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...chronicling my purchase of a rather expensive used car and my growing suspicions that the car had MAJOR problems.
I took it in to 4 different mechanics, including once before I bought the car and all said the car was AWESOME.
Well, the car was running (ever so slightly) hot (for a slight period) over the weekend and continued to drip some coolant, so I took it into my father's mechanic today.
The news was that the head gasket was blown even thought the car runs great.
So now, my question is ... what options do I have?
1) I bought it from a dealer but the warranty is of the 'independent insurer' variety. Are there any state laws that might protect me. I bought it about 9 days ago.
2) If I need to eat the car, how much could I possibly get for the car if I trade it in to the dealer or sell it to a private party first telling them about the problem. I AM NOT GOING TO BE DISHONEST AND TRY TO PAWN IT OFF ON SOMEBODY. I believe in karma...
Meh. It's only $. Albeit a lot.
Let this be a warning to anybody who is buying a used car.
Why would you dump it for want of a head gasket?
If you are mechanically inclined, you could replace it yourself.
If you need a shop to install a new gasket, it shouldn't be more than $350.00
Keeping it depends on it's overall condition.
Obviously it couldn't be too bad, you were attracted to it.
Bob.
Why would you dump it for want of a head gasket?
If you are mechanically inclined, you could replace it yourself.
If you need a shop to install a new gasket, it shouldn't be more than $350.00
Keeping it depends on it's overall condition.
Obviously it couldn't be too bad, you were attracted to it.
Bob.
The rest of the car seems to be in good working order.
And I had the compression of the cylinder heads tested and the shop said it was fine.
Should I just replace the gasket? Will there be other ongoing problems with the car? Obviously I don't know much about cars. The guy who diagnosed the blown gasket seemed to think I should look at other options. Which at the very least is refreshing honesty.
I'm willing to pump another 2 to 3K into the car IF I thought it would run great after I did.
Replace the head gasket, and the timing belt, water pump etc. while you are at it. If you can't DIY, find a good indy shop that does a lot of Honda or at least Japanese import car work.
Big deal. I changed out the head gasket on my old Scirocco recently, it's not all that hard.
I'm not sure I would want the dealer to "take care of it" because they will go to the cheapest possible shop, they may even take the head off, manifolds attached, and just swap out the head gasket (with the cheapest ersatz part they can lay hands on) and not touch valve guides, check/skim cut the head, etc. as a good job would include.
Better to buy used from an individual, not a dealer.
Well, the car was running (ever so slightly) hot (for a slight period) over the weekend and continued to drip some coolant, so I took it into my father's mechanic today.
This is the guy you should have taken it to before you bought the car.
Not surprisingly, the car has been driven JUST over 1000 miles since I bought it, as in ... 17 miles over.
I don't mind paying some extra scratch if the car were to run good after, I'm just not sure how much I trust the car now.
Does anybody have any idea what a dealer would give me for a trade in?
It's a car, not a horse - fix what's wrong and it will be fine. If this is like so many cars with an aluminum head and iron block, this setup the head gasket will not survive forever. Offhand I would guess a decent shop would charge something on the order of $1K to do the needed work and do it all right, with OEM parts and a new timing belt.
Now is the time for cold, rational thinking, not hand-wringing and emotion.
You still have not told us why you had no issue in buying a car from a dealer but have an issue in calling the the dealer with a problem? Have you called the dealer??
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even thought the car runs great. 
