engine rebuild

golfdiva

Hey

I am thinking of buying a 1998 Golf . The milage is 110k.

The owner of the car said the engine had a rebuild at 100k becauuse the engine was "knackered".The timing belt was done at the same time appartently

Is this better buying a car with a rebuilt engine than buying an engine with 110k on the clock with nothing done to it?

Why would the engine need to be rebuilt in the first place at 100 k ?
- is this a sign it was totally uncared for and i am better off walking away from the car

Any advise would be appreciated

colm_mcm

even cars that have been cared for will go wrong, and it's a VW, things can still go wrong!

You're better off with a rebuilt engine, at least you don't have to worry about it for a while.

Is it an old or new model 98?

mike65

Knackered, its such a technical term!

If the top end had to be rebuilt thats almost certainly because of simple neglect, either the timing belt broke or the engine was allowed to greatly overheat causing a cracked cylinder head. 100,000 miles used to be as much as one would hope for from an engine (60s/70s) now its not even half-time.

I would'nt let it put you off buying it, just see you can find out excatly why it happened and the paperwork for the job done (hopefully it will give a breakdown of what was done). Whats the asking price btw?

Mike.

golfdiva

Is it an old or new model 98?

Its the mark 4 version

I would'nt let it put you off buying it, just see you can find out excatly why it happened and the paperwork for the job done (hopefully it will give a breakdown of what was done). Whats the asking price btw?

His got no paperwork showing the job.The job was done by someone in his own time apartently.
His looking for €4k for the car but the bodywork is a bit rough as well with a few scratches and the seats are not the best with cigerette burns

Eoin

golfdiva wrote:

Its the mark 4 version

His got no paperwork showing the job.The job was done by someone in his own time apartently.
His looking for €4k for the car but the bodywork is a bit rough as well with a few scratches and the seats are not the best with cigerette burns

Wouldn't be inclined to touch this car myself. The Mark IV is not as reliable a car as many people think, and it sounds like the one you are looking for has had a hard enough life.
Your username sounds like you really want a Golf, but here's a quick search result of '98 cars from 4 - 4.5K on carzone.

mike65

Dont go near it!

Mike.

colm_mcm

4 grand is a bit steep for a car as rough as that sounds

AMurphy

Work off the condition of the body, first; then go to the engine.
Engines are a dime a dozen.
Rebuilding the engine does increase the price of this car, just makes it sellable.
Dows anyone know what was "rebuilt", replacing a head gasket is not terminal.
Replacing most moving parts is major and would lead one to wonder why.

I have a friend, whose 2 week brand new car put a rod through the block. He got a new-new car FOC.