Engine Knock after 2 weeks. (CPA)

When buying from a dealer....
Auction - no warranties
Purchase - if Webuycars Category A, there may be a warranty. If category B there is no warranty and its sold as-is.
 
Its like buying a house. There are no warranties unless faulty workmanship was intentionally hidden.

I read the other day someone wants to sue the ex home owner after having owned the house for 10 years, after a crack suddenly formed. That will go nowhere.
 
cyberghost47 said:
I decided in the spirit of good faith and not wanting to go the legal route to find a compromise and offer to pay R20k towards the repair costs.

From my personal research and comments of others this is an issue that happens with these cars and it's of such a nature that none of the parties involved could determine when and how it would arise. So to some extent I think it's fair that all parties involved should carry some of the risk.

I have spoken to the dealer principal and he seems happy with my contribution of R20k. So I think that will be the best course of action.

The quote from Subaru came to a total amount of R52k and as such the dealership is till carrying the brunt of the burden.

Thank you so much for taking the time for sharing your perspective and experience, it really has helped in allowing me to come to this conclusion.
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That's a very good resolution to the issue. You'll also have the satisfaction of knowing that the engine has been properly sorted.
 
I bought a used vehicle once which also started having big end knock soon after I purchased it. They filled the oil with an additive to thicken the oil and suppress knocking sounds. This was pre-CPA. Bunch of sharks out there.
 
riscbroker said:
That's a very good resolution to the issue. You'll also have the satisfaction of knowing that the engine has been properly sorted.
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Unfortunately the dealership has backtracked on our phone call and has decided they are not willing to contribute more than R20k as well. I have been left no other choice than to log a complaint as after trying to have discussion about this yesterday my phone calls were blatantly ignored.
 
cyberghost47 said:
Unfortunately the dealership has backtracked on our phone call and has decided they are not willing to contribute more than R20k as well. I have been left no other choice than to log a complaint as after trying to have discussion about this yesterday my phone calls were blatantly ignored.
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I'm wondering why the dealer went from from a firm offer of R15K initially to being happy to pay R32K (after you offered a contribution of R20K) and now being not willing to pay more than R20K.
 
riscbroker said:
I'm wondering why the dealer went from from a firm offer of R15K initially to being happy to pay R32K (after you offered a contribution of R20K) and now being not willing to pay more than R20K.
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Car dealers think they're the most shrewd negotiators out there and are probably just trying to reduce their cost as much as possible while making sure the customer doesn't create too much headache for them.
 
riscbroker said:
I'm wondering why the dealer went from from a firm offer of R15K initially to being happy to pay R32K (after you offered a contribution of R20K) and now being not willing to pay more than R20K.
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He made the argument that Subaru in JHB can get the parts for cheaper, but he can't provide it in writing and the prices he mentioned were ex VAT. After my investigation I came to the conclusion that the prices are actually the same. I suspect that he is just attempting to hardball me again.

Also for more context. As I mentioned before the steering rack also failed a week before the engine did. This means that the vehicle was in no state to be "driven hard" so I really don't think they can pin that on me as I was driving carefully fearing that the power steering might fail completely.
 
Time to get a lawyer up to speed, for the amount in question I think it would be worth it
 
As I said before, you're in a difficult position. You mentioned quotes and reference letters from RMI mechanics. What is the gist of the reference letters?
 
riscbroker said:
As I said before, you're in a difficult position. You mentioned quotes and reference letters from RMI mechanics. What is the gist of the reference letters?
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I could possibly also get a reference stating that this is not a issue caused by negligent driving as their own mechanic mentioned that to me.
 
Neither of these ''references'' make any mention of the possible cause of engine damage and will probably have no bearing whatsoever on any claim you may make.

You can try negotiating with the selling dealer again or refer the matter to the MIOSA and hope that they will entertain your claim. Or talk to a lawyer. Good luck with whichever course you choose.
 
Dam....pity as I thought the resolution was really a good one for all parties. The Ombudsman route will take time... but you should win..
 
riscbroker said:
I'm wondering why the dealer went from from a firm offer of R15K initially to being happy to pay R32K (after you offered a contribution of R20K) and now being not willing to pay more than R20K.
Click to expand...

After involving the MIOSA the dealer principle came back to me and accepted my offer to contribute R20k towards repairs and to cover the rest. We are busy getting everything in writing now so hopefully things can get moving tomorrow.
 
Goodness, this thread is like a warning on not buying "performance" cars 2nd hand. I've had so many people I know have engine rebuilds and the car never performed the same after (performance and reliability), so I wouldn't want to hassle with a car that needs an engine rebuild. Make sure you get warranties on that engine rebuild. And if you have any trouble early on, best get it checked by 3rd party. A lot of bad rebuilds have issues which they "resolve" afterward (but not really) and then as soon as it is out of warranty you are back to square 1, turns out they messed up the rebuild but covered it up until the warranty expires kind of situation.

I also suspect court would have cost you a lot of money and I doubt you would also not have gotten 100% of the money. My reasoning being, it is very likely you drove the engine without oil. I realise that is because the engine is in a bad way, but they could still try make the case it is negligent to some extent. Not to mention legal fees which would be epic.
 
cyberghost47 said:
I decided in the spirit of good faith and not wanting to go the legal route to find a compromise and offer to pay R20k towards the repair costs.

From my personal research and comments of others this is an issue that happens with these cars and it's of such a nature that none of the parties involved could determine when and how it would arise. So to some extent I think it's fair that all parties involved should carry some of the risk.

I have spoken to the dealer principal and he seems happy with my contribution of R20k. So I think that will be the best course of action.

The quote from Subaru came to a total amount of R52k and as such the dealership is till carrying the brunt of the burden.

Thank you so much for taking the time for sharing your perspective and experience, it really has helped in allowing me to come to this conclusion.
Click to expand...
A wise move.
As a paying stakeholder, you can now also have an equal say in the quality of the repair job, and can call some of the shots. Plenty of Scooby motors have been rebuilt, just make sure that they don't take any shortcuts, follow the manufacturers recommended tolerances on things like the bores, crank regrind, head skimming, valve stem play etc. Ask to see the engineering firm's reports, and hold them to account.
Good luck, and get that Scooby thumping again!
 
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RonSwanson said:
A wise move.
As a paying stakeholder, you can now also have an equal say in the quality of the repair job, and can call some of the shots. Plenty of Scooby motors have been rebuilt, just make sure that they don't take any shortcuts, follow the manufacturers recommended tolerances on things like the bores, crank regrind, head skimming, valve stem play etc. Ask to see the engineering firm's reports, and hold them to account.
Good luck, and get that Scooby thumping again!
Click to expand...
Exactly my thinking. I have set some conditions pertaining to my contribution, one of which is that it must be Subaru Port Elizabeth that fixes the engine. A bunch of guys have recommended Lester from that workshop to do it as he is very experienced and been doing it for decades so I'm quite certain my car is in good hands.

Very excited to get this girl back on the roads

IMG_20220109_210819.jpg
 
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