangers

Least you wouldn't have to change the plug on the 4 jet engines. Problem is, half the time they probably wouldn't work anyway...