Hit a curb, need help

I just recently moved across the state to go to school, and upon arriving in town I promptly managed to jump a curb and do some damage to my front passenger side strut and some other parts. I called the local Subaru dealer (Alderson Subaru of Lubbock, TX) and had the car towed in to be fixed.

Back home I had a wonderful dealer who communicated with me well and always took care of all of my needs. Here.. That's not the case at all. I called this morning to get my estimate on the car.. $1,500+. They are replacing the strut, tire, rim, and something else that I can't quite remember the name of (something pertaining to steering), plus they are going to re-align it.

I mentioned getting it covered under warranty because I only hit a tiny curb, and these cars were built for offroad and other hazardous driving conditons. I was called an idiot, and was told that as a woman I should seriously consider contacting my insurance company to have them handle everything for me.

My question is, is this a fair price for what they're needing to repair on my car? Also, can I pursue this further with SOA and hope to get a better resolution? I'd like to be a bit more informed before I call him back and get reamed by him again.

$1500 for a new front strut, a tire and rim and probably a steering arm or tie-rod and tie-rod end including labor sounds like a fair price. Parts alone will list for $700-900 and labor at a dealership often runs around $100/hour. Presumably, this will include the wheel balance and a complete fron-end alignment taht will be needed.

Even though the curb seemed to be "small", obviously, it was large enough to do significant damage. Sometimes hitting a curb at a very small angle can put very high side loads on the front suspension if the tire does not ride up the curb.

Unless the damage was caused by a part failure, this sort of suspension damage is really the driver's responsibility, and it's very unlikely that SOA would assume any of the cost of repair. If yo have reasonable "collision" insurance coverage, the insurance will pay for the repairs, but if you have a high deductable, you might want to pay all of the cost yourself rather than risk a big increase in your insuranc ecoverage because of the "accident".

Sorry!

I'm not really worried about the warranty, that was just something I asked to see if it would be covered. I'm new to the whole warranty thing and I wasn't sure what was covered.

What I'm concerned about is how I was treated because I am a woman, and what the actual price of the part would be. I know having your car in the shop isn't going to be a great experience, but it would be nice to lessen some of the pressure if I knew more information and how to handle the situation.

I figured parts would be in that ballpark, but I just wanted to make sure before I gave him the green light to fix it. I've also contacted my dealership back home to see what they suggest.

I'm feeling like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.

You might want to at least phoe a few other dealerships in the area to get another quote for the total cost. Since you know which parts the first dealer said needed replacement, you should be able to get a "ballpark' quote from another dealer.

As far as the treatment goes, it may be because you're a women, but there are many, many reports on this forum of men being treated just a poorly. A dealer that treats any customer rudly deserves to be reported to SOA in a concise, accurate letter whic quotes the exact language that the dealer used when speaking with you. You maght also think about sending a letter to the owner of the dealership, since your contact was presumably with the service write or repair supervisor. The dealership owner should be informed as to how his employees are treating HIS customers.

I mentioned getting it covered under warranty because I only hit a tiny curb, and these cars were built for offroad and other hazardous driving conditons. I was called an idiot, and was told that as a woman I should seriously consider contacting my insurance company to have them handle everything for me.

 

My question is, is this a fair price for what they're needing to repair on my car? Also, can I pursue this further with SOA and hope to get a better resolution? I'd like to be a bit more informed before I call him back and get reamed by him again.

The Legacy GT is not advertised or built for off-roading(low profile tires, limited suspension travel) and this is not a warranty claim.

Though the service manager's demeanor was/might have been rude, it is not far from the truth. If you were offended file a complaint to SoA and the Dealership's General Manager.

Call your other dealership to confirm whether they gave you a fair quote, then go from there.

Additional thoughts: Once you get your car back after the repairs you should be sure to check the vehicle very carefully.

1. Since you said the damage was at the passinger side, first turn the steering wheel fully to the right and look into the wheelwell behind the tire. You should be able to identify the new parts that the dealer has claimed to have replaced. They should be shiny and clean as compared with the rest of the suspension components. The new wheel and tire should also be obvious.

2. You should be able to turn the steering wheel all the way from "lock-to-lock" (fully right to fully left) without any loud "clunks' or other noises in the front end.

3. When driving down a flat road (no crown or camber) the car should track perfectly straight with no pull to either side.

4. Also (again on a flat road) the steering wheel should be perfectly centered when the car is travelling in a straigt line.

5. you should be able to drive the vehicle at any speed and not notice any vibration or wobble in the steering wheel (on a smooth road). You should try this at various speeds up to as fast as you normally drive and pay very close attention to any abnormal vibration or wobble.

6. Finally, since you presumably will be getting a new alloy wheel, the wheel lug nuts should be re-torqued after approximately 1000 miles on that wheel.

I would call SOA to tell them about your experience, in the very least. I would be pi$$ed if someone called me an idiot, as I'm sure you are. I don't know if it will do anything, calling SOA, but it can't hurt. They should know what happened. Then I would talk to the GM of the dealership, or the owner if you could. That wouldn't hurt either. I wouldn't threaten them with "calling SOA", wouldn't want the dealership people to go on the defensive. Either way you go, talking to the dealership first or SOA, I would surely do both. IMHO, you're more likely to get a break on the repair if the GM/Owner hears about it from you. I don't like going that route, but in this case I think it's warranted. You didn't deserve being called an idiot, and I'm sure that's not in their employee handbook as a proper way to talk to a customer. As for calling your insurance company, all a claim would likely do would be to raise your rates. I would pay for repair myself, and may mention that to the GM/Owner, like "I'm paying for this repair myself and I don't appreciate your service personnel calling me an idiot..."(you can fill in the rest as needed)

I don't know, I just wish you all the luck...

Though the service manager's demeanor was/might have been rude, it is not far from the truth.

...so your sayin she is almost an idiot?

I don't get it..was the person that called you an idiot the service mgr? If some dealership's SM called me an idiot I would be asking for that person's boss and raising hell. You had a ligitimate concern and that is no way to be treated. If it was some Service tech makin $9 bucks an hr that said it to me, I would have gotten his name, driven down there demanded to speak with the Manager and bring it face to face and hopefully he would lose his job and go back to flippin burgers where he can't deal directly with public.

...so your sayin she is almost an idiot?

Nope, more like she's not knowledgeable that:

- The car is not built for off-roading

- This isn't covered under warranty

- Trying to convince a service manager that this is covered under warranty will probably activate Hyde-mode

I don't get it..was the person that called you an idiot the service mgr? If some dealership's SM called me an idiot I would be asking for that person's boss and raising hell. You had a ligitimate concern and that is no way to be treated. If it was some Service tech makin $9 bucks an hr that said it to me, I would have gotten his name, driven down there demanded to speak with the Manager and bring it face to face and hopefully he would lose his job and go back to flippin burgers where he can't deal directly with public.

We don't know the details of what was said, but if he did call her an "idiot". File complaints, demand an apology and sue his ass.

A certified, "return receipt requested" letter to SOA with a carbon to the Dealersip General Manager or Owner should be in order. Be accurate and mention what was actually said and by whom.

I once had a somewhat similar occurance with a air conditioner (compressor replacement) on a Toyota Supra. I'll spare you all the gory details, but it finally came down to a "He said/he said" difference between what the service manager actually said to me and what he later claimed to have said (or more precisely not said). I wrote to Toyota and the dealer's GM. Both sent very appologetic letters, but nothing more came of it (the service manager is still at that dealership and has a wall full of No. 1 service awards behind his desk. Bottom line--I never bought another Toyota and continue to this day to tell everyone I can about that particular dealership's treatment of me. I'm sure it has cost them some sales and certainly some repair work.

Remember--You're the one paying their saleries.

Stay cool and don't let the turkeys get you down.

I have a similar situation right now - hit a curb at low speed on glare ice coming out of a carwash (gotta love the midwest).

So far I am out $450 for towing and replacement of the lower control arm, and I still have a nasty vibration at speed which we are 90% sure is due to damage to the sealed hub assembly. That's going to cost me another $500 for parts and labor.

I am trying to source a wheel from a list member to replace my curb rashed one, which will cost me a couple hundred more.

The moral of the story is that new cars ain't cheap to fix, especially ones as sophisticated as these, especially at the dealer. I would say your quote is fair, though your treatment was not.

Good luck and don't take any crap - sometimes raising a stink is the only way to get respect.

FWIW,

Morgan

I don't want to get in the middle of all of the "idiot" namecalling, but you can save some $$ by ordering your own replacement tire from Tire Rack. I hate to guess what a dealer is charging for a replacement tire.

As far as you thinking that the car should be able to take that kind of hit, I am reminded of the disclaimer on the bottom of the TV screen reminding the viewing public that Jeeps aren't meant for driving under water

Steve

I mostly asked the question about the warranty because my boyfriend's father was adamant that I did. He kept referring to the rally commercials and saying that it should be covered. I just wanted him to hush about it, and was curious about it myself. I never expected to have it covered on the warranty, it was merely a question.

The service manager was the one who called me an "idiot", and he has since apologized for his actions. We've sorted it out and he's admitted he was in the wrong and was under pressure when he was speaking to me about something else.

I also consulted my dealer back home, listed what was being replaced and they have stamped the price with the "OK", so I'm thinking it's fine. Also, thanks for the advice on requesting the replaced parts. I will definitely be doing that.

I mostly asked the question about the warranty because my boyfriend's father was adamant that I did. He kept referring to the rally commercials and saying that it should be covered. I just wanted him to hush about it, and was curious about it myself. I never expected to have it covered on the warranty, it was merely a question.

Although the service manager was out of line to call you an idiot, if you were a guy, I'm sure several people here would have used some form of that same description to describe you bringing it up as a warranty issue. I guess it's really your boyfriend's father who qualifies for "idiot" status. He sounds like the kind of guy who would blame the car if he accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake.

The damage you did sounds like a lot for what you describe as simply "jumping curb". I'd say $1,500 is a fair price for you to pay, and you ought to just forget about getting your feelings hurt by the Subaru service guy. If you don't want to be condescended to as a woman, then take it like a man.

quick question related to this topic.

are all subaru dealership computers all linked? so... if i were to have a few of my services done at one dealership, and then went to another... would all the information be there? or if i were to claim warentee at one dealership.. and they declined warentee... would this information show up at the other dealerships computer? so... if this dealership says $1500.. would it be possible to compare this information with another subaru dealer? or are all dealerships individual now?

I mostly asked the question about the warranty because my boyfriend's father was adamant that I did. He kept referring to the rally commercials and saying that it should be covered. I just wanted him to hush about it, and was curious about it myself. I never expected to have it covered on the warranty, it was merely a question.

 

It is funny how people interpret warranty claims. As with 99.9% of all car warranties, they only cover damages due to manufacture defects, not neglect or abuse. Just by the mere fact that you asked such a question means you haven't read the warranty pamphlets that came with your car. I would highly suggest that you read the pamphlets completely (and if you don't have them, ask for them from a dealership). By reading the pamphlets you can fully understand what should and shouldn't be covered under the warranty. No point in paying for something that should be covered (which isn't the case with your curb damage).

Good luck.

quick question related to this topic.

 

are all subaru dealership computers all linked? so... if i were to have a few of my services done at one dealership, and then went to another... would all the information be there? or if i were to claim warentee at one dealership.. and they declined warentee... would this information show up at the other dealerships computer? so... if this dealership says $1500.. would it be possible to compare this information with another subaru dealer? or are all dealerships individual now?

Routine service information is not computer linked, but any warranty work (or denials) are linked through the Subarunet system and can be pulled up by any dealer using the VIN.