Am I Fighting the GOOD Fight?

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

I bought a 99 Legacy GT Limited a few weeks ago to replace my 96 LS.

 

The 99 has only 34k miles on it...and evidently a few problems; well, one actually, but.....you'll see:

 

It overheats. Being that the dealership (Mitsubishi) sold me a "clean" car, they're doing the repairs for free.

 

So far they've replaced the Thermostat..overheated, bled the coolant..overheated, they're going to replace the Radiator, and then (when it overheats after that), ......time for HG's.

 

Is this a fight that worth fighting or should I have given up and cancelled the deal 3 weeks ago the night it started having problems?

[idosubaru]

how are they treating you and this experience? if you can get them to do a quality head gasket job then it's a great deal. if they're being dorks about it, then it's a roll of the dice whether they'll do the job properly or not. a warranty on the head gasket work in writing would be nice. and make sure they're using the updated Subaru gasket.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

how are they treating you and this experience? if you can get them to do a quality head gasket job then it's a great deal. if they're being dorks about it, then it's a roll of the dice whether they'll do the job properly or not. a warranty on the head gasket work in writing would be nice. and make sure they're using the updated Subaru gasket.

 

They're being alright about everything. The salesman has been very nice and very remorseful about the whole thing.

 

My only concern is that it's a Mitsubishi Dealership.

[idosubaru]

there's nothing all that complicated about the EJ25 headgasket, but i'd have the same concerns. mistu guys working on a subaru. if you get the idea they're a stand up place and taking care of you, i'd just make sure they're using a Subaru head gasket and not something aftermarket. this is a great deal really, if you can end up with a new headgasket out of the deal, i wouldn't want to be driving an EJ25 with the original head gasket.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

there's nothing all that complicated about the EJ25 headgasket, but i'd have the same concerns. mistu guys working on a subaru. if you get the idea they're a stand up place and taking care of you, i'd just make sure they're using a Subaru head gasket and not something aftermarket. this is a great deal really, if you can end up with a new headgasket out of the deal, i wouldn't want to be driving an EJ25 with the original head gasket.

 

that's what i'm thinking too. if i walk away with a car with 34k miles on it, with new headgaskets, new thermostat, and a new radiator....what the hell

 

i'm just worried that they're going to try to cut their costs on this car wherever they can and throw in a bunch of gasket sealer or conditioner and call it "fixed".

[msmithmmx]

Thats the question, will they do it the correct way? 1)They should use the updated gasket from Subaru, OEM only for this. 2) The should have the heads sent out to be cut to make sure they are flat. When things over heat they can warp. They sound like they are straight shooters. They are many horror stories on this site of people who purchased from some used car lot and find out a day later they need a new head gasket (1500 dollar job). I would always be very very careful of a late 90's subaru sitting on a lot with a 2.5. You are very lucky they are fixing this or you are very very smart to get a warrenty when you purchased.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

Thats the question, will they do it the correct way? 1)They should use the updated gasket from Subaru, OEM only for this. 2) The should have the heads sent out to be cut to make sure they are flat. When things over heat they can warp. They sound like they are straight shooters. They are many horror stories on this site of people who purchased from some used car lot and find out a day later they need a new head gasket (1500 dollar job). I would always be very very careful of a late 90's subaru sitting on a lot with a 2.5. You are very lucky they are fixing this or you are very very smart to get a warrenty when you purchased.

 

actually, they're fixing it for free because it happened the night i brought it home. and i DID purchase a 2 year warrenty with a $100 deductable

[msmithmmx]

With that said, the person that traded that in must have known it had a busted head gasket. Looks like the dealer never test drove it outside the lot. Your golden with a 2 year warrenty. I would talk to the dealer and let them know that this might not be the best business descsion for them to keep fixing this over the next 2 years, thats if you want out. I would roll.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

With that said, the person that traded that in must have known it had a busted head gasket. Looks like the dealer never test drove it outside the lot. Your golden with a 2 year warrenty. I would talk to the dealer and let them know that this might not be the best business descsion for them to keep fixing this over the next 2 years, thats if you want out. I would roll.

 

No, it's a third party warrenty from Guardian. i can take it anywhere that'll accept it.

 

Basically, i pay the garage 100 bucks and Guardian sends them a check for the rest.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

i just called the guy that's in charge of getting the car fixed. he said that they pressure tested the rad cap and it lost about 2 lbs over the span of some time. They got a radiator in today and they're installing it today.

 

If it overheats after that, i said that it might be more fiscally responsible for them to put my warrenty through (they're not starting it until they turn the car over to me) and take it to Bowser Subaru down the street and pay the 100 bucks for them to fix it instead of putting the time and money into it themselves. He said that if it comes to headgaskets, that may be what they'll want to do.

[johnceggleston]

i just called the guy that's in charge of getting the car fixed. he said that they pressure tested the rad cap and it lost about 2 lbs over the span of some time. They got a radiator in today and they're installing it today.

 

If it overheats after that, i said that it might be more fiscally responsible for them to put my warrenty through (they're not starting it until they turn the car over to me) and take it to Bowser Subaru down the street and pay the 100 bucks for them to fix it instead of putting the time and money into it themselves. He said that if it comes to headgaskets, that may be what they'll want to do.

i'd make sure they'l honor the warranty before you 'take delivery' of the car. is there any fine print about pre-existing condiditons? or a 30 day waiting period? is the warranty based on an inspection by the seller?

[WAWalker]

All of the extended warranty policies that I have seen will not cover a pre existing problem. So whom ever you have do the head gaskets will either need to be willing to lie to the warranty company, or you will have to convience them that the new thermostate and radiator were not installed to try and fix a pre existing problem.

Plus if you try and make a claim within days of the warranty coverage starting, I would think they may find that a little strange.

[idosubaru]

go ahead and start preparing for a head gasket, not sure why they're throwing all these parts at it. guess they haven't seen this before?

 

and you're not the first person with a "i just bought this EJ25 and now it's overheating" post - so yeah, people ditch them with bad headgaskets. i'd be more concerned with how bad they let it overheat (knowing they were trading it in) rather than the headgasket being replaced. Subaru will not be checking and milling the heads - they will gasketslap it for sure.