Depends upon the price. You have already figured out that it needs a 1200 oil cooler replacement...
Even with the low mileage it is still a +8yr old vehicle. Do they have the Mopar lifetime warranty on it and can that Mopar Lifetime warranty be transferred to the next owner?
That might be worth something if that is the case, other than that it is not going to have a lot of value out in the used car marketplace. Risky proposition at best IMHO.

 

@NewGuy61 thanks for the reply and just to confirm, that spells oil cooler replacement, not a $5k head gasket repair?

my original thought was i'd be ok w/ buying at 16.5 given ALL the issues that may arise, but each day i read up on the van i'm thinking i should just not play with fire. even tho its +8yr old car, it honestly drives better than some of the hondas/toyotas/kias on the road. and they loaded this thing back in '17, so has the safety features, cams and doesn't actually feel like a 8 year old car surprisingly. the infotainment sucks but using the phone is just fine.

will ask if they have the lifetime warranty. was this something you could purchase at the point of sale and/or dealer specific?

 

Never assume "leaking oil cooler" means leaking oil cooler.
My 2019's cooler was perfect, the rear head however is pouring coolant into the valley making it look like the cooler is leaking.

Personally, stay far away from one that's already having issues.

 

thanks @Classic Owner

do you consider this a minor or major issue based on what you see in the photos?

 

hi all,

opportunity has come up for me to purchase a friends pacifica.
34k miles, they've had no issues.
build date is 10/2016, no ESS
everything sounds fine, shifts fine, maybe a slight whirr when the defroster comes on. they barely used this thing.
decided to look around the oil filter in engine and was bummed to see that it wasn't clean.
this was after my morning commute, and it kind of smelled like coolant (sweet).

can you experts weigh in here? should i run while i can?

None of my business, but I'm curious about this "opportunity." Why are they selling?

@NewGuy61 thanks for the reply and just to confirm, that spells oil cooler replacement, not a $5k head gasket repair?

Head gasket might be ok if they didn't let the coolant reservoir run dry such that air got in the cooling system and the engine overheated, but you have no way of really knowing.

Since you asked, then yes, you should run while you can. Even if there is a Lifetime Maxcare Warranty, the vehicle might still end up spending weeks in the shop. Chrysler has yet to publicly acknowledge what is causing all of these engine failures, so even if it is fixed you might always worry if it can happen again.

 

None of my business, but I'm curious about this "opportunity." Why are they selling?

Head gasket might be ok if they didn't let the coolant reservoir run dry such that air got in the cooling system and the engine overheated, but you have no way of really knowing.

Since you asked, then yes, you should run while you can. Even if there is a Lifetime Maxcare Warranty, the vehicle might still end up spending weeks in the shop. Chrysler has yet to publicly acknowledge what is causing all of these engine failures, so even if it is fixed you might always worry if it can happen again.

all good - friends selling bc this is their 3rd car and their kids a bit older so they're just done w/ the whole minivan thing. it literally sits on their driveway and they fire it up once a week to keep the battery from dying. we are not minivan ppl and so they offered to let us get a feel for it when our 2nd car was rear ended & totaled ('13 outback). this pac is way nicer than that subaru alrady.

TBH this thing is awesome and if we can get a decent price on it (15-16k for a touring L Plus) then i think it's worth rolling the dice on ... so it bums me out when experienced folks like you say to run!

i know it's silly, but a remote start that works (compared to siennas 3 button push) are the little things that make the pac nice. like that it's pretty basic w/ no awd, not a hybrid ess, even if it has the safetytec pckg. the obvious functionality of minivan life (sliding doors, 8 seats, etc) is nice. stow and go is cool even if i'll never use it haha. it scoots when i need to and is just a smooth ride.
today it did yell at me to brake w/ the menacing red alert. it was just sunny and no cars around me. but german cars do this all the time.

i go back and forth. after the earlier posts i said i'm done. then i drove around town and was like, screw it, lets give it a go.

i see you also have a touring L plus.do you still have it and has it been that problematic or are you one of the lucky ones?

 

On the upside, the coolant level is above the MIN line.

 

do you think the wetness around the oil filter or can or whatever that is, is just from pennzoil doing a sloppy oil change?

 

n/a

 

Here's a pitch: Rent it for a month test drive. Do your due diligence. Then negotiate or pass.

 

I love my 2017 Touring L Plus. Someone once called these vans Swiss Army knives, and from that standpoint it's the best-fitting car I've ever owned. It rides great and is perfect for long road trips for the family, and weekend art fairs. I bought it new and it even still looks new.

That said, I have less than 1000 miles on a brand new engine that was installed at 56K. I never had oil where the one you are considering has oil. Any used car is a roll of the dice. I like 6Gen's idea of renting it for a month test drive. Hopefully someone just spilled a bunch of oil under there and you should have that investigated, but after what I have just experienced, I would be concerned.

 

thanks for the post @RockyRaku

what caused the first engine to be replaced?

and just confirming, you're saying you never saw oil around the oil cooler for your first engine?

agree w/ you and 6Gen. now debating which poison to take: take to a chrysler dealer or independent mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection. and overall, is it even worth my time to do that or just cut ties. we've had it for 2 weeks and so it drives fine, no funny sounds, engine purrs. so it's really trying to add additional "peace of mind" (sounds impossible with this car unless you have lifetime warranty) with a pre-inspection.

 

wheezysm There are several threads on here about deals on warranties. It sounds like you really like the vehicle so maybe go ahead and get a really good warranty priced up and just tell the seller that you can go $16,500.00 minus the cost of the warranty that you choose? Most owners are not going to have the garage space / tools / skill level and the time to do very much on a modern vehicle anyway, so it may be a logical choice for you to "hedge your bet" with a good warranty package?

 

haha TBH i should just listen to everyone here to run. but i'm all about deals, and man, this van literally checks all the boxes. just not reliability.

all that said, i'll start looking for those treads, but are you saying ppl buy 3rd party warranties on the van? or is it through chrysler? not sure i've heard of this before, especially when it's private party sale.

 

Do not rent it. In case of accident a rental even between friends changes it from the friend insuring it for something like "personal leisure driving and less than 20 miles one way commute to work" into a rental category. Here in Michigan the courts will let the insurer cancel the insurance retroactively to before an accident, meaning at time of accident the vehicle is considered uninsured due to the friend's fraud. Just borrow it for what the friend will let you take for a test drive.

 

How did you confirm that the oil cooler is leaking? Why did you provide a picture of the screw-on black oil filter cap? I ask because my 2019 Pacifica developed a terrible leak from the screw on oil filter cap. Upon investigating, I found that the shop was too lazy to change out the $2 o-ring inside the cap during a recent oil change causing this massive leak. It was losing a quart per week, smelled so bad I caught it before it went dry. That would be the first thing I’d check.

 

This is my first thought too. The first thing I would do is take the cap off and see if the O-ring is seated in the correct position. It's very easy to do wrong.

 

The more time I spend on this forum, the more warm fuzzies I get about this product.

 

At times it does seem that it is all Gloom and Doom but at the end of the day the majority of Pacificas are relatively trouble free. Talking about reliable vans kind of makes for mundane / dull and boring conversations and Not worthy of lively conversation and debate. Discussing troubled Pacificas vehicles is where the action IS! I think weezer is going to enjoy the Pacifica even if it spends some time having some repair work done. The "Glow" of buying dirt cheap and having a warranty in place does not fade for a long time. Kind of like that Alien Ant Farm song "Glow" it is still a classic....

 

Please don't buy 2017 model no matter how good of a deal it is.