AA inspection result

[Orca Brody]

Hi all. I need a bit of advice if anyone has any. I'm close to buying a 2012 Rapido after agreeing a price I'm happy with. I just had the results of the AA inspection. Can anyone please share they're thoughts on this? I'd be really grateful. For the experts out there, what would you do?

 

[EuroTrotters]

Smoke could be many things.

Maybe needs taking to a garage for further emissions tests.

 

[POH]

hi I'm no expert but with excessive blue smoke I would walk away could be buying a bag of sh*t and that's without considering all the other stuff .

 

[Landy Andy]

I think they should have provided more info on the smoke. I would inform the seller of the info you have been given, and ask their thoughts on the results.

 

[Spriddler]

The 'excessive' smoke doesn't sound good and usually points to a very worn engine, especially as it necessitated a shortened road test. Blue smoke is usually from engine oil. Diesel fuel smoke is black.
Suspension mountings corrosion could be expensive.
Have you checked its past MOT reports on the gov't website?

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[Ernesto]

I wouldn’t touch a van that was offered for sale with “excessive” blue smoke coming out of the back…and (I’m assuming from the initial post) no explanation from the seller.

At the very least I would expect them to have diagnosed the problem and cost of the fix so you could make a suitable deduction from the market value

 

[StephandJohn]

Sounds like it's a good job you had the check. A lesson for us all I think.
There's loads of vans out there . Looking can seem a bit of a pain sometimes but you'll find 'the' one.

 

[U.Toadifact]

Walk away. You will find a much better example.

 

[Larrynwin]

How many miles on the clock ?

 

[Adrian140974]

Walk away is the simple solution. Burning oil is not a good sign

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[SpeedyDux]

AA inspection would not cover the habitation parts, only the base vehicle. If the base vehicle is bad, you don't need to look further anyway.

There must be better 2012 Rapidos, so one will come up for sale.

 

[Larrynwin]

I wouldn’t touch it.

 

[rico]

Blue smoke is normally a sign of oil being burnt.
Black smoke is diesel related.
Any excessive smoke needs further investigation.
How many miles showing?
Be weary as the Sevel engines are pretty robust.

 

[Derbyshire wanderer]

Oil burning on a motorhome is going to be an expensive fix. Commonplace on vans left idling to charge up batteries.
Plenty of good ones for the sort of money a 2012 van will be costing you. Go find another one that doesn’t have such a major issue.

 

[Sue and Rick]

Walk away. You don’t want the heartache.

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[AndyPK]

Do not proceed with the purchase……..!!
(See above comments……..)

 

[chaser]

Agree with all the previous posts, but also wouldn't be very happy to pay someone just to be told what you can see for yourself.

 

[Nanniemate]

Many people have suggested that you walk away I'd say

RUN

 

[Sapper520]

I’m no expert, but blue smoke is oil burning……well it was on my old Vauxhall Carlton. Repairs would have been more than the car was worth.

Looks like the whole of the underneath may need doing as well.

Repairs look like they could be expensive.

What price are we talking about?

 

[madkoka]

Blue/gray exhaust smoke means there's likely an oil leak and your engine is burning oil. Time to have a qualified technician check things out. The leak could be caused by several issues like leaking valve seals, damaged piston rings, or worn cylinder walls.

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[Sapper520]

Blue/gray exhaust smoke means there's likely an oil leak and your engine is burning oil. Time to have a qualified technician check things out. The leak could be caused by several issues like leaking valve seals, damaged piston rings, or worn cylinder walls.

All an expensive fix.

 

[AndyPK]

Basically, do you want to enjoy your ‘new’ ‘van, or wait for it to be repaired……..?
I know what I’d do - keep looking!

 

[Landy Andy]

I’d be surprised if it was burning oil, if I’m being honest. They are robust engines, and normally motorhome ones get an easy life. I’m not a believer in the ability of AA people, so dubious about his report, and what he classes as excessive and corrosion. Neather are things I would expect from a 2012 motorhome.

But understand if you don’t have the ability or knowledge yourself, you need to rely on someone.

 

[meanders]

If it's a Fiat engine of that era, we had one that smoked under warranty. It turned out to be a faulty DPF(?) sensor. No idea what it cost to replace but no issues afterwards. From memory, it only smoked when decelerating, not under load.

 

[68c]

Could be many things leading to blue smoke. As above, it is oil being burnt. It may be worn piston rings, valve guides, turbocharger, oil collected in intercooler, even a cracked piston or cylinder head.
The first simple thing is to check the oil level is not too high, by a lot that is. Check the cylinder compression to determine worn piston rings. One trick is to disconnect pipe from interchange to inlet manifold and run the motor, not at full power, to recheck smoke which will take any turbocharger seal leak out the question. Done carefully to ensure no debris can enter manifold and to be aware turbo will still blow air through the intercooler.

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[Sapper520]

Could be many things leading to blue smoke. As above, it is oil being burnt. It may be worn piston rings, valve guides, turbocharger, oil collected in intercooler, even a cracked piston or cylinder head.
The first simple thing is to check the oil level is not too high, by a lot that is. Check the cylinder compression to determine worn piston rings. One trick is to disconnect pipe from interchange to inlet manifold and run the motor, not at full power, to recheck smoke which will take any turbocharger seal leak out the question. Done carefully to ensure no debris can enter manifold and to be aware turbo will still blow air through the intercooler.

Guessing the Op isn’t that mechanically minded.

 

[Orca Brody]

Wow. Such a helpful place. Thanks for all the replies. There seems to be a consensus that it would be better for me to leave it. Have to say I'm a little gutted about it. Previous MOTs had nothing other than a few tyre advisories and Anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush worn. The rest of the extensive AA inspection was all fine and I'm happy enough with the inside. No damp etc. 2012, base Fiat Ducato vehicle, 50k on the clock.

My knowledge of engines etc is severely lacking which is why I got AA to look at it. Like I said, I feel a bit gutted. Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond

 

[Landy Andy]

Did you not drive it yourself? Did you notice any smoke?

 

[Sapper520]

Did you not drive it yourself? Did you notice any smoke?

No mechanical knowledge.

My son test drove a car, loved it. Got me to take a look……with my limited knowledge I spotted extensive accident damage…….not easy if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

 

[Landy Andy]

No mechanical knowledge.

My son test drove a car, loved it. Got me to take a look……with my limited knowledge I spotted extensive accident damage…….not easy if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

But surely you would notice so much smoke that it stopped a “professional“ being willing to drive it.