Warning!!!! Before you buy your dub, make sure.....

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johnny24

johnny24

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Well guyz before you buy a dub make sure it has a full history like all the bills, who the owners were, and if it was a vga. all these factors count if you plan on keeping your car for a while. it doesn't matter how the outside looks like, always look beyond. Make sure it has been well maintained including oil changes every 4-5k km, and id the coolant was flushed every 2 years, make sure of all of that. If its a manual trani make sure the reverse gear is not screwed up, this happens a lot. One way to test this out is by putting the car in reverse and flooring on the gas, if the gear pops out, leave the car and walk away:p Make sure the previous owner has lubed the engine and anything that will corrode. Paint on the engines tend to peel if it is not lubricated. If the car has been rest-proofed thats just a bonus. Make sure that the timing belt is replaced every (i think don't quote me) 80-100 k km, you don't want to bring home a car with bent valves.

the list goes on. if you guyz want to add anything more jus feel free, i just added a few things, but feel free to add thing, this thread will be dedicated to people who are looking to buy their future dub:bigup:
 
fredericroumi said:
It is obvious but some people unfortunately don't know it and then complain that their dubs are sh!t....
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True.

I for once, am lucky (so far, knock on wood). + I think stricker laws are going to come in effect so that it is thougher, like in the U.S. Thus allowing a much more detailed history(background check)
 
problem is many people don't know what to look for when they buy a vw, especially a mk2 and mk3. those cars have special needs, they have to be checked at certain places.
 
im sorry but your living in a dream world ,its rare that someone keeps all the bills ,how are you gonna be sure the oil was changed on time its the guys words that you depend on ,how the hell are you gonna know if the coolant was flushed every 2 years ? you get with the program buy a used car is always a risk and thats how its always gonna be, but this things you say to look for are near impossable to know the truth on the mantanice that was really done so whats the point?? ...there is none *byewhore*
 
johnny24 said:
Make sure it has been well maintained including oil changes every 4-5k km, and id the coolant was flushed every 2 years, make sure of all of that.......Make sure that the timing belt is replaced every (i think don't quote me) 80-100 k km, you don't want to bring home a car with bent valves.
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Thanks for the info but honnestly, it's also a bonus just like rust-proof, for finding a car that had oil change every 4 to 5K throughout its life. Average people do it every 8 to 10K.

Having the timing belt done at 100K is simply to prevent from having problems and it's not all VW engines that will suffer from bent valves if timing belt fails. It all depends on valve clearance. My girlfriend had her timing belt change on her 2.0L cab at 115K and it was still fine.

It's all good to educate people on car maintenance but don't scare them off buying a great car because of a lack of preventive measures.

Everything is "fixable", you just have to adjust the price of purchase.
 
CWay27 said:
Everything is "fixable", you just have to adjust the price of purchase.
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That is the way that I see it.

As for buying a used car look at the marginal parts that are on the car... tires are a good place to start. If the owner cares about the car, he will put good tires on it. Nokian = good. Other parts to look for are windshield wipers, brand of distributer cap, plugs etc.

If the car has been maintained with NAPA parts, and Cdn Tire time to walk away.
 
^^^

That should be the criteria.

Things to look for:

OEM oil filter=good
Fram oil filter=bad

Bosch windshield wipers=good
Crappy tire generic winter blades during the summer=run away

OEM airfilter=good
Crappy tire airfilter=bad

Changes there own oil and actually knows the viscosity=great
Walmart oil changes=run away

And so on.
 
MK3NORTH said:
That is the way that I see it.

As for buying a used car look at the marginal parts that are on the car... tires are a good place to start. If the owner cares about the car, he will put good tires on it. Nokian = good. Other parts to look for are windshield wipers, brand of distributer cap, plugs etc.

If the car has been maintained with NAPA parts, and Cdn Tire time to walk away.
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buddy napa parts are some of the best on the market.

Not everyone can buy brakes, rotors and other wearable items from the dealer or Auto Electra
 
NorthernVW said:
^^^

That should be the criteria.

Things to look for:


Changes there own oil and actually knows the viscosity=great
Walmart oil changes=run away

And so on.
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this is a bit ridiculous. I don't have a driveway - where am I supposed to change my own oil? Also, I don't have a lift - how am I supposed to properly lube my undercarriage. I take it to the pro's to get my oil changed because when it's -25 i'm not going to be in the street on my back changing my oil.

This last criteria is just tooo much. it doesn't matter who changes your oil.
 
If I change my oil at Wal-Mart I just bring a fresh new OEM filter and ask them to use it instead of a shitty Fram one.
 
What do you mean FRAM is not good? :dunno: Bah..

Honestly.. anything but Motomaster is "safe" for a 13 year old car.
But next oil filter will be a Quaker State or Castrol
 
Hustler said:
im sorry but your living in a dream world ,its rare that someone keeps all the bills ,how are you gonna be sure the oil was changed on time its the guys words that you depend on ,how the hell are you gonna know if the coolant was flushed every 2 years ? you get with the program buy a used car is always a risk and thats how its always gonna be, but this things you say to look for are near impossable to know the truth on the mantanice that was really done so whats the point?? ...there is none *byewhore*
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I agree that it's almost impossible to find someone that keeps all their bills (although I'm like that!). But you have to ask questions before buying a car. Very often, by asking a the questions, it's easy to figure out if the guy's been taking care of his car or not.

I totally agree with the guys who said that you should look at the tires, wipers, oils, clenliness of the car, types of replacement parts, mechanics that worked on the car in the past, etc. Those are all very good indicators...
 
get original parts from vw if you don't buy aftermarket, best choice, everything that needs replacement i use vw parts
 
67Continental said:
this is a bit ridiculous. I don't have a driveway - where am I supposed to change my own oil? Also, I don't have a lift - how am I supposed to properly lube my undercarriage. I take it to the pro's to get my oil changed because when it's -25 i'm not going to be in the street on my back changing my oil.

This last criteria is just tooo much. it doesn't matter who changes your oil.
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Taking your car to a "pro" is fine, but let's face the fact that Walmart are not pros. My brother took his civic winter car there for an oil change and the guy over tightend the drain bolt and stripped it. The service manager was trying to say that it was already like that while the mechanic was standing there saying, "no, I stripped it. It's my fault".

I also know of someone who use to work at Jiffy lube. He screwed up so many oil changes and he still never got fired. They needed staff. He even closed the hood of a brand new car down onto the oil filler cap that he forgot to put back on. Nice size dent in the hood I tell you.

Anyhow, do what ever you want with your oil changes. :dunno:
Some cannot be helped.
 
MasterTech said:
buddy napa parts are some of the best on the market.

Not everyone can buy brakes, rotors and other wearable items from the dealer or Auto Electra
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I avoid the dealer like the plague. Auto Electra, never been there. OEM quality wearable car parts can be had for very reasonable prices from all sorts of online stores. NAPA doesn't make most of their parts, if any. They sell a collection of stuff with their name on it... that is more than enough for me not to buy their parts. One week you could get high quality stuff, next week there main supplier runs out, they replace it with another one. Consistency is mediocre at best.

[Ef]saceone[sF] said:
the way I see it: buy your dub BRAND new :p
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I would if I wanted to drive my living room around. I would take the feeling of driving an MK2 over and MK4 anyday.
 
Vw_guy87 said:
What do you mean FRAM is not good? :dunno: Bah..

Honestly.. anything but Motomaster is "safe" for a 13 year old car.
But next oil filter will be a Quaker State or Castrol
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fram makes the worst oil filters known to man and guess what those motomater filters are just frams...

As for changing your oil at wal mart they arent mechanics just a bunch of punk kids. Some locations have good guys while other places don't. Personally having an oil change done that the dealer is the best.

Its funny how many people use the wrong oil in their VWs. Besides technically you don't have to change the filter for something like 15k this is what my mech buddy at Vw tells me...
 
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