Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went?

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Sat 1 Jun 2024 21:07
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - Simon uk

During selling my old car, one buyer called me to the boot while the other was at the bonnet. When I went to the front, he had just finished doing up the coolant cap. He then asked to take it for a spin. Thrashed it then opened the bonnet. Proclaimed the gasket had just gone. The coolant tank was thick with black oil and trickling over. I took pictures of it. The dip stick however looked normal. He insisted the car was almost worthless yet he still wanted to buy it for parts. I took pictures, including a discreet picture of the buyer as something made me uneasy at the time.

Note the last time the car was driven about 4 weeks earlier, a garage had done a pressure test, checked the exhaust and more, advising there were no indications of gasket issues.

Edited by Simon uk on 01/06/2024 at 21:09

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Sat 1 Jun 2024 21:20
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - badbusdriver

You've only been scammed if you actually sold it to these two dodgers.

Assuming you didn't, don't worry about it. You will always get folk like this trying to get a bargain by any means.

It wasn't as extreme as your example, but when I sold my VW Caddy van last year (£2.5k ONO), one chap came along and told me it was worth £1300 because it needed the belt doing (it didn't, not for at least another 20k miles). I told him where to go and sold it for £2.2k a week later.

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Sat 1 Jun 2024 22:26
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - bathtub tom

Well known scam. Did they have Eastern European accents?

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Sun 2 Jun 2024 08:03
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - Steveieb

Strangely enough I have sold two cars to Eastern Europeans and I find them straight talking , no none sense buyers.

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Sun 2 Jun 2024 09:19
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - Xileno

It is a well-documented scam, on another forum I occasionally read there was a similar case a while back.

Country of origin is not relevant, scam merchants exist everywhere these days.

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Sun 2 Jun 2024 09:37
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - John F

Country of origin is not relevant, scam merchants exist everywhere these days.

Some countries of origin are more relevant than others, especially when their emigrant people do not integrate with the natives and respect their laws. Some of these people actively despise the natives and try to fleece them out of whatever they can. Who on here has never heard a scam caller with a south asian accent? And see this piece of information below.......

Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller people are heavily overrepresented within the criminal justice system. Despite only making up an estimated 0.1% of the population, 5% of people in prison identify as Romany Gypsy or Irish Traveller.

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Sun 2 Jun 2024 10:41
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - Xileno

That may be the case John but it's a contentious subject we don't want to get into on the motoring forum. The OP has asked a simple question "Have I been scammed?"

We can't be 100% certain but highly likely 'Yes' if the car has been sold or potentially 'Yes but avoided' if not. I don't think there's anything further to add.

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Sun 2 Jun 2024 22:01
Vauxhall Insignia - Is it likely I've been scammed? Head gasket went? - Big John

Note the last time the car was driven about 4 weeks earlier, a garage had done a pressure test, checked the exhaust and more, advising there were no indications of gasket issues.

This makes me suspicious of your car - why did you get a pressure test done? Usually this is done when you suspect an issue?

A friend of mine was looking for a car a few weeks ago and I went along to check them out. Oh my goodness at about £3500 from local garages most cars were awful. Relating to the original post an initially tidy Vauxhall Astra 1.6 petrol was ruled out due to evidence of head gasket failure - oil sludge in the header tank, but the dipstick was ok. Possibly here it's just a genuine savvy buyer that's run away - as we did when we looked at that Vauxhall. Which engine does the Insignia have ?

Edited by Big John on 02/06/2024 at 22:20

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