UPDATE*Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty

ATTI2D · 01-31-2008, 04:36 PM

I dropped my car off at Becker Subaru last night for the last checkup before my warranty expires on February 7th. I expected a syncro to be replaced and some other issues ill mention later. When I heard from them today apparently I have a BLOWN HEAD GASKET

. On top of that I put the EWG and other crap on in December. So needless to say there voiding the warranty on the engine. But heres the problem. My car has been leaking coolant since the summer when I had the extended warranty transfered to them. To them it was "not a serious issue" passing it off "as your coolant levels are fine". When I brought my car in for the 30k tune I mentioned the coolant leaking issues again along with the fans inoperative and car overheating at idle. I also mentioned the coolant was very discolored more black brown than green. This was in September, before any mods. They replaced the thermostat (under warranty) and changed fluids under the 30k tune package. Then i was sent on my way assuming everything was a ok. Keep in mind all of this is logged in their computers and acknowledged before I voided my warranty in December.

What Im getting at here is...
Why are they just finding a blown head gasket now? After my warranty is void BTW. I just have the terrible feeling like this has been a problem from months ago and they are telling me now because there off the hook for warranty work.
Is it possible Ive been driving around for 10k+ miles with a blown gasket?
Hell I could've bought the car with a blown head gasket. Bought last May with 16k on it. Becker checked

the car before I bought it privately.

As of right now they haven't done any real testing on the "blown gasket" but are sure its blown and are pulling the motor and checking for any cracks in the block tomorrow.
Im just looking for ANY input from you guys. How should I handle this? I hope Im not screwed as Im never giving this car up and am not looking forward to spending my income tax return on its repair.

Thanks
Nigel

PuccasBad_STI · 01-31-2008, 04:41 PM

man that suxs majorly... sorry to hear that... why don't you go to another dealer, sounds like they are screwing you and why not go and try another dealer, whats the worse they could say... no

ATTI2D · 01-31-2008, 04:45 PM

I highly doubt with my mods... TBE, MBC, EWG, and 650 injectors that anyone will honor my warranty.

Boostpimp · 01-31-2008, 05:02 PM

Back when your coolant looked blackish brown you should have made them probe a little deeper to find out how oil was getting into your coolant..(blown head gasket?). Now you're getting screwed. Sorry man.

ATTI2D · 01-31-2008, 05:06 PM

I made the mistake of completely trusting the dealership with the health of my car.

Blackfang · 02-01-2008, 04:03 AM

When you first noticed it was brown/dirty, did they offer you to change the coolant? That would be my first question.

A blown headgasket is not that hard to diagnose and if it was blown, easy to spot.

kiwee · 02-01-2008, 04:10 AM

that coolant issue was it.
it has been blown since you noticed it for sure. you got screwed man.
i wonder if they recorded in your file that you mentioned the coolant being messed up back at your prior service?
that could be what you need to speak to a manager or something.

**boondocksaint** · 02-01-2008, 04:44 AM

You'll never get any satisfaction unless you're prepared to raise Hell like the second coming.

Blackfang · 02-01-2008, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boondocksaint

You'll never get any satisfaction unless you're prepared to raise Hell like the second coming.

That usually gets you nowhere. Those who are cool calm and collective get farther than someone yelling and ranting. Be professional and have different approaches to get this handled in case it doesn't workout the first time. You may have to get SOA involved too.

If a customer is unhappy with their vehicle for some reason and I or my techs personally did not cause it and they are courteous to me, I go to bat for them and get it handled. They cuss me up and down, yell and scream, they get deaf ears and referred to someone else.

V8Huntr · 02-01-2008, 06:01 AM

Who are you working with at Becker? If it's the old guy, Joe, then he'll throw you under the bus. He tried to deny my warranty on my rear struts because of my intake! If you get the girl or the big guy then you have a chance if you try to reason it out with them. You might be able to work out a 50/50 deal since you did address this issue previously with them.

**boondocksaint** · 02-01-2008, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackfang

That usually gets you nowhere. Those who are cool calm and collective get farther than someone yelling and ranting. Be professional and have different approaches to get this handled in case it doesn't workout the first time. You may have to get SOA involved too.

If a customer is unhappy with their vehicle for some reason and I or my techs personally did not cause it and they are courteous to me, I go to bat for them and get it handled. They cuss me up and down, yell and scream, they get deaf ears and referred to someone else.

Perhaps cool calm and collected works with some dealerships. We'll refer to these as good dealerships.

But the sad fact is, most of them aren't good. This is one of those situations where I think knowing your rights would help, and being willing to exercise them - and maybe fuss at the right people - would yield a result.

Just MHO.

YMMV.

Blackfang · 02-01-2008, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V8Huntr

Who are you working with at Becker? If it's the old guy, Joe, then he'll throw you under the bus. He tried to deny my warranty on my rear struts because of my intake!

What was his reasoning for that?

V8Huntr · 02-01-2008, 10:52 AM

He never actually gave me a reason. When I mentioned to him that to deny a warranty he has to prove that the part caused the failure he told me he would have to talk to the service manager. After that I didn't trust the guy, he gave me a weird vibe like he was trying to screw me over and got caught.

Blackfang · 02-01-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V8Huntr

He never actually gave me a reason. When I mentioned to him that to deny a warranty he has to prove that the part caused the failure he told me he would have to talk to the service manager. After that I didn't trust the guy, he gave me a weird vibe like he was trying to screw me over and got caught.

Actually only SOA can deny a warranty claim if it due to abuse. If he tried to deny it and not contact SOA, he was wrong. He did get caught.

LSE · 02-02-2008, 04:54 AM

as much as being reasonable pays off, some times it does not. I try to reason with them first, then call a manager but if that fails and they are not taking me seriously then I will start to get pissed and normally that gets me past their resistance. After all, customers are watching and they don't like to see themselves in my shoes.

I don't like to be an ass to people. But when they are ass to you, then there is little you can do otherwise they walk over you. I wish every dealer was reasonable.

01-31-2008, 04:36 PM	#1
ATTI2D Senior STI Driver Car: JBP 04 STi Fav Mod: 17x9" on 245's ;) Location: Easton PA Posts: 342 Join Date: Feb 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	*UPDATEBlown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty** I dropped my car off at Becker Subaru last night for the last checkup before my warranty expires on February 7th. I expected a syncro to be replaced and some other issues ill mention later. When I heard from them today apparently I have a BLOWN HEAD GASKET. On top of that I put the EWG and other crap on in December. So needless to say there voiding the warranty on the engine. But heres the problem. My car has been leaking coolant since the summer when I had the extended warranty transfered to them. To them it was "not a serious issue" passing it off "as your coolant levels are fine". When I brought my car in for the 30k tune I mentioned the coolant leaking issues again along with the fans inoperative and car overheating at idle. I also mentioned the coolant was very discolored more black brown than green. This was in September, before any mods. They replaced the thermostat (under warranty) and changed fluids under the 30k tune package. Then i was sent on my way assuming everything was a ok. Keep in mind all of this is logged in their computers and acknowledged before I voided my warranty in December. What Im getting at here is... Why are they just finding a blown head gasket now? After my warranty is void BTW. I just have the terrible feeling like this has been a problem from months ago and they are telling me now because there off the hook for warranty work. Is it possible Ive been driving around for 10k+ miles with a blown gasket? Hell I could've bought the car with a blown head gasket. Bought last May with 16k on it. Becker checked the car before I bought it privately. As of right now they haven't done any real testing on the "blown gasket" but are sure its blown and are pulling the motor and checking for any cracks in the block tomorrow. Im just looking for ANY input from you guys. How should I handle this? I hope Im not screwed as Im never giving this car up and am not looking forward to spending my income tax return on its repair. Thanks Nigel This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad. Last edited by ATTI2D : 02-05-2008 at 01:47 PM. Reason: title update

01-31-2008, 04:41 PM	#2
PuccasBad_STI Silver Member Car: 07 OBP STI Fav Mod: AutoSpeed Catback Location: Virginia Posts: 378 Join Date: Dec 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty man that suxs majorly... sorry to hear that... why don't you go to another dealer, sounds like they are screwing you and why not go and try another dealer, whats the worse they could say... no

01-31-2008, 04:45 PM	#3
ATTI2D Senior STI Driver Car: JBP 04 STi Fav Mod: 17x9" on 245's ;) Location: Easton PA Posts: 342 Join Date: Feb 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty I highly doubt with my mods... TBE, MBC, EWG, and 650 injectors that anyone will honor my warranty.

01-31-2008, 05:02 PM	#4
Boostpimp Grassroots STI Racer Car: 04 WRB/G STi Fav Mod: Sz49 + Meth Location: South Carolina Posts: 535 Join Date: Jun 2004 Trader Rating: (2)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty Back when your coolant looked blackish brown you should have made them probe a little deeper to find out how oil was getting into your coolant..(blown head gasket?). Now you're getting screwed. Sorry man.

01-31-2008, 05:06 PM	#5
ATTI2D Senior STI Driver Car: JBP 04 STi Fav Mod: 17x9" on 245's ;) Location: Easton PA Posts: 342 Join Date: Feb 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty I made the mistake of completely trusting the dealership with the health of my car.

02-01-2008, 04:03 AM	#6
Blackfang Senior STI Driver Car: Silver 07 Legacy Location: Somewhere in the universe Posts: 346 Join Date: Mar 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty When you first noticed it was brown/dirty, did they offer you to change the coolant? That would be my first question. A blown headgasket is not that hard to diagnose and if it was blown, easy to spot.

02-01-2008, 04:10 AM	#7
kiwee STI Driver Car: '07wrbSTi Fav Mod: Invidia G200 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 268 Join Date: Jul 2006 Trader Rating: (3)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty that coolant issue was it. it has been blown since you noticed it for sure. you got screwed man. i wonder if they recorded in your file that you mentioned the coolant being messed up back at your prior service? that could be what you need to speak to a manager or something.

02-01-2008, 04:44 AM	#8
boondocksaint Reasonable Car: Boony's Motown STi Fav Mod: correct grammar Location: D3TR01T Posts: 22,575 Join Date: Jun 2006 Trader Rating: (5)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty You'll never get any satisfaction unless you're prepared to raise Hell like the second coming.

02-01-2008, 06:01 AM	#10
V8Huntr Spec C Club Car: 04' WRB STi Fav Mod: TBE Location: Allentown, PA Posts: 1,641 Join Date: Sep 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty Who are you working with at Becker? If it's the old guy, Joe, then he'll throw you under the bus. He tried to deny my warranty on my rear struts because of my intake! If you get the girl or the big guy then you have a chance if you try to reason it out with them. You might be able to work out a 50/50 deal since you did address this issue previously with them.

02-01-2008, 10:52 AM	#13
V8Huntr Spec C Club Car: 04' WRB STi Fav Mod: TBE Location: Allentown, PA Posts: 1,641 Join Date: Sep 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty He never actually gave me a reason. When I mentioned to him that to deny a warranty he has to prove that the part caused the failure he told me he would have to talk to the service manager. After that I didn't trust the guy, he gave me a weird vibe like he was trying to screw me over and got caught.

02-02-2008, 04:54 AM	#15
LSE Professional STI Racer Car: 06 STI WRB Fav Mod: Defi Gauges Location: Bethlehem PA Posts: 849 Join Date: Dec 2004 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Blown head gasket w/ 7 days left on warranty as much as being reasonable pays off, some times it does not. I try to reason with them first, then call a manager but if that fails and they are not taking me seriously then I will start to get pissed and normally that gets me past their resistance. After all, customers are watching and they don't like to see themselves in my shoes. I don't like to be an ass to people. But when they are ass to you, then there is little you can do otherwise they walk over you. I wish every dealer was reasonable. This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad.