Rik

Gambit, May I extend my thanks to all on this forum... Sorry, I thought you were the Webmaster and Builder of this site ... Nevertheless you do a grand job! :D Regards, Rik.

Gambit, You're most welcome mate...you have a GREAT forum ... Keep up the good work. :D Best regards, Rik.

Matt, Once again, thank you for your input on this thread. Obviously the facts are not what I wanted to have to take onboard but I'd rather be £3000 out of pocket than maybe £10K for the sake of a court case. Best regards, Rik

Gambit, I had thought from the start that we'd lose out, I tried clutching at straws, so to speak, but the risk financially, is too great for me to tackle. It sickens me to think that this sort of practice goes on every day in some fields and the B***ards always seem get away with it. Obviously it will take a considerable time to get it sorted, as I just don't have funds available but hopefully one day I will be able to report that we have the car running again. You have all given me a very warm welcome to a great forum here and I'm extremely grateful to be a part of it, of course I will remain here, perhaps not posting so frequently but I do have some varied experience in basic mechanics and especially car bodywork repairs, so if there's any topic where I could be of any help, then I'll dive in. Once more, many many thanks for trying to help me out. I won't forget it! :D Best regards, Rik.

Tidgy, Sorry to hear you had a similar problem mate and once again thanks for you help / tips and support...appreciated. Best regards, Rik.

Hi all, I know this is going off topic but bear with me. To update those who may be interested, It's long winded, so take a comfy seat before reading! The seller of the 2006 Subaru 2.5 WRX SL Wagon / Estate car my son bought, has responded to a letter I sent him and has told me he's contacted Subaru dealers and independants and that all of them bar one have said that the engine will Not need a rebuild, just because the HG's are blown. He went on to say that these dealers had said that unless we were planning to upgrade the engines power then there is NO need to rebuild the engine. He also said that the engine could be repaired for £1500, (just HG's repaired) which is the quoted price I was given on Aug 3rd; so no change there. I've spoken to both the Scooby Clinic and Sheffield Subaru services and they claim the engine will need to be rebuilt because of the damage to the heads. Both companies were talking £3000 to do the job properly. Also, both of these company repesentatives to whom I spoke were genuinely concerned, very sympathetic and I believe them to be extremely professional in their judgement. The Scooby Clinic made it quite clear to me, that they will not undertake HG repairs on these engines, without doing a full rebuild, due to the fact that ALL the repairs they have carried out in the past, (to just the HG's at customers requests), have resulted in crank shaft / bearing failures. So clearly, they won't take the risk of having customers having to have the work re-done to rectify these major faults. So guys and gals, we've been ripped off for £3000 and there's B*gg*r all we can do about it. Having burballed all that out, I sincerely hope anyone who happens to read this and is thinking of buying one of these very poorly built engined cars, to seriously consider conducting a sniff test, to double, double check for any trace of oil contaminant in the coolant expansion / header tank, the radiator and the small expansion filler tank that feeds / helps cool the turbo. Also, to prove there's contaminant / coolant in the oil system, do a sizzle test. If you do a sizzle test and it's positive, it proves beyond doubt there's coolant / water in the oil system. Check that the coolant flows freely and is clean and free of any debris whatsoever. Also, with the engine running and up to temp, remove the cap off the header tank and watch for a constant stream of bubbles. You can also check for these bubbles by removing the rad cap when the engine is cold, and then let it warm up and the bubbles will appear streaming across the top water level in the rad if the HG's have failed. If they're constantly streaming, then that being the case, leave the car with the seller and walk away. For those who wonder what a sizzle test is :- All you need. is a small quantity of oil taken from the dipstick and drop it onto a piece of silver foil. Hold a lighted cigarette lighter under the foil, if the oil just smokes and stinks it's ok but if it starts to Sizzle then it's water in the oil. You could also use any thin bit of metal to do this test with! Thanks for all of your help guys, but I seem to have let my son down very badly and feel terribly guilty that I wasn't with him when he bought this rip-off vehicle. Had I have been there, then this thread would never have been started. BTW I've found this to be a great forum...let it stay this way for good. Best regards, Rik.

Savage bulldogs, You've tried your best to help out mate, like all those on here who've responded to my post and I sincerely respect your help. Thanks again. Best regards, Rik.

Matt, Thanks once again for maybe saving me one hell of a lot of money, even though we appear to have been ripped off for £3000 Having digested what you have said, I clearly cannot risk taking this to case court, as although I know without ANY doubt, the seller sold us a car, knowing it to be seriously faulty; but even though I know this and that the garage that diagnosed it knew it had been in this condition for some considerable time...I cannot prove it...simple as that! Also, the seller is clearly aware that I will lose out. He must be laughing his head off. Best Regards, Rik.

Gambit, Thanks for trying to help me mate...very much appreciated. Someone on here mentioned to give them a call and I did so over a week back. I seem to think I spoke to Martin; who was very sympathetic and he said to do the heads and re-set up the engine would cost over £2000, but that was not a full rebuild. Best regards, Rik.

Mr B, Thanks for mentioning this. Unfortunately none of the car history receipts relate to work that would indicate the HG's were blown. Best regards, Rik.

Savage bulldogs, Once more...thanks for trying to help out and your suggestion...greatly appreciated. No, I don't have a copy of the fault diagnosis from the garage but I may be able to get one from them. If we were to get a half of the cost of the repair I would still feel to have been ripped-off but nonetheless it would be a great help and we could perhaps get started on the repair. The car has not been moved off my drive since August 3rd and I could take pics showing the mileage hasn't altered since it was driven back from the sellers home. As for us paying for a solicitor ... it's totally out of the question, as I / we, just don't have solicitors fees money to spend. So it looks like we're totally stuffed. Regards, Rik.

ScoobyGhost, That's a very nice gesture to say you apologise for not being able to help more and I can honestly say it gives me a warm felling to know there are many on here that feel the same way. As you rightly point out, it is overwhelming to be in this, what I feel is a dreadful situation. Regards, Rik.

Matt, The figures you've mentioned are scary. £300 for a day off work?? I don't get that sort of money per month, let alone a day. Food for thought indeed and after reading what you've written I'm so worried now that I don't think I could go ahead with a court hearing now. There's no way I could afford to lose that sort of cost on top of the £3000 we seem to be out of pocket with already. For the innocent always seem to lose out and if you're honest, you're wasting your life Yes, we have a receipt, but obviously receipts (in this case,) aren't worth the paper they're written on. Thanks again for you input here. Regards, Rik.

ScoobyGhost, I really feel sorry for what happened to you and those pics you've shown!! Was that the mess you were confronted with? I honestly can't understand how these people sleep at night...but the world seems to have its fair share of criminals and those that sell duff cars to unsuspecting hard working individuals. Rik.

Matt, Thanks for your help here, it's appreciated. I seem to believe you may have some professional expertise in this field and from what you are saying, it is causing me great concern. I'm a very honest person and have always believed in the policy of honesty pays, but it seems from what you are saying I could end up being criminalised in a way, for something that is definitely not our fault. Going to court is something I'm not familiar with, but the Citizens Advice people seem to think it's right in this case. However, I would much prefer the seller to admit the car was faulty at point of sale but he's not going to do that in a hurry, simply because he has to part with cash to recompense. Were the ball on the other foot; I would have taken the car back, or refunded for the repair, whatever the buyer found to be fair. I'm totally confused as to why would I get a CCJ? Can you help explain please? Kind regards, Rik.

Tidgy, That certainly is a worrying read, as to do the full rebuild is going to cost £3000, as has been stated. Rik.

Jay762, Now that's simple...l like it! Rik

Only just got to read this!! Glad I don't own one of these! Would hate to be pulled over by Traffic Plod in this, with a light out. Plod asks, "Can you replace the bulb now sir, then you can be on your way" ? "Oh, yes ocifer, just excuse me while I strip the whole front off the car and can you cone off two lanes of the M25 while I spend the next hour or so fixing it". Rik.

Swoggles, My idea would be to provide the neighbours with those cheap yellow ear defenders, or, get a box of cotton wool for them to share. As long as it's within the limitations of the law they'll just have to grin and bear it. But on a more serious note (no pun intended), I would leave it as is, as the exhaust is a part of the PPP system and par for the perfomance of the vehicle. So what's the point of changing it? Regards, Rik

Steveuk260, Thanks for that. Local Subaru main dealer charge £87.50 per hr plus Vat, for Labour, so I'm told. They gave a rough estimate of 10 hrs to replace the HG's, but on top of that there are the parts costs which they say would take the price to over £1,500. They also say the price could go way more, depending on exactly how long it took to do the work. This is not for a full engine rebuild ... just the HG's. So the Scooby Clinic are about right. That doesn't alter the fact it's a huge cost when added to the price the car cost. Regards, Rik

Hope it works. Rik

Maybe you've already done this? Remove Pos and Neg leads off batt and try charging again. Alarms tend to enable when trying to start with a flat battery. Once fully charged all should be OK. If charger shows any problem it may mean plates in battery are shot. Is it a totally sealed dry cell, or could it be topped up? Top it up to cover the plates if it's a re-fillable open cell type. Regards, Rik

Mr B, I honestly don't know what damage has been done by water ingress into this engine, so it may mean the higher cost to fix all of the bottom end. If damage is minimal and only the HG's need sorting, then the parts cost you've mentioned would be OK. All rests on internal inspection of the engine and none of that can be touched (at least I don't think it can,) if I take it to court and that is highly likely, as we feel strongly that we've been taken for a ride, so to speak. Regards, Rik.

Matt, If a court were to find in our favour .... which is a risk we'd have to take; then we may get a refund to cover these costs. I can see what you say, £500 should provide a good proportion of parts costs if it is only the HG's that need to be repaired. Labour costs by a garage would add a substantial amount to that. Regards, Rik

Mr B, I suppose there are those who say it needs a rebuild, then they are covered if a customer were to try to lay blame at their door if they just did a HG replacement and 6 months down the line the shells start rattling. Thanks for your useful info. Regards, Rik