Friend Bought a Used Car from Dealer - After 16 Months Engine Has Blown

lowndes8 on 06/12/2024 - 17:02
Last edited 06/12/2024 - 17:20 by 2 other users

I know the answer to the question but thought I would see if maybe someone has had some luck.

Have a friend at work who is not great with money or cars

Anyway, he bought a used 2006 Toyota Prado. Had 300,000 something kms on it. He didn't ask any of us at work for advice who are into cars he just bought it. Didn't get any kind of inspection check on it

Bought the car in August 2023 and bought from the car yard one of those 3 extended warranties (yes I know they are useless).

In between August 2023 and Dec 2004 he did the following. EGR either replaced or cleaned (covered under warranty). New injectors (he paid for them himself didn't go through warranty) also did a full service.

Anyway, around a month ago was having issues, all kinds of smoke coming from it, losing engine oil etc. It all came to a head last week where it lost a heap of oil and spat it all over the engine, car lost power. It's been taken to a mechanic who has said it's got a blown piston which is a common failure on these cars

We have looked at the warranty and they will only cover $2000 damage. Going to cost him at least 5x that to fix and has no money to fix it

I know he bought it back in Aug 2023 but is there anything else he can do to try and get it repaired/replaced?

Automotive Car SUV Toyota

Comments

      • serpserpserp on 07/12/2024 - 16:40
        +2

        This is very far from the truth.

        Might depend on how old you are and where those vehicles were located.

  • Drumadd on 07/12/2024 - 08:02
    +4

    Nobody buys a 20 year old car with 300k kms on the clock. Regardless of limited warranty it’s not worth spending one cent on it

    • doctordv8 on 08/12/2024 - 10:47
      +2

      Yes, they do.

      Yes, it is.

      Your pockets must be loaded with a lot more some than the rest of us.

    • Spam Service on 09/12/2024 - 10:03

      Nobody buys a 20 year old car with 300k kms on the clock

      People do. It's a big gamble, but it can pay off. I bought my 18yo ute with 300k on it - $4k for a diesel 4x4. 70k later and zero issues, just normal servicing. If it threw a rod today it would owe me nothing really.

    • Purp on 10/12/2024 - 11:40

      Depending on price/condition I'd buy a subaru with 300k on the clock if it had full service history and my mechanic checked it out.

  • Bob Svargis on 07/12/2024 - 08:04

    Your friend bought a time bomb, knowing that it was a time bomb - and it finally exploded.

    Sell it for parts.

  • easternculture on 07/12/2024 - 08:19

    Did he buy it from Osama

    Engine Has Blown

    • Cave Fire on 07/12/2024 - 18:48

      Usually the other way around 😯

  • JIMB0 on 07/12/2024 - 08:34
    +2

    The cheapest option to get it going again is to cut the floor out and turn it into a Flintstones car.

  • cloudy on 07/12/2024 - 08:48
    +7

    Ozb so harsh, usually when it’s a Toyota the usual comments are “300k it’s only warming up” / “16yrs, it’s not even an adult yet” etc etc

  • iamgeoffyboy on 07/12/2024 - 09:14

    I guess they are going to continue to have bad luck with cars and money.

    Maybe this will be a lesson?.

    I'm surprised the used car warranty is covering anything.

  • Oofy Doofy on 07/12/2024 - 09:19
    +8

    wrecker yard exchange motor. Cheapest way to keep the vehicle going. Try and find a motor with less than 150k on it, as difficult as that may be (As honest as a nun selling indulgences in the wrecker yard chapel).

  • realaaa on 07/12/2024 - 09:21

    I mean it is a possibility to get engine replaced, but need a good practical mechanic to review the model etc and assess the probability of success after that

    overall the car and frame etc if in good condition could still be riding for years, but needs new heart

  • snirodha on 07/12/2024 - 09:43

    Dealer got to make money.
    Insurance got to make money.
    And ur "friend" has to grow up and use his brain.

  • geekcohen on 07/12/2024 - 10:06
    +1

    he bought a used 2006 Toyota Prado. Had 300,000 something kms on it

    How many KMs did he put on it before the "engine blew up"?

  • dojomojo on 07/12/2024 - 10:15
    +3

    Ask your mechanic that did the pre-purchase inspection.

    • geekcohen on 07/12/2024 - 10:34
      +3

      Shock Horror, OPs mate probably didn't get one.

      • BillyG687 on 07/12/2024 - 22:23
        +3

        It's been over 12months since they bought the car. There's no recourse to the used car seller.

        if the person has a warranty, it won't be a full warranty and only covers a certain portion (if that if the owner has followed or done any maintenance).

        If they bought through a dealer, they get a 3 month stat warranty for any issues like this. Past 12months? No chance. Consumer law doesn't even protect used purchases.

        • MS Paint on 08/12/2024 - 08:17
          +2

          If they bought through a dealer, they get a 3 month stat warranty for any issues like this

          Not in this case. The car had more than 200k kms so no warranty at all from a dealer in South Australia.

  • geekcohen on 07/12/2024 - 10:37

    It's been taken to a mechanic who has said it's got a blown piston which is a common failure on these cars

    You should've done some research on those common problems, and it might've deterred your mate from the car.

    It's like VE Commodores are notorious for needing timing chains done and oil pump issues after 100,000kms, sometimes get a bit longer.

  • TightAl on 07/12/2024 - 10:55
    +5

    How much did he pay for it?

  • doctordv8 on 07/12/2024 - 11:36
    -1

    "I know the answer to the question but thought I would see if maybe someone has had some luck."…… Seriously!!

    Short answer…. NO.

  • Tigercjn on 07/12/2024 - 11:38

    It should have been serviced at least once maybe twice in the time he owned it, not the dealers fault

  • lachhelix on 07/12/2024 - 11:40
    +3

    Lol give me a break
    300k?

  • htc on 07/12/2024 - 13:41

    This post suggest new car may not be the best buy.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/869759

    What's the best used car to buy?

    • geekcohen on 08/12/2024 - 06:29
      +3

      Not one that is 18 years old and has 300,000kms on it. Generally something that is less than 10 years old about less than 200,000kms.

      It all depends though. I bought a 2007 Omega Commodore in 2011 (4 years old) with 20,000kms on it. I had it for 11 years and traded it in with 220,000kms on it. It had timing changes done, oil pump, thermostat, water pump and a few other things replaced on it before it developed a rattle. Traded it in for $3k and got a new car.

      • MS Paint on 08/12/2024 - 08:13
        +5

        Those alloytec rattletec motors were horrible especially in the VE series 1. The thermostat at the rear of the motor with next to impossible access - chef's kiss.

      • starspawn on 09/12/2024 - 07:41

        My old man’s Omega commodore (2006) still going strong, over 250km’s.

        He just has little repairs to do every so often, heaps of parts available which make them cheap

  • Roe Jogan on 07/12/2024 - 14:04
    +1

    lebo dealer?
    on a serious note, what do you expect. yeh Toyotas are reliable but usually when one says that they are talking about one with low km thats been looked after and serviced,, we dont know the history of your vehicle specially when you bought it at 300k, so the reliability goes under questioning as well as the bloke you bought it from but tbh not much should be expected from a 17 year old car with 300k bought from a private/dealer.. you are expecting too much especially after 16 months

  • Name on 07/12/2024 - 14:15
    +5

    Going to cost him at least 5x that to fix

    Where did he get the quote from?

    I blew up my Holden commodore engine like 10 years ago, to rebuild the engine was going to be more expensive than just getting an engine from the wreckers and getting it swapped out. This is what I ended up doing. I gave it to my dad when his car broke and he is still driving it now.

  • stumo on 07/12/2024 - 15:00

    We have looked at the warranty and they will only cover $2000 damage.

    I'm 99.999% sure there will be a get-out clause on this "warranty" anyway, so I highly doubt you would get that $2k anyway.

  • brad1-8tsi on 07/12/2024 - 15:28
    +5

    You haven't said what maintenance was done and by who.

    I bought a 2016 Pajero Sport in 2021. Any responsibility to the dealer for malfunctions has long since passed. It's all on me these days.

    4WDs are expensive to maintain and require a certain level of specialist knowledge and money in the bank.

    Your mate is up the creek without a leg to stand on

  • holdenmg on 07/12/2024 - 18:00
    +1

    Look @ https://d4dengines.com.au

  • ChaLuo on 07/12/2024 - 18:10

    300k and beyond?

    Sure. Any type of vehicle. Any brand.

    BUT — Only if you're first owner for the life of the car. Normally goes to sh** from 2nd owner onward.

  • 2esc on 07/12/2024 - 19:30

    Buying a 300,000 kilometres car is a big risk no matter what they can run fine for another couple hundred thousand but you dont know the maintenace history or type of driving done or the type of driver.

    A 300,000 Prado needs to be very cheap just in case something goes wrong it doesnt hurt so much. Not cheap through a dealer.

  • DrunkUberDriver on 07/12/2024 - 20:09
    +9

    How come on the internet people always pretend to ask questions for their "friend" when they, and only they, are actually the subject

    • holdenmg on 08/12/2024 - 03:11

      I dunno.
      Read friends don't let friends etc.

    • JIMB0 on 08/12/2024 - 09:08
      +1

      Are you asking for a friend?

  • Sammy Boi on 07/12/2024 - 20:39
    +3

    Another day another post from an idiot

  • ColtNoir on 07/12/2024 - 21:37
    -4

    If this was a sale done without the ‘warranty’ sold, I’d say good luck.
    To me it’s likely that the warranty it was sold with was a large part of why he decided to buy the car. Does he remember them promising what that warranty would do eg ‘oh don’t worry, it’s all covered by warranty’. These type of statements could make the salesperson/dealership accountable for this, I know it did for me.

    1. Go to the deal and raise the issue with management. Not just the first person you speak with.
    2. If they don’t play ball, raise a fair trading complaint. It would be good at this stage to have a quote or two to fix the issue/s. Make any promises about the car and warranty, including sales tactics clear when you raise it.
    3. Follow the fair trading process and make it clear you’re willing to go to the tribunal.
    4. Good luck.
  • holdenmg on 08/12/2024 - 03:30
    +1

    This thread is worse than watching a bad episode of "Deal or No Deal"

    You know it won't end well, it is just a case of how little there is at the end.

  • johnfuller on 08/12/2024 - 08:22

    no warranty on a vehicle with this amount of kms, you can check it out

    "common failure" for piston failure maybe you can chase toyota

  • Shane043 on 08/12/2024 - 09:54
    +1

    How many km did he put on it? warranty is usually 3 months or up to 5000km.

    • CocaKoala on 08/12/2024 - 11:22
      +5

      warranty is usually 3 months or up to 5000km.

      No statutory warranty applies for this shitbox at least in Vic. There's a limit on 160,000KMs or 10 years of age (whichever comes first) so any conceivable warranty disappeared 7 years or 140,000KMs ago.

      https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/consumers-and-businesses/car…

      Old mate here had the budget for a 9 year old accent with 80k it, but instead wanted to roll around in a Prado (what a baller), so they got a 17 y/o dried up piece of turd with 300,000 KMs on the odo and beat any remaining life out of it before wondering how dare it stopped running.

  • notfrodo on 08/12/2024 - 11:14
    +4

    This is going to be one of those posts that receives a million comments but no response from the OP, isn't it?

  • Alexxx on 08/12/2024 - 12:10
    +2

    If I was the dealer, warranty company, or a mechanic and you told me this I would deny the claim.

    "Anyway, around a month ago was having issues, all kinds of smoke coming from it, losing engine oil etc. It all came to a head last week where it lost a heap of oil and spat it all over the engine, car lost power."

    The car is blowing smoke and losing oil, so he thought it was fine and kept driving it for 3 weeks like that until it died.

    As soon as it was having issues he should have stopped driving it and got it back to the dealer for diagnosis.

    PSA: If your car isn't driving like it normally does, has any dash warning lights, or gauges in the red areas stop driving it and get it diagnosed and fixed.

    • lachhelix on 08/12/2024 - 19:25

      Don't be silly, just get a random on Facebook to clear the codes = this obviously fixes the issue

  • Bearlion on 08/12/2024 - 16:03

    source a second hand motor and use a different mechanic

  • d4nkasme on 08/12/2024 - 19:41
    +1

    Why so down on a guy buying a toyota? if you are buying an older car i bet it would be the top brand recommended.

    tbh 10k seems pretty expensive…if its me I am investigating reconditioned engines or hoping to find something at the wreckers

    • lachhelix on 08/12/2024 - 22:58
      +3

      Nothing wrong with the choice of car - it's the fact they're trying to get someone to warantee a 20 year old car with 300,000km on it lmao

      • d4nkasme on 12/12/2024 - 13:30

        oh yeah that part is just crazy talk

  • shreav on 08/12/2024 - 21:17

    Well, I guess your friend had to start learning at some point… $10k is an expensive but hopefully life-long lesson.

  • IpGem on 08/12/2024 - 21:20
    +1

    OP, I believe you've already answered your own question in your post, just fwd it to your friend

    a used 2006 Toyota Prado. Had 300,000 something kms on it. He didn't ask any of us at work for advice who are into cars he just bought it. Didn't get any kind of inspection check on it

  • ltjaris on 09/12/2024 - 03:31

    I bought a Mercedes c200 2009 , had like 157k Kms on it. Did the first oil change and noticed a s**t load of sludge on the oil cap and in the engine as far as I could see. Definitely neglected.

    Ordered some auto rx from eBay put two bottles in, engine sounds much better and hoping the sludge will clean out with frequent oil changes. Fingers crossed. There's good products that can help neglected engines.

  • starspawn on 09/12/2024 - 07:38

    $10k to fix sounds reasonable, considering the neglect

  • THICKnSLOW on 09/12/2024 - 09:38

    He can try catching public transport and Ubers after he sends his Prado to the junkyard. Then he can save some money, whilst learning as much as he can about how cars operate and maintenance.

    After about 10 years of that he can then buy his own car.

  • StalkingIbis on 09/12/2024 - 10:04
    +2

    Prado diesels are known to spontaneously detonate…google it or check the prado forums.

    some peopel suggest it is an injector fault, but others who have regularly changed injectors have also suffered it.

  • pharkurnell on 09/12/2024 - 10:36
    +1

    and bought from the car yard one of those 3 extended warranties (yes I know they are useless).

    /thread closed

  • dirtybigbjelke on 09/12/2024 - 11:58

    I suspect that the initial Injector issues contributed to this failure. Best option is to look for a used engine.

  • MisterQ on 09/12/2024 - 16:03
    1. 17 year old car - asking for problems
    2. buying without inspection - asking for problems.
    3. 300k kms. is starting to get out there, especially if you don't have a documented service history.

    I have a couple of friends with LandCruisers etc with that sort of mileage - They are meticulous on super regular oil changes, and services more regularly than recommended.

  • CalmLemons on 09/12/2024 - 17:20
    +1

    OPs friend should be entitled to a full refund from Toyota for the full original purchase price now.

    I mean, if we are going there, might as well go all the way with the I cannot take responsibility for my own judgement.

  • gtech on 09/12/2024 - 20:35

    @lowndes8 did your mate do the injectors himself? where did he get the injectors from? If that played a part in the problem he may have a recourse there, but that would be hard to prove.
    The 120 prados are renowned to have robust engines so 300k should not be an issue. The 1kdftv engine is used in heaps of vehicles (Hilux,hiace etc). So may be able to find another donor and do a straight swap which could keep costs down.
    Having said that they do have an issue with cylinder heads cracking, however good maintenance and upkeep should minimise this.
    It also come as to down to vehicle use. Towing or a lot of 4wd is tough on the engine.
    Because there are heaps of these engines around he may find an cheaper alternative.

  • ATTS on 10/12/2024 - 13:57

    Curious how many years was the extended warranty?

  • Best Deal Hunter on 10/12/2024 - 16:21
    +2

    Between August 2023 and Dec 2004 got his money's worth 19 years of use, can't complain

  • PhilosophicalTurtle on 10/12/2024 - 20:08

    Buyers Beware

  • Nucleus Acumbens on 12/12/2024 - 18:46

    OP's car broke down.

    It has exceeded any dealer manufacturing warranties.
    There are no overarching insurance covers here. Car broke. Owner to fix at own expense unless he wants to sell for parts or set on fire.

  • Nucleus Acumbens on 12/12/2024 - 23:25

    This type of thing usually only comes with one year warranty.

    Even extended to us installing new reconditioned engine. Knew it had 12 month warranty on it. Something broke requiring fixing (at our cost) two days after warranty expired. I told em to let it burn.

    know he bought it back in Aug 2023 but is there anything else he can do to try and get it repaired/replaced?

    Save the extra $10k to fix it.

  • Nucleus Acumbens on 13/12/2024 - 16:50

    Had to replace motor on Mitsubishi Magna. Cost about $8k. Came with 12 months warranty. Blew up one year and two days later.

    Traded in my Toyota Camry recently. Dealer said at 460,000 it was gently worn in.

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