Spec.B - 2 days, 264 miles, engine goes buh bye.

** 10/31/08: Took delivery of the new car... Pics on page 13! **

 

-- My original post follows --

 

I have been browsing LegacyGT.com for quite some time now, and was meaning to register and post at some point. It is sad that my first post has to bear bad news.

 

To make a long story short, my wife and I purchased a 2009 Legacy GT Spec.B, pearl white... Beautiful. Love(ed) it. This was a replacement for her aging '97 Mustang Cobra.

 

During the test drive we noticed some hesitation during acceleration. Since the car had less than a quarter of a tank of gas in it the sales rep reassured us it was likely bad or lower octane gas (they tend to put 87 octane on these things at the dealer.......)

 

Anyhow, after we were done with all the financing we took delivery of it (Monday evening). The car now had a full tank of gas, and we were reassured it was 92 octane this time.

 

We still noticed the hesitation but decided to just burn through that first tank and put known-good gas in it as soon as it was down to half or more. We did this last night. Unfortunately, it made no difference, the hesitation was, if anything, getting worse at this point.

 

I work about 50 miles from where we live, so I decided to take the car into work this morning, to give myself enough time to get a feel for what could be wrong. During the first 25 miles or so it was behaving as it had been, but once I entered into the last 25 miles things took a turn for the worse. Not only did the hesitation become more pronounced but I began to hear what sounded like a faint "rattle" at first (60 MPH freeway roadnoise tends to mask things a bit). As I approached my final exit and began to slow down on the on-ramp, my facial expression turned from curiosity to pure "WTF"... I began to hear what sounded like either bad rodknock or valvetrain tick. The kind you generally hear from that old rusty early 90's Dodge Caravan with a bunch of dirty clothes and boxes full of junk on the back. Except, this is coming from an otherwise beautiful car.

 

As soon as I came to a complete stop, my fears were confirmed that a very serious problem had developed. Th engine began to idle low and it finally shut off. I restarted it and it died instantly again... There were tons of people behind me and the horn honking began, so I tried again and this time was able to keep the revs high enough for it not to die again... The noise was there and it was bad... I think I cringed must of the way to a safe parking spot on the side of the road where I called my Subaru dealer immediately. As soon as I gave the service rep the symptoms he advised me to call Subaru Roadside Assistance and have them bring the car in ASAP.

 

After a couple of hours of what became a new ordeal waiting for the tow and making our way to the dealer, we made it there and I was able to let the service rep listen to it. The tow truck driver, when he listened to it he immediately said "That motor's toast... That sounds like a rodknock or bent valves. I'd get a new car."

 

The service rep, on the other hand, said that he's certain the issue has to do with the timing belt tensioner, and the timing belt coming loose... Although he was saying this casually, that made me cringe even more... To my understanding, these are interference engines... This means there's probably some bent valves, at the least.

 

At the time when I made the service call (and took the car back), it was still within the 72 hours that Washington state allows for a new vehicle to be returned (EDIT: Later on I researched this and WA state does not have a "cooling off" period, so that 72 hours statement is a moot point). Now, I don't necessarily wish to return it... Both my wife and I absolutely LOVE this car. It is a shame this had to happen. But I'm very concerned with them deciding to just "fix" the engine vs. replacing it with a new one (or allowing us to get a replacement spec.B). There's only 1 other in the state, and it's not pearl... My wife is biased towards white cars so that's pretty much a requirement.

 

What should I expect and/or be prepared to demand? The dealership has been very corteous and apologetic, and they gave my issue top priority (even had the loaner car ready for me when I arrived).

 

What would you guys do? Or has anyone been through something similar that could share their experience?

 

Above all, I miss the damn thing! I have a base model non-turbo Outback... ugh... I miss alcantra seats and 6MT... I miss psssssshhh...woosh...

 

Sigh.

 

*** Cliffnotes by BigInALegacy ***

 

^^^

 

Guys, read the whole thread. (or at least the last 2 pages)

 

 

The dealer admitted there was an engine problem, and he's getting a new car. White Spec-B.

 

-- And, of course, the problem was a spun rod bearing and appears to be an issue that affected some productions of the 2.5T build during the beginning of the year.

I'd return this one and order a new white Spec. B.

 

If I were in WA I'd go to Joe Spitz:

 

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/contact.html

 

for the deal.

9 times out of 10, you can get a better deal on the car by ordering it. The dealer does not have to sit with the car in their lot, so the overhead of paying interest on the purchase price of the car, taxes, garage fees, depreciation from test drives, etc is all $0 for the dealer.

Man that sucks. Who is the dealer?

I'd return this one and order a new white Spec. B.

 

If I were in WA I'd go to Joe Spitz:

 

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/contact.html

 

for the deal.

 

Agree with the first part, though I wouldn't go to Joe Spitz for the deal. I've heard some shady stuff about him from other dealers up there. I'd talk to the PNW crew here and find a good reputable dealer. I think AKLGT even drove down to the attached states to buy her cars?

 

Either way, a repaired car from something like that is probably never going to be OK as opposed to just getting another new one in the same specs.

get a new one if at all possible.

get a new one if at all possible.

 

+1. you do not want that car.

take that thing back now!!!!!! you do not want to start off that way.

I agree with everyone. You don't want a car with a replaced motor brand new. Just get yourself a new one. If you have to have one shipped in from another dealer they can do it or you can just go elsewhere if they aren't willing to cooperate.

 

Since you can legally return it think of this as a test drive. If you were test driving a car and it crapped out on you. They said we only have this one in pearl you still want it after we fix it what would you say?

Agreed. If it had 50k miles on it, you'd be getting some potential benefit out of serious engine work (i.e. a refreshed engine or parts of some sort).

 

Now? Get a new car. It's within your rights (easily), the dealer isn't going to want to lose the sale, and maybe you can get them to throw in a few extras on the new car.

 

It's a big hassle and something you wish you didn' thave to do, but there it is.

 

If you decide to keep the car, I'd ask for an extended engine warranty for the hassle and concern. It's not really justified, but it doesn't cost them nearly as much as getting a whole new car for you for a sale they already made. And a "just engine warranty" that is extended is not that expensive.

 

Joe

new car.. I'd walk away from that thing.. no doubt.. lemon.. huge lemon.

 

You're kind of scaring me tho on the whole timing belt thing and interference engine.. recently I've heard the same knock in my car twice in the last couple months.. I haven't had any problems and it isnt a persistent thing..but its happened..

 

I really want to know what they find out either way.

 

imo.. tell them to DT you a SWP spec B from anywhere in your region..

new car I agree too walk away order another one in pearl if thats what you want...

Subaru owes you a new car. Take nothing less.

I agree with the others.

 

Get new.

 

Welcome to LGT.com - sorry this had to be your first Subaru experience....

Get new - if this service rep thinks it's the T-belt tensioner... who knows how he'd direct the "attack" on your brand new car.

 

Definitely get new.

I say get a new car. You dont want to deal with that and it will just bring about more problems. This seems like the beginning of a new car horror story... I have a feeling you will be spending most of your free time discussing the warranty and lemon laws

 

 

Not only that... But you will get a new car!!!! There is nothing more exciting than that!!!

yeah, new all the way.

even if it is fixed... you will always associate the car with that bad motor.

order a new one.

 

and can we get the name, or at least the city where you got the car?

The gas probably didn't cause anything, but for a car that says "Requires 91 Octane" for a dealer to put 87 in it for test drives and such... it does make you wonder if that full tank of gas was 92 like they said, or what else they were not telling the truth on.

 

And i agree, you'd get a better deal for the car if you ordered it. i just ordered my 09 LGT and saved quite a bit by ordering it.

New car for sure,,,your dealer should be able to get a pearl white in the region.

You can also go to Subaru dot.com and check dealer inventorys in your area on spec Bs just to see if the dealer is BSing you.

If all else fails call SOA in Jersey.

Have they figured out what went wrong?

Who was the dealer?

Walk away from the deal. Order a new one.

I really, really appreciate everyone's views on this matter. Also, all of the information I need to make a sound decision about it.

 

I have yet to receive news on what the issue is/was. The suspense is killing me...

 

Anyway, I am not sure if I should freely advertise the name of the dealership. Service wise, they've treated me well. However, anyone who is really interested, feel free to shoot me a PM and I will gladly tell you where our spec.B was purchased from.

 

So, since the car made its way back into the dealer within the 72 hours (now it's been over 72 hours since we took delivery of it), the law should be on our side regarding our choice to "take it back" and receive a new one, right? I'm doing the research as I type this but maybe someone knows for sure...

 

I've owned an SVX for many years. In fact, of all my cars that have come and gone (many), that has been the only constant in my garage. Unfortunately, a bad tranny rebuild resulted in it failing once again and it's been sitting in my garage for over 2 years not moving.

 

I love Subarus. I'm really hoping SOA/the dealer come through and offer something fair and reasonable right off the bat. I'd hate for my image of Subaru to be tainted by any sort of required arguement/negotation/stress from my part.

 

I will keep everyone posted.

Get a new car, take a flight and drive your new baby home if you have to.

 

One thing to consider as well that this car is going to show up as having the engine replaced or major engine repair on CarFax type reports, it will hurt your resale value.

So the sales rep had sort of admitted they put 87 oct in the Subaru turbos (Spec B).

Gulp!!

I did a "Post Quick Reply" but still haven't seen it... Do replies go through approval process as well?

 

If my original reply shows up, this may seem redundant so I'll keep it short...

 

I really appreciate everyone's views on this and the extra info.

 

I'm still waiting for news on our car, but will post on here as soon as I hear back on what the problem is/was.

 

Also, I don't know if I should publicize the dealer's name at this point, as they've treated me well so far, but if anyone is really interested the information is just a PM away.