scooby11

HELP/ADVICE NEEDED.



Hi, I bought an MY 99 turbo a few weeks back from a dealer in Stevenage (not a Subaru main dealer). Got an RAC 5 star warrantee with it. Have given it in for service this morning, and the garage came back to me just now with some very bad news.



The car is running on 3 cylinders, and needs a new engine! Also he is stating that it is not safe to drive the car back home. I have tried to contact the dealer that I bought it off, but no luck, hopefully he will call me back soon.



As I need a car to get me back home and for the weekend, what would you advise for the following:

• Will the warrantee cover me for car hire? (Doesn’t explicitly state it in the booklet)
• Is the dealer (where I bought it from) responsible for providing the shortfall between the claim limit and the eventual cost? Do I have any legal footing as the car was only bought a few weeks back? Surely they cannot sell such a car when they know about it?
• Is it safe to drive the car at the moment while I sort out a few things?
• Has anyone had any similar incidences in the past?
• How long is it likely to take to obtain/replace the engine?

I am taking my warrantee with me to the garage so that they can review it. Any bits to be careful about when talking to the garage and dealer?



Any advice appreciated, Feels crap to have something like this happen within such a short period of buying the car.



Thanks

N.

Gridlock Mikey

When you dropped the car off, was it running ok then?

I reckon you'd notice if you were running on 3 cylinders wouldn't you. I stand to be corrected.

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

I agree with you Mikey!!!!!

scooby11

the car was running fine when I dropped it off. I certainly didnt notice any differnce after driving it on the way to work

What sort of differnce would there be ?

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

First and foremost, get legal advice!

Personally, I would not let the garage touch the car untill you've been in contact with the dealer to ascertain if he's going to be co-operative. If he's not answering the phone or E-mail, then send a letter to the business adress giving him a finite time to respond. Selling a car running on 3 cylinders would -I'd hope- not be acceptable under the sale of goods act. What garage have you taken it to? Are you sure they're reputable? As the above poster said, a car running on 3 cylinders should be quite obvious. Ask for a written engineers report and then get the car independently inspected by another 3rd party. if you're unsure.

Good luck.

NS04

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

Really sorry to hear it mate.

Garage which does the work should provide courtesy car (or you can find one that will)

You would have to prove that the car was in ill health when you brought it to have a case as far as the dealer goes.

Hope you get it sorted ok.

Bob

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Agreed with above, don't let them touch it. Get the Dealer contacted and either get him to agree IN WRITING to pay for repairs or take it back with FULL refund.

By law you are protect against this, unless it was sold as seen.

scooby11

Thanks for the advice guys, I've brought the car back from the garage, and am going to take back to the dealer in person, so that he doesnt get a chance to avoid my phone calls.

Proving that the car was in this condition at the time of sale may prove to be tricky, though something like this isn't very likely to develop over a month, or is it?

Is it worth taking it to another specialist to get their opinion?

How noticeable would driving on 3 cylinders be? Any symptoms/signs? I dont have experience driving a scooby before this, so would't really know the difference? I would have thought a 25% drop in power would be very noticeable?

Thanks again

Squadron-Leader

Scooby11

It'll be lumpy, sound bl**dy awful and acceleration will be poor.

The sound is difficult to describe, but instead of usual thud thud thud you'd get a thud thud 'no sound' thud thud 'no sound'.

J.

Raartoot

Im really sorry to hear that mate, I can imagine how you feel,Been in a similar position except for the car I bought wasnt from a dealer it was private, Many years ago and was a Bmw, Luckily for me the guy was understanding....with a little help from myself, NOW im not saying that voilence is acceptable but it was the only other option for me as the Seller was taking me for a ride basically, I had to tell him how it was,Wasnt very proud about it but no other option.Telling me he would get back to me.eventually it got sorted and I got my money back.Lucky enough.
Basically take it back to him and stand your ground, He wont be willing to give you your cash back straight away, Unless he's one of the nicest guys around!!!
Tell him you will take legal advice and prepared to go all the way till you get what you are deserved!!
Obviously you aint gonna just gonna walk away and be willing to foot the bill yourself, You wont feel comfortable with the Car.Seek some legal advice because like others have said, He shouldnt be able to sell the car like that.......UNLESS the garage you went to has thrashed it and basically mashed it,sorry to be so blunt mate.You say you didnt notice the car driving strange before hand so you never know, BUT could of just been sods law that it went at this time!! I know its not what you probably wanna hear, Just weigh up your options first and bite back at every sarky comment the Dealer will throw at you...
My Mates bro bought a Subaru from a well known Impreza dealer here in the mids not long back and got warrenty with it, It was sold with a recon engine but few weeks later the Crank went, So we went back to theDealer and it was covered by his warrenty, then after getting it back, the Turbo lost boost, again back it went and repaired it again through warrenty, 4 months later after warrent yran out, The engine dies on him on the M69, Now because he assumed the dealer wouldnt cough up he wasnt going to persue it with them until me and his bro got on his case, Yeah the dealer was funny at frist but we made it clear we were not gonna let it lie...after 2weeks stationary and legal papers to show on our return visit, The dealer agreed to pay him back a refund minus a Grand, Which was fair enough because the warrenty had ran out remember, £7500 is better than getting nothing back!!!!
Well good luck, keep us posted and thanks for taking time out (fair bit at that) for reading this.lol..
Juss

scooby11

I don't get any of those symptoms, it does sound noisy at initial startup, however thats more of a tappet sort of clicking/knocking sound? Once warmed up it doesn't sound awful at all. And it seems to accelerate fine as well.

So if the signs are that obvious, I have a feeling it may be something else then. I'm going to get a 2nd opinion on it (have it looked at again) to be sure.

Thanks for that.

scooby11

thanks for your advice earlier. After a week of arguing and various discussions with the dealer (several very heated), they have agreed to carry out a full engine replacement, and will foot the bill providing I contribute £500 towards the repair bill. They said that they will obtain a reconditioned engine from Subaru, which comes with an unlimited mileage warranty - 6 months.

Initially I refused, saying that I either wanted the job done at their cost, or I wanted a full refund. I then thought that it wasn't a bad offer on their part, as I would find it difficult to prove that the condition existed when I bought the car (as mentioned in the posts above).

I am going to hand the car back to them tomorrow, so that they can get started on the process. Could anyone advise me on the process of replacement concerning documentation of the new engine number, etc. Also any advice as to what I should agree with them when I drop the car tomorrow would be helpful. They are estimating 2-3 days delivery time for the engine, and 3-5 days for the workshop to fit it.

Also, once the engine has been replaced, how does servicing work? I.e. should i service it 7.5k miles/6 months later, or should i get a fulll service done as soon as I get it back?

Is it difficult to resell a car which has had its engine replaced?

Thanks a lot for the advice given, Scoobynet is GREAT.

N.

GC8

Youd certainly think so but Ive heard of a couple of case where No3 cylinder was holed and the owner didnt realise!

Simon