Hi all, thinking of looking at a car but the ad says 'needs turbo seals' is this something to be very concerned about or a simple fix?

Also is there a way to tell if it is just the seals or if the turbo needs replacing? If replacement needed any clues on costs for that and ease of replacement/fitting?

Thanks for any help!!

compression test?sure that should see if further issues are about other than turbo?.
seals are usually around £150-250 for repair but you will have to remove turbo aswell.
removal and refit guestimate on £125-200 from garage
i would do a get a full refurbed turbo.

I always wonder why people wouldn't fix it before selling.

My thoughts exactly. I would suspect that something else expensive is wrong/about to go wrong

Regardless if it may be only the seals or not, budget on it needing a new turbo.

Basically, if you can satisfy yourself that it's otherwise healthy and in good condition then it's not a big deal just to change over the turbo.

Otherwise just walk away, there's plenty of decent coops out there for sale.

Going on my own experiences (that's the only thing that's important isn't it?) I think it's because a lot of private sellers think they will lose loads of money if they pay a big wad, sorting out their pride and joy, only to get offered the same amount, or hardly any more, than if they did nothing to it at all.
In some ways I agree with this strategy...
My experience with all the cars I have sold privately, has been of p***takers not wanting to pay a penny extra for a lot of money I spent getting these cars up to immaculate condition (new tyres and tracking, paintwork detailing, new tax disk, etc..)
I now play hard-ball when I sell privately and don't give an inch.
This is just my experience when selling privately and I think we should get away from the notion of it being the seller's duty to take a hit when selling a car and spending a lot. We can debate this forever, just my 2p worth of course.

I got a quote from turbo dynamics yesterday for a refurb on a standard turbo. Minimum price would be £195+vat but more likely to be in the region of £250+. Then on top of that you would need to add fitting which will be another about £100 - £150.

That's assuming they can refurb it and it's not beyond repair. Which it might be depending on how long it's been running with knackered seals for.

Im certain my turbo seals are on there last legs, but spoke to powerfiat and roger there seems to think recon turbos are coming hard to get at the mo, there taking 6 weeks ish to turn up. So it might be best if you get the car to get that turbo sorted or get a brand new one otherwise could be a little wait, i may be wrong though