ItalianPasta Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Long story short, I bought a 05 lgt 5mt from a used car dealership in philadelphia. I found the car looking clean, inside and out. Whoa a 3yr/36k mile warranty too? As a 19 y/o, I knew i was inexperienced, and that the dealers would take advantage of this if possible. I did not see my own mechanic following suit, though... I fell in love, and took the car to my mechanic for an inspection. The clutch was heavy he said, the wheel bearing is bad, but turbo is strong! This car would easily pass inspection in 3 months!!! In my mind, a subaru with 80k+ miles and a good turbo meant a good owner!!! I was soooo sooo soo so wrong I took my car to rafferty subaru (I wanted to in the beginning) to get a full run down of the condition. They called today and basically said I had to replace $3,000 of suspension parts to PASS INSPECTION, and that my warranty company REFUSED COVERAGE. Warranty people said that all the bushings, braces, supports, and whatnot were damaged from the get-go. Take it back to the dealership and get your money back. 4 months after the fact?!?!?! I have NO CLUE where to start or how to go about handling this. I had a bad feeling but dismissed it because of my experience level, and the praise from my (used to be) personal mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin85193 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 man, philly laws suck. NJ just have to pass emissions I don't know if this is true, but doesn't the dealer have to sell you a car that will pass inspection? Ironically enough, I just bought an 05 lgt from Philly about a month 1/2 ago. I'm sure if I was going through PA inspection it probably would of failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewLegGT67 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Sorry to hear this. I guess PA is pretty anal as far as inspections go. This reminds me when I lived in NYC over 15 years ago. A car inspection basically meant having a mechanic inserting a probe up your car's ass and you had to pay pass or fail. Now in NJ just emissions (free state inspection). GL with getting this resolved. BTW, what was the issue with the suspension? I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Well, first thing I would recommend doing is getting a detailed list of what's wrong, and if you can, get the dealership to estimate how new the damage is (i.e., if it's been broken since before you got the car) - sounds like that's the position your warranty company is taking already. Take that information, and with a cool head, go to the dealer you bought the car from and explain the situation - you need to have clear expectations as to what would be an acceptable course of action to take - options are good to give, too, but from what you have posted here, the only acceptable options to me would be either refund the purchase price of the car or pay to have the Subaru dealership do the repair (I wouldn't trust the used car dealer at all since they have already lied/misrepresented the car to you, including providing a warranty that apparently is worthless!). It looks like you have the law on your side in PA - law 73 P.S. § 201-1 – 201-9.3 (Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law) - I am not even kind of a lawyer, but as it reads, it appears pretty clear that the dealers actions would be considered "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" under the law in at least a few of the definitions provided. You might have to lawyer up in order to get anything out of the dealer, but as the law reads, it looks like they would be on the hook to help you and would be fined by the state. Good luck - many used car dealers are pretty much slime, so odds are they will be pushing back hard, so do your homework before you confront them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Most of that $3,000 labor quote from the dealer is probably labor. I'm curious to know exactly which parts they're saying are bad. You can get new front lower control arms which come with two new bushings and a new ball joint for around $200 each, and they're pretty easy to install, providing you don't break the pinch bolt removing the ball joint. It's also entirely possible the dealership is taking you for a ride and not being completely honest, so I wouldn't 100% believe what the dealer is saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragman Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 $3k in stock suspension bits? Seems crazy dealer pricing is in effect. Post the itemized list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halwith Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 You should take it somewhere else. Ask family and friends for a shop with no serial rapists like this dealer seems to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesuby Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 man, philly laws suck. NJ just have to pass emissions I don't know if this is true, but doesn't the dealer have to sell you a car that will pass inspection? Ironically enough, I just bought an 05 lgt from Philly about a month 1/2 ago. I'm sure if I was going through PA inspection it probably would of failed. I'm not sure you'd be getting a good inspection if serious suspension problems are ignored. NJ inspections were bad news mostly because they were performed by assholes who got their jollies failing cars. I recall being failed for an aftermarket shift knob which did not display the shift pattern...really. Now we have come 180 degrees and cars sail out the door with no brake linings and broken ball joints. There has to be some middle ground. BTW, if OP is from South Philly I'm sure some neighbors and friends can suggest ways to convince the scumbag dealer of his errors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItalianPasta Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Vehicle fails inspection for the following.... I appreciate the replies, guys! -------------------------------------------------- Front lower ball joints - estimate 411 front lower control arm bushings - 454 front sway bars, end links, and bushings - 253 rear trailing arm bushings - 397 rear upper control arm bushings - 339 rear lateral links - 314 left front axle - 311 ----------------------------------------- total..... 2,500 + tax. Called the warranty company and the dealer and argued that I wanted my money back since they took it in the first place, for an illegitimate car. Thankfully, PA laws are on my side, and they said they will work with the dealer to fix it. I am scheduled to bring it in this coming tues. The dealer is going to fix AND INSPECT it. If they fail to properly fix the issues, and put a sticker on the car, they can be charged criminally. I doubt they want that! As i see it, so far so good. Anything I should be aware of/look out for? Thanks again guys! God I love the subaru community already And yes, I will be getting their work inspected afterwards XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItalianPasta Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 $3k in stock suspension bits? Seems crazy dealer pricing is in effect. Post the itemized list. Most of that $3,000 labor quote from the dealer is probably labor. I'm curious to know exactly which parts they're saying are bad. You can get new front lower control arms which come with two new bushings and a new ball joint for around $200 each, and they're pretty easy to install, providing you don't break the pinch bolt removing the ball joint. It's also entirely possible the dealership is taking you for a ride and not being completely honest, so I wouldn't 100% believe what the dealer is saying. Yeah I figured as much. My main concern is using the warranty for the reason I paid for it in the first place. Im glad I took it there because my mechanic would have been like "yeah ive worked on turbo imports for 25 years and this car is perfect!"..... and then I would have no warranty work done, AND a dangerous suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Sounds good. If all else fails, $150 Harbor Freight 20 ton shop press and some custom dies for pressing out the bushings will help you out immensely. And an impact gun. And a ball joint removal tool. I have done these bushing replacements quite easily, except for ONE of my ball joints, which was quite the PITA. Good luck and reach out to locals for help if you're in a bind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItalianPasta Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 ^ also maybe a garage lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 They can be done on the car while it's outside on jackstands If push come to shove, I have tools for this and I'm about 30 minutes south of PHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 If you have problems in the future, we aren't too far from Philly (about 1-1.5hrs) and can help out with all this stuff. We also work with warranty companies as well and can get stuff like this pushed through. Let us know if we can help. -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/153798190.jpg Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Enthusiasts since 2001. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quick4dr Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 +1 for AZP their team can get it done right, and done honestly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewLegGT67 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 +1 for AZP their team can get it done right, and done honestly! I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesuby Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 And it's worth the ride. I wish AZP would get something going (discount rooms) with the Kenilworth Inn (walking distance) for extensive work requiring an overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsurge Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Bring a cot. I'm sure they won't mind if you bring coffee and bagels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapture Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 dude they are trying to rape you! please stay away from stealerships!! that estimate is laughable wtf id like to see this lgt i live in philly(fishtown) if u want some help/advice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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