[LisaC]

Hey all, I’ve found an Eos that’s pretty much everything I could ever dream of for a car. Incredibly low kms, one owner, no accidents, highline, my favourite colour, etc. But I live in a VERY rainy climate and I don’t have a garage to park her in. Sometimes it rains non-stop for weeks here. I will definitely research and do all suggested maintenance, but it sounds like water leaks are a really common problem. Is there a good chance that I’d be walking into a miserable dank driving existence, when I should be letting her go to someone with a garage?

Thanks for any input. If I do get her, I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me often.

 

[voxmagna]

Unless you will use it for daily commute, consider a half top car cover or a cheap Gazebo if you have some private space. I used a Gazebo for a few years to do car repairs under until it blew away due to no ground fastenings - my fault! MY07 is parked outside 24/7and you do have to keep on top of any water leaks. Vertical rain isn't the problem, it seems to be horizontal rain driven by wind.

 

[2phast]

You should inspect the car for signs of previous water ingress. Check the top seals to see if they are soft and pliable, feel the floor mats and under the floor mats for any moisture. Open the trunk, remove the spare tire cover and look directly down, there will be a gray foam case that houses the roof pump, feel around the foam to see if its wet or if there is any water pooling around the spare tire. Your last test can be taking the car for a test drive and going through a high pressure, no touch car wash. If it can survive this without any water leaks, you should be in a pretty good position to make a decision.

 

[LisaC]

Unless you will use it for daily commute, consider a half top car cover or a cheap Gazebo if you have some private space. I used a Gazebo for a few years to do car repairs under until it blew away due to no ground fastenings - my fault! MY07 is parked outside 24/7and you do have to keep on top of any water leaks. Vertical rain isn't the problem, it seems to be horizontal rain driven by wind.

it would be my daily driver, but I could definitely get a half top car cover. Thanks so much for the response 🙏

 

[LisaC]

You should inspect the car for signs of previous water ingress. Check the top seals to see if they are soft and pliable, feel the floor mats and under the floor mats for any moisture. Open the trunk, remove the spare tire cover and look directly down, there will be a gray foam case that houses the roof pump, feel around the foam to see if its wet or if there is any water pooling around the spare tire. Your last test can be taking the car for a test drive and going through a high pressure, no touch car wash. If it can survive this without any water leaks, you should be in a pretty good position to make a decision.

Great to know. It hasn’t been inspected/detailed at the dealership yet. I was going to wait until after before test driving it, but they offered to let me test drive it prior. I think I’m going to check it out now to look for issues before everything gets cleaned up. Thanks for the tips on what to look for 🙏

 

[Cloud_Runner]

Great to know. It hasn’t been inspected/detailed at the dealership yet. I was going to wait until after before test driving it, but they offered to let me test drive it prior. I think I’m going to check it out now to look for issues before everything gets cleaned up. Thanks for the tips on what to look for 🙏

I have a 2012 and haven’t had any leaks. It’s my daily commute and has been kept under a carport. No leaks.

 

[LisaC]

I have a 2012 and haven’t had any leaks. It’s my daily commute and has been kept under a carport. No leaks.

Good to know. I unfortunately don’t even have a car port, I think I’d feel better if I did.

 

[LisaC]

Well I test drove her today and completely fell in love. What a car. It was nice enough to comfortably drive with the top down, such a dream. They wouldn’t budge much on price, so I’m taking the night to think about it and decide between this EOS and a Honda accord coupe. They’re both really beautiful/fun cars. The EOS is obviously more fun, but the Honda would be the more responsible choice.

I checked those areas suggested for leaks. It’s been stored in a garage until now, so it’s not been exposed to much of the elements with only 26000kms. Everything is super dry and there was no feel of water having been there. Meticulous records of care considering it was never driven, wealthy older lady driven. She’s just perfect and will be even better after being detailed.

Trying to choose between two cars I really love is going to keep me up all night. I’ve gone months not seeing one car a really love, funny how now there’s two the same day.

 

[Cloud_Runner]

Well I test drove her today and completely fell in love. What a car. It was nice enough to comfortably drive with the top down, such a dream. They wouldn’t budge much on price, so I’m taking the night to think about it and decide between this EOS and a Honda accord coupe. They’re both really beautiful/fun cars. The EOS is obviously more fun, but the Honda would be the more responsible choice.

I checked those areas suggested for leaks. It’s been stored in a garage until now, so it’s not been exposed to much of the elements with only 26000kms. Everything is super dry and there was no feel of water having been there. Meticulous records of care considering it was never driven, wealthy older lady driven. She’s just perfect and will be even better after being detailed.

Trying to choose between two cars I really love is going to keep me up all night. I’ve gone months not seeing one car a really love, funny how now there’s two the same day.

I absolutely love my Eos! It’s a lot of fun! If you purchase it, I’d suggest you watch the oil level very carefully. Mine was burning oil and it gave me no signs or warnings.

 

[LisaC]

I absolutely love my Eos! It’s a lot of fun! If you purchase it, I’d suggest you watch the oil level very carefully. Mine was burning oil and it gave me no signs or warnings.

Thanks for the experience, that’s great to hear about the roof. Will do on the oil, darn I was hoping they didn’t have oil burning issues.

 

[LisaC]

My mechanic told me to check the engine for oil leaks or seepage, I can’t really remember. I don’t know anything about cars aside from the very basics and what I’ve learned in the last month trying to find one in a brutal market. So I just took photos. Does anything look concerning just at first glance? The dealership still has to inspect it and clean it all up.

 

[voxmagna]

I'd never buy a car based on what engine bay photos looked like. I would need to hear how the engine sounds, drives and look at details (often hidden) with my eyes. If you don't know anything about cars, pay a few beans to a local VW/Audio shop unrelated to the seller to inspect the car and give you their opinion to include a full diagnostics scan and printout? Think not about what you will have paid if you don't buy the car but what additional money you would have had to spend on future repairs. No used car will ever be perfect but you need to know if there's a liability for further costs. You also have independent advice with which to either get any faults fixed or negotiate a lower price. In U.K we have motoring organisations like AA and RAC who can do that although they would probably only do functional tests on the roof. IMHO I wouldn't trust a selling dealers inspection report on its own. Most will want to get the car sold and off the forecourt as soon as possible with minimal extra work and cost to maximise profit.

 

[Trocheman]

Im pretty sure you can bring the car to one of your mechanics to look at for you before your purchase. Check the valve cover gaskets, oil, coolant, suspension, tires, etc. You may have to pay a small fee at the mechanic but worth it in the long run.
With that said if I had a choice for a VW or Honda...definitely going with the Honda. better track record just my opinion.

 

[voxmagna]

Honda sell a convertible but I doubt you could get 4+1 people in it?

 

[Trocheman]

the Honda S2000 is a 2 seater

 

[2phast]

Honda sell a convertible but I doubt you could get 4+1 people in it?

The S2000 Honda has appreciated quite a bit in the last few years. 20 to 30k is what you would be spending on one of those. Softtop only and two seats only

 

[LisaC]

I'd never buy a car based on what engine bay photos looked like. I would need to hear how the engine sounds, drives and look at details (often hidden) with my eyes. If you don't know anything about cars, pay a few beans to a local VW/Audio shop unrelated to the seller to inspect the car and give you their opinion to include a full diagnostics scan and printout? Think not about what you will have paid if you don't buy the car but what additional money you would have had to spend on future repairs. No used car will ever be perfect but you need to know if there's a liability for further costs. You also have independent advice with which to either get any faults fixed or negotiate a lower price. In U.K we have motoring organisations like AA and RAC who can do that although they would probably only do functional tests on the roof. IMHO I wouldn't trust a selling dealers inspection report on its own. Most will want to get the car sold and off the forecourt as soon as possible with minimal extra work and cost to maximise profit.

Oh sorry, I didn’t clarify, I’m definitely checking everything else too. The car is actually at a VW dealership, I have all the VW service records, car fax history report etc. I actually have far more information on the car than I’ve had on any of the other cars I’ve looked at. I really think it’s a gem. I’ve just never bought a car before. At 41 that’s pretty lame, but true, just driven old hand me downs. I drove it and it drove beautifully. The tire pressure light came on, but it’s kinda been sitting for almost a year. I’m probably the only person to drive it on the highway in the past year as the service records show it’s been driven less than 1000km the past year. VW will be doing a thorough inspection, it’s just fresh on the lot. I can buy it now and if it fails the inspection, I’m not held to that contract. But I do want to commit soon. I normally don’t worry much about a car selling before the inspection, but I think there’s a good chance it will.

 

[LisaC]

Im pretty sure you can bring the car to one of your mechanics to look at for you before your purchase. Check the valve cover gaskets, oil, coolant, suspension, tires, etc. You may have to pay a small fee at the mechanic but worth it in the long run.
With that said if I had a choice for a VW or Honda...definitely going with the Honda. better track record just my opinion.

Ya I definitely feel ya there. Honda for sure has a better track record. The car just doesn’t have as prefect a history as this one with extremely low km/one owner/no accidents… but not many cars do.

The car will be inspected by VW mechanics this week. I’d be pre purchasing it and if it fails the inspection, I’m not held to it.

 

[LisaC]

The Honda isn’t a convertible, just a really nice 2016 accord coupe. Sorry I didn’t clarify. Not as fun of a car, but a historically more reliable car.

 

[voxmagna]

Honda sell a convertible but not into the USA market, maybe they will come soon to a dealership near you?
Honda Convertible, pics to look at:

honda convertible at DuckDuckGo

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