nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

Hi all,

I am a new subaru owner and also new to the site and was wondering if anyone could help, i purchased a 2001 impreza uk300 wrx in september and have had nothing but problems ever since,
when we bought the car it had a window not working and the abs light was on, we agreed to buy the car as long as they sorted those 2 out which they did (after a while mind you they werent playing ball)
then a week later we lost all heat in the car and it was steaming from the engine, took it back and they said the radiator had gone, warranty work which we paid for but they didnt agree and wnted us to pay, that took some debating but eventually (after threatening to return the car) they decided to show "good faith" and repaired it,
alls good and well we thought then a week later again same problem! gutted we took it back again and they said the radiator had gone again, so they agreed to fix it nd again we were back in a courtesy car,
got it back and then..... a week later the same problem again, again gutted we took the car back but my partner wasnt happy with the way they were conducting themselves so decided to stay and find the problem alongside the mechanics, this time they found a pipe that was leaking, so they replaced that,
so then we took the car home, this time it was a weekend when we got it back, well we do more miles on a weekend, we picked it up on the friday went to my mums on the saturday and sure enough on the way home... same problem again!! well this time we knew how many miles we had done, a grand total of 15 miles since picking it up, so we took it back yet again and are now in another courtesy car,
we were meant to pick it up the friday before xmas but according to them the place that supplied the radiators "closed" without telling them so they couldnt get it done before xmas and it would now be the new year,

in total we have had SIX courtesy cars in 3 months and the whole situation is driving us both nuts, we tried getting out of the finance agreement (we dont want to now but at the time we did) and as a result the garage told the finance company that it was down to our style of driving why the car keeps breaking down, we havent hammered the car, we havent even got used to driving it yet because we havent had it for no longer than a week since we bought it,

all in all we just dont know what to do and sorry for the rant but we are just annoyed and confused, i think we have lost confidence in the garage more than the car but is there a cause? or is this something that nobody is going to be able to explain and we are just going to keep going round in circles with??

Thanks for listening and hopefully helping,
Chris & Nicola.

baggie11

hi mate if i was you i would have taken it to an independant garage to have a full check on it to find out if there is any other problems with it before your warranty runs out and if your no satisfied which i no i wouldnt be get in touch with the fair trading as they might be doing a temporarily repair till your warranty runs out then its going to hit you big in the wallet as they are not cheap cars to repair

zs_phil

iTrader: (1)

how long is the warranty for ?
if it is running out /run out they still have to do the work to get it right because you reported it to them when it first happened so dont worry there.
there is alot of people on here that are mechanically minded im sure they will be able to help

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies, we paid for 12months warranty on the car in september so still have 9months remaining, it had crossed my mind that they could be stalling as we havent had the car for near on 4weeks now

tonywrx

i think you should take it to a subaru dealer and get it fully checked over (it might cost a few quid) and then at least you have a genuine subaru dealership report and if there is anything wrong then they will have to fix it, and iam sure they cant dispute a subaru dealership, surely.

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

Haha this is coming from the garage that tried making us pay for the courtesy car to be mended (when the timing belt snapped)

And yes i think you are right we have spoke to a guy in hebden bridge who specialises in subaru's and he has told us to take it down when we eventually get it back, so we will do and hopefully it will give us a bit more sleep about the whole thing

tonywrx

to be honest i would not take it back to the place you bought it but ask for a refund of what warranty you have not used and take it elsewhere, it sounds like they are a right bunch of w*nkers that have not got a clue, before it really goes **** up.

dnc

Second the advice given here, though try to use a Subaru specialist (or dealer) as the independent.

Sorry to hear about your problems, hope it gets resolved with you not being out of pocket.
Dnc

jonny gav

iTrader: (1)

sounds like you have head gasket problems!

subarujimmy

iTrader: (3)

If I was you I'd consider naming and shaming the garage, even if its only for the poor service and customer relations you've received, (but this can be a bit dodgy if your going to take it further).
Otherwise, report it to trading standards as its a vehicle that you have purchased which isn't fit for purpose.

Best of luck

+Doc+

Sounds like an incompetant garage fixing the wrong thing and creating more problems.

lightwave693

i too think head gasket, cars dont just blow rads in 15miles

petedotuk

get on the phone to Fair trading. Also give your finance company a phone and explain that since you bought the car it has not worked, Finance companys back you up as you are the customer and really they own the car till you pay the finance off!

do you know how the rad is failing? Is it leaking from a certain point each time?
Check the rad cap and see if the spring is seized, There could be too much pressue in the system due to a faulty cap.

But I think u should get it checked for a hea gasket.

Hope you get it sorted & begin to enjoy the wonders of subaru.

simpsons !

Have you bought this car in Keighley by any chance?

Get on to your finance company and explain the probs.

HTH Simpsons!

serpico

[QUOTE=simpsons !;7518425]Have you bought this car in Keighley by any chance?

Get on to your finance company and explain the probs.

HTH Simpsons![/QUO




Mate definately get onto trading standards they will have not only advice but steps you can take i.e write letter to said company (recorded delivery) covering the issues and that they have not resolved them. Mention you've been in contact with trading standards and under the sales good act (or similar - see website) you can demand a full refund or costs etc.

I feel for ya. Been in similar situation & they paid out. Good luck and hope you get it sorted asap.

ozbod1

theres obviously another problem, only a frikin idiot would keep slapping new rads on!! as everyones said take it to an independant to get it fully checked over, only problem is if the independant finds faults do you trust this garage in question to do any repairs, i think the best thing is to get on to your warranty people and tell them where you want to take it to be repaired, even if it costs you it will surely save you in the long run.. hope this helps..gl

Rossco_

iTrader: (1)

Yeh i second this, unless something is well out of place in the engine bay and is puncturing the radiator there is no way a health car should go through that many radiators, you need to get in there and tell them your concerns, otherwise its trading standards as there would appear to be something horribly wrong with that car

Scoobyspanners

Odd that the rad keeps blowing.......how did they repair it? Cowboys may use rad-weld to do a fob off fix. Take it to Serck Marston or another well known rad specialist. They can test for contamination in the coolant that will point to a head/engine problem, and pressure test the system,and can give you a report that you can use as a lever in future discussions with the car supplier.

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the replies,
We have been into the garage this morning and again told them that many people have said the head gasket could have gone and they have assured us (not for the first time) that the head gasket is not gone as there is no signs of head gasket failure whatsoever, he said theres not a trace of oil in the water so it cant have gone,
They have now decided to stop using the company they are trying to use to get radiators from and have gone to subaru themselves for a radiator which (fingers crossed) should be there by wednesday, so we will see,
As for the garage where we got the subaru from it isnt a subaru main dealer but it is a rather large garage in bradford so we didnt think we would have a problem, just goes to show, but it may be genuine that they just cant find whats wrong as the main mechanic said that he was good with the subarus engines??
The thing is the garage are now playing ball and "fixing it" whenever we take it in so if we moan all they are gonna say is they are trying arent they?

Hopefully this new radiator will be the end to our problems but either way we will be taking it to the subaru dealer to be fully checked out before we do anything else

jonny gav

iTrader: (1)

if the head gasket goes between cylinder and water jacket there is no oil water mixing so there will be no signs of oil in the water.

what happens in this case is the gasses escape from the cylinder into the water system (usually on boost) causing a build up of pressure that the water system can't handle and blows the radiator or a hose.


if it has done this then a simple gas test of the water system will show if its headgasket or not.

its worth asking if they have done a gas test!

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for that, the guy at hebden bridge said that if it was the head gasket then it would blow up through the return tank, thats why we thought they were telling the truth but this sheds a new light at least.

p.s as for where its blowing, the last time that it blew it blew straight across the bottom, there was about 6/7 holes in the bottom and on the ramp it looked like a waterfall

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

p.s again haha, would any garage be able to do a gas test or is it a subaru garage thing? reason for me asking is i dont want them telling me they have done one when they havent,
also when we went to get a diff courtesy car today we did go round to the garage part to make sure our car was in there, which it was with no front end on/radiator or nothing

jonny gav

iTrader: (1)

yeah, any useful garage will have a tester

chris1scouser

Trading Standards and The Finance company. make a record of events and all the correspondence you send. good luck.

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, the garage have said that the next radiator is coming from subaru themselves so hopefully this will be an end to the matter, i thought by putting the post up any other "ideas" i may be able to check when i get the car back myself, hopefully that way i wont have to go back with a broke radiator again, things like the radiator cap and doing a gas test i will get done as soon as i get the car back, then if either or both are broke i can get them sorted before it blows the radiator again

powerman1

is the garage on canal road? and begins with D..

andyzx6r

iTrader: (3)

have you a contact number or the address for the guy from hebden bridge, just looking for a bit of advice from him

nshaunluke

iTrader: (1)

heres his web site HDC SUBARU - parts .. breaking .. salvage .. consumables.. mail order mate

andyzx6r

iTrader: (3)

cheers m8ty will give them a bell tomorow

nooobyscoooby

Consumer law entitles you to a 6 month warranty from ANY trader - back street, main dealer, whatever.

You do NOT pay for this as a separate item - it is included in the dealer's overheads but of course that is in turn in the cost of your car!

Many dealers con people by getting them to buy a 12 month warranty so you actually end up paying twice for the first six months and the dealer will try to pass everything back to the warranty company to further increase his margin [especially if you took finance with the dealer as he probably makes more from that than the car!!].

So formal letter of rejection by recorded delivery to the garage AND the finance company. And copy Trading Standards for good measure.

Get out of the car - there are plenty of better ones.