ShadowImg Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 So, potentially(?) the moment all Subaru owners dread has come for me. I had my 60k done by APM, and all was well - except they did an intake pressure test and found the inlet hose leaking. I have an extended warranty on the car, so I took it to Subaru to have them fix/replace the inlet hose. Upon taking it there, they decide that the engine is knocking on the passenger side, and proceed to do all kinds of investigation, including contacting SoA for help. Now, the car is has an AVO v2 Intercooler, Invidia V3 DP, SPTv2 Catback, and an AccessPort tune. They decide they will blanket deny the warranty because of the AccessPort. Not terribly shocking, but the inlet hose issue could just as easily be the cause. Whatever, that is a whole different discussion. I have a dedicated race car as well, and the need for a tow-capable vehicle is coming real there. Wife's sticking with a Mini, so that's not gonna do it. That would put me with the spec.B, tow vehicle, race car, and wife's car. Not gonna work out. So I was heading towards selling/trading the spec.B on a tow vehicle in the next couple of years either way. So now the debate. I assume that Subaru will not cover my SB repair - it'd be surprising if they do. Assuming that they do not, I will have a spec.B that is driving but apparently a block that is on its way to its demise. Should I: A) Trade it in as is to a dealer on a tow-rig, and let them deal with it B) Replace the SB with just a bone stock EJ255, return it to stock, and either trade in or private party it C) Is it likely anyone out there wants to buy it with the bad block in order to build an SB to their taste rather than mine? D) Comedy option? I'm the second owner on this guy. It's an 09 spec.B in OBP with 57k on the clock. 60k service was just done, compression was good, and everything was well checked. Trans fluids have been done every 15k since I owned it (twice). Oil has always been syn (amsoil or castrol) at <3250 mi. So, WWLGTdotCOM do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holla Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 See what you can get for a trade in. If it's anything over 10K I'd just go that route, otherwise you're pretty much just donating your time on any of the other options. It would also be worth your time to put the stock parts back on and sell the mods here in the classifieds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Yeah, if I traded it in, it would be return to stock. I don't really know the ethics/legalities around trading in a car with known issues to a dealer though. I know an OBP 09 spec.B is a rarity, but it's a rarity to a very small crowd of people who would care, so figured I'd at least get some input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snm95ls Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 A knock on the passanger side? That isn't really a clear diagnosis at all IMO. What kind of knock, and why do they/you think the SB is on its way out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Yeah, it's anything but a clear diagnosis. They believe it to be rod knock, it's a stock/unmodified 09 EJ255. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Drivesabox Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Have they verified this with a stethoscope? I never imagined an engine with 57k would be on its way out. I would definitely get a second opinion. And if it is running fine and you do want to trade it in, don't take it to that dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 They contacted SOA, and SOA apparently sent inspectors & "master techs" who have been inspecting/documenting it for 5 days now, without providing me any update. They authorized a rental (nice), but with how long it's taking to "determine" and "inspect" I'm not hopeful for my outcome with them. Last I spoke with them, they had not even looked at the leaking inlet that I actually took it in for yet. I've called them 3 times today without getting any new information, so yeah, I don't actually even know. Regardless of the outcome, it will leave the dealer and go straight to APM who I trust for a second opinion. If I do need to replace a block, it'll be them and not the dealer. Just waiting to hear what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Well, sounds like the consensus is to just trade it in. Going to talk to APM here and see what a new SB will cost. Subaru finally blanket denied my warranty after 7 days of inspections/determination, saying they're 100% sure that the ecu modifications caused the failure (and somehow not the leaking turbo inlet causing unmetered air to enter). I'm guessing people don't like picking up project cars like this, which isn't too shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holla Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It's an awesome shell for someone to do a rebuild with, but what are they willing to pay for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 That is of course the question. I think I'm going to get a trade-in idea from a dealer, plus a quote on a new EJ255 SB from APM, and then maybe throw a FS up at that price and see if anyone wants to bite. Seems to be illegal to trade it in without disclosing the issue, so don't want to get into weird areas there. Worst case is I guess I do the SB replacement and then list it after or trade it in then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn06SpecB Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 See what they offer you as-is and then list it for sale here. Depending on when that is I might be interested and rebuild it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Just got it back and went and visited a dealer to look at a trade-in. They offered me 12 for it as-is. I'll put a listing up for it at that, along with what it's got with it and original parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn06SpecB Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 12k wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07LGT Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 12k wow! Yea if you think just for a bit that Theres an issue with the engine id trade it in like yesterday for that amount 03 WRB WRX (RIP) 04 JBP STI (sold) 07 DGM Legacy GT (RIP) 12 OBP STI (DD) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Well, KBB dealer trade-in value is ~17.3k - so I don't think they're being too nuts. If they can get the cost of the replacement down to 3500, they can probably list it at 18.5 and still do decently. I would have taken it, but the car they had wasn't what I wanted. It's posted up here, and I've also worked out to get the SB replacement done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.