Considering 201212 Passat but oil cap gunky

little_monty

I'm looking at buying a 2012 Passat with 80k miles(1.6 diesel)
( buying off one of these reselling dealers who don't do own mechanic work as far as I can tell)

Im happy to buy car but worried about potential coolant getting into engine due to
- coolant almost empty (I think it went down half a cup over test drive)
- indications of yellow gunk under oil cap
- engine spat some water initially and then more like steam when running with oil cap off(after 10k drive)

I'm wondering if head gasket could be gone?

Dealer tells me the car will be serviced, engine flushed, car NCT'd before its ready. Also there is 3month warrenty and option to pay more for full yr

I'm thinking now I'll have independent mechanic look car over b4 I buy.
Just looking for any thoughts /advice

Atlantic Dawn

Does the car have a full service history? Coolant almost empty would make me run away, did the seller not check basic stuff before putting it up for sale, it could even be getting damaged from test drives if fluids are low.

acronym Chilli

little_monty wrote: »

I'm looking at buying a 2012 Passat with 80k miles(1.6 diesel)
( buying off one of these reselling dealers who don't do own mechanic work as far as I can tell)

Im happy to buy car but worried about potential coolant getting into engine due to
- coolant almost empty (I think it went down half a cup over test drive)
- indications of yellow gunk under oil cap
- engine spat some water initially and then more like steam when running with oil cap off(after 10k drive)

I'm wondering if head gasket could be gone?

Dealer tells me the car will be serviced, engine flushed, car NCT'd before its ready. Also there is 3month warrenty and option to pay more for full yr

I'm thinking now I'll have independent mechanic look car over b4 I buy.
Just looking for any thoughts /advice

Unless you're buying as a fixer-upper or project car none of that sounds at all good. If you get mechanic to look at this make sure you go thru all symptoms with him/her.

Head gasket blown by itself is bad. But in this case you'll also need to worry about what cause was, how long it's been left broken, and general chronic under-maintenance

bazz26

There are hundreds of similar Passats for sale, why would you dwell on one with a question mark over it?

little_monty

Thanks for the comments all, Yeah i think i will walk from this one

George Dalton

What spec is it and how much is the asking price?

little_monty

George Dalton wrote: »

What spec is it and how much is the asking price?

Its a comfortline with some extras.
Selling for 15k but I'm getting a 1k more on trade in than I expect

little_monty

Just wondering if a mechanic could diagnose head gasket type problem after car is newly serviced ? (it would require a pressure test?)