I bought a used 97 subaru with clean carfax in great running condition in July 06. Inspection was due in September and took it to a local mechanic I never used before.
The mechanic recommended changing the timing belt (a good recommendation as the car has 140K miles on it). We agreed to this and all recommendations and $2000 later drove off a car which he said "would have no problems for a long while".
3 months later, 200 miles from home the engine makes funny noises, gets towed to a mechanic in Boston who finds that the 'tensioner' bolt has broken causing the timing belt to slip and internal engine damage estimated at $3000-5000 to fix. I think changing the timing belt involves at least looking over the tensioner (if not dis/reassembly of the area) so is damage directly related to the service the mechanic did for us and can we go to small claims for the damage if he won't fix it?
We have amex record but can't find the work order/receipt.
What chance do we have in small claims?
2006-12-08 17:09:57 · 6 answers · asked by jessagullo 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
the best thing you have going for you is the fact that you paid with american express. they have a great protection plan for products and services when you use your card to pay for them. they cover broken tvs and power tools and all other kinds of problems as a perk to get you to use their card. call them and see if they will cover? also you need to take the car to the dealership and get them to tell you exaclty what caused the bolt to come loose. get a statement from the dealer if they think the failure was caused by the other mechanic or if it was just an unfortunate mechanical failure. as for the 3-5k estimate to repair that engine? it is not worth it for a 1997 car. get a used motor from a salvage yard and replace it. under 2k installed.
2006-12-08 17:16:31 · answer #1 · answered by paintmetalwood 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The tensioner can fail just from normal wear and tear, it is unlikely the mechanic did anything to damage it. At 140k miles though when doing a timing belt job I always at least offer the customer the option of replacing the timing belt tensioner as well. It adds almost nothing in labor (about $10), just the cost of the part and is good preventive maintenance so something like this doesn't happen.
I believe your Subaru has what is called an "interference" design engine. If the timing belt or tensioner fails the pistons and valves get out of sync and interfere with each other - which is a nice way of saying the pistons smash into the valves. At the very minimum your looking at a complete head rebuild, at worst, a new motor if the pistons are damaged as well.
If the mechanic didn't at least offer the option of replacing the tensioner, then s/he wasn't really doing a professional job of it. If they did replace the tensioner and it failed then it is the shops fault. Given the short time/miles since the repair and the fact it was a timing belt related failure, I should think they would cover it under warranty anyway.
2006-12-09 01:09:35 · answer #2 · answered by Naughtums 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just changing the timing belt I doubt did any damage to the bolt that would make it brake. Did you buy it from a car lot? Some states have laws that say how long the car must be guarantied. As for the damage to the engine, that seems extreme. Try a new belt and bolt, retime the engine, unless you broke a valve or a cam shaft there should not be to much damage from braking a timing belt tensioner bolt or even a timing belt. Chiltons auto manual is the best book to look in, in fact it is the only book I use. It can answer most of your car questions, it is what the pro's use.
2006-12-08 17:55:07 · answer #3 · answered by hip2freak 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would do a chargeback.
he was the last to undo that bolt and put it in but can you prove beyond a resonable doubt to a judge it wasn't a natural overtime break?
I know those bolts don't just break on subarus but the judge doesn't. I would recomend a charge back first. Amex is great with that. Second I would goto a subaru only mechanic if you have sk to drop each time.
BTW 3-5k in repairs in an engine you go buy a new or rebuilt engine or get a WRX engine put in. 3-5k in repairs is beyond foolish considering the cost of a 2.2 suby motor.
best of luck.
2006-12-08 17:28:41 · answer #4 · answered by Labatt113 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The mechanic directly loosened and re torqued the bolt. He should be at least 50% liable. The bolt could have had a flaw (not likely) or not installed right. The tensioner had nothing to do with it new or old and you don't get a new bolt when you buy a new tensioner. You have something to fight for but don't expect too much.
2006-12-08 17:39:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well it could very well be i know where i work when we do a timming belt or anything we always check the tensioniers on all the belts and for the prce you paid him i think you can it all depends on the state laws you have but if the bolt broke then it is a proble the car had befor and ws over tightend so i would say go for it it woul be good if you could find the work order if you have to call the shop youhad it done they should still have a recod of it
2006-12-08 17:19:09 · answer #6 · answered by lucylue52005 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋