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Bought a Punto with engine problems

  • 05-01-2015 12:44AM
    #1
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭


    Just got conned... Buying a new car in Dublin... (As I've had no car due to the petrol stretching scandal in Mayo) the car drove 4 miles down the road and it blew up... Head gasket.... Rang the guy... Was told he'd send out his tow truck and bring the money, no problems

    ...No where to be seen and turned his phone off...Gardai can't do nothing(obviously) The guy opted to meet us in Lidl, which is the only place in Finglas that has NO CCTV... it appeared to be driving fine and looked okay.. it was bought for 450eu with 5 months NCT/TAX... Fiat Punto... Got 4 miles down the road and then the car started smoking heavy white clouds and then pulled up, car would no longer start...

    So looks like the head gasket is gone, any idea if its worth doing?

    Also any idea on how to get the car from Dublin(Clonee) to Galway?


    :(


    So sad.


«13

Comments

  • #2
    Bpmull
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,031 ✭✭✭Bpmull


    Sorry to hear op but Unfortunately with a private sale no come back. So I recon you'll have to chalk it down to experience and scrap it probably worth 100-150 in scrap. I know it's terrible to hear but at least it wasn't 5k you gave him. I wouldn't bother going at the head gasket in it will cost to much and it's probably not the only issue with the car.


  • #3
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    Aw man I'm gutted... I recently bought another car which needs a whole new engine due to petrol stretching and contamination in Mayo.. Feeling really hard done by.. Its sick what some people can do to others... I wouldn't dream of it.... no money to buy another car and no way of getting to work...really really angry


  • #4
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    Aw man I'm gutted... I recently bought another car which NOW needs a whole new engine due to petrol stretching and contamination in Mayo.. Feeling really hard done by.. Its sick what some people can do to others... I wouldn't dream of it.... no money to buy another car and no way of getting to work...really really angry


  • #5
    Supergurrier
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,295 ✭✭✭Supergurrier


    Ir probably wasnt the petrol that did it


  • #6
    Bpmull
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,031 ✭✭✭Bpmull


    KJC1990 wrote: »
    Aw man I'm gutted... I recently bought another car which needs a whole new engine due to petrol stretching and contamination in Mayo.. Feeling really hard done by.. Its sick what some people can do to others... I wouldn't dream of it.... no money to buy another car and no way of getting to work...really really angry

    That's sh!t to hear it's unreal what some people will do. Do you recon it's definitely the head gasket is there oil in the coolant or white mayonnaise like scum on the oil filler cap both are signs of hg failure.


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  • #7
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    well I don't know for definite, once the engine got hot, it started smoking, the temperature gauge went up to 65% and then we pulled over, the car then refused to start.... I imagine its the head gasket...


  • #8
    Bpmull
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,031 ✭✭✭Bpmull


    KJC1990 wrote: »
    well I don't know for definite, once the engine got hot, it started smoking, the temperature gauge went up to 65% and then we pulled over, the car then refused to start.... I imagine its the head gasket...

    Did the temperature go much over 90 degrees half way if you went over 100 and boiled the coolant you are in trouble.


  • #9
    unkel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 60,764 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    You buy a car for €450 without checking it out and you are surprised that it developed a problem. Really?

    I'm sorry for your troubles though :(

    "Make no mistake. The days of the internal combustion engine are definitely numbered" - Quentin Willson, 1997



  • #10
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    It didn't develop a problem... it already had it...masked somehow though....anyway... its a gonner now


  • #11
    Aint Eazy Being Cheezy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,634 ✭✭✭Aint Eazy Being Cheezy


    unkel wrote: »
    You buy a car for €450 without checking it out and you are surprised that it developed a problem. Really?

    I'm sorry for your troubles though :(

    You don't sound sorry you smug git, it's no wonder people say this forum's gone to shyte :(


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  • #12
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,596 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    GDY151


    Sad to hear of this, all too common.

    If you bought it on Donedeal and the ad is still there click on the "See all ads from this seller", he could have other cars for sale, you could call about them on another mobile and then meet up and confront him. Hard to know what type of character you are dealing with, might not be safe to confront unless you have a couple of people with you.

    If your buying another car don't purchase anything unless you see the logbook, verify the seller is the person named on the logbook, if they are not seek to contact the previous owner to verify why this person is selling their car, possibly traded in as scrap or something?


  • #13
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    Cheers for the reply thats really helpful... I'll have a look at that...


  • #14
    unkel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 60,764 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    Atlantic Dawn wrote: »
    If you bought it on Donedeal and the ad is still there click on the "See all ads from this seller", he could have other cars for sale, you could call about them on another mobile and then meet up and confront him.

    Confront him about what? Private sale, caveat emptor. There is no come back at all legally. Could give it a try though :)

    "Make no mistake. The days of the internal combustion engine are definitely numbered" - Quentin Willson, 1997



  • #15
    barney 20v
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 985 ✭✭✭barney 20v


    Sorry to hear you got stung op but....
    Buying a sub €1000 euro car ( esp a fiat) is a huge gamble.
    You shouldn't have met in a public place- should have brought a mech / exp person with you.. A test drive would have shown the issue surely ??? If no test leave the car running until temp reached
    Also....
    Roughly 1/3 of Puntos blew head gaskets.
    Heap of sh1te new !

    Harsh lesson!


  • #16
    the_syco
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,310 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    Spend the AA charge ye €199 for a car-check, but an indie may cost ye less. It may cost ye €100, but it'll be a €100 well spent if it saves you €350 like in this case. And if the seller doesn't want your mechanic looking at the car, or takes offence, go look at another car.
    unkel wrote: »
    You buy a car for €450 without checking it out and you are surprised that it developed a problem. Really?
    Some may call him smug, but he has a point. Pay the motorcheck, or pay the mechanic, or you'll be paying for the car to be towed to the dump.


  • #17
    Toyotafanboi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,903 ✭✭✭✭Toyotafanboi


    Bpmull wrote: »
    Did the temperature go much over 90 degrees half way if you went over 100 and boiled the coolant you are in trouble.

    coolant doesn't boil at 100oC, or at least not while it's still inside the cooling system :)
    barney 20v wrote: »
    Sorry to hear you got stung op but....
    Buying a sub €1000 euro car ( esp a fiat) is a huge gamble.
    You shouldn't have met in a public place- should have brought a mech / exp person with you.. A test drive would have shown the issue surely ??? If no test leave the car running until temp reached
    Also....
    Roughly 1/3 of Puntos blew head gaskets.
    Heap of sh1te new !

    Harsh lesson!

    you have to back that up with some evidence. some were prone to head gasket trouble, but 1 in 3, seriously?


  • #18
    barney 20v
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 985 ✭✭✭barney 20v


    Toyotafanboi wrote: »
    coolant doesn't boil at 100oC, or at least not while it's still inside the cooling system :)



    you have to back that up with some evidence. some were prone to head gasket trouble, but 1 in 3, seriously?

    Yes really


  • #19
    Toyotafanboi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,903 ✭✭✭✭Toyotafanboi


    barney 20v wrote: »
    Yes really

    what engine are we talking exactly here? 8v or 16v? 1108 or 1242cc? mk1, mk2 or mk3 punto? just a very broad statement you made, you should refine it, it'd be more useful for future reference.


  • #20
    Bpmull
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,031 ✭✭✭Bpmull


    Toyotafanboi wrote: »
    coolant doesn't boil at 100oC, or at least not while it's still inside the cooling system :)


    Chances are if it's had cooling problems it's probably just water in the system mainly anyway with little Antifreeze. Then considering the closed system is running at approx 1bar (101300 pa) gauge then the boiling point of the water at 2 bar absolute would be around 120 degree c although could be lower depending on the system pressure. Either way running an engine at 100 degree c would still potentially be doing damage.


  • #21
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    Guys its a 1.2 8V


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  • #22
    KJC1990
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭KJC1990


    So why is the car no longer starting guys?.... he smoked and then pulled in and nothing...


  • #23
    barney 20v
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 985 ✭✭✭barney 20v


    Toyotafanboi wrote: »
    what engine are we talking exactly here? 8v or 16v? 1108 or 1242cc? mk1, mk2 or mk3 punto? just a very broad statement you made, you should refine it, it'd be more useful for future reference.

    I'm not here for your future reference.
    The punto and the Rover "K" series engines are commonly known to be the most prone for head gasket failures.

    All marks of punto suffered with this problem usually anywhere from 20k miles upwards .
    Google " punto head" and see what pops up.!

    Or this

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055339587


  • #24
    Toyotafanboi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,903 ✭✭✭✭Toyotafanboi


    do you know much about cars? genuine question.

    what checks did you do around the car before buying?
    did you check the condition of the oil and coolant?
    was the engine cold when you went to view it?
    did the temperature gauge go into the red zone?
    did you feel the car dying off getting progressively worse over a period of time, or did it almost instantly fail?
    what does the oil and coolant look like now.

    given the car in question, what you describe happened and the price you paid, it does sound like you've been had and it may be the head gasket.

    if this is the case, you'd be better sticking it on donedeal with an honest description for €250 and forgetting the whole experience. given the fact that it sounds like money is now tight (no offence at all) and the fact that you are on the other side of the country. it would probably cost more to get it recovered from Dublin to Galway than it did to buy the car.

    that said, if the car was closer to home and the engine didn't overheat, you could probably get it repaired for €2-300 and then you know you have a pretty good solid little car with tax and test that you still paid less than €1k for.


  • #25
    biko
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 81,060 ✭✭✭✭biko


    The Cunning Linguist wrote: »
    You don't sound sorry you smug git, it's no wonder people say this forum's gone to shyte :(
    Infract for uncivilized

    How about you be the change you want to see in the forum?


  • #26
    Toyotafanboi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,903 ✭✭✭✭Toyotafanboi


    barney 20v wrote: »
    I'm not here for your future reference.
    The punto and the Rover "K" series engines are commonly known to be the most prone for head gasket failures.

    All marks of punto suffered with this problem usually anywhere from 20k miles upwards .
    Google " punto head" and see what pops up.!

    no way? head gasket trouble with the rover k-series?

    i'm just curious because we've had 4 punto's in the family and now a 500 with that same 1242 engine and none have had head gasket trouble in our ownership. we'd had the 99 punto from new too, went to it's grave last year after 140k miles and it was still going well. by your statistical count, 2 of those cars should have had trouble.

    obviously this is being pedantic, but i do think your claim of own in three is very excessive, particularly when you can't even elaborate on the engines effected. it's not for my future reference personally, but if you are going to tell someone to avoid a certain car, you might as well give useful advice and be specific as to which one's would most likely be troublesome.


  • #27
    barney 20v
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 985 ✭✭✭barney 20v


    Toyotafanboi wrote: »
    no way? head gasket trouble with the rover k-series?

    i'm just curious because we've had 4 punto's in the family and now a 500 with that same 1242 engine and none have had head gasket trouble in our ownership. we'd had the 99 punto from new too, went to it's grave last year after 140k miles and it was still going well. by your statistical count, 2 of those cars should have had trouble.

    obviously this is being pedantic, but i do think your claim of own in three is very excessive, particularly when you can't even elaborate on the engines effected. it's not for my future reference personally, but if you are going to tell someone to avoid a certain car, you might as well give useful advice and be specific as to which one's would most likely be troublesome.

    Ok- let's ask other users, has anyone else heard that the punto are notorious for head gasket failures even from low mileage ?
    It's too late in the am to be grabbing links for you to appease your offence fanboy.

    A sample size of 5 is nonsense btw- 1/3 of the total produced or sold.
    I know loads and loads of Puntos that had HG trouble. 8v 16v and even a 1.4 turbo!


  • #28
    Toyotafanboi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,903 ✭✭✭✭Toyotafanboi


    barney 20v wrote: »
    Ok- let's ask other users, has anyone else heard that the punto are notorious for head gasket failures even from low mileage ?
    It's too late in the am to be grabbing links for you to appease your offence fanboy.

    A sample size of 5 is nonsense btw- 1/3 of the total produced or sold.
    I know loads and loads of Puntos that had HG trouble. 8v 16v and even a 1.4 turbo!

    i am not saying i haven't ever heard of "puntos having head gasket failure", i'm just saying imo, the story has grown legs and that practical cases of the problem are far less than the scaremongering sometimes suggests and that i wouldn't avoid buying a fiat purely because the head gasket might go.


  • #29
    Maximus Alexander
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,080 ✭✭✭✭Maximus Alexander


    I had a low mileage 00 Punto about 10 years ago that had the head gasket go. But one swallow doesn't make a summer.


  • #30
    barney 20v
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 985 ✭✭✭barney 20v


    Toyotafanboi wrote: »
    i am not saying i haven't ever heard of "puntos having head gasket failure", i'm just saying imo, the story has grown legs and that practical cases of the problem are far less than the scaremongering sometimes suggests and that i wouldn't avoid buying a fiat purely because the head gasket might go.

    Please search "fiat punto - head gasket " in here on boards- have a read of the post and in particular what DGT has to say about them!


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  • #31
    Toyotafanboi
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,903 ✭✭✭✭Toyotafanboi


    barney 20v wrote: »
    Please search "fiat punto - head gasket " in here on boards- have a read of the post and in particular what DGT has to say about them!

    i'm not saying i havn't heard of the problem.

    if i google search ford fiesta head gasket, i will get the results i want.
    if i google search nissan almera head gasket, i will get the results i want.
    if i google search posche 911 head gasket, i will get the results i want.

    nobody ever comes online to say their head gasket it still ok though. only when there is problems. my point is it's very easy to get caught up in the bad news posted about cars online. if i had only €500 to spend on a car, an old punto would definitely be on my list.

    so it's important to remember that an absolute minimum, by your standards that two out of three, or nearly 70% of punto's are unlikely to have head gasket trouble :)


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