Buying a used car is like putting a large pile of money on the green zero of a casino roulette table. If you hit it, you’ll be happy until your ears, and you’ll be whistling through life. If, however, the ball stops next to the grate, then scruffy pasta is guaranteed for a longer period of time at lunch and dinner. And yet people take risks and put not only their savings on the line, but their homes, cars and even businesses.
As practice shows, the majority of newly purchased used cars at least go home or to the nearest service station. But there are those whose journey ends just around the corner. And it would be both naive and unfair to blame or ask the seller for something – what you bought for, you sold for. And in the end, we are the ones who choose our one and only from dozens of aging vehicles lined up in the square.
Let us also remind you that industry specialists call for a much more serious approach to the purchase of a used car. Find out about the underwater rocks of the car’s history, drive to a service of your choice for diagnostics, find out what its users say about this model and only then take the responsible step. Otherwise, snot and tears – a loan for another five years, but the car already requires huge investments. This is not good at all!
Mechanics with litigation experience explain which repairs could require particularly large investments from us. So there is an opportunity to understand what to pay attention to. A smart car buyer is a car buyer who learns from other people’s mistakes! One of the main advisors in matters of car purchase and maintenance is the “AutoDNA” car history detective. This time, too, it is the representatives of this company who present us with the potential problems.
Turbine. Problems appear at 200,000 kilometers. This is the average working resource of the turbine. Car manufacturers themselves do not hide this from us and even include it in the list of work to be done. Of course, this number can be affected by several factors, such as an irregular oil change or an irregular air filter change. Everything in our own hands. Or in the stinginess of the previous car owner.
Depending on the brand and model, a new turbine can cost well over a thousand euros, not counting the repair costs at a mechanic. Used or restored turbines are often installed, which will cost at least a few hundred euros anyway.
PDF soot filter. This is one of the easiest repairs on this list, but buying a new DPF soot filter often exceeds the value of the car itself. The DPF soot filter is another green technology that reduces the amount of harmful emissions in the exhaust gas.
The DPF filter itself contains a relatively large amount of noble metals that it cannot really replace with a cheaper alternative. Accordingly, we have found ourselves in a situation where an old Golf car, which costs 600 euros used, needs to change the DPF filter, which costs 1,300 euros.
Air airbags. Airbags do not inflate, they explode with enormous force and in their path break open the steering wheel, dashboard and all other places where the sensors work. When changing the airbags, the decorative lining under which they are located must also be changed.
Dishonest car sellers often install a new panel and forget about airbags. The airbags themselves are also not a cheap spare part and usually cost several hundred euros. In addition, it may happen that the windshield will also need to be changed, which will cost over 1,000 euros for a new premium class car.
Nozzles. Car engine injectors are a wonderful invention, but unfortunately very expensive. And usually, if one nozzle is dead, then the others need to be changed as well. And it’s not cheap.
It doesn’t matter anymore – the car is new or old, changing nozzles will be a very expensive repair. The only difference between a new and an old car is that for an old car such a nozzle change may not pay off at all.
Nozzles are made by a couple of big manufacturers that don’t build cars. Depending on what kind of car you have and what manufacturer’s injectors are in your engine, the price for one can vary from 200 to 1,500 euros.
Transmission. Unless you have an electric car, potentially one of the most expensive repairs can be replacing or overhauling the gearbox. The life of a gearbox can stretch to several hundred thousand kilometers if it is properly cared for – change the gearbox fluid and take seriously any noise or noticeable bump when shifting gears.
A new gearbox can cost several thousand euros, but the good news is that only in exceptional cases you may have to send a new gearbox. Usually, a major or minor repair is enough, which will cost much less.
If the engine oil needs to be changed once a year or on average every 10,000 kilometers, then the gearbox lubricating fluid must be changed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Usually these intervals are around 50,000 kilometers.
Engine. A car’s engine consists of many different parts, most of which can be replaced at a reasonable price. However, there may be situations when the entire engine needs to be replaced, simply because it has several damages that will not pay to repair.
Here, of course, there are options to search for a used engine in good condition. Depending on the make and model of the car, it can cost from a hundred to a few thousand euros. For example, you can get a BMW E46 3.0D in the ads for EUR 150, while a used Volkswagen Passat B8 2016 2.0 gasoline engine costs around EUR 2,200.
However, if you need to change the engine for a relatively new car and add extras from the premium segment, you may have to part with up to EUR 10,000. Changing the engine for extras is not an easy task. An experienced mechanic can do it in 10-12 hours, accordingly, if you change the engine in an official service, then you count on additional labor costs of EUR 600-800.
The list could go on, because every screw is important in the construction of a car. And every screw costs money. Exactly the same as replacing this screw. There are things that are unavoidable and that will not leave a big hole in the family budget. For example, the rolling part, for the repair of which we can save a few hundred euros every year. Such are the roads for us. However, we can try to avoid all the problems mentioned above if we are ready to take care of ourselves and our money.
2023-07-29 21:00:51
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