Ask an expert

Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a new car that is in another area and are making the decision if i want to buy it before spending the money to travel and see it.

The owner has sent me a copy of the VTNZ PPI and there were a few things for consideration.

One i am concerned about was the mention of Red coolant crystals found around water pump & corosion inhibitor: poor condition, Testing weak.

The seller has assured me that the pump was checked and found to be fine and that anti freeze has been added to the vehicle.

what are potential implications of these concerns?

Thanks

It sounds like this car has a cooling system problem. What I suspect is going on here is that there is a leak at the water pump, with the leaked coolant crystalizing when it is exposed to the atmosphere. Due to the loss of coolant in the radiator, someone has been topping up with water, hence the concentration is low. Merely topping up with coolant is not solving the problem.
What this car needs is for the cooling system to be pressure tested to locate the leak (which, despite what the owner is saying, seems to point to the water pump, given that's where the visual indications are), the leak to be repaired and then a complete coolant change with new coolant.
As a word of warning, cooling system problems are one of the main causes of engine failure - potentially leading to overheating, blown head gaskets, cracked cylinder heads etc. I'm not saying that this is necessarily what has happenned here, but I'd want to have evidence of further investigation of the problem (ie: pressure test and Tee Kay test, plus a fresh coolant change).