Is it worth it to buy a vehicle with improperly bled breaks?
Posted by SH_Zoro@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 38 comments
I am looking for a vehicle that would be good for Uber, and I found this 2018 Nissan Rogue SL (126,000 miles, $7500). That's honestly a little above what I'm aiming to spend, but that's not what I'm asking about - that said if that's a horrible deal or a bad car, it's a side-note I'd appreciate as well
The pictures show it as very pristine and it seems legit, but they mentioned a "minor issue" and when I asked they said they had a new master cylinder installed, but the brakes were improperly bled.
I've been learning to work on my own vehicles over the past 7+ months or so, but this seems like something I would take to a shop for - because brakes seem like a pretty serious concern and I'm not certain how serious badly bled brakes are.
The main thing I'm really asking is - is this worth risking it to fix this? A quick Google search suggests it'd probably cost me $100-300 to have "re-bled" but I've seen people saying it cost them $700+ and that their brakes didn't work afterwards.
I know there are plenty of other vehicles to look at, but this one seems perfect for what I need - but thought I'd see what others thing before outright skipping it. That said, I feel brakes are a pretty serious concern, and I want to know this car isn't gonna kill me because I thought the issue was fixed.
jrileyy229@reddit
Anytime someone is selling a car that's needs "just one minor thing", it's a lie. If it was really just one minor thing, they would have done it themselves and sold the car as flawless
Also, a ten year old rogue with 126k miles for $7500 with issues, absolutely not
christian_l33@reddit
đź’Ż agree with this response. These are classic red flags
Ossmo02@reddit
Also the cvt in my wife's '12 with less miles, reman was 6k. Unless it just had one installed, you'd be on borrowed time.
32carsandcounting@reddit
The 2012 generation had a much more problematic CVT than the 2018s do, they’re still garbage, but not quite as bad. I’ve seen the second gen Rogues with over 200k on the original CVT, as long as they’re religiously maintained and not beaten too bad they can (not will) last. I still wouldn’t risk it though.
OldeWorldWays@reddit
fantastic reply! "still garbage"
Thanks for this!
Ossmo02@reddit
In this specific car's case, the chances its not been beat, can't be better than 50/50.
RichardUkinsuch@reddit
Exactly, this one minor thisng is probably just the tip of the iceberg. That mileage is would also assume heavy engine deposits, bad suspension, and bad wheel bearings.
Longjumping-Log1591@reddit
Seller is up to no good. He woulda fixed it. Them cars are fugly anyway
twoscoopsofbacon@reddit
Hard stop. Do not buy.
quik916@reddit
Braje breed is stupid easy.... but 7500 for an ol Nissan.... pass
Telar83@reddit
8 yr old Nissan Rogue 126,000 miles. No thank you. Even if it had all recommended services done and had paperwork to prove it.
grumpyolddude@reddit
It sounds like there is a problem with the brakes and someone tried to fix it by changing the master cylinder. If they can't bleed the system then it's got a leak somewhere. It could be a damaged brake line, o-ring, caliper, or abs module - it could have poor workmanship, the wrong fluid, or other issues that could be very expensive to fix. Do not make this your problem. Do not buy this without having a competent mechanic look over the vehicle and brake issues. Don't ask a mechanic for a quote on bleeding the brakes. Ask a mechanic to check everything over and quote you to FIX the braking system.
Lordofpineapples@reddit
Nissan rogues are some of the worst cars. Do some more research
EuroCanadian2@reddit
You might not be able to earn $7500 with that before the transmission blows. And that's top line earnings, before paying for gas and insurance.
Google " Nissan Rogue CVT" you should find plenty of horror stories.
FormerLaugh3780@reddit
Title should be: Is it worth buying a Nissan
Answer: No, no, no.
MourningWood1942@reddit
Unless it’s a frontier or xterra
KingCourtney__@reddit
Same red flag as buying a vintage bike. jUsT nEeD cArBs ClEaNeD. Bleeding brakes is easy in most cases so this is something where they bled them but there is still a leak or something.
TheWhogg@reddit
My mechanic replaces my master cylinder. He didn’t bleed it properly. Do I
a) Take it back and say “brakes are very spongy”
b) Sell the car
The brakes are f***ed and cannot be fixed feasibly. Maybe it’s an easy fix. Maybe not. All we know if if he could have he would have.
Dizzy_Implement_9148@reddit
Bleeding breaks is super easy so I doubt that is the actual main issue
BarberLife-OZ-@reddit
1 Trash car. #2 If they say 1 thing is wrong, it's minimum 4 things
crookedledder@reddit
If it's a "minor issue", they can fix it.
Relevant_Program_958@reddit
That’s like a half hour job, why isn’t it done already? There is another issue they aren’t telling you.
WizeAdz@reddit
If bleeding the brakes was the only thing required to fix the car, why didn’t the owner do that and then sell it for more money?
You get a lot more for a car that’s in good shape than you do for a broken car. So why didn’t they hire a professional mechanic for $200 to bleed the brakes, and then post the car for $1000 more?
That’s the key question that they need to answer, and you need to be able to bet thousands of dollars on their answer.
rpitcher33@reddit
Coming here, as a mechanic, to chime in and say DO NOT BUY A NISSAN THAT HAS A CVT!
Just don't do it. I've replaced too many of them and you're right in the mileage range I saw it most.
DO. NOT. BUY. THAT. CAR.
CreepyOldGuy63@reddit
If bleeding the brakes is the only issue, it isn’t an issue. Any idiot can bleed brakes.
Maddad_666@reddit
Way too much for a Rouge. That’s a $3500 car.
Bulocoo@reddit
You are buying a surprise gift.
I would not consider this at all unless I took it to a shop for a diagnostic.
Brakes are not cosmetic. Id they are bad you park it until it's fixed. $1000, $2000? What.
I also live ads that say, "Car is great. Ran when parked. Just needs a battery.
So buy a battery before you sell it.
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
For one, it's a Nissan Rogue so that right there is an automatic pass for me. For two, it's overpriced considering it has a "minor" problem with the brakes not being bled.
Brake bleeding isn't exactly that difficult a process. Even on ABS equipped stuff, as ling as you have a proper scan tool that can help with the ABS brake contoller.
This seems to be hiding a more expensive issue than just a "brakes need bleeding".
Not to mention most Nissan's have horrible CVTs that fail in spectacular and non rebuildable fashion so replacement is your only option.
Find something else.
Far-Plastic-4171@reddit
Taught the kids how to bleed brakes. It's something else.
Offer half
JP147@reddit
“Brakes need bleeding” is a classic, I have been seeing it for decades in newspapers and more recently on the internet.
It means the car has mystery problems and you can’t take it for a test drive.
Maybe it would be worth it for a cool car at the right price.
But that car is junk anyway, I wouldn’t even buy it for $7k in a good working condition.
Hash-82@reddit
>> but the brakes were improperly bled.
>> I've been learning to work on my own vehicles over the past 7+ months or so, but this seems like something I would take to a shop for - because brakes seem like a pretty serious concern and I'm not certain how serious badly bled brakes are.
Truly, of all the things I'd be worried about on this car, bleeding the brakes would be the least. It's a very straight forward process, and generally uncomplicated compared to many ABS bleed procedures.
>> I am looking for a vehicle that would be good for doing Rideshare...
>> ...but this one seems great for what I need...
Money Pit.
The CVT transmissions on the Rogue (and Altima, and Murano, and....) are notorious for failing in spectacularly unrepairable ways.
While I do not know if it applies to Rogues, most Nissans experience significant degradation in braking ability (often no brakes at all) when the ABS Pump fails. And, they do seem to fail more often than other brands.
I am of the opinion that any Nissan (other than the Armada, XTerra, and possibly Maxima) are maintenance nightmares. Making them wholly unsuited for something like RideShare.
twelfthfantasy@reddit
Never buy a car with any mechanical issues without getting it checked out by a trusted mechanic first. If the mechanic says that a brake system bleed is really all it needs, that car is worth 6k max.
YeahIGotNuthin@reddit
Leaving aside the premise of your question, which is “is proper brake bleeding impossible?” (No, just slightly difficult on a car with ABS) because the real question is “why would an 8 year old car even need this?” because the question itself is not relevant, because:
For the kind of job where people pay money to ride in your car, $7,500 isn’t enough to spend on a car, and a 2018 rogue with problems is too old and too shitty.
You can’t make a car-based living if you only have $7,500 to spend on a car, unless you can fix your own car. Because everything at $7,500 will have SOME repair or deferred maintenance items that need to be addressed. If you can’t address them yourself, you will generally spend more trying to make a $7,500 car work for you than you’d spend trying to do the same thing with a $10,000 car.
Enterprise rental used to have a rental service available to let you spend like $35 a day to drive rideshare in one of their elantras or whatever. If you can’t afford to buy a decent car, you can still rent a decent car and do rideshare in that one. That way, the car cost comes out of your pocket day by day, in smaller chunks, as you earn the money. No work today = no car expense today. And this way, no long term car expenses ever.
howrunowgoodnyou@reddit
Dude it’s a Nissan rogue. Skip!
New-Patient-101@reddit
Could be anything. If someone didn’t have the ability to bleed the brakes correctly, they didn’t have the competence to do anything else related to the brakes. Could have been something totally different and the diagnosed it as a faulty master cylinder and it never fixed the issue. Sounds like they’re trying to unload a problem.
Emergency-Card-573@reddit
Ask yourself why does it need the brakes re bleed? Something is wrong!
lethalnd12345@reddit
I would not consider a Nissan rogue a good buy for a ride share car, or a car that I needed to get to work or to get to school, the store, etc... The brakes bled wrong is a lie and most likely the least of your concerns with that car
Unique_Wolf4513@reddit
Get a PPI done. I've flushed brake fluid in my garage with the help of my wife. It's pretty easy. I'd assume there is a larger issue here.Â