So I ended up buying the 1.2 TSI with 180.000km

The service book looked good, and I didn't notice anything weird with the engine noice (as mentioned, I have never owned a car before).

 

But now, after having the car, and listening more carefully, and comparing to YouTube videos of the same engine, I am afraid I made a pretty bad misjudgement...

I have a video of the engine, which I showed to two mechanics, none of them tought the engine sounded "good", but they're judgements were contrary.

The first mechanic didn't think there was an issue with the chain, but rather something else, the second mechanic definitely thought there was something wrong with the chain.

Also they quoted me wildly different prices for changing the chain.

 

Here is a link to the video: 

 

 

 

Did I, as NTA16 put it 

Did I, as NTA16 put it  

17 hours ago, nta16 said:

Making a poor decision on a car purchase can lead to expensive misery

?

Sorry but no idea as i said,  i am Mutt & Jeff.

 

Good to see there are the armoured plug leads, at least that was done.

 

Looks like an engine that has been power washed a few times in its life. 

 

?

What was it in the service book that looked good? 

When were the Spark Plugs last replaced?

 

@Posthuman

If you gave some idea what country you are in then that helps when you ask anyone about the cost of things.

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/344005-12tsi-cam-chain-problem/page/8

 

 

Edited 1 September, 20223 yr by roottoot

2 hours ago, roottoot said:

If you gave some idea what country you are in then that helps when you ask anyone about the cost of things.

 

Denmark.

 

3 hours ago, Posthuman said:

I have a video of the engine, which I showed to two mechanics, none of them tought the engine sounded "good", but they're judgements were contrary.

The first mechanic didn't think there was an issue with the chain, but rather something else, the second mechanic definitely thought there was something wrong with the chain.

It can be difficult to diagnosis a fault just by listening to a video - although some here may be able to with experience and a reasonable sound quality on their device, an engine builder may know within a fraction of a second.  I would not have a clue what the cause of the sound(s) will be.

 

Don't despair yet and try to avoid jumping to conclusions without more information.

 

If you could give as much information as you can, reply to rootoot's questions, and if you could find someone with an appropriate level scan tool that can give you a health report (error codes) and if possible check live data but if the car and engine is in front of a good mechanic they might be able to hear what is wrong and just need to confirm their diagnosis.

Edited 1 September, 20223 yr by nta16

4 hours ago, roottoot said:

What was it in the service book that looked good? 

When were the Spark Plugs last replaced?

 

I thought the service looked good because it seemed like more was done than just oil changes and inspection.

Let me sum up:

 

Regular checkup, service and oil change was done every 20-30.000km

 

Notable services:

at 77.000km: Airfilter replaced, and clutch oil was changed.

At 121.00km: Spark plugs, and airfilter was replaced

At 148.000km: Brake fluid was changed

 

And just to confirm, yes i am living in Denmark  

 

1 hour ago, nta16 said:

It can be difficult to diagnosis a fault just by listening to a video - although some here may be able to with experience and a reasonable sound quality on their device, an engine builder may know within a fraction of a second.  I would not have a clue what the cause of the sound(s) will be.

 

Don't despair yet and try to avoid jumping to conclusions without more information.

 

If you could give as much information as you can, reply to rootoot's questions, and if you could find someone with an appropriate level scan tool that can give you a health report (error codes) and if possible check live data but if the car and engine is in front of a good mechanic they might be able to hear what is wrong and just need to confirm their diagnosis.

 

Both mechanics i talked to where not official Skoda mechanics.

My plan is to get the car/engine diagnosed at an official Skoda dealership, they surely must have the appropriate scan tools. 

Edited 1 September, 20223 yr by Posthuman

That chain is definitely noisey, however a scan tool will not tell you anything, the camchain is mechanical not electronic.

 

Please don't panic, you've had to tangle with some SERIOUS catastrophists in here and their doomy mood has gripped you.

 

There is no reason to think the engine is about to go wrong, stay away from the garage or they'll sense your inexperience and hit you with a really big bill.

52 minutes ago, Posthuman said:

Both mechanics i talked to where not official Skoda mechanics.

My plan is to get the car/engine diagnosed at an official Skoda dealership,

An independent specialist will have the same tools as a main stealer, but only charge about 2/3 as much for a job.

3 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

That chain is definitely noisey, however a scan tool will not tell you anything, the camchain is mechanical not electronic.

The scan tool isn't for the camchain, just sometimes there can be more than one thing going on at once, and information from the scan tool may help to confirm or repute the chain or associated.

 

 

3 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

you've had to tangle with some SERIOUS catastrophists in here and their doomy mood has gripped you

 It's to counterbalance your carefree and over cheery attitude. 🤣 🤣

 

And thank you for backing up my earlier comment.

 

Scan tools are only of use when the check light is on because a fault has been logged.

 

That chain probably won't get any worse and the OP can look forward to thousands of km without any problems.

@Posthuman just for information, and next car purchase, nothing to get scared about, in case you might (no need to sleep with the light on). 

 

4 hours ago, Posthuman said:

Regular checkup, service and oil change was done every 20-30.000km

(12-18k-miles)

Reasonable to good, depending on the type of mileage over what time period, more attention than some owners would give.

 

4 hours ago, Posthuman said:

at 77.000km: Airfilter replaced, and clutch oil was changed

(48k-miles)

Air filter change, if first time, would be a bit late at that for me (but I would change sooner and more often than most owners) might even be a little t bit beyond Skoda recommendation but I don't know for your country and model.  I am not sure what you mean by clutch oil.

 

4 hours ago, Posthuman said:

At 121.00km: Spark plugs, and airfilter was replaced

 (75k-miles)

Sparkplugs depends on the plugs and if it was the first time of changing, with my wife's Mk3 it would be second time of changing (standard plugs).  Air filter at 44,000 km (27k-miles) seems good (depending on the condition of the filter).

 

4 hours ago, Posthuman said:

At 148.000km: Brake fluid was changed

(91k-miles)

Brake fluid change depends on whether that was the first time it had been changed or just the last recorded change,  Good that it has been changed, some people do not bother service schedule would be about every 2 years or 32,000km (20k-miles) whichever is sooner but many might think that far too soon and the brake fluid might have been changed when other work was done on the brakes.  And at least it was changed but that was 32,000km ago so when you have things more sorted remember brakes are always a priority.

 

As I said before engines are not a top priority, yes you do want them running as well as is reasonable and not to breakdown but give thought to the priorities I gave before.

 

46 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

Scan tools are only of use when the check light is on because a fault has been logged.

So what year of car has the OP bought?

 

Page 1 the 180,000 km car was built 20/5/2012 according to a reply to me. 

So it was getting oil & filter changes to a Variable / Flexible regime rather than Fixed Servicing. 

 

 

 

Edited 2 September, 20223 yr by roottoot

11 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

That chain is definitely noisey, however a scan tool will not tell you anything, the camchain is mechanical not electronic.

 

Please don't panic, you've had to tangle with some SERIOUS catastrophists in here and their doomy mood has gripped you.

 

There is no reason to think the engine is about to go wrong, stay away from the garage or they'll sense your inexperience and hit you with a really big bill.

You are right, a doomy mood has definitely  gripped me 😅, so thanks for letting me know that i can relax a bit.

All i really want is to be able to drive the car relatively care free, for the next 2-3 years..

 

What do you mean by "stay away from the garage", do you mean mechanics in general, or just the unofficial ones?

 

11 hours ago, KenONeill said:

An independent specialist will have the same tools as a main stealer, but only charge about 2/3 as much for a job.

 

On the danish Skoda website, it actually says that they will match the price from an independent specialist, at any official skoda dealership.

 

7 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

That chain probably won't get any worse and the OP can look forward to thousands of km without any problems.

 

That would be ideal!

My biggest worry is the chain braking while driving, and damaging the engine beyond repair..

 

7 hours ago, nta16 said:

(48k-miles)

Air filter change, if first time, would be a bit late at that for me (but I would change sooner and more often than most owners) might even be a little t bit beyond Skoda recommendation but I don't know for your country and model.  I am not sure what you mean by clutch oil.

 

As I said before engines are not a top priority, yes you do want them running as well as is reasonable and not to breakdown but give thought to the priorities I gave before.

 

 

It says "Haldex traction" oil was changed, i dunno, that is the direct translation from google. This is the wiki from Haldex Traction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haldex_Traction

 

Thanks, i will look into the things mentioned by you as well.

 

7 hours ago, nta16 said:

So what year of car has the OP bought?

 

 

The model is 2013, it was produced mid 2012 (i called skoda, to get this information).

 

42 minutes ago, roottoot said:

The battery was tucked up nice and cosy in its soft cover. 

 

I am not sure what you mean by this? or the picture?

Edited 2 September, 20223 yr by Posthuman

The Haldex Oil was not changed because you car is FWD and has no Haldex System. 

 

Since the car was getting Variable Oil & Filter Services that means it should have been getting Long Life Oil so VW504 00 / VW 507 00.

That is 5w 30 FS III.

If you are doing an Oil change now you could go on a Fixed Oil & Filter regime and use VW502 00 which is 5w 40 FS.

 

.............

Sorry.

The Edit & picture about the battery ended up in your thread instead of one i was posting in the Fabia Mk3 Section.

 

................

Your engines oil capacity is 3.9 litres.

There is also a different oil filter fitted to your engine than the earlier ones. 

Edited 2 September, 20223 yr by roottoot

One of the best things to do with a car that you are keeping, if only 2-3 years, is give the whole car (not just engine) a full service and check then you know it has been done and when and to what quality.  You can often get surprising improvements on a used car you do not really know the full history of by doing a good service.  Some do not believe in servicing or preventative maintenance at all and just drive the car and deal with whatever turns up (if it does) at that time, sometimes there can be merit in this system but a lot can depend on your experience and knowledge of running and repairing a car.

 

Most servicing and maintenance (and often too repairs) just boil down to clean and lubricate (even electronically) and some, much, or perhaps later even all, you could do yourself but personally if you didn't want to get dirty I would not blame you as cars are very dirty and messy and I always try avoid this as much as possible when possible, how others get their kicks or income is up to them.

 

And here endeth today's sermon, all rise and sing hym number one, Driving in my car.

 

 

 

"What do you mean by "stay away from the garage", do you mean mechanics in general, or just the unofficial ones?"

 

I mean stay away from all garages until you're calm and cool or they'll rip you off, you've just bought the car and there's nothing wrong with it right now so go and drive it.

 

"My biggest worry is the chain braking while driving, and damaging the engine beyond repair."

 

That's not going to happen, when is the next service due please?

Hi!

 

Sorry for not replying any sooner..

We have been busy moving for the last week or so.

 

I recently had the car at an official Skoda dealership/mechanic, who told me that he thought the engine sounded fine, and that I should just keep the car serviced with regular intervals.

This definitely made me feel better about my purchase.

 

On 02/09/2022 at 09:51, roottoot said:

The Haldex Oil was not changed because you car is FWD and has no Haldex System. 

 

😅 All right, thanks for the info.

The mechanic who allegedly changed the Haldex oil, was a German mechanic writing In a danish service book.

Maybe that's why he put in the wrong oil change.

 

 

On 02/09/2022 at 11:26, nta16 said:

One of the best things to do with a car that you are keeping, if only 2-3 years, is give the whole car (not just engine) a full service and check then you know it has been done and when and to what quality.  You can often get surprising improvements on a used car you do not really know the full history of by doing a good service.  Some do not believe in servicing or preventative maintenance at all and just drive the car and deal with whatever turns up (if it does) at that time, sometimes there can be merit in this system but a lot can depend on your experience and knowledge of running and repairing a car.

 

Thank you, I will look into this, and get a quote for a full service, as it sound expensive, and has to be worth it for how long we will be keeping the car.

 

 

On 02/09/2022 at 11:49, sepulchrave said:

That's not going to happen, when is the next service due please?

 

The next service is either 212.430km, or 23/06/2023, whichever somes first.

3 hours ago, Posthuman said:

Thank you, I will look into this, and get a quote for a full service, as it sound expensive, and has to be worth it for how long we will be keeping the car.

A full service would mean different things to different people/garages.  As most servicing, maintenance and even some repairs boils down cleaning and lubrication or simply swapping out parts you could learn to do some of the work (or all) of the work yourself to perhaps save a little money but also to ensure the work is done and at least in a conscience way and manner - though I would not blame you if you wanted to avoid the mess and hassle.

 

Remember as I put before the important and priority parts are brakes, steering, suspension (all three include tyres, safety electrics, lights, wipers, blower, horn, etc. - so check those check what's has recently been done on those and do your own visual checks and tests too.

 

For the engine the same, you may also want to consider clean the MAF and throttle body after you'd checked engine air filter condition.  Check on coolant (antifreeze) changes, air filter, spark plugs

 

Have a look at the cabin filter too and any debris before it and a simple thorough clean with a vacuum cleaner and small brush to help clear out the internal air vents and around the switches and crevices can help stuff operate more freely.  Cleaning and lubricating hinges (and locks if required) with appropriate materials will also help, as will cleaning and treating door seals before the cold weather - all easy  stuff you can do yourself without getting too messy.

 

Charging up the battery fully (off the car) could help prevent some electrical/computer issues this autumn and winter.

 

Been so long since I've had a car new to me I struggle to remember what to check, so good luck.

 

4 hours ago, nta16 said:

Charging up the battery fully (off the car) could help prevent some electrical/computer issues this autumn and winter.

 

 

 Assume this is if you have a battery charger so old that it is of the type that buzzes when you plug it in, or you live on the 5th floor. Modern chargers can be connected when the battery is on the car, otherwise suppliers such as Optimate would not supply quick connectors for permanent connection of battery to charger when cars such as classics are not being used. 

Off the car gives more commitment from the user so probably not a quickie, wam-bang-thank-you mam but a more considered effort, introduces the idea of patience too when everything is expected immediately so shortcuts are made and battery charged but not fully  (bit of psychology) also gives a more controlled environment, Denmark can get cold.

 

Quick modern fast chargers of high current you'd be disconnecting the battery anyway and yes modern lower current charger they can be left on, it was probably around 20 years ago I had a modern charger that I left connected when I had a car that was under an outdoor carcover waiting for its less frequently use with a silly British made alarm and immobiliser, I wired in a quick connector directly to the battery, behind the passenger's footwell, as the car was well spec'd by its original owner and was without ciggy lighter, or ashtrays - still got that modern charger. 😁

 

As well as the older charger which does have a low buzz if you put your ear close, it was bought for me by my elderly neighbour as a present, it was the same as the one he had that I used on his car to stop him frying the battery as he had previously.  I've used it on other neighbours' batteries but never on any of the cars I've owned - tell a lie, I did once when I'd flatten the battery trying to start the car as it had a fault (that I'd caused).

 

You'd also need a long extension cable if you lived on the 4th floor, unless you got your electric from the council street lighting like my neighbours did when I was young, no coin meter for them, they kept emptying it. 🙂

 

Edited 9 September, 20223 yr by nta16