Is the coolant on hood liner a sign of past overheating?

[densmens]

I'm thinking of buying an LR4 in fair shape but with a bit of neglect history by the current owner. They driven the car for 9K miles over the past 3 years and never changed the oil. Also the hood liner has traces of pesumably coolant. They're saying the car never overheated. I'm shopping for this car out of state and haven't committed yet to flying out there to check it in person. Otherwise the car is what I want trim and mileage-wise. Question: is the coolant on the liner a sure sign of the engine being bad because of previous overheat, or can this also happen during a minor leak that has not yet became a full coolant loss or an overheat event?

 

[densmens]

I should add it's already being diagnosed by a dealer for the leaking coolant pipes, but it's unclear if that was just an ongoing minor lear or has it ever overheated already creating irreversible engine damage that would require immediate huge spendings. I'm not afraid of investing some money into fixes, but certainly don't want to buy a car with an already dead block.

 

[f1racer328]

3 years and no oil change? That’s a bit of a red flag already. The timing chains on LR4s are finicky and you don’t want to run long oil change intervals. Do you have any other maintenance history?

 

[Quijote]

3 years and no oil change? That’s a bit of a red flag already. The timing chains on LR4s are finicky and you don’t want to run long oil change intervals. Do you have any other maintenance history?

I agree. 3 years with no oil change is bad no matter what. I could be somewhat understanding of a car that was driven 1,500 miles/year and has not had an oil change in 3 years and less than 5k miles. But 9k miles? More than the lack of oil changes itself, it speaks to the owner's lack of caring or ignorance about basic maintenance (don't know which is worse). If we have learned anything about LR4s and LRs in general is that these are not cars to ignore and/or treat like a corolla. All that said, if it is an absolute bargain and you are willing to take a chance, maybe, as long as a thorough inspection checks out. But it would have to be a steal for me to even consider it. Perhaps if it is in a rare color I can't find, etc. Good luck.

 

[Quijote]

I just realized I never answered your question. Coolant on the liner is likely not a good sign. However, there is the remote chance that it was a temporary oversight. I personally was an idiot once, and in my haste after doing a coolant job in the dark, forgot to cap the reservoir tank. It didn't take long for fluid to splatter on the liner. No harm. But that is a pretty rare situation. Most likely it would be the result of some kind of overheating, IMO.

 

[jlglr4]

Fluid on the liner can also be from a leak getting on the belts or a leak onto to the engine fan. doesn’t mean it overheated, just that there was a leak.

Are you saying no oil change just because there are no maintenance records? If this is at a dealer and the owner did their own oil changes, there will not likely be a record. Also, I personally wouldn’t be too put off by going 9k on the same oil if the price is right and milage is low overall.

 

[densmens]

I have all records from the current owner and yes there is clear careless attitude here. I wonder was that enough to do damage in 3 year or possibly not. Also the car is not a bargain, they're pricing pretty much top of the market. It has a diagnosed coolant leak and oil leak, multi-K quotes fro the dealer and the work was declined by the owner. The routine oil change was also declined because they decided to fo off mileage, not off the time. I think there are just too many red flags, I'll walk. Thank you folks! I'll keep looking.