In October-18 I bought a 03 E46 320d Touring for £750. It was brilliant.
In June-20 I bought a 06 Mazda6 2.0 Diesel SW with 60k miles for £650. And it is shit.
As described in the initial post, the car seemed great, despite some dings and scratches. I serviced it, and they couldn’t investigate the leak given how dirty the engine was. Suspension bushes need attention. But the rest was “OK”. The problem is that by changing the oil, the additive that went away with the old oil, and now the car smokes like a steam locomotive when cold starting, and dark smoke when on heavy throttle.
I’ve changed some fuel line seals that were the cause of the leak, and at some point will change the rocker cover gasket. But given the absurd blowby I’m getting, I suspect piston rings, and 1) this is not a work I’m willing to do on my daily driver in the garage; 2) The car doesn’t inspire me a lot to “save it” and it’s too expensive to repair in a garage. I even tried an oil additive but didn’t get any better. (would like to highlight that I tried to use the oil additive to stop the copious amount of smoke on the start, and not to hide the problem from the buyer)
So as soon as my V5 (registration) arrives, I’m selling it as spares/repairs. I will probably lose the service cost and a few quid on what I’ve paid, but I’ll be fair to the buyer.
This made a dent on my confidence in buying the next used car, so I’ll probably pay more to get a car from a dealer, with warranty and liable.
You can’t will all times, right?