Volkswagen Polo repair - advice

esprimo

Was hoping to get some advice on recent events with my 2006 1.2 Volkswagen Polo.
Basically it failed the NCT pretty bad on emissions. A few days later,the check engine light started flashing while at my house after startup with the engine sounding harsh, failing to move forward. After towing it to the garage, it was diagnosed as having a cylinder that has lost compression. By the way it has a 3 cylinder engine with 165,000 km on the clock.
This trusted mechanic advised me it would basically be an "un-economic repair" as it would cost approx 1400 euro to put right(stripping the engine etc).
So.. do I
a) Pay the 1400 to get the car right again (Paid about 3k for it last year).
b) Scrap the car for 400 and look for new car. Cut my losses basically as I already did some work to prepare it for the test.
c) Trade the car in to a dealer (explaining the current fault), where I could get slightly more than the scrap value against something else.
d) Source some salvage engine and get it fitted. I suspect this might cost the same as option A above.

I'm leaning towards option C, has anybody been through similar or think its the right thing to do?

Have you talked to a dealer who is willing to give you more than 400 for a car that needs an engine rebuild?

I don't know any dealer who would take that risk, so for me option C is not really an option.

esprimo

Deleted User wrote: »

Have you talked to a dealer who is willing to give you more than 400 for a car that needs an engine rebuild?

I don't know any dealer who would take that risk, so for me option C is not really an option.

I know what you mean. It was just the dealer/mechanic who diagnosed the issue, that suggested *maybe* some places would. In any case because he knows exactly whats wrong, he offered it as an option on his stock.

Atlantic Dawn

Is the car in good condition other than that, like are the tyres good, no issues with suspension etc? If the car is at the stage where there could be other big bills on the horizon too it might be time to cut your losses and get something else, otherwise a replacement engine might make most sense. Your probably looking around €3k for another 2006 Polo.

XR3i

you might be able yo swap it for a bangernomic

Jan Laco

I had a similar problem with my 2005 polo. I had it fixed and it ran fine for a year afterward. sold it for 2000 and wasn't waiting long for it to be sold. So I'd say don't give it away for dirt.

Duke O Smiley

For a start I would rule out option C. It will offer you absolutely no benefit over option A, and you have no guarantee that an engine from a scrap car will be any better than your own. In fact most 3 cylinder Polos in scrap yards will be there for the same or similar reasons to your own I would wager.

With option A you will know at least that the work will be done to a reasonable standard and you will have a running car at the end. Not to say your mechanic could fit the engine well, but if it turns out to be a dud you still have to pay him to take it out again.

XR3i

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

For a start I would rule out option C. It will offer you absolutely no benefit over option A, and you have no guarantee that an engine from a scrap car will be any better than your own. In fact most 3 cylinder Polos in scrap yards will be there for the same or similar reasons to your own I would wager.

With option A you will know at least that the work will be done to a reasonable standard and you will have a running car at the end. Not to say your mechanic could fit the engine well, but if it turns out to be a dud you still have to pay him to take it out again.

you can say that again

surely 3 cylinders is against the laws of physics

esprimo

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Is the car in good condition other than that, like are the tyres good, no issues with suspension etc? If the car is at the stage where there could be other big bills on the horizon too it might be time to cut your losses and get something else, otherwise a replacement engine might make most sense. Your probably looking around €3k for another 2006 Polo.

Actually everything else is good I think. Replacement engine seems like a good option now that I think about it more!

Jan Laco wrote: »

I had a similar problem with my 2005 polo. I had it fixed and it ran fine for a year afterward. sold it for 2000 and wasn't waiting long for it to be sold. So I'd say don't give it away for dirt.

Thanks for the advise. You mean you stripped the original engine etc or put in a new (salvaged) one? Also what did it set you back roughly?

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

For a start I would rule out option C. It will offer you absolutely no benefit over option A, and you have no guarantee that an engine from a scrap car will be any better than your own. In fact most 3 cylinder Polos in scrap yards will be there for the same or similar reasons to your own I would wager.

With option A you will know at least that the work will be done to a reasonable standard and you will have a running car at the end. Not to say your mechanic could fit the engine well, but if it turns out to be a dud you still have to pay him to take it out again.

Yes, you're right, the trade in consideration makes less sense on reflection. Thats the thing I suppose with the salvage engine, who knows what condition it will be compared to the original. And with option A, its basically a sure thing that I will have a reasonable running car in the end (minus 1400!).

So I guess I will call a few mechanics that I know Monday, to see whether an engine replacement or fix makes more sense. One looks to be cheaper,faster but less reliable. Whilst the other seems to be more time and cost intensive but fairly reliable. The only thing that has thrown me off, was the mechanics view of how un-economical or bad a choice it might be to simply repair the engine. Even though he said once it was fixed, everything should be fine! Obviously it depends on many variables but I wonder how long it takes generally in labour hours to swap an engine vs repair one?

XR3i

they would not listen they did not know how

even einstein saaid every action has an opposite but equal reaction

so picture you 3 cylinder engine on th emotorway

and no amount o modern amount of vw engineering and counter-balncing will beat the laws of physics in the long run

pablo128

XR3i wrote: »

they would not listen they did not know how

even einstein saaid every action has an opposite but equal reaction

so picture you 3 cylinder engine on th emotorway

and no amount o modern amount of vw engineering and counter-balncing will beat the laws of physics in the long run

There are plenty of 3 cylinder cars and bikes out there working away without issues. Less revs but more torque. Toyota, Opel, VW, Daihatsu, Citroen, Peugeot, etc.

XR3i

pablo128 wrote: »

There are plenty of 3 cylinder cars and bikes out there working away without issues. Less revs but more torque. Toyota, Opel, VW, Daihatsu, Citroen, Peugeot, etc.

so the laws of relativity don't apply anymore

well thats conveniant , i might just disconnect a ht lead from my engine

iwillhtfu

Those VW 3 cylinder engines always fail on emissions.

For me it would be a right off even using the example above of selling a 2005 polo for €2000 a year later.

You still have to pay out €1400 for the initial repair and then hope it will go through the NCT. Allowing for the €400 scrap value (where did you get this scrap prices are buttons at the minute.) on top of that I'd take the €400.

IMO the only way you could make it work was if you were planning on keeping it and driving it into the ground.

pablo128

XR3i wrote: »

so the laws of relativity don't apply anymore

well thats conveniant , i might just disconnect a ht lead from my engine

I see by your username you are fond of Fords.

What if I told you that they are currently fitting a 1.0 litre 3 cylinder engine to Mondeo's?

XR3i

pablo128 wrote: »

I see by your username you are fond of Fords.

What if I told you that they are currently fitting a 1.0 litre 3 cylinder engine to Mondeo's?

ford tractors ya

not ford cars

ford cars havent made a good car since the '87 XR3i


and i don't care which engineers make it i'm not driving a 3 cylinder car

now that i think of it didn't Thwaites make a good dumper back in the 80's with a 3 cyl eng, ?

Nekarsulm

perhaps look for an engine out of a crashed car, with low miles.


Daihatsu had a hell of a 3 cylinder back in the 80's. Both petrol and diesel.

s14driftking

Nekarsulm wrote: »

perhaps look for an engine out of a crashed car, with low miles.


Daihatsu had a hell of a 3 cylinder back in the 80's. Both petrol and diesel.

If u kept a spare head gasket with u at all times and didn't mind waiting a week for it to get to 200kmph then they were ok I suppose.