Timing Belt/ Water Pump Disclosure

[miffmole]

Every time I see an ad like the link below, it drives me crazy...The car (an '02 Beetle Turbo S) gets a glowing report from the seller (i.e., "I would not hesitate to get in it and drive anywher in the U.S," "Mechanically it is 100%," "I am an ASE certified mechanic and have gone over the car extensively," etc.). Then when I write the seller about when the Timing Belt/Water Pump have been changed, he responds simply, "I do not know."

Volkswagen : Beetle-New : eBay Motors (item 150420491182 end time Mar-14-10 19:13:38 PDT)

How many people unwittingly buy a Beetle on its last legs Timing Belt/ Water Pump-wise and don't know it? It must happen a lot.

[schen72]

Given the reliability reputation of VWs, I would be extremely wary of buying a used VW without full maintenance records.

[D2Beetle]

It says that it had six owners; that in it self is a red flag of problems.

[70autostick]

Originally Posted by D2Beetle

It says that it had six owners; that in it self is a red flag of problems.

Mine also had six owners,bought with 96k.

She was in good shape,but when its time for suspension,brakes,ect,all the previous "shops" seemed to of stripped evrything from strut mounts to calipers...

Also,with 6 owners,you've got the "well,the last owner prolly did this already" thing,or "ill just save it for the next guy"...

A busted water pump at 110k,i should of known better...

[D2Beetle]

Considering the amount of frustration "previous car owners" can cause on you after buying their used cars, information is money, the less I have, the less their car is worth and honesty "tag lines" just reduce the price further.

Also Edmunds dot com shows an average price range of $4600-$5500 for a "Clean" 2002 Sport with 110,000k miles; so giving what I currently know about it, $3000 would be my max offer.