Exhaust Nightmare

[ShrubberySalesman]

Hello and welcome to my exhaust nightmare. In advance I am going to apologize as this will be a long post. For the TL;DR version, you can get by with just reading the last paragraph.

 

First of all, I'm going to start with a little background information. I am a teenager, and was able to purchase my 06 Legacy 2.5i in 2012. At the time it had a small exhaust leak. However, since I am going off to school in the fall, my father insisted that I get this fixed, and no part of me wanted to shell out money to repair something that had gotten through the state inspection at least twice.

 

I, unfortunately, lost that battle. And took my car to a garage that is owned by a family friend. My father insisted that the replacement exhaust would be comparable to the stock exhaust.

 

Last Friday, I had a scheduled appointment for my car last Friday at 8 am. I got there on time, but my mechanic didn't show up till 9:30. He said the parts wouldn't be in till 11. So, deciding it would be pointless for me to drive home and then turn around, I stayed. However, one of the pipes did not arrive with the shipment, and I went home, with another appointment for 8 am on Wednesday. Wednesday rolled around, and I took my car in but did not stay. As I would later find out that it wouldn't be finished till 5 pm on Thursday (my father also insisted that I do the inspection now so I had to have more money put into it). When I picked my car up on Thursday night I was met basically what I would call a nightmare.

 

The new exhaust did nothing to improve the sound of the vehicle. Also, where the stock exhaust outlets point straight out of the rear of the car, the new exhaust pipes angle down, so it looks hideous. In addition, the most concerning part of this, is that the exhaust pipe is narrower than the stock exhaust. So, from those who have more experience in the matter, what should I do? Should I worry about the fact that the exhaust is narrower? Should I re-replace my exhaust or leave it alone? Should I put new exhaust tips on it to make it look better? Regardless I'm upset. Thank you for the time.

[MrTris]

Welcome to cars, dude -- If this is a nightmare to you, give up now -- it doesn't get any easier than what you just experienced.

 

Depending on where the exhaust leak was, it really shouldn't have been a problem. It could have been patched by any reputable exhuast shop, but I take it you took it to someone who doesn't weld exhausts for a living?

 

As far as the turnt down (sorry, I had to) tip, sounds like maybe he ordered an Outback muffler for your car, as those are the only ones that come that way, stock. Yes, you can cut it off and hit up O'Reilly's or Autozone and snag a bolt-on tip for less than $20 anywhere in the CONUS. Probably less online somewhere and can be done with tools you might have in the dorms -- a hacksaw, and a crescent wrench, if nothing else.

 

What do you mean the sound didn't improve? What did it sound like before? What were you expecting the repair to fix/change?

 

 

For now, since it would appear that you aren't as emotionally invested in the appearance or performance of the car as most here are (

my father insisted that I get this fixed, and no part of me wanted to shell out money to repair something that had gotten through the state inspection at least twice.

) I suggest you forget about it and move on with school.

 

Should you decide you'd like to fix it the way YOU want it, then you'll have to come to terms with putting up the money to do so.

 

Let us know what you decide! We love to welcome new members to our addiction.

[N2L]

I'm not sure how serious this exhaust leak was, but this should have been a 30-50 dollar repair. When my car was shipped: the truck driver broke my pipes in 3 places, and dented the mid pipe. I had it all repaired for 45 dollars. Exhaust welding is nothing new, and shouldn't have required a full exhaust replacement.

[JBear]

If you're old enough to "go off to school" then you're old enough to put your foot down about your own car, particularly if you're the one who bought it and you're the one paying to take care of it. Your father obviously doesn't know any more about cars than you do, it sounds like he knows less. You allowed yourself to be bullied into something stupid. Perhaps they were just taking advantage of your "family friend" status; but coming from someone who was born and raised in the garage industry, this place sounds like a dirt bag operation. It's too bad you didn't join up here two years ago when you bought the car. Sorry, I woke up grumpy today, I probably shouldn't be so abrasive. Your family situation is none of my business to criticize or instigate problems with.

 

Regardless, there are essentially two kinds of car owners: enthusiasts and victims. The difference between the two is knowledge. If you don't have it you need get it, or find someone who has it- and the more specialized their knowledge is the better. I know quite a bit about some vehicles, not so much about my current LGT. It's why I'm here. If the first question I asked when I got here had been where there's a reputable Subaru specialist in my area, I could have saved myself THOUSANDS of dollars and not been a victim of a typical dishonest repair facility. I knew better, and still let myself get taken hard because I was too lazy to do some homework. Take the initiative to either become an expert on your own car yourself, or to find someone who already is and go to them with a plan rather than getting jerked around by some douche who doesn't care about anything but your money because your clueless father ramrodded you into it. That you've made it two years with this car and your biggest nightmare so far has been an exhaust leak means you're extremely lucky. Let this experience inspire you to not get taken for all you're worth when something that actually is a real problem inevitably presents itself. Sorry, still grumpy. I need some coffee. Good luck.

[MrTris]

If you're old enough to "go off to school" then you're old enough to put your foot down about your own car, particularly if you're the one who bought it and you're the one paying to take care of it. Your father obviously doesn't know any more about cars than you do, it sounds like he knows less. You allowed yourself to be bullied into something stupid. Perhaps they were just taking advantage of your "family friend" status; but coming from someone who was born and raised in the garage industry, this place sounds like a dirt bag operation. It's too bad you didn't join up here two years ago when you bought the car. Sorry, I woke up grumpy today, I probably shouldn't be so abrasive. Your family situation is none of my business to criticize or instigate problems with.

 

Regardless, there are essentially two kinds of car owners: enthusiasts and victims. The difference between the two is knowledge. If you don't have it you need get it, or find someone who has it- and the more specialized their knowledge is the better. I know quite a bit about some vehicles, not so much about my current LGT. It's why I'm here. If the first question I asked when I got here had been where there's a reputable Subaru specialist in my area, I could have saved myself THOUSANDS of dollars and not been a victim of a typical dishonest repair facility. I knew better, and still let myself get taken hard because I was too lazy to do some homework. Take the initiative to either become an expert on your own car yourself, or to find someone who already is and go to them with a plan rather than getting jerked around by some douche who doesn't care about anything but your money because your clueless father ramrodded you into it. That you've made it two years with this car and your biggest nightmare so far has been an exhaust leak means you're extremely lucky. Let this experience inspire you to not get taken for all you're worth when something that actually is a real problem inevitably presents itself. Sorry, still grumpy. I need some coffee. Good luck.

 

I am intrigued by your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

That said -- I'm the reigning asshole around here, and you're treading on my turf!

 

OP, JBear is on-point; though, I'm sure we can all relate to overbearing parents in some way. If you're paying for the car, you pretty much get to decide what to do --or not do-- with it. What's he gonna do? Hold college over your head? Not let you come back home on breaks? All dick moves that are honestly, rather petulent and childish.

 

And you know the funny thing about this? Most kids PAY money for exhaust leaks -- 3" or so, to the tune of $500+, all in the name of "performance" and/or 'dat boxer rumble'.

 

Bottom line: If you're big enough to go to away school, you're big enough to make these kinds of choices on your own and tell dad exactly where he can stick it. Have to start somewhere, right?

 

Hang around here a bit more, sounds like you could use some influence -- just one of the many services we offer.

[boxman]

If you're old enough to "go off to school" then you're old enough to put your foot down about your own car, particularly if you're the one who bought it and you're the one paying to take care of it. Your father obviously doesn't know any more about cars than you do, it sounds like he knows less. You allowed yourself to be bullied into something stupid. Perhaps they were just taking advantage of your "family friend" status; but coming from someone who was born and raised in the garage industry, this place sounds like a dirt bag operation. It's too bad you didn't join up here two years ago when you bought the car. Sorry, I woke up grumpy today, I probably shouldn't be so abrasive. Your family situation is none of my business to criticize or instigate problems with.

 

Regardless, there are essentially two kinds of car owners: enthusiasts and victims. The difference between the two is knowledge. If you don't have it you need get it, or find someone who has it- and the more specialized their knowledge is the better. I know quite a bit about some vehicles, not so much about my current LGT. It's why I'm here. If the first question I asked when I got here had been where there's a reputable Subaru specialist in my area, I could have saved myself THOUSANDS of dollars and not been a victim of a typical dishonest repair facility. I knew better, and still let myself get taken hard because I was too lazy to do some homework. Take the initiative to either become an expert on your own car yourself, or to find someone who already is and go to them with a plan rather than getting jerked around by some douche who doesn't care about anything but your money because your clueless father ramrodded you into it. That you've made it two years with this car and your biggest nightmare so far has been an exhaust leak means you're extremely lucky. Let this experience inspire you to not get taken for all you're worth when something that actually is a real problem inevitably presents itself. Sorry, still grumpy. I need some coffee. Good luck.

 

Now that's a case study in doubly hard learned lessons...

 

The real point of victimry is that the kid has a stupid and domineering dad, that's the recipe for years and years of heart ache on many more topics than just cars.

 

And for those of you advocating that he tell his dad to go stuff it over exhaust...you're right, he should but reality is that dude's going to be dependent on his parent's good will for a few more years and unless he has an overnight epiphany that allows for his gonads to drop whilst simultaneously having the fortitude to strike out on his own he'll need to be a bit more realistic in how to appease his dad and still manage to achieve his own goals.

[MrTris]

Now that's a case study in doubly hard learned lessons...

 

The real point of victimry is that the kid has a stupid and domineering dad, that's the recipe for years and years of heart ache on many more topics than just cars.

 

And for those of you advocating that he tell his dad to go stuff it over exhaust...you're right, he should but reality is that dude's going to be dependent on his parent's good will for a few more years and unless he has an overnight epiphany that allows for his gonads to drop whilst simultaneously having the fortitude to strike out on his own he'll need to be a bit more realistic in how to appease his dad and still manage to achieve his own goals.

 

That's the kind of balanced and levelheaded contribution that'll earn you mod status later on.

 

Watch it, bub.

[boxman]

It's just an artifact of being old...

[JBear]

Now that I've had all day to drink coffee and chill out... I'd like to give the kid and his dad the benefit of the doubt here. There's nothing saying his dad cared one way or the other how or where it got fixed, only that it got fixed. Understandable sentiment. Got a family friend who has a shop, well, it should be a given that he could send his kid there and have him taken care of. I really have no idea how it all went down. Either way, just an unfortunate situation all around. Not the end of the world though, and hopefully there's a lesson learned here for future reference.

[MrTris]

I don't think OP is coming back. . Poor kid.

[ShrubberySalesman]

MrTris, I am back. And unfortunately you were right about the overbearing parents, and JBear got it right with me knowing more about cars than my father. In addition, my parents have agreed to help me out on college expenses when they can, so I am trying to stay on their good side for as long as possible.

 

Now that I've had a few days to cool down, I have decided to just replace the exhaust tips for the moment, and go back and hopefully get a better exhaust system next summer.

 

Overall, lessons learned.

Thank you for all the comments.

[Hannya]

Jolly good show! Show your Legacy some love and affection and she will magically animate panties all ontop the passenger and backseats.

[BX77]

Kid here is some advice, go to school, study hard, bang College Girls, save your money. Don't worry about your exhaust, it will be the least of your problems. Plenty of time in the future to play with cars.

[MrTris]

Jolly good show! Show your Legacy some love and affection and she will magically animate panties all ontop the passenger and backseats.

 

Kid here is some advice, go to school, study hard, bang College Girls, save your money. Don't worry about your exhaust, it will be the least of your problems. Plenty of time in the future to play with cars.

 

Both excellent advice, however, @Hannya, he has an NA -- no panty animations. U burn dat pakalolo, bro?

 

Goto school, study hard, and buy an LGT -- Properly modded and correctly driven, it'll animate panties aplenty; invest in Chux pads to preserve the leather, as sploosh juice isn't a protectant, and any marks aren't likely to be . . . sanitary.

[Squad51]

invest in Chux pads to preserve the leather, as sploosh juice isn't a protectant, and any marks aren't likely to be . . . sanitary.

 

Aaaaahhhhhh Tris... you have a way with words that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Mike07LGT]

Both excellent advice, however, @Hannya, he has an NA -- no panty animations. U burn dat pakalolo, bro?

 

Goto school, study hard, and buy an LGT -- Properly modded and correctly driven, it'll animate panties aplenty; invest in Chux pads to preserve the leather, as sploosh juice isn't a protectant, and any marks aren't likely to be . . . sanitary.

 

Just make sure you get a manual transmission...

[JBear]

...and remember to set the parking brake before starting anything that may require Chux pads later.

[samcuomo]

I hated the stock mufflers/honda civic sized y pipe and Hogzaust + Pa winters killed my exhaust flanges. So I have a very cheap solution for you.

Sawzall + turndown pipe. Then keep the part you cut off for inspection time,get a piece of pipe, clamp it back on, go get inspected, Take back off and put the straight back on.

 

I have a friend that does exhaust work that's making me a 3 inch straight pipe, so this is temporary, but if you hate the way your exhaust is this costs 11 bucks.

 

 

TURNDOWN FOR H'WHAT