Nirky

This A6 ended up in my lap last week.
Seller (mechanic, owns shop) says the previous owner was driving and the car just quit on her. He said he measured no compression. I didn't ask if he did all cylinders or just one bank.
Timing belt intact.
Car will crank but that's it.
I'm thinking belt skipped some teeth and bent some valves?
If its bent valves, would you rebuild the head or just swap a used engine?
And if I do swap, I know the Passat also used the same 2.8 6, but what about looking for a wrecked Jetta, did they use the same 2.8 in those? Thanks in advance.

4Driver4

I'd start by checking the belt/timing. Either the idler gave up or a bunch of teeth were torn off the belt.
I'd just replace the bent valves...probably all the exhaust valves.
Jetta is a VR-6. Different.

clancy

During the process of determining the root of the problem also access the overall condition of the vehicle. If you put several hundred dollars into fixing the issue will the car be otherwise ready to drive? Or, will it need many other repairs as well. It is 20 years old.

Joby

I'm with Clancy on this. After you buy or have the head rebuilt, new timing service parts, your time, is the car worth that much? You can buy a used 2.7t for $3000-$4000 that runs, and possibly is safety inspected for registration. You might be better parting it out.