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[OM] Subaru Woes (OT), was Grump

Subject: [OM] Subaru Woes (OT), was Grump
From: Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 09:02:27 -0400
For those who might share some modicum of interest in lately  
chronicled Subaru woes . . . I was prepared to give my mechanic the  
go-ahead for $1500 head-gasket repair, but the Memorial Day weekend  
stood in the way of work actually beginning until, he said, Wednesday  
(yesterday US EDT). With time on my hands I dug into the World Wide  
Web with some vigor, and discovered that Subaru had issued an  
advisory on certain of its 2.5L engines up to my model year of 2002.  
Ah! I thought. If certain conditions were met, Subaru extended the  
warranty to eight years or 100,000 miles. Promising, I thought. But  
then the Web was replete with horror stories of people who had the  
same rush of anticipated salvation as I was experiencing, only to  
have their hopes dashed upon the reefs of reality lying just beneath  
the turbid waters of their anxiety when told _their_ engines didn't  
qualify.

Sigh.

So I called the Subaru dealer where I bought the car on Tuesday  
morning past. The service manager took the VIN number and, as feared,  
told me, I, too, was not eligible. But, she said. _BUT_ bring us the  
car. We will inspect it, and check your service history, and it may  
be that Subaru will contribute toward the repairs. Ah! I thought. The  
old Get-'Em-Into-OUR-Shop scam! My mechanic, however, advised that I  
follow her advice. He said he had dealt with her in the past and  
found her to be honest and reputable (one mechanic talking about  
another, eh? <g>). He also said he would include a copy of my service  
record, which would show I'd treated my car respectfully. So the the  
lure, the hope--in realtiy to HOPE of HOPE--that perhaps a few  
dollars could be saved caused me to deploy the AAA card (Plus) and  
have the vehicle towed to Augusta, Maine, to Charlie's Subaru Service  
Department.

I knew, like those poor Aussies going over the top at Gallipoli, that  
I was doomed. But I went anyway, as they did. Nor did I pray, because  
God does not answer such selfish and self-serving prayers. One of my  
favorite lines from a country song is this one: "If you want to hear  
God laugh, tell Him your plans."

The next morning the service manager called to say that the new head  
gasket would be installed under warranty.

The money I would have spent on a head gasket now must be given to an  
oral surgeon to repair my dropped and shattered jaw.

We pick up the car this evening. I still can't believe it.


--Bob Whitmire
www.bobwhitmire.com




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