It's a 2002 Passat estate with nearly 190,000 miles. Yep, worthless in theory. But I paid a couple of grand. And a couple of grand is a couple of grand.

I went to view it, and to be fair it has loads of receipts, it's been cared for, new brakes, 4 new good tyres, new timing belt, recently serviced by previous owner.

Went on a test drive with dealer (well he drove it as he didn't let people test drive) and he said it was spot on. Which is was in all fairness. No nasty bangs or anything.

We even tried the aircon and it seemed cool enough so I drove away happy, I admit.

However a couple of days later, I noticed the car didn't reach operating temperature. I was a bit peed off but thought if that's all I have to worry about it wouldn't be too bad. £224 later it was fixed.

I also noticed that in fact the aircon didn't work- now this peed me off quite a bit. It felt ok on the cold day we test drove it but clearly it was just the blower.

I've now found out that the window demister doesn't work either, which now is getting annoying. I'm no mechanic and need to pay a mechanic for every fault and by the time I've fixed these issues I would have been better off buying something much nicer.

I accept it's a very old car but with having to spend hundreds of pounds to fix it it now feels like a very expensive banger... I just don't really know where to go with this....

Help!?

Please?

Hello and welcome to CAG.

Please bear with us until the forum guys are able to get here. We're all volunteers here so they may be off leading their normal lives for now.

I expect they will be along later.

My best, HB

Why didn't it reach operating temp? What was the fault?

You said yourself that you agreed the air on worked when you bought it sp thats a non issue there. Even if it was a cold day, you tested it and said it worked.

I assume demister for rear window? Have you spoken to seller to rectify?

Have you spoken to seller about any of the faults?

If you just went ahead and repaired then I would suggest you are out of luck. You should have given the seller an opportunity to put it right.

When you say dealer, do you mean dealer or just a seller of one car? Ebay auction seller etc or a car garage?

The thermostat and the coolant sensor was at fault.

I never thankfully said the A/C worked. The exact words exchanged was:

Me: Does the A/C work?

Dealer: That I'm not sure.

Me: Well I'm not sure, it does feel cold

Dealer: Yes, I think so.

But neither of us were sure, that is for sure!

Demister is front window- which is not ideal in this wheather...

He would never have put this right though, his argument was then that it was an old car- which I agree with but it doesn't mean it should cost me 100s to fix within 3 weeks!

I have spoken to him- he just kept telling me everything was fine, not to worry and has since not answered my 3 calls. The seller is someone selling cars from a unit, he does so regularly and I assume in the eyes of the law this makes him a dealer? He is selling 5 cars at this moment in time.

£2k for a 2002 passat with 190000 miles on the clock is way out of the price range, and I am a passat owner and enthusiast, even if it is the 3 litre V6 version with full leather interior.

On your b5.5 there's no heated windscreen, so I guess that the de-mister you are talking about is the vent on the dashboard, correct?

To be honest, the thermostat and the coolant sensor faults are common and can be usually reset with the dedicated software (vag-com), owned by many mechanics.

A 10 minutes job and most do it for £20 max.

As suggested your options are limited because you had the car fixed without consulting the dealer.

I suggest that you look at the dedicated passat forums (uk and usa both excellent, just do an internet search) for advice, especially on water ingress, a silent killer for b5 and b5.5.

No both were at fault with regards to engine temperature. That + labour cost me over £200.

The point is it's not about the price. But ok let me explain.

If you buy an average passat for £500-£1000 (and I did see a few).

Few will have any service history, even fewer will have stacks of receipts showing every regular, on time oil change since new

Most will have bald tyres, or mismatched

Most will need a cam belt (as most haven't been done for years, or they haven't got a receipt to prove it's been done)

Very few would have new brakes all round.

Factor all of these to do on a cheap passat and it starts to make more sense, especially for someone without the know how to do it himself.

Then if you don't have the know how, why did you not get a qualified person to look over the car? I know 20\20 hindsight and all that but its a lot to spend on what turned out to be a basic Passat in fair condition.

As said, temp sensor is an easy fix and should not of cost 200+ unless you went main dealer.

Front window as states is just demisted by vent so that's either you are not waiting long enough or vent not blowing.

Dealer stated that he wasn't sure the air on worked and you still bought it.

All in all, I would say very little/nothing you can do. Chalk it up to experience.

Well my reasons remain valid. Factor in all the job and money spent on it recently and it seemed a good deal.

Re demister- I waited long enough to know it's simply not working.

The car on the advert was described as:

If your looking for a nice VW Passat you have found it!

Factory Sat navigation system. Alloys. Air conditioning. Climate control. Heated seats. PAS, Electric windows. Remote locking-2 keys. Maintained regardless of cost. 189,000 miles with full up to date service history- mostly from VW main dealer. Serviced 1000 miles ago. Thick pile of receipts showing recent Timing belt & water pump. New premium tyres(all 4). New brake discs and pads. 12 Months MOT, taxed until November. Fully valeted. Drives like new. This car is in exceptional condition and must not be confused with tatty abused wrecks offered elsewhere, its a real credit to its previous owner.

But what is not working with the front demister? Is the vent on the dash blowing air hot/cold?

Frankly, any car with 190000 miles on the clock is destined for the grave in the very near future, regardless of service.

Unless a complete and expensive refurbishment is done.

Considering the age and miles, those faults are very minor.

The front vent could be blocked from the intake if the cabin filter has not been changed for a long time.

To check, just lift the bonnet, remove the cover closest to the windscreen and you'll find another cover on the passenger side held by a long screw.

It's a bit fiddly to remove, but don't force it, just juggle it out gently.

Underneath you'll find the cabin filter.

Remove it and vacuum any debris and leaves out of the air intake.

Replace cabin filter with a new one (around £6-7) and all covers.

Check if vents are working, if not you will need a further investigation.

For the sir con you will need to visit a specialist.

Good luck

BTW, what engine is it?

Air con will prob just be a £45 recharge but with a car that age/mileage, it could have failed completely which cost considerably more.

But what is not working with the front demister? Is the vent on the dash blowing air hot/cold?

The front demister does not blow any air. At all.

The front demister does not blow any air. At all.

Try kings fix first then.

I have been offered £130 by the dealer to fix the issues which clearly isn't good enough. I'm just wanting him to fix said issues- but afraid that if I say I don't want his £130 that he will not offer anything at all. What should I do?

Consumer direct says that he is a professional and will have known that these problems existed when sold so he should fix them.

However, being fair, I do understand the car is old and will have some faults. But not immediately and as costly to fix!

Hi sat

How did you pay for it? Credit Card or Debit Card

Have a read of the following:-

http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/view/NCC094699

Also stop talking to him over the phone, send letters Recorded Delivery.

I paid via bank transfer with him next to me.

O.K. that doesn't help. Have a read of the link posted.

I paid via bank transfer with him next to me.

190000 miles car.

Even the Germans can't build something that lasts that long without developing any faults.

On this one unfortunately I have to disagree with other caggers.

The op was ripped off in the first place by paying £2000 for a car that, even in mint conditions, is only worth scrap money on the road.

I explain: If a careless driver reverses into this car's door, the insurance will write the car off and offer a max of £500.

If the turbo goes (and very soon should with that mileage), any decent garage would advise against replacing it because the whole engine has had it's at the end of its life.

Now, to claim that these minor problems are not to be expected is absurd imo

190000 miles car.

Even the Germans can't build something that lasts that long without developing any faults.

On this one unfortunately I have to disagree with other caggers.

The op was ripped off in the first place by paying £2000 for a car that, even in mint conditions, is only worth scrap money on the road.

I explain: If a careless driver reverses into this car's door, the insurance will write the car off and offer a max of £500.

If the turbo goes (and very soon should with that mileage), any decent garage would advise against replacing it because the whole engine has had it's at the end of its life.

Now, to claim that these minor problems are not to be expected is absurd imo

Genuine rubbish. Yes, it has high miles. But there are plenty of TDI's of this vintage (VW passats & A4's) with 200k miles+ on eBay at the moment. Most are £1,500+. Why? because the engine itself is good for very very high miles IF taken care of. The turbo, if it does go, can be refurbished for about £300.

I will see, out of interest, how long this car can go ignoring A/C issues and the likes. If the engine itself works for a long while I'll be happy.

The problem is not the engine itself (cilinders and pistons) but everything else attached to it.

To name a few: Intake manifold, exhaust manifold, valves, cambelt, tensioners, water pump, steering system, coolant system, abs module, all the sensors, suspensions, exhaust, cat converter, brake calipers, ecu system, all electrical wiring and sensors, cv joints and boots, rear bearings, water ingress, etc etc.

The pistons will still go up and down and combust fuel, but the car would not be reliable and won't pass an mot making it worthless.

I know there are many passats for sale at crazy prizes, but it's good practice to look for a car with as less miles as possible for the budget, accompanied by prove of maintenance.

I looked for a passat for over a month and didn't even consider any with more than 120k miles.

I eventually found mine £1300 full service all with receipts and cc slips.

The crazy bloke who had it from new never peeled off the plastic from the doors upholstery.

Sorry fella, but I look at passats and a6 every day because they're great, but 190k miles doesn't match the price you paid.

I can see on autotrader now that there are lots of b5.5 with less than 100k miles for max £1500.

After all we're talking about a 12/14 year old car.

How frustrating! I’d typed a long reply and my internet gave up! 
Well to sum up I don’t think it’s necessarily about miles at all. I’d argue my 12 year old 190k could be fresher than a 12 year old 120k car. It’s evidently spent the majority of its life on the motorway, and motorway miles are kind to the clutch, gearbox and other oily bits. In fact if the car is still ‘alive’ at those miles I’d say its very encouraging.

Most people are telling me that the faults I have a very minor and happen to much younger cars. Which to be fair doesn’t help me right now fixing them but is seemingly true.

My car has had a new cam belt, new brakes and tyres all round in the last year. Every record of oil changes since new, on time every time. Which to me made it worth paying the premium. So yes, I took a bit of a gamble. Most 10+ year old cars are. As long as the engine goes for a couple of years or more without any major issue I’ll be happy.

I would accept the £130 and fix the two glitches remaining.

Seems a good offer to me.