Did I Get Ripped?

[Larry Weil]

I have an 04 Impreza 2.5TS Wagon, Automatic, approx 118,500 miles.

Last Friday I had a problem while driving around the Burlington, VT area,
which is about 3 hours from home, so I was definitley an out-of-towner
when I took it to Burlington Subaru on Saturday morning.

The car had been running rough on Friday, and Friday night the "check
engine" light came on. Their reading of the code said that the #2 plug
had misfired.

What they then told me was that the culprit was that the valve cover
gasket had failed, and that the leaking oil caused the spark plug wire to
fail. They also said that the coil was weak. The total cost, for
replacing the valve cover gaskets, the coil, the wires, and the spark
plugs was $661. Of this $273 was labor (3.5 hrs at $78/hr).

The most surprising part of this was that the coil was $181 for the part
only. I had had a coil replaced in a 97 Impreza some while back for $40
for the part, so I'm wondering if the new coil is really that different
or is this all inflation.

My main question is whether I was oversold. Did I really need to replace
the coil, or did they just add this on to get a bit more out of this out-
of-towner who they figure they are unlikely to see again.

What is ironic is I am planning next month to trade in the car on an 08.
I wish I had done so last month! But at this point the quandry is if I
should now keep the car a few months longer until I can get this paid up,
especially considering that I now have a brand new ignition system and
the car is running great, or should I get rid of it ASAP before something
else goes wrong?

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I have an 04 Impreza 2.5TS Wagon, Automatic, approx 118,500 miles.

Last Friday I had a problem while driving around the Burlington, VT area,
which is about 3 hours from home, so I was definitley an out-of-towner
when I took it to Burlington Subaru on Saturday morning.

The car had been running rough on Friday, and Friday night the "check
engine" light came on. Their reading of the code said that the #2 plug
had misfired.

What they then told me was that the culprit was that the valve cover
gasket had failed, and that the leaking oil caused the spark plug wire to
fail. They also said that the coil was weak. The total cost, for
replacing the valve cover gaskets, the coil, the wires, and the spark
plugs was $661. Of this $273 was labor (3.5 hrs at $78/hr).

The most surprising part of this was that the coil was $181 for the part
only. I had had a coil replaced in a 97 Impreza some while back for $40
for the part, so I'm wondering if the new coil is really that different
or is this all inflation.

My main question is whether I was oversold. Did I really need to replace
the coil, or did they just add this on to get a bit more out of this out-
of-towner who they figure they are unlikely to see again.

What is ironic is I am planning next month to trade in the car on an 08.
I wish I had done so last month! But at this point the quandry is if I
should now keep the car a few months longer until I can get this paid up,
especially considering that I now have a brand new ignition system and
the car is running great, or should I get rid of it ASAP before something
else goes wrong?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Who knows? 'IF' you didn't need the coil or, 'IF' the dealership has an
'unreasonable' markup on parts - you may have paid a little more. You
could try pricing that part at some other dealerships. Or at an online
place like www.subarugenuineparts.com . But really, it may be
impractical to pursue it.

And you could show the next owner the receipts for the recent work.
Might be worth a little xtra on the trade - don't expect a lot though.
Chances are a car with that mileage is gonna go to the auction house anyway.

Um...if it takes a few months to pay up that amount - might I suggest
you should reconsider a new car?

;^)


Carl

 

[bigjimpack]

Coil was $73 on that website- list was $99 so you got cracked. Call
the deakership manager andlet them know you were ripped. Tell him you
will call the local Trouble shooter on TV if he wont doanything and
post this everywhere .

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Coil was $73 on that website- list was $99 so you got cracked. Call
the deakership manager andlet them know you were ripped. Tell him you
will call the local Trouble shooter on TV if he wont doanything and
post this everywhere .

YOUCH!

If you paid with a credit card - there could be some leverage through
that way I suppose. And speaking to Subaru's regional Rep. might be
helpful too. (Um, be sure to let us know what dealership this is if
things go poorly)

good luck


Carl

 

[Larry Weil]

(e-mail address removed) wrote in

Coil was $73 on that website- list was $99 so you got cracked. Call
the deakership manager andlet them know you were ripped. Tell him you
will call the local Trouble shooter on TV if he wont doanything and
post this everywhere .

I looked at a website too, and saw the $99 MSRP one. Turns out on
further investigation that the $99 one is for the turbo models, which use
four of them, one for each plug. The one for non-turbo is $175 MSRP, so
they still marked it up a little bit.

 

[Tony Hwang]

I have an 04 Impreza 2.5TS Wagon, Automatic, approx 118,500 miles.

Last Friday I had a problem while driving around the Burlington, VT area,
which is about 3 hours from home, so I was definitley an out-of-towner
when I took it to Burlington Subaru on Saturday morning.

The car had been running rough on Friday, and Friday night the "check
engine" light came on. Their reading of the code said that the #2 plug
had misfired.

What they then told me was that the culprit was that the valve cover
gasket had failed, and that the leaking oil caused the spark plug wire to
fail. They also said that the coil was weak. The total cost, for
replacing the valve cover gaskets, the coil, the wires, and the spark
plugs was $661. Of this $273 was labor (3.5 hrs at $78/hr).

The most surprising part of this was that the coil was $181 for the part
only. I had had a coil replaced in a 97 Impreza some while back for $40
for the part, so I'm wondering if the new coil is really that different
or is this all inflation.

My main question is whether I was oversold. Did I really need to replace
the coil, or did they just add this on to get a bit more out of this out-
of-towner who they figure they are unlikely to see again.

What is ironic is I am planning next month to trade in the car on an 08.
I wish I had done so last month! But at this point the quandry is if I
should now keep the car a few months longer until I can get this paid up,
especially considering that I now have a brand new ignition system and
the car is running great, or should I get rid of it ASAP before something
else goes wrong?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Hmmm,
No CE light?

 

[bigjimpack]

No on the above mentioned site the non turbo coil is $99

 

[Larry Weil]

(e-mail address removed) wrote in

No on the above mentioned site the non turbo coil is $99

The receipt shows PN 22433AA570, which is one of the ones listed for $175
MSRP.

 

[clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada]

Coil was $73 on that website- list was $99 so you got cracked.
 Call the deakership manager andlet them know you were ripped.
 Tell him you will call the local Trouble shooter on TV if he wont doanything and
post this everywhere .

You think you got ripped because you got charged more for a part than
you can buy it on the internet?
Give your head a real good shake and be carefull you don't bruise (or
loose) what little brain you have up there.

It costs the dealer money to stock that part. Unless you had to wait a
couple days for it quityurbitchin.

As for whether it needed replacing or not, things like ignition coils
are generally not replaced unless a problem is found with them (unless
they were chasing a problem that was intermittent, in which case it's
sometimes a case of "It sure acts like a bad coil from the description
of the problem, but I can't make it act up right now - we can put in a
$95 coil NOW, or we can spend another 2 hours and end up putting in
the new coil later. $99 or $399 - take your pick."

Or they don't replace it and you break down with a bad coil next week,
(or next day on the way home) and you pay for a tow.

If you want to do all your own servicing, and all your own
troubleshooting, and wait to have internet parts shipped, keep
bitchin'.
Soon you won't have the luxury of going to a shop to have your work
done for you. Mechanics and garage operators everywhere are getting
SICK of the crap they have to put up with from customers like you.

 

[Glenn Klein]

Hmmm,
No CE light?

read again the check engine light did come on

 

[clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada]

read again the check engine light did come on

OK, seeing the whole post I'd say you needed the coil. And on that car
when you loose the coil you quit. Not like with a 3 coil system on a
GM v6 - where you just loose 2 cyls. The newer coils ARE different,
but inflation definitely has something to do with it too - there is no
rhyme or reason to parts cost today.
If it runs good, why waste your money on a new one? The depreciation
the first month will pay for a lot of repair/maintenance bills, and
you ARE into a recession down there - you may be needing that money!!

 

[Larry Weil]

clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada wrote in

You think you got ripped because you got charged more for a part than
you can buy it on the internet?
Give your head a real good shake and be carefull you don't bruise (or
loose) what little brain you have up there.

No, please go back and read the original post. My main point was to ask if
they did a lot more stuff than was really necessary for the situation.

 

[Steve Daniels]

clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada wrote in


No, please go back and read the original post. My main point was to ask if
they did a lot more stuff than was really necessary for the situation.

It depends on what you consider necessary. If all you wanted was
for the motor to start so you could sell the car, then yes. It
looks like the dealer wanted to send you on your way with a
dependable ignition system, and he did. With that much mileage,
replacing all those parts when one of the failed is reasonable.
They are all the same age, after all.

Now you could run that car another hundred thousand miles and
never have a problem with the ignition again. If all you wanted
was to get home, I'm sure a conversation with the service writer
would have gotten you a lower bill. But how happy would you be
if some other ignition part crapped out in the next hundred
miles?

FWIW, I think you got a fair deal.

 

[Dominic Richens]

What they then told me was that the culprit was that the valve cover
gasket had failed, and that the leaking oil caused the spark plug wire to
fail. They also said that the coil was weak. The total cost, for
replacing the valve cover gaskets, the coil, the wires, and the spark
plugs was $661. Of this $273 was labor (3.5 hrs at $78/hr).

The most surprising part of this was that the coil was $181 for the part
only. I had had a coil replaced in a 97 Impreza some while back for $40
for the part, so I'm wondering if the new coil is really that different
or is this all inflation.

I just had the coil in my 95 replace - UAP wanted 500$ for it!! I got one
from the dealership downtown for 160$, which yes is more than from some web
site but I wanted it _now_, so I considered that an acceptable premium.

Now, why would a coil on a 4 year old car be weak? Was the gasket really
leaking?

Personally, with the "wisdom" I have garnered over the years, I would have
asked them to show me why they thought the gasket needed replacing. I had
the driver's side one replace a number of years ago, then six months later
took it in for an oil change and they said I needed one - again - I ask
which one, they said the driver's side and I said "good, coz you're fixing
it for free". Then they back-tracked and said the gasket on the oil filler
tube needed replacing - wanted about 50$ to fix that so I said gimme the
part (50cents!) and did it myself in the dealship parking lot!! Haven't
gone back there since.

The rule is, if the car breaks down and you need it fixed quickly you are
going to pay a premium - so only get enough done to get the car running
again. Anything else they "find", say thanks but no thanks. With what I
know now, I would have got them to put in a new lead and driven home, then
had everything else dealt with at my leasure, doing what I could myself with
parts ordered over the internet.

 

[Larry Weil]

I just had the coil in my 95 replace - UAP wanted 500$ for it!! I got
one from the dealership downtown for 160$, which yes is more than from
some web site but I wanted it _now_, so I considered that an
acceptable premium.

Now, why would a coil on a 4 year old car be weak? Was the gasket
really leaking?

I do know that there was oil in the spark plug tubes last time I changed
plugs, and I didn't do anything about it. So perhaps I'm paying the price
for that now.