MOT Advisory “Coolant Leak” on 2009 Fabia - potential buyer looking for advice

[72vintage]

Hello,

 

Lady buyer here searching for a decent used car, been hunting for a while and seen a LOT of cars.  I thought I’d come across a winner today, 2009 Fabia estate, petrol, 90k miles, in really good overall condition cosmetically and drives well. I’m certainly no expert (or mechanic!!)  but have driven my share of cars and motorbikes over 30 years of motoring and I couldn’t hear, feel or smell anything that concerned me today! 🙂 However, having checked all the MOT history info online I see that the latest MOT has a “Coolant Leak” advisory. As with a lot of these advisories that’s wonderfully vague so I really have no idea if this is likely to be a big expensive problem.  I also have a horrible feeling this is one of those “how long is a piece of string” questions!   I’m wondering if it’s worth phoning the garage who did the MOT and asking them about it? MOT was done a month ago. I took a photo of the garage details from the paperwork today. Or just seeing if I can get a friendly mechanic to look over the car. From googling this issue though it seems it can be fiddly to find source of leak and can range from a cheap cracked hose to a great big expensive job to fix!   I’m interested in any advice and to know if the general opinion would be to walk away, or if this is just the sort of thing to be expected with a “more mature” vehicle. Thanks for reading and any suggestions gratefully received. 🙏🏻 

[Ootohere]

Welcome.

 

Who is selling it, private or trader and will they not agree to the car being checked by a mechanic. 

& have they no idea what the cause of the leak is?

?

What petrol engine has it?

[72vintage]

Thanks for your reply. It’s a local motor trader, I didn’t properly clock the mot advisory till I got home this evening and checked the history again online so didn’t raise it with him today while with the car.  He got a wee bit shirty with me when I raised the fact that the brake discs weren’t in very good shape and it threw me a bit tbh!   It’s a petrol SKODA Fabia 1.4 16v 3. I think it’s a decent buy for the money but I’m obviously wary down at this end of the market. 

 

 

[Tolpol62]

If he's giving you that kind of attitude and treatment before a potential sale you have to think that he'll only get worse once he has your money.

Just my opinion but what you described would be enough to make me walk.

Don't give up on the Skoda search, good luck.

[72vintage]

I have a feeling he was doing the “sales 101” trick of trying to “take the item away” from the buyer. Got rather abrupt and walked away with, “that’s ok, it’s not the car for you!”  sort of thing. I did feel like giving him a wee piece of my mind about his style, especially to a lady buyer. And indeed any buyer imho should be allowed to raise an issue with a car they are potentially buying,  no matter the price.  He had very good reviews online though, he’s very local and been trading there a long time. I also appreciate the fair point he made that we are dealing with an older car. I asked if he’d consider changing the discs and brakes rather than have me knock him down on price for it. (My logic being it would probably be cheaper for him to have them replaced than the amount I’d want to knock him down to then go get them replaced myself!) He said he’d come back to me on Monday anyway. So at that point I’d not got to the Coolant Leak!  🤔 

[Ootohere]

My thought would be are his cars MOT'd at a friendly station where an advisory noted is as much as they might get.

That means car was sold and the buyer should have checked the MOT but the car was roadworthy at the time of the test.

Just a coolant leak...

 

PS

Worry is Radweld or K-Seal gets added before Monday.

Edited 18 January, 2020 by Roottootemblowinootsoot

[72vintage]

Sorry not quite sure what point you’re making, that they might be hiding something? He said the mot and service was done by a garage he always uses. 

[72vintage]

[72vintage]

11 minutes ago, Roottootemblowinootsoot said:

My thought would be are his cars MOT'd at a friendly station where an advisory noted is as much as they might get.

That means car was sold and the buyer should have checked the MOT but the car was roadworthy at the time of the test.

Just a coolant leak...

 

PS

Worry is Radweld or K-Seal gets added before Monday.

 

Sorry I’m still a bit confused by what you meant, I saw you edited your first note. He said be bought it in December (from a Skoda dealer who had it in as a P/X) and he took it for a service and MOT immediately. The dates se to fit as he obviously got it MOTD early as the renewal wasn’t due for a few months yet. I didn’t raise the leak issue with him today so I don’t imagine he’s going to do any work on the car between now and me going back to him, if I do. 

[Ootohere]

If the leak was dealt with correctly then good.

As it is as long as being sold by the trader then you have the sale of goods act.

Just beware that you have it clear that it is a sale by the Dealer, not on behalf of a customer or the likes.

 

He should not be wanting to get 2 goes at sorting things if the car has been there long enough to be serviced / checked and fit for purpose & MOT'd.

Edited 18 January, 2020 by Roottootemblowinootsoot

[dancingbear84]

Having had an issue with a used car recently, make sure you have any queries specifically raised with the dealer, personally I’d ask the question in an email to him, then there’s a paper trail. Then follow up verbally after he has replied. 
mention the brakes and the coolant leak and ask them to fix it. 
either he will fix it or he won’t.

i spent a lot of time looking for an Octavia, eventually found one on my doorstep, great MOT history and service history. Test drive was fine, bought it and found out it had an oil habit. Sad times. 
the dealer was ok and I ended up with a fabia estate, good history and mot and local owner.

 

if you’re not in a hurry and you’re not 100% sure, walk.

if one of the above don’t apply, then haggle till you’re happy. No matter what end of the market you’re in the law still applies. 

[72vintage]

Thanks. Good point about checking the buying chain. I’m assuming the coolant leak hasn’t been dealt with as it was only an advisory. It’s obviously not a fail, just on there for info. Hence me looking for general advice on how to proceed, or walk away. And as I understand it with older cars the sale of goods act etc can be a bit ambiguous?  As a 2009 car will no doubt be deemed “fit for purpose” if it drives ok and has a new valid MOT. 🤔 

[dancingbear84]

I’m not a mechanic or an expert, but a coolant leak could be just the expansion bottle, iirc it is a common weak point, pipe work, radiator, water pump, or possible something worse. It is a very vague description. Are there any signs of leakage in the engine bay, residue etc in any obvious places. 
What about the underside of the oil filler cap is that clean, or the expansion bottle?

 

I’m not an expert, but they are things I looked at when I was buying. Also tried to buy from a local dealer that had been there a long time under the same name, not one that changes names regularly.

 

The SOGA is pretty clear, it must be as described, fit for purpose and something else I can’t remember right now. If you specifically ask for something and are told “yes” but the answer is no, then it is not as described.

An example is asking for a car that can be used to tow a trailer, then taking one only to discover that it has no towbar. It is not fit for purpose.

in my case I returned my Octavia as unfit for purpose as it was drinking 1L oil per 180 miles.

 

Personally if the dealer is unwilling to fix the leak I would walk away, but I am risk averse. I’d rather not take on a car with a potentially expensive problem. Perhaps the dealer will identify the cause of the leak and you make a more informed decision?

[J.R.]

1 hour ago, 72vintage said:

I have a feeling he was doing the “sales 101” trick of trying to “take the item away” from the buyer. Got rather abrupt and walked away with, “that’s ok, it’s not the car for you!”  sort of thing.  I also appreciate the fair point he made that we are dealing with an older car. I asked if he’d consider changing the discs and brakes rather than have me knock him down on price for it.

 

I think that should read attempt to knock him down on price

 

If the car is fairly priced then he will know that if you dont buy it then someone else will, if you check it and its not leaking coolant then what could you expect from him? Talk to him and you may learn that they found the source of the leak and replaced the expansion bottle/pressure cap or whatever, or he may just tell you a tale, in any case if its not visibly leaking then you have to decide, as Rootoowhatever says it could be bodged with bar seal but at least if it fails within warranty you have evidence it was a recorded fault.

 

As to the brake discs many are like that but it has just passed an MOT brake efficiency test so they are under no obligation, they should treat it like a request of "get the wheels refurbed and new tyres and I'll buy it" and make a commercial decision, if its fairly priced and given his response then you may not come to a deal.

[72vintage]

Thanks all, yes I will of course talk to him further about all of the above, and I appreciate this is all a matter of opinion, and as you say JR - how risk averse one is!  I am just trying to avoid buying a car that could end up needing a new radiator within a matter of months, for instance! (My very limited knowledge at this level is making me wary!) I am also aware that some of these MOT testers can be really picky. The brakes I am less concerned about as they are a known cost either way - was really just a comment from me on the overall experience yesterday and explaining I was a little thrown by this which perhaps left me less vigilant over looking at the paperwork while viewing. The dealer is well established locally and has been in the same site for 20+ years.  My gut says he's a decent dealer and I must buy something within 5 weeks (for sub £2k as is my current budget) as have a car on loan till then but as we all know with older cars you can get surprises! It's on for £1,990 with 90k miles on it and it's very cosmetically tidy. Autotrader is telling me it's a fair price :-)  

[Ootohere]

@72vintage

Have you checked the BRISKODA cars for sale section? 

 There can be members cars that are good ones owned by enthusiasts advertised.    & a wanted ad giving the area you are in can sometimes get a response from someone with a suitable car.

[72vintage]

Good idea, thank you!

 

[rum4mo]

My daughter owned a late 2009 Ibiza SC with that same engine for almost 9 years and 65K miles.

 

One thing to check if possible is, "when did it last get its cambelt replaced, and did the water pump also get replaced?" - at this age, ie over 10 years old, I'd expect a safe/wise previous owner to have replaced the cambelt at roughly 5 years and punted it on before investing in its second cambelt change at roughly 10 years, this job roughly costs £400 as a ball park figure.

 

No known coolant leak points other than normal radiator, water pump and maybe, just maybe round about the thermostat area.

 

If well looked after and bits changed as per VW Group recommendations, this old version of engine can be boringly reliable long term - which is no bad thing.

[72vintage]

1 hour ago, rum4mo said:

My daughter owned a late 2009 Ibiza SC with that same engine for almost 9 years and 65K miles.

 

One thing to check if possible is, "when did it last get its cambelt replaced, and did the water pump also get replaced?" - at this age, ie over 10 years old, I'd expect a safe/wise previous owner to have replaced the cambelt at roughly 5 years and punted it on before investing in its second cambelt change at roughly 10 years, this job roughly costs £400 as a ball park figure.

 

No known coolant leak points other than normal radiator, water pump and maybe, just maybe round about the thermostat area.

 

If well looked after and bits changed as per VW Group recommendations, this old version of engine can be boringly reliable long term - which is no bad thing.

Thank you that’s useful. Servicing looks good and cam belt has been changed at least once per the service book. There’s a handwritten note on one page in the service book saying “water pump changed  at 75,000 miles” which is a bit questionable so this all warrants a bit more of my time. I’m hoping to take my mechanic friend to give it a look over tomorrow 🤞🏻  And boringly reliable is my dream at the moment 😬

[Pirate76]

My 2011 59000 mile fabia vrs water pump gave up, it had had a new engine 2 years back recon they stuck all the parts of old eng back on as I've already replaced turbo thought supercharger had given up the noise it made had noticed a small drop in coolent but no leak, so £688 later all sorted goi ng better than ever, over complicated set up, just shows you never know, ps had advisories on all brake discs after just having new mot when I bought her I always renew or upgrade them when i buy a car for daily use

[UrbanPanzer]

Personally I think coolant leaks are more important to fix than anything else as they can end up costing LOTS of money.

 

It needs to be looked at "imo" to ensure its not leaking, if he wont play ball, then hes not a trader I would deal with in anyway.

 

Regarding brake discs, the Fabia discs seem to have a high iron content and can look very rusty very quickly, my RS discs rust if washed and put away without driving,

so don't be overly concerned, if it does not "come off" with a good test drive, then they do need looking at.

[72vintage]

19 hours ago, Pirate76 said:

My 2011 59000 mile fabia vrs water pump gave up, it had had a new engine 2 years back recon they stuck all the parts of old eng back on as I've already replaced turbo thought supercharger had given up the noise it made had noticed a small drop in coolent but no leak, so £688 later all sorted goi ng better than ever, over complicated set up, just shows you never know, ps had advisories on all brake discs after just having new mot when I bought her I always renew or upgrade them when i buy a car for daily use

 

thank you, and yes good advice re the discs

[72vintage]

17 hours ago, UrbanPanzer said:

Personally I think coolant leaks are more important to fix than anything else as they can end up costing LOTS of money.

 

It needs to be looked at "imo" to ensure its not leaking, if he wont play ball, then hes not a trader I would deal with in anyway.

 

Regarding brake discs, the Fabia discs seem to have a high iron content and can look very rusty very quickly, my RS discs rust if washed and put away without driving,

so don't be overly concerned, if it does not "come off" with a good test drive, then they do need looking at.

 

Thanks, yes the brakes isn't the reason i came on here, it's def the coolant leak I am keen to understand more about.  I am hoping to take a mechanic friend with me to take a look later on. Fingers crossed we can have a sensible conversation about it then. 

 

[KenONeill]

@72vintage - Since no-one else bothered to point this out that I noticed, "coolant leaks" aren't part of the MoT so shouldn't be mentioned unless they're major.

[Ootohere]

No harm done putting an Advisory on seeing a coloured liquid leaking.

Some people never have cars serviced or inspected other than them being looked over at a MOT.   Some can be quick to complain if an Advisory is not given...

 Now Oil / Fluids of the slipper kind can be dangerous.