I thort I would share my experience today in the hope that it may for warn other first time buyers and also that someone may be able to advise me on the problems I have encountered.
The car in question is a 92 UK spec TT with 100K and lots of history, all for the reasonable price of £4400.
Having shopped around for a while I decided that this was the one to go for, despite the 220 mile drive, the owner assured me the car was in excellent condition and that I would not be disappointed.
Left home at 7:45 and arrived at mid-day. The car was still in his garage and on him driving it out I was very impressed. Highly polished with near perfect 17” Venom alloys, new stainless steel scorpion exhaust and high rear spoiler, it looked and sounded lovely. That was the problem though; despite having pre-planned my full and comprehensive inspection of the car a little voice was telling me that I was going to take this car home.
After a brief walk round we went for the test drive he drove the car first, I remember running through my head, remember the turbo boost gauge and oil pressure gauge checks. I glanced at the dash and was pleased to see good oil pressure and the turbo gauge reading within guidelines. We the exchanged seats and I had a go. Wow this is great I thort and forgot all about accessing the condition of the car, just sat back and enjoyed the experience.
Shortly we arrived back and within minuets I was the proud owner of this dream car. First port of call was to fill up the tank so made for a garage. Got out at the pump a stopped to briefly admire my new toy. That’s when I noticed plumes of smoke coming from under the bonnet. I opened her up an had a good look around, not being very technical I scratched my head and looked for anything obvious, all seemed ok and I tried to convince myself that it was probably just some crap burning on the exhaust or something, still had good oil pressure so no need to panic.
Continued my journey with the first doubts starting to go through my head. The next thing was the hicas light came on, ok no problem I thort just needs topping up (I hope). The next on was rather weird, a constant rhythmic tapping from behind the dash, not the usual creaking but a definite tap. I decided to open the dash on getting home as this tapping was driving me mad. Since I had no handbook I had no idea how the air con worked so began pushing buttons, when I press the big red one (top left) the tapping stopped. When I switched the air con off or select auto the tapping started again, to make things worse I don’t think the air con is working properly as at a preset of 10 the air was not coming out any colder than the ambient temp, of course I may be operating it wrongly but perhaps the tapping and the lack of cold air are in some way connected.
About half way home after 100 miles the oil pressure started to full off, I took the first opportunity to pull into a service stop and take a look. The back of the car was covered in oil and looking underneath it seems that it had been blown along the length of the car and seemed to originate from the engine. I checked the engine compartment and noticed that the fromt was a bit oily but nothing major. On checking the dipstick I found the oil level was almost empty. I refilled the engine and continued the remainder of my journey very carefully.
I am still very pleased to own the car but am frustrated by the fact that I now have to pay out to get the faults sorted before I can use it.
I guess the moral of the story is to look very carefully before parting with your money, love at first sight and buying a car do not mix.
If you have stuck with me this far, I’m very impressed. Now for the tech bit:
Has anyone ever experienced the tapping noise I described connected (I think) with faulty air con?
The turbo boost gauge goes up to about 8, this is a bit low I know but I think they are original turbos, or is there a possible fault? The car certainly seem to pull well but as this is my first it’s had to be sure.
The engine idles very well when cold but feels slightly lumpy when warm. Only a minor problem but maybe needs looking at.
Are there any known problems with engine oil leaks that I may be able to repair myself?
I thort I would share my experience today in the hope that it may for warn other first time buyers and also that someone may be able to advise me on the problems I have encountered.
The car in question is a 92 UK spec TT with 100K and lots of history, all for the reasonable price of £4400.
Having shopped around for a while I decided that this was the one to go for, despite the 220 mile drive, the owner assured me the car was in excellent condition and that I would not be disappointed.
Left home at 7:45 and arrived at mid-day. The car was still in his garage and on him driving it out I was very impressed. Highly polished with near perfect 17” Venom alloys, new stainless steel scorpion exhaust and high rear spoiler, it looked and sounded lovely. That was the problem though; despite having pre-planned my full and comprehensive inspection of the car a little voice was telling me that I was going to take this car home.
After a brief walk round we went for the test drive he drove the car first, I remember running through my head, remember the turbo boost gauge and oil pressure gauge checks. I glanced at the dash and was pleased to see good oil pressure and the turbo gauge reading within guidelines. We the exchanged seats and I had a go. Wow this is great I thort and forgot all about accessing the condition of the car, just sat back and enjoyed the experience.
Shortly we arrived back and within minuets I was the proud owner of this dream car. First port of call was to fill up the tank so made for a garage. Got out at the pump a stopped to briefly admire my new toy. That’s when I noticed plumes of smoke coming from under the bonnet. I opened her up an had a good look around, not being very technical I scratched my head and looked for anything obvious, all seemed ok and I tried to convince myself that it was probably just some crap burning on the exhaust or something, still had good oil pressure so no need to panic.
Continued my journey with the first doubts starting to go through my head. The next thing was the hicas light came on, ok no problem I thort just needs topping up (I hope). The next on was rather weird, a constant rhythmic tapping from behind the dash, not the usual creaking but a definite tap. I decided to open the dash on getting home as this tapping was driving me mad. Since I had no handbook I had no idea how the air con worked so began pushing buttons, when I press the big red one (top left) the tapping stopped. When I switched the air con off or select auto the tapping started again, to make things worse I don’t think the air con is working properly as at a preset of 10 the air was not coming out any colder than the ambient temp, of course I may be operating it wrongly but perhaps the tapping and the lack of cold air are in some way connected.
About half way home after 100 miles the oil pressure started to full off, I took the first opportunity to pull into a service stop and take a look. The back of the car was covered in oil and looking underneath it seems that it had been blown along the length of the car and seemed to originate from the engine. I checked the engine compartment and noticed that the fromt was a bit oily but nothing major. On checking the dipstick I found the oil level was almost empty. I refilled the engine and continued the remainder of my journey very carefully.
I am still very pleased to own the car but am frustrated by the fact that I now have to pay out to get the faults sorted before I can use it.
I guess the moral of the story is to look very carefully before parting with your money, love at first sight and buying a car do not mix.
If you have stuck with me this far, I’m very impressed. Now for the tech bit:
Has anyone ever experienced the tapping noise I described connected (I think) with faulty air con?
The turbo boost gauge goes up to about 8, this is a bit low I know but I think they are original turbos, or is there a possible fault? The car certainly seem to pull well but as this is my first it’s had to be sure.
The engine idles very well when cold but feels slightly lumpy when warm. Only a minor problem but maybe needs looking at.
Are there any known problems with engine oil leaks that I may be able to repair myself?
Thanks for reading…
See you on the streets…………………………eventually.
Steve