What Would You Do?

[Dusty55]

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking around for my first Navara (D40). Found a 07 ST-x TD Auto with 57ks. Car looks straight and in good to very good condition inside and out (no dents, minimal scratches on paint and in tub liner).

I looked for the service book and nothing. The Dealer (Nissan dealership) said it was a farm vehicle and the owner probably serviced it himself. Being a little sus of dealers, I had a RACQ inspection. They found one thing wrong .. sludge and gunk under the tappet cover indicating that the car has had minimal services (if at all were the Inspectors words).

So my dilema... should I proceed with the purchase and if so what do you suggest what damage could have already been done to the engine & Turbo and what can I do to minimise future damage; OR should I run as fast as I can and keep looking?

I know there are many wise heads on this forum, so over to you my learned friends!

 

[Old.Tony]

First question: diesel or petrol? Unserviced diesels mean there'll be a little extra wear inside the motor, but being a farm vehicle the probability is that it wasn't overly flogged. A petrol engine might not suffer as badly from lack of service - diesels should have their engine oil replaced on a regular basis although not doing do won't kill it completely.

That sludge can be removed. Might take a few goes with a detergent-based oil additive but I don't think it's the end of the world for the engine.

The big question is - does it sound okay? Does it sound extraordinarily different to a similar vehicle? Did the RACQ guy say anything about knocking noises, coolant quality etc?

If that sludge was the only thing then I'd suggest it probably isn't a huge deal. If the price is right, you could run the cleaner through it and have yourself a decent vehicle.

The dealer obviously isn't up to the usual shonky dealings - a lot of 'em fill out the service details as if the vehicle had been serviced. At least you know exactly where this one stands.

 

[KraftyPg]

How does the price compare to other D40's or a similar age?

I wouldn't wipe the idea just because of sludge and a comment like "if at all" in regards to the service, I may consider getting a different mechanic to inspect it with such a response but if the price was reasonable it might still be a worthy proposition.

If like many used cars there is a previous owner listed you can always ring them and find out what they did and didn't do, I've had the odd call about some of my previous cars when they have been sitting on lots.

Farm use can be long an hard for any vehicle, it could have been running for long periods in the paddocks but travelled little distance which obviously wont be reflected in the odo readings but unless you can get a better idea of it's exact history I still wouldn't make a definite judgment on good or bad from one inspection report.

 

[Bosshog]

Hi Everyone,

I have been looking around for my first Navara (D40). Found a 07 ST-x TD Auto with 57ks.

I can't be bothered checking what series a 07 TD Auto would be, but if it is a series 2 or 3 and therefore has a DPF I would not go near it regardless of the question over servicing.

 

[Dusty55]

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. To answer a few of the questions:
It is Diesel
* It drove as well as any other 07
* Didn't blow any smoke when I tramped it to over take on a back road
* The RACQ guy didn't mention any knocking noises or drive belt/timimg belt issues (I had an inspection done on another a few weeks ago and the RACQ picked up drive and time belt noises)
* Car was built in 07/07, but have no knowledge whether it is a series 2 or 3
* Price is exactly the same as other vehilces on carsales with 50-80kms and auto diesel.
* as noisey as other D40s, didn't detect any noises out of the ordinary

I'm starting to think that if I get the dealer to do major service now, throw in 2 oil changes at monthly intervals and then another major before their 3 month warranty expires it may just work out OK. Would that work to flush out most of the crap?

 

[KraftyPg]

Having not seen the car myself I can only go by what's written here but if you can get the major service out of the dealer and everything else checks out, including any doubts in your own mind, then I wouldn't have an issue buying it.

I'm not too concerned about having a DPF in my Nav and I really don't expect to ever have any problems with it despite a few horror stories on the net that people have had so to me the DPF (therefore series of ute) wouldn't make or break a deal. I'm not sure how you'll go about getting 2 major services out of the dealer but you can only ask and it would be the kind of thing I'd ask.

 

[Dusty55]

Thanks Krafty. Like you the DPF is a non issue for me, so that isn't a problem.

I'm starting to get closer to passing my 'sleep at night test' with this vehicle. Initially the sludge issue freaked me out, but with the comments on here and a bit of other internet research, my initial anxiety has been appeased somewhat.

It seems that sludge is reasonably common and due to many factors. I'm starting to summise that if farmer Brown put old fashioned diesel oil in the Nav (the same stuff he has been putting in his Massey Ferguson for 30 years), then sludge is to be expected.

So my plan:
I'll ask the dealer for farmer Brown's phone number and speak with him directly to see what has contributed to the sludge build up. Then my plan is to back to the dealer and negotiate a fix it solution.

I'll ask for 2 x major services and if I get one, I win. If they flush and then do a major service I win. If they don't do anything I walk away and I win.

Thanks guys for helping me through my dilema.
Dusty

 

[KraftyPg]

I'm pretty sure they are required to give you the previous owners details if they aren't displayed in the window already, atleast that used to be the case in Victoria.

Sounds like a good plan to me, lay your cards on the table, be realistic and walk out if they don't play the game you want to.

Although I hope for your sake the farmer hasn't been using tractor oil, our tractor uses 65 litres of hydraulic oil in the engine, I'm not afraid of the DPF but I'm not sure it would like hydraulic oil.

 

[Dusty55]

Shows you my knowledge of tractors.

 

[KraftyPg]

I'd trade an oil change on a Nav for an oil change on the Kubota any day. Three filters, 65 liters of hydraulic oil and just what to do with that much waste oil is a PITA, but doing pretty much everything from a standing position without leaning over things does have some advantages.

Realistically though, if the farmer that owned the ute previous is anything like our mate and co farmer one of two things will have happened, zero maintenance for 120K (and it was still going) or he's learnt his lessons and paid someone like us to maintain all farm vehicles and they haven't bothered with filling out the log book.

 

[Dusty55]

Hi Everyone, Just to finish this thread, the dealer rang me on Wednesday and said they would cancel our contract "because they could not guarantee the vehicle, and therefore they did not want to put their name to it. Said they would wholesale it"

Strangly enough, the silver ST-X appeare on carsales.com.au for $1000 more than it was listed when I first saw it.

Gotta love these used car salemen!

 

[KraftyPg]

Oh well maybe it was a good buy missed but it could have just as easily been a bad buy, atleast you can still look around for something else.