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Engine mysteriously died in a new car - how can I turn it to my advantage?

1,185 414 May 14, 2013 at 08:36 PM in Chat
Brief version, without any names:
Six weeks ago, I bought a brand new car, with warranty and all that other good stuff. Two days ago, as I was driving on a highway, the coolant light came on, followed by an engine light, followed by my car dying just a minute later.

After it got towed to the dealership, they said the cause was a leaking radiator hose. (Keep in mind, the car is 6 weeks old and has only 850 miles on it!) After they replaced it, it kept acting up, so they decided to hold it a bit longer. (They got me a rental car in the meantime.)

When I called them earlier today to see if they had any updates, I was told this: "Oh, hi there. Uh, we don't really know what's wrong with your car, so we decided to replace the whole engine! Smilie Smilie Smilie We'll get a brand new one tomorrow and it'll be good to go by Thursday! Smilie Smilie Smilie "

When I asked what exactly was wrong, they just kept repeating the same thing. I don't know a whole lot about cars, but a friend told me that getting a replacement engine pretty much destroys the car's resale value because people will wonder what else might be wrong with it. Is that correct? Logically, it would seem that, for example, a 10-year-old car with a 1-year-old engine is better than a 10-year-old car with a 10-year-old engine, but consumer psychology is a strange animal.

Personally, I plan on driving the car for 10 years and 120,000 miles (it's got an extended warranty) before I trade it in, so the resale value isn't a big deal for me. That said, is there any way I can spin this to get some major freebies (e.g., get the car company to shave off a few grand off my loan balance) or something along those lines? Right now, they're just paying for my rental car and nothing else. Given the sheer immensity of this colossal fark-up, though, it seems to me that they owe me a lot more than that.

Got any comments, advice or suggestions?
Thanks!

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ashcampbell
05-16-2013 at 06:14 AM.
05-16-2013 at 06:14 AM.
Sorry cant pull over too busy texting, tweeting, and fbing my life.
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zzyzzx
05-16-2013 at 08:23 AM.
05-16-2013 at 08:23 AM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
So you continued driving after the coolant light came on, then continued driving after the engine light also came on until the car died? And now you feel entitled to some sort of reward because you damaged the engine beyond repair?
Iagree

Obligatory woman driver comment.
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Piccaboo
05-16-2013 at 09:31 AM.
05-16-2013 at 09:31 AM.
Quote from Storyteller :
When you hear a loud noise, do you drop, roll and take cover? If not, why?

I'm sorry if my posts do not satisfy your Benghazi-style questioning, but just FYI - I got off the highway as soon as the "check engine" light came on. Otherwise, the car would have died in 70mph traffic and probably would have caused an accident.

Is there anything else I can help you with, oh high and mighty inquisitor? worship
As Bunny said, nope we shoot till one person isn't standing anymoreSmilie

You obviously don't know much about vehicles, or you would have moved over much more quickly onto the shoulder of the road. Even I as a woman knows that Doh Check Engine light, pull over, pull out Code Reader from glove box, plug in read code; find out what is wrong; very simple Bowdown

Apparently from the beginning of this thread you wanted to fark over the dealership; that was your intention and you wanted everyone here on board with ya - didn't quite work out that way did it shake head laugh out loud LMAO
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square_one
05-16-2013 at 09:45 AM.
05-16-2013 at 09:45 AM.
I'm not sure why some of you are all over the OP for not pulling over immediately. It's not like they drove another 100 miles with the warning lights on. I think a few minutes to pull over to a safe place is reasonable depending on where it happened. i'm not going to risk my life or others to pull over on a busy highway because a light came on...i'll take the next exit. (especially on a car that is under warranty).

but yeah, why didn't you plug your code reader in...everybody has one of those, your car came with one, right??
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DC
05-16-2013 at 10:00 AM.
05-16-2013 at 10:00 AM.
What you have FAILED to realize is that WE WERE NOT WITH YOU IN THE CAR when this all went down...and if you LEAVE OUT key details, like it was UNSAFE to pull over...then when someone posts that the idiot light came on and you kept driving for about 5 more minutes...we think the driver is an IDIOT for ignoring the "Idiot light".

So that makes it a bit more "reasonable" that you drove a bit, due to safety...but it took how long into your thread before you've clarified that point?


Quote from Storyteller :
When you hear a loud noise, do you drop, roll and take cover? If not, why?

I'm sorry if my posts do not satisfy your Benghazi-style questioning, but just FYI - I got off the highway as soon as the "check engine" light came on. Otherwise, the car would have died in 70mph traffic and probably would have caused an accident.

Is there anything else I can help you with, oh high and mighty inquisitor? worship
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DC
05-16-2013 at 10:02 AM.
05-16-2013 at 10:02 AM.
Quote from Storyteller :
Dude, seriously... Are you trolling me or are you having a severe caffeine deficiency? Uno mas:
Quote from Landers :
He's right, though. You should have immediately pulled over, stopped, and shut off the engine the minute you saw the coolant light fire.
Quote from Piccaboo :
As Bunny said, nope we shoot till one person isn't standing anymoreSmilie

You obviously don't know much about vehicles, or you would have moved over much more quickly onto the shoulder of the road. Even I as a woman knows that Doh Check Engine light, pull over, pull out Code Reader from glove box, plug in read code; find out what is wrong; very simple Bowdown

Apparently from the beginning of this thread you wanted to fark over the dealership; that was your intention and you wanted everyone here on board with ya - didn't quite work out that way did it shake head laugh out loud LMAO
Scratchchin
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RLTW
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medicchick
05-16-2013 at 10:04 AM.
05-16-2013 at 10:04 AM.
Quote from square_one :
I'm not sure why some of you are all over the OP for not pulling over immediately. It's not like they drove another 100 miles with the warning lights on. I think a few minutes to pull over to a safe place is reasonable depending on where it happened. i'm not going to risk my life or others to pull over on a busy highway because a light came on...i'll take the next exit. (especially on a car that is under warranty).

but yeah, why didn't you plug your code reader in...everybody has one of those, your car came with one, right??
Pulling over to find a safe place if a good thing (like you said, especially under warranty) but wanting to try and screw over the dealership that is fixing your car is just stupid. Like was said earlier they could have just fixed parts to get it to hold coolant and sent them on their way. They are trying to make the car 100% GTG after it was driven with no/little coolant. Just grow up OP and be happy they are taking the time to properly fix it and avoid them in the future.


Oh, and we keep the tuner in the truck that also reads the codes. Very handy for the few times the CEL has come on.Big Grin
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DC
05-16-2013 at 10:08 AM.
05-16-2013 at 10:08 AM.
Quote from medicchick :
Pulling over to find a safe place if a good thing (like you said, especially under warranty) but wanting to try and screw over the dealership that is fixing your car is just stupid. Like was said earlier they could have just fixed parts to get it to hold coolant and sent them on their way. They are trying to make the car 100% GTG after it was driven with no/little coolant. Just grow up OP and be happy they are taking the time to properly fix it and avoid them in the future.


Oh, and we keep the tuner in the truck that also reads the codes. Very handy for the few times the CEL has come on.Big Grin
Pondering if the OP sends his food back to be redone @ restaurants (I'm sure the wait staff doesn't spit in it for him complaining the whole time he's waiting for it to be re-done)
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ashcampbell
05-16-2013 at 12:39 PM.
05-16-2013 at 12:39 PM.
Quote from DC :
Pondering if the OP sends his food back to be redone @ restaurants (I'm sure the wait staff doesn't spit in it for him complaining the whole time he's waiting for it to be re-done)
Thats why I pay in cash with ass pennies.
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PiratePenguin
05-16-2013 at 12:44 PM.
05-16-2013 at 12:44 PM.
Quote from Storyteller :
And to satisfy everyone's curiosity, the car is 2013 Kia Rio LX sedan.
So you're mad that the cheapest car sold was not an uber reliable tank? shake head
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Bareborn
05-16-2013 at 01:01 PM.
05-16-2013 at 01:01 PM.
Quote from PiratePenguin :
So you're mad that the cheapest car sold was not an uber reliable tank? shake head
SHoulda gotten the forte
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PiratePenguin
05-16-2013 at 01:12 PM.
05-16-2013 at 01:12 PM.
Quote from Bareborn :
SHoulda gotten the forte
True, at least then she would come with the car



Instead all he gets is the fat service manager Big Grin
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ashcampbell
05-16-2013 at 01:57 PM.
05-16-2013 at 01:57 PM.
Quote from PiratePenguin :
True, at least then she would come with the car



Instead all he gets is the fat service manager Big Grin
Oh came she did.
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larrymoencurly
05-16-2013 at 08:14 PM.
05-16-2013 at 08:14 PM.
Quote from MikeBear :
How would anybody in the future KNOW the engine's been replaced, if you don't tell them?
You may want to look at some FWD cars that had been serviced by AAMCO. I remember a lot of butt splices in a transmission or engine cable that had been cut instead of unplugged. Also cables may not be secured or routed correctly, allowing for more mechanical stress or placing cables too close to hot parts.
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> bubble2 1,185 Posts
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Original Poster
Storyteller
05-16-2013 at 08:48 PM.
05-16-2013 at 08:48 PM.
Wow, sure is a lot of haters on SD these days...

Quote from DC :
Pondering if the OP sends his food back to be redone @ restaurants (I'm sure the wait staff doesn't spit in it for him complaining the whole time he's waiting for it to be re-done)
I've never done that in my life because a) I'm not really into restaurants and b) I used to work in food industry and I know what they do with re-orders lol. (Free pro tip: never get your drinks with ice when you go out to eat. Sooo many horror stories...)

Quote from zzyzzx :
Iagree

Obligatory woman driver comment.
What makes you think I'm a woman? Kudos on showing off your sexism, by the way.
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