Help...i have found a nice example of a 12 plate petrol dsg VRS which currently has 21k and fsh. The car is for sale at a main dealer VW garage so will come with their decent 1 year warranty. However having read up on the chain tensioner i am a little concerned. I would be purchasing the car by means of a 3 year pcp plan so for 2 years of this the car will be out of warranty. The car was registered in March 2012 so it would appear it would be fitted with the 3rd revision of the tensioner but unfortunately would of been too early to have benefited from the latest revision launched in that month.

 

The dealer is unlikely to offer an extenstion of the warranty or replacement of the tensioner for the latest part as they have a lot of interest in the car. I know full well that the chance of failure is slim especially as the car is one of the later facelift models but it still worries that it could be a ticking time bomb. Am i being overly worried due to the fact that forums only highlight problems in their extreme or should i walk away from the car.

 

I can buy a brand new Mazda 3 on pcp for a similar amount per month which would come with a 3 year warranty for my whole time of ownership but in my heart i want the VRS. I have had a pre facelift and loved it.

 

Thanks

 

Mark

Perhaps a warranty from another warranty provider could be purchased once the manufacturer's warranty runs out?

Although its a known problem the volumes failing are not large so as above a 3rd party warranty would solve any issues that may happen, but make sure you read the small print so you're clear on what is/ is not covered. It would also be worth finding out what sort of numbers you can find for that year to give you an idea. There's a thread on the 1.8 and 2.0 engine problem so you could start there.

I have just bought a 2012 model 2.0 TSI and I was wondering the same thing, am I sitting on a ticking time bomb. So long storey short I have decided I am going to replace the tensioner (and give it an oils change service) for peace of mind. I bought mine privately so I have no warranty. As I do all the work myself it will only cost me the price of the parts anyway.

Although its a known problem the volumes failing are not large so as above a 3rd party warranty would solve any issues that may happen, but make sure you read the small print so you're clear on what is/ is not covered. It would also be worth finding out what sort of numbers you can find for that year to give you an idea. There's a thread on the 1.8 and 2.0 engine problem so you could start there.

I've heard of warranty company's not covering this as its a known problem. There's a garage in aberdeen shire that sells a lot of golf gti's, the last I heard they had 21 engines waiting to go into cars when needed.

Bloody hell if that's an example of how bad the problem is then I had better walk away. I'm gutted as I always had them down as solid dependable motors. If under warranty I wouldn't mind. Shame

You could always fit the revised parts as a pre-emptive measure.  Maybe get a discount to cover it?

I've heard of warranty company's not covering this as its a known problem. There's a garage in aberdeen shire that sells a lot of golf gti's, the last I heard they had 21 engines waiting to go into cars when needed.

 

 

Oh FFS.  I heard this, i heard that.. rumour and conjecture = scaremongering.  Yes there have been some cars with problems (my 2010 car was one) and there is a thread running on this but its not that common if you consider the number of incidents vs. the number of cars on the road.

 

OP:  if you're worried then fit the new parts.  you'd get a peace of mind then, plus a manufacturers warranty on the new parts you'd fitted for 2 yrs.

Yep over cautious in my estimation.

Extend warranty if possible or see cost of upgrade.

looks like a genuine motor.

+1 rob_e

 

This is getting daft now. Any car you look at will have some kind of potential issue. This is a small scale failure rate in comparison to many and yes while catastrophic if it has happened to you it is not as common as people seem to think. It is not a case of "when" it will happen as much as it is a if I am unlucky and it happens to me. People have had tensioners replaced for £500 if you need the piece of mind. Others have had large contributions from SUK. Don't forget this engine is across the VAG range.

 

Don't let it put you off if  a VRS is for you.

Having said all of the above, the Mazda 3 is a great car

 

I've just bought a Mazda 6 Estate after 7 years of Skoda ownership and it's a great car to drive.

 

EDIT: As long as it's a petrol engine

Edited 18 March, 201511 yr by Jigger72

Oh FFS.  I heard this, i heard that.. rumour and conjecture = scaremongering.  Yes there have been some cars with problems (my 2010 car was one) and there is a thread running on this but its not that common if you consider the number of incidents vs. the number of cars on the road.

 

OP:  if you're worried then fit the new parts.  you'd get a peace of mind then, plus a manufacturers warranty on the new parts you'd fitted for 2 yrs.

Did I say it was a tale of some kind or scaremongering. I said I have heard of warranty companies not paying out, in their own words " known fault" not covered. Just had a good friend have to fork out 4k on a factory rebuild engine for his golf GTI.

As for comman faults. The motor trade don't use the amount of failures to units sold, they work on the principle of amount of failures, not percentage. I worked in motor trade dealing with warrantys for 9 years.

Help...i have found a nice example of a 12 plate petrol dsg VRS which currently has 21k and fsh. The car is for sale at a main dealer VW garage so will come with their decent 1 year warranty. However having read up on the chain tensioner i am a little concerned. I would be purchasing the car by means of a 3 year pcp plan so for 2 years of this the car will be out of warranty. The car was registered in March 2012 so it would appear it would be fitted with the 3rd revision of the tensioner but unfortunately would of been too early to have benefited from the latest revision launched in that month.

 

The dealer is unlikely to offer an extenstion of the warranty or replacement of the tensioner for the latest part as they have a lot of interest in the car. I know full well that the chance of failure is slim especially as the car is one of the later facelift models but it still worries that it could be a ticking time bomb. Am i being overly worried due to the fact that forums only highlight problems in their extreme or should i walk away from the car.

 

I can buy a brand new Mazda 3 on pcp for a similar amount per month which would come with a 3 year warranty for my whole time of ownership but in my heart i want the VRS. I have had a pre facelift and loved it.

 

Thanks

 

Mark

 

 

Having owned a Mazda3 for a couple of years and then sold it to buy an older Octavia, I would never, ever recommend a Mazda3 to anyone - not even my worst enemy.

Thanks for all the replies. The garage have said they would be willing to discuss extending the warranty, guess i just need to check that it would cover the issue if it happened.

 

@andyoctavia - the brand new Mazda 3 is in a different league to the old car, a noticeable step up in quality.