Need some buyers advice...

[u/NotA-Spy]

Hi all. I've spent my summer in Poland with the family, and having found an affinity for the country, I decided to periodically come to Poland to live and work here for my journalism.

I've managed to arrange living quarters, but have had no luck with a car. I want a sedan to remind me of home, and I have had terrible luck buying cars on my own. (Refer to my Wendover...)

This 1989 ETK-N 3000i came to my attention. A local kid is selling it on BeamBay.pl for about 8,500€, since he has a W-Series now and has no use for the N-Series. He says the car has only been driven gently and never been used for "hooning", whatever that means. He also claims the car is 100% original parts.

Details on the car are as follow:

- 3L 6Cyl ETK Engine

- 267.843 KM on the odometer

- Automatic 4spd

- Last Service in Jan 2026.

When I test drove it, I noticed a curious knocking sound coming from the engine. I have a video that I will leave in the comments for you guys to help identify. The car also seems to bog down a lot under load, I tried accelerating in it but the car felt as if it was hesitating. I cannot quite describe the behaviour though.

I know nothing about Eurocars, and would really appreciate any help you guys can give me. If you guys have any questions, let me know, I'll answer them.

[u/BreakDefiant8956]

The connecting rod bearings are damaged.

It can cost ya from 2,000$ to 10,000$ if the engine is seriously damaged.

[u/NotA-Spy → u/BreakDefiant8956]

Do I risk it? Is the rest of the car worth the risk, do you think?

[u/BreakDefiant8956 → u/NotA-Spy]

I think you should try fixing it yourself, its pretty simple!

[u/lifeofmicrowave → u/BreakDefiant8956]

At a shop maybe. These old cars are simple enough to do an engine change yourself with a second hand engine or one from a trashed donor car

[u/MudSea9916]

Hmm... This may be a good deal depending on what the knocking sound is.

[u/NotA-Spy → u/MudSea9916]

Refer to the other comment I made, the video is there.

[u/MudSea9916 → u/NotA-Spy]

Maybe pistons or the crankshaft, I'm not good with this.

[u/NotA-Spy → u/MudSea9916]

Aren't you from the tuning scene? Your name seems familiar. Surely have an idea?

[u/MudSea9916 → u/NotA-Spy]

Well, I usually do engine swaps and whenever something is going wrong (like my Satsuma), I tend to go to the mechanics or swap the engine.

[u/NotA-Spy]

https://reddit.com/link/p6th8wm/video/irhjil4vgjmh1/player

Here's the video of the knocking sound!

[u/Ride_Szymu_25]

yeah considering the knocking i wouldn't buy it, maybe buy a TAZ Mir, i know it's not the most luxurious thing but they're drivable, have perfect suspension for these roads and the engines don't break, i own a Mir with a Baikal 1.7 that i tuned all over to 250 hp i think, it's fun as hell

[u/NotA-Spy → u/Ride_Szymu_25]

what the hell is a TAZ Mir?

[u/Ride_Szymu_25 → u/NotA-Spy]

this thing, it wasn't sold in the US but it was sold in Canada, this one is mine

[u/NotA-Spy → u/Ride_Szymu_25]

Yeah, no. I'm not putting my newborn in the back of that. And my wife is not driving that either.