Bought car, head gasket is gone

dcfc91

Someone I know bought a car yesterday, cheap but it's not cheap to them if you know what I mean. It looked good upon inspection, there was no creamy substance or any signs of the oil and water being mixed at all and the car ran grand. Half way home the car began to overheat, pulled it in, let it cool down, still no sign of oil and water mixing. Left it there until a mechanic could look at it today. Sadly there is scum today and the mechanic says the gasket is give. Of course me man has his phone off and there will be no recourse there anyway.

Mechanic says he can do the gasket but no guarantees that the engine won't be cracked. Worth doing the gasket or best to walk away? Car was worth less than €1000 by the way.

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

Someone I know bought a car yesterday, cheap but it's not cheap to them if you know what I mean. It looked good upon inspection, there was no creamy substance or any signs of the oil and water being mixed at all and the car ran grand. Half way home the car began to overheat, pulled it in, let it cool down, still no sign of oil and water mixing. Left it there until a mechanic could look at it today. Sadly there is scum today and the mechanic says the gasket is give. Of course me man has his phone off and there will be no recourse there anyway.

Mechanic says he can do the gasket but no guarantees that the engine won't be cracked. Worth doing the gasket or best to walk away? Car was worth less than €1000 by the way.

Dont know much about cars tbh but id say if it was bought for less than 1000 euro maybe walk away.gaskets usually cost quite a bit to get fixed.maybe sell what you can for parts use money towards new car.just my option srry not much of a help

Atlantic Dawn

What's the car? Without knowing the history of the engine there could be other issues down the line, could be cheaper to just cut your loses. At a guess I would say seller buys up junkers and sells them to people without the cars ever going in his name.

mikeybrennan

Did it have a valid NCT either?

Isambard

what difference does that make?

Wexfordboy89

Isambard wrote: »

what difference does that make?

If you mean the nct i guess the poster means that if it didnt have a valid nct then chances are something big was up with it.

uck51js9zml2yt

Had the gasket go on my first car many years ago. Got the head skimmed and a new gasket but ended up having to get a reconditioned engine in the end. Should have done that first!

Toyotafanboi

There are options but it depends on the car. For example if it's a Fiat Punto and head gaskets are cheap to repair, it could still be economically viable or if it's some kind of mind 00's or older Toyota petrol where you know if you fix the head gasket the car will soldier on for another few years, I'd consider it.

If it's already a lamb of a car like a diesel Passat with no NCT where even if you fix the head gasket you know you could still have a multitude of problems, I'd be inclined to walk away.

What car and engine is it OP? What mileage and is it NCT'd? Do you have a link to the ad?

dcfc91

No link to the ad as the seller has taken it down and turned off the phone. He knew what he was doing. Car has a valid NCT cert until next year, four great tyres, a very clean car on the face of it. It's a Fiesta, 1.25, milage is fairly low, not too much over 100000 I think.

Atlantic Dawn

dcfc91 wrote: »

No link to the ad as the seller has taken it down and turned off the phone. He knew what he was doing. Car has a valid NCT cert until next year, four great tyres, a very clean car on the face of it. It's a Fiesta, 1.25, milage is fairly low, not too much over 100000 I think.

Was he selling more than 1 car, was the car in his name?

begbysback

If it was bought for less than a grand then maybe offset the loss by selling the parts

dcfc91

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Was he selling more than 1 car, was the car in his name?

I've googled the phone number, it doesn't appear to be on any other ads. Though I will keep trying. I didn't actually see the log book myself so don't know if whatever name he gave was on it. At a guess due to how polished he was I'd say this was far from the first time he has done something like this.

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

I've googled the phone number, it doesn't appear to be on any other ads. Though I will keep trying. I didn't actually see the log book myself so don't know if whatever name he gave was on it. At a guess due to how polished he was I'd say this was far from the first time he has done something like this.

Try look him up on Facebook if you know his name and the área his from

dcfc91

begbysback wrote: »

If it was bought for less than a grand then maybe offset the loss by selling the parts

Hard to get anything for it with no engine I would imagine.

dcfc91

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Try look him up on Facebook if you know his name and the área his from

Already done, can't find him, very generic name and I'd say he's flying low on the radar if he's doing this kind of thing.

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

Already done, can't find him, very generic name and I'd say he's flying low on the radar if he's doing this kind of thing.

Are u able to do a reg check anywhere like i can on uk would that give u any info on him.are there any old tax or insurance discs in the car u might get something on him address etc

2forjoy

Put the phone number into facebook and search . might identify him

Duke O Smiley

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Are u able to do a reg check anywhere like i can on uk would that give u any info on him.are there any old tax or insurance discs in the car u might get something on him address etc

What exactly is finding him on social media or elsewhere going to achieve? Seller is under no obligation to offer any recourse and by the sounds of things I highly doubt he will.

Wexfordboy89

2forjoy wrote: »

Put the phone number into facebook and search . might identify him

Good idea think u can find ppl on Facebook by their phone number

Atlantic Dawn

Kind of wreckless buying a car to start with being unsure if seller is owner as listed on logbook. Whether it's a low cost runabout or a €50k car it's not a good way to do business.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

Wexfordboy89

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

What exactly is finding him on social media or elsewhere going to achieve? Seller is under no obligation to offer any recourse and by the sounds of things I highly doubt he will.

Only trying to help OP Jaysus theres always one person who has a go for making a suggestion.fyi if hes on Facebook he could try send him a message idk only trying to help

begbysback

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

What exactly is finding him on social media or elsewhere going to achieve? Seller is under no obligation to offer any recourse and by the sounds of things I highly doubt he will.

I guess if he's found on social media, and asked politely for a full or partial refund, maybe he coughs up given that he no longer has anonymity - maybe he needs to keep a good name for other business matters - and maybe not, but then again it's worth a go

Esel

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Kind of wreckless buying a car to start with being unsure if seller is owner as listed on logbook. Whether it's a low cost runabout or a €50k car it's not a good way to do business.

It's reckless to buy a wreck alright.

Duke O Smiley

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Only trying to help OP Jaysus theres always one person who has a go for making a suggestion.fyi if hes on Facebook he could try send him a message idk only trying to help

Sorry that post should really be more clearly directed at all of the posts suggesting finding this chap through various social media outlets. My apologies.

OP, I would cut my losses. Unfortunately as I understand things you are unlikely to reach any kind of amicable agreement with this chap, if you can get in touch at all.

Wexfordboy89

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

Sorry that post should really be more clearly directed at all of the posts suggesting finding this chap through various social media outlets. My apologies.

OP, I would cut my losses. Unfortunately as I understand things you are unlikely to reach any kind of amicable agreement with this chap, if you can get in touch at all.

No worries if i was OP id be pretty annoyed aswell tbh n the guy having his phone off aint the best of signs tbh.sounds like he knew the car wouldnt last long and lying low for a bit

dcfc91

2forjoy wrote: »

Put the phone number into facebook and search . might identify him

Good idea, just tried messenger, WhatsApp and Viber, no go sadly. Would love to catch him but clearly he uses this number for this specific purpose.

Jesus Wept

What colour is the car?

dcfc91

Jesus Wept wrote: »

What colour is the car?

Blue???

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

Good idea, just tried messenger, WhatsApp and Viber, no go sadly. Would love to catch him but clearly he uses this number for this specific purpose.

I dunno then did he sound local/from área odd question i know just wondering would you be likely too see him around.real pain in the bum alrite

dcfc91

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

I dunno then did he sound local/from área odd question i know just wondering would you be likely too see him around.real pain in the bum alrite

He was 100% local to the area we bought the car from. We drove a bit to get there and it's in the suburb of a city so he would be hard to catch. People can criticise at the way the car was bought, fair enough, it genuinely couldn't have been any more above board looking, or even trying to get any recourse at all but would love to give him a bit if a fright seeing as he clearly does this regularly. Feel for my friend as all though it's a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things, it's money they saved from working hard and now they have nothing at all.

Duke O Smiley

begbysback wrote: »

I guess if he's found on social media, and asked politely for a full or partial refund, maybe he coughs up given that he no longer has anonymity - maybe he needs to keep a good name for other business matters - and maybe not, but then again it's worth a go

I can understand that - and perhaps he might - but perhaps he might not. My money would be on the latter outcome here.

And say OP does get in touch with the seller, and the seller says "take me to court" - as I understand these laws the seller of a private vehicle is only obliged to provide truthful and accurate information in response to any and all questions posed by the buyer/OP, so unless buyer/OP can provide firm evidence of him/herself asking "is the head gasket okay" and a response along the lines of "yes sir/madam, absolutely" - things probably won't go too swimmingly for the buyer/OP.

The seller does not have to provide information that is not asked for.

I really hate to be the bearer of bad news in this thread but I am just being realistic from my own experience of such cases first hand.

OP what was the quote for the head gasket fix? If the car didn't travel too far while overheating the head may well be okay.

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

He was 100% local to the area we bought the car from. We drove a bit to get there and it's in the suburb of a city so he would be hard to catch. People can criticise at the way the car was bought, fair enough, it genuinely couldn't have been any more above board looking, or even trying to get any recourse at all but would love to give him a bit if a fright seeing as he clearly does this regularly. Feel for my friend as all though it's a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things, it's money they saved from working hard and now they have nothing at all.

Tbh thats the worst thing easy to say cut your losses but if your someone with not much money its means a lot.

dcfc91

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

I can understand that - and perhaps he might - but perhaps he might not. My money would be on the latter outcome here.

And say OP does get in touch with the seller, and the seller says "take me to court" - as I understand these laws the seller of a private vehicle is only obliged to provide truthful and accurate information in response to any and all questions posed by the buyer/OP, so unless buyer/OP can provide firm evidence of him/herself asking "is the head gasket okay" and a response along the lines of "yes sir/madam, absolutely" - things probably won't go too swimmingly for the buyer/OP.

The seller does not have to provide information that is not asked for.

I really hate to be the bearer of bad news in this thread but I am just being realistic from my own experience of such cases first hand.

OP what was the quote for the head gasket fix? If the car didn't travel too far while overheating the head may well be okay.

Well aware that there probably won't be any recourse, you are completely right. He did however present the car as being in perfect working order when asked and said there was no issues with it whatsoever. He even had the cheek to give money back for luck. Oil and water are mixing as of this morning, so the gasket is definitely gone. No quote yet but the mechanic who looked at it advised not bothering as the engine could be cracked and he wasn't willing to make any guarantees.

jimbooth

Throw in a bottle of steel seal, job done ! Used it on my fiesta 30,000Kms ago, no more issues. Worth the €25

dcfc91

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Tbh thats the worst thing easy to say cut your losses but if your someone with not much money its means a lot.

Will take months for them to save up to get another car even at that low cost. They were only looking for a little runaround. It's a tough pill to swallow alright, don't know how anyone can do something like that.

dcfc91

jimbooth wrote: »

Throw in a bottle of steel seal, job done ! Used it on my fiesta 30,000Kms ago, no more issues. Worth the €25

Was the gasket actually gone?

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

Will take months for them to save up to get another car even at that low cost. They were only looking for a little runaround. It's a tough pill to swallow alright, don't know how anyone can do something like that.

Hard alrite do they take the chance and fix it and something else go wrong.

dcfc91

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Hard alrite do they take the chance and fix it and something else go wrong.

I'd say now the answer is no, I think they will just cut losses and walk away, I'll see if I can get someone to take it for a few bob so that at least they have something back though it won't be worth much as is.

Wexfordboy89

dcfc91 wrote: »

I'd say now the answer is no, I think they will just cut losses and walk away, I'll see if I can get someone to take it for a few bob so that at least they have something back though it won't be worth much as is.

Probably best someone will well it for parts.if you or your buddy knows a mechanic maybe bring them with you nxt time.hope you can sort it out for your mate all the best

dcfc91

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Probably best someone will well it for parts.if you or your buddy knows a mechanic maybe bring them with you nxt time.hope you can sort it out for your mate all the best

Cheers ðŸ‘

_Brian

Best advice is stop searching for this individual as there is no comeback anyway.

It's 50/50 as to repairing that engine, if this was the first failure on the gasket then the damage could be limited, if it's been bodged along and boiled a few times it's probably scrap.

If it were me I'd sell it as it on dd for whatever you can get and learn a harsh lesson.

Cheap cars need to be bought from someone you trust or your risking being done over.

jimbooth

dcfc91 wrote: »

Was the gasket actually gone?

Yes, thought it might have been too far but worth a try. Use it exactly as per the directions, worth a try. Use the steel seal on, it seems to be the best. It's in a bright yellow bottle ..

E36Ross

What year Fiesta out of interest? Assuming it'so older than 2003/2004?

1874

Hey OP, I know where there is a 99 Mk4 Fiesta for sale, I need to check if its still available, it was not NCt'd last time around (June) as the current owner in my family was told it would need to have work done to pass NCT, (Id need to check but I think they said it would need brake shoes/drums on the rear (I replaced the front discs myself already in my ownership, but they might have told it needed pads on the front, although I doubted it myself). Against my judgement they decided not to pay money to get other work done and in the least I think they should have NCT'd anyway, its in my family, I was the first owner of the car and had it for years, it has the same 1.25 engine, as far as Im aware the engine is fine and has 137 k on the clock (had a Ford dealer timing belt installed at 100k miles but that was about 8 years ago, so timewise, it may make sense todo? ) it does burn a bit of oil, but other than that its fine as far as Im aware, in case that is an option?? I dont know what reconditioning your engine might cost, but maybe swapping an engine might suit?? I'll enquire if its still available if you want? It also had a new battery in the last year but it was allowed to go flat as the car wasnt used since June!
What year and price did you pay for your car? might be a cheapish way to recover your loss??? your call.

dcfc91

E36Ross wrote: »

What year Fiesta out of interest? Assuming it'so older than 2003/2004?

It's either 03 or 04 can't remember off the top of my head.

dcfc91

1874 wrote: »

Hey OP, I know where there is a 99 Mk4 Fiesta for sale, I need to check if its still available, it was not NCt'd last time around (June) as the current owner in my family was told it would need to have work done to pass NCT, (Id need to check but I think they said it would need brake shoes/drums on the rear (I replaced the front discs myself already in my ownership, but they might have told it needed pads on the front, although I doubted it myself). Against my judgement they decided not to pay money to get other work done and in the least I think they should have NCT'd anyway, its in my family, I was the first owner of the car and had it for years, it has the same 1.25 engine, as far as Im aware the engine is fine and has 137 k on the clock (had a Ford dealer timing belt installed at 100k miles but that was about 8 years ago, so timewise, it may make sense todo? ) it does burn a bit of oil, but other than that its fine as far as Im aware, in case that is an option?? I dont know what reconditioning your engine might cost, but maybe swapping an engine might suit?? I'll enquire if its still available if you want? It also had a new battery in the last year but it was allowed to go flat as the car wasnt used since June!
What year and price did you pay for your car? might be a cheapish way to recover your loss??? your call.

It's not mine, but I'll say it to the owner. I know it's the same engine but different mark so probably wouldn't fit, thanks any way though.

dean bride

dcfc91 wrote: »

Someone I know bought a car yesterday, cheap but it's not cheap to them if you know what I mean. It looked good upon inspection, there was no creamy substance or any signs of the oil and water being mixed at all and the car ran grand. Half way home the car began to overheat, pulled it in, let it cool down, still no sign of oil and water mixing. Left it there until a mechanic could look at it today. Sadly there is scum today and the mechanic says the gasket is give. Of course me man has his phone off and there will be no recourse there anyway.

Mechanic says he can do the gasket but no guarantees that the engine won't be cracked. Worth doing the gasket or best to walk away? Car was worth less than €1000 by the way.

You sure it's a head gasket and not a thermostat

You would get a gasket done cheaper

1874

dcfc91 wrote: »

It's not mine, but I'll say it to the owner. I know it's the same engine but different mark so probably wouldn't fit, thanks any way though.

I just checked, the car is already gone, it was a great car, great little runner, I serviced it every 10k (I probably should have gotten it dealer serviced for the warranty period but I just did it from the outset) but it was virtually worthless due to the age, it was the only new car I ever bought, so I always knew what condition it was kept it. Sorry about that, just when I saw the thread, I thought it might be a good situation for them/you, as I was telling them to get rid of it for a while as it would just deteriorate more if left sitting there not being used, which it wasn't as they didnt want to NCT it.

dcfc91

dean bride wrote: »

You sure it's a head gasket and not a thermostat

You would get a gasket done cheaper

Def head gasket, confirmed by a mechanic.

1874 wrote: »

I just checked, the car is already gone, it was a great car, great little runner, I serviced it every 10k (I probably should have gotten it dealer serviced for the warranty period but I just did it from the outset) but it was virtually worthless due to the age, it was the only new car I ever bought, so I always knew what condition it was kept it. Sorry about that, just when I saw the thread, I thought it might be a good situation for them/you, as I was telling them to get rid of it for a while as it would just deteriorate more if left sitting there not being used, which it wasn't as they didnt want to NCT it.

Ah cheers for trying anyway, appreciate it.

jimbooth

Is it 00/01 model or 02/03 newer shape ?