Major 1.8T Problems

[drzoidberg90]

Hello there!

Forever I have loved the NB's. Recently, I purchased a 2001 NB 1.8T 4-cyl 5MT. It has 66,700 miles on it. It's a fully loaded GLS model. No problems with the paint chipping, etc, that I hear from other owners on the interior... what I have had happen, however...

Test drove it at the dealership (NOTE: This was a NON-VW Dealership. They specialized in AMERICAN vehicles)... where I bought it used. Vehicle contained all maintenance records... didn't THINK to look over them (within the first year, it needed a new airbag sensor... but nothing hugely major indicated with the maintenance rec's)... DUH. Anyway, test drove great. I drove it like a rental when I test drove it, went through all the little 'tests' of driving a new car, etc... no problem. Pushed it rather hard, red-lined it a few times... beautiful car...

So, I bought the car... had it for FOUR HOURS... almost immediately off the lot, it started flashing and beeping the red temp light at me... then, the AC went out, and the CEL came on, as well as the airbag light, and a couple others (gosh I can't remember the lights... I wanna say it was the ESP light as well)... anyway, the car kicked into mechanical mode (? proper terminology ?) and we pulled over (we were on the highway). The car was leaking coolant and the coolant was bubbling in the reservoir. Come to find out, the water pump was bad in the car. Immediately we called the dealer, who took it to a mechanic that I know personally (The irony of that is a whole 'nother story.. but long story short, he has done all the work on all my cars and is a foreign expert. At one time he was ranked #3 Honda Mechanic in the Nation... and he's my dad's best friend. ...It was gone for a MONTH... finally, we got the car back because the mechanic found several other problems, which he apparently 'fixed' them all. (You'd think the best friend of your father would do a good job for you, huh?).

Got the car back, month later, as I stated. We then had the car for 4 days. After making the first payment, getting the plates, and paying sales tax... the car died coming off of the interstate. It was leaking coolant, but no lights flashed or anything... however the lights like the airbag light, etc, were still on. I'm not sure, but I think the CEL light was on. We towed it to the local VW Dealer (Ray Powders, Casper WY... I don't hear good things about him, period... but he's the only dealer near here). After getting back with them, they think we need a new engine because the vehicle was exposed to 'prolonged overheating' which makes no sense. They said the head doesn't fit on the engine correctly, which I know that my other mechanic is good enough to know if that was the truth. Lots of things have been replaced in that car and I don't see what the problem is. When it died after coming off the interstate, it was leaking coolant... AGAIN...

Because I can't afford to fix it, we have it sitting in my parent's driveway at their house. I occasionally go sit in it, wanting to scream , because I love this car so much... but it kills me to think I gotta put almost $5,000+ into it after making a $8,000 investment.

Does anybody have ANY idea what happened, or what's going on? A lot of the cars I have heard about on here have pretty high miles and have been pretty durable... I thought VW made a good car?! Where did I go wrong?! Should I trust my dealer? Like I said, I've never heard good things about them, but their service center has been nothing but good to me.

Occasionally it will, however, start. I haven't been brave enough to try to drive it, but I'm going to this weekend and see if anything happens.

I honestly don't think that it's something as serious as a completely new engine and some 'major' wiring issues (according to the dealer, just to have the wiring checked out it'd cost $800...WOW).

...ironically, the color is lemon yellow.

Again, because I'm so repetitive and a rambler... if anybody has any ideas as to what's wrong, even something that I could check out myself (pics of how to do things rock, I'm really good with tutorials, haha) just let me know. Anything to get my baby back on the road!

Thanks!

[noR]

Sounds like it overheated, and was driven in that condition for too long. Warped the head and I'm not sure what else could have been damaged.

It'll cost alot to diagnose everything (main bearings, valve seals) and it'll cost more to fix it.

A new motor doesn't sound like too bad of an idea really. Considering the miles since you bought it, I'd look into recourse.

[drzoidberg90]

Originally Posted by noR

Sounds like it overheated, and was driven in that condition for too long. Warped the head and I'm not sure what else could have been damaged.

How long is too long? I mean, I know that if its overheating to pull over immediately, but we did that. Surely something couldn't have happened within putting only 22 miles on it from the time we left the dealer.

Originally Posted by noR

A new motor doesn't sound like too bad of an idea really. Considering the miles since you bought it, I'd look into recourse.

Is ther anywhere I can look to find a good price on a new motor? Keyword being new? I don't want a used engine... I'm afraid of that... haha.

[zappa26]

I would take the dealer that sold it to you to court personally ... if they knew about any of those problems, it's fraud for them to sell it to you under the guise of it working well. Make sure you have all the documentation, especially ones showing that you bought the car and the same day it had to be towed to the mechanic.

[sb_beetle]

Originally Posted by drzoidberg90

How long is too long? I mean, I know that if its overheating to pull over immediately, but we did that. Surely something couldn't have happened within putting only 22 miles on it from the time we left the dealer.

The engine may have been okay initially (sounds like it was in dire @!#$! mode). If the mechanic didn't, or couldn't, properly seat the head the continuous higher than normal temperatures (post repair) could have let the initial damage run its course. As it was still leaking coolant something was still in need of attention before it should have been driven again.

[kaiser]

Originally Posted by drzoidberg90

Is ther anywhere I can look to find a good price on a new motor? Keyword being new? I don't want a used engine... I'm afraid of that... haha.

um well.....$3500.00 will buy you a new (remanufactured) engine from volkswagen. (plus a 1k core charge)

or $7775.00 for a 100% new factory. but i'd go with the reman'd engine. nothing wrong with a reman'd motor.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

This sounds like a pre-existing problem resulting from and/or complicated by, possible poor care from the previous owners and too many people working on the car that do not understand it's in's and outs.

There are very few people if any that are true "experts" on all imports because they are not at all the same, newer VW/Audi's are a breed apart, not remotely the same as Japanese cars, they require someone who is familiar with late model VW/Audi's to work on them, otherwise chaos is inevitable.

If you have a warranty then I would give them a chance to make proper repairs before going to the next step, if you purchased the car as-is then your kind of S.O.L.

[Oh Randi]

My car wasn't treated very well by it's 2nd owner. It was very well maintained until the 1st owners sold it. I'm the 3rd owner and I'm the one that got stuck with the $3,500 tab 3 hours after I bought it. The dealership had it for a month. It was ridiculous. If I wasn't so attached to the car I would've just used our lemon law to get my money back. I was so happy to have my first bug.

It just breaks my heart to see someone abusing a poor beetle.

At least George has a good home now. He's very pampered. lol

[cep]

The 'prolonged overheating' probably occurred during one of the previous ownerships.

I hate lawyers but I have to think you need to get one to persuade the dealership that sold you the car that they need to ante up some, if not all, of the cost of a new engine.

[NaplesTurboS]

I am with "cep". I would get a lawyer and go to that dealer.

[SMG]

I would have had the car towed back to the dealer and got my money back if it broke 4 hours after buying it.

[eliteboi]

I just bought a 2000 Just like your car. I've had him 6 days now. Herbie really is my dream car, so I gotta really make sure I take care of him.