Declaring a fix during sale

[Chrisc]

Good afternoon,

Had some rough luck recently as my car broke down the day a garage was coming to collect it as id sold it through motorway.

Anyway, we're looking at a £6k repair (bottom end failure)

The work will be fully itemised and warranted, however, due to a new long commute, I am still going to be selling the car as I need something more economical (maybe even electric)

Discussions have been had with colleagues/friends and it seems very split as to whether they would declare this repair at the time of sale. Personally I am a very honest person and want the buyer to be 100% happy with the car, but people mention declaring the repair could very well reduce the value somebody is willing to pay and with all the stress from it, im not entirely sure which way to play it.

If you were buying it, would you want to know? Would it affect what you were willing to pay for it?

 

[Chrisc]

has it done a lot of miles? sometimes knowing somone has just spent a lot on it is a plus point to a buyer, thats one bill they wont have to pay.

its only done 58k, i put myself in the buyers shoes and knowing the work had been done would probably give me a bit more confidence, but some people may look at it differently.

 

[Chrisc]

I'd prefer to know. Wouldn't necessarily affect what I was willing to pay.

As a seller, personally I would tell them, as I'd want them to be happy buying the car.

This is where I stand personally, but when people question it, you start to wonder. I have often been told im too honest for my own good

 

[Chrisc]

Is it a common issue with the car? If so then yes I'd probably mention it as it means people will know it's hopefully now good until it dies from other means. If it was just a random failure then probably not, the car works and you can leave the paperwork for the work in with it but no reason to particularly mention it

its the VW EA888 2ltr TSI engine, which by all accounts is solid.

I have been advised by multiple VW experts who have looked at it, that i have been extremely unlucky.

 

[Chrisc]

I would also look to see if there's anyone willing to buy it as is. Stick it up as a non runner for 5k less than your previous offer see if anyone bites then you don't have to deal with the hassle

Personally I'd want to know about the repair and my decision to buy would also factor in who did the work and warranty on it

in all honesty this did go through my head, and i know this is about to sound really sad, but I absolutely love the car and its an extremely reluctant sale.

If I sell the car for what Id already sold it for, i Stand to make a small loss due to the equity (which I am OK with)

 

[Chrisc]

I think this is key - if it's known that the bottom end often goes and you're buying into a car with a fixed known issue, that's potentially a positive.

If it's not, then as a buyer i'm thinking 'why did it happen? was the car maintained/treated poorly?' and also 'what if the repair is bad, will the work be honoured for someone else etc.'

Seeing mention of EA888 now, if I was buying and it was something mentioned, i'd just leave it be, whatever car that engine is in, there's probably plenty of other options as a buyer (and my 'this car has probably been thrashed to death' alarm bells are probably going off if it's Golf R or Cupra or something)

Completely understand, this is another issue. The car has been maintained appropriately and serviced regularly each year at the time of MOT. I do roughly 5-6k a year which is mainly town driving into Manchester, the car gets tickled but no abused.

Work has been carried out which didnt need to be, as when the master & slave cylinder were changed, I put a new clutch in it while the gearbox was out. But to a buyer, these could just be words

 

[Chrisc]

if you subsequently hang on to the car for another 6 months/K's of miles, that would comfort any buyer that the problem+repair is not an indication of any other issues ?
also maybe repair will reveal something useful to show why the problem occurred (eg unexpected bearing wear , unrelated to oil servicing, and use habit) which will help you make a quick sale & good price

The immediate sale after repair has played on my mind and totally understandable.

But the new regular commute into scotland is forcing the sale, I had no intentions of ever getting rid of the car in all honesty. Its something to think about I guess.

 

[Chrisc]

This is why I wouldn't make a point of mentioning it unless it's a common issue with the car. As it may make people question the overall upkeep of it which if as you say has all been done properly is just a niggle the buyer doesn't need in the back of their mind.

This makes the most sense imo, very similar to when I was looking at 996/997 and they mention the bore score report etc. .

Knowing people sell cars with known issues and not feel any guilt is honestly making me feel like this isnt as morally wrong as I feel.

 

[Chrisc]

Before you throw the car away because of the commute, hopefully you've given it a go as it is?

I found the EA888 in vRS 245 guise to be pretty good in terms of economy on a decent run (40mpg fairly comfortably, not hypermiling etc.), so it may not be as bad as you fear if you're looking at the figures you've had from it around town?

Funnily enough, thats exactly the car it is.

im fully laden with kids/dog/wife etc. . and its around 33mpg there and back which will be done 2-3 (maybe more in the summer) times a month and uses around £65 worth of fuel.

ive done heathrow and back numerous times at 40mpg, but the added weight seems to kill it.

(edit) I guess if the commute wasnt as common, it makes sense to keep it. But this will be happening a lot, and if I can reduce that bill considerably by getting something which will do 45+mpg then ill probably do it.

Plus, i could really do with an estate.

 

[Chrisc]

Is a reconditioned engine an option - £3k ? https://mikmotoren.de/en-eu/products/replacement-engine-dkta

Really appreciate the link thank you, the ones i found online were breakers from rear end shunted cars, so i didnt look much further tbh.

The car is currently with the engineering company. I may suggest looking at this as an option if the final bill is more expensive.