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Forum Thread
Engine mysteriously died in a new car - how can I turn it to my advantage?
May 14, 2013 at
08:36 PM
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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!
We'll get a brand new one tomorrow and it'll be good to go by Thursday! "
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!
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!
We'll get a brand new one tomorrow and it'll be good to go by Thursday! "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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In this case however, the low coolant light was the light that came on first. Sorry, but that is just as serious as a low oil light. Most of the time it is probably just due to a slow coolant leak and the coolant level is just low enough to trip the light. But if a hose suddenly blew and coolant was leaking out quickly there is likely to be severe engine damage in a short amount of time, especially with aluminum heads and engine blocks. That is why you pull over immediately to check it out.
And I'm not even saying that I would definitely have pulled over immediately in the OP's situation. But if I had continued and the engine fried I wouldn't be trying to plead my case that the dealer should take it up the ass and give me more than a new engine in return for my stupidity. I would expect the warranty to cover the engine but I wouldn't be out there making myself look like an ass by expecting a reward.
A dog shouldn't expect a steak because the carpet he pissed on earlier still stinks later when he wants to take a nap on it.
If everyone was simply sympathizing with him and tossing him a biscuit and scratching his ears he would probably just keep pissing on the carpet.....
Wait, what was this thread about again?
Going boating this weekend and partay on my boat - come on down
Out of curiosity: Also, what more does the dealer owe him? Far as I can tell, he's getting:
1. Free rental car while they're working on his
2. A brand new frigan engine
Sure, it sucks that he's stuck without his car, but he has a car, provided by the dealer and getting a new engine installed free of charge. Seems like they're taking care of them fine considering it's a Kia dealership. What more is he entitled to?
As for what you claim OP is getting...they damn well should provide a free rental car, and if there was any possibility of the engine being fixed at a lesser cost than a new replacement, I'm sure the dealer would of opted to go that route. However, it was obviously bad enough that the DEALER opted to get a replacement engine for it...I didn't read anywhere that OP pushed for that. So those are the bare minimum things that a dealer should be responsible for since they are the ones who conducted business on behalf of the manufacturer and sold him the car. However, these things do not address the fact that OP did have to waste his time going to the dealership and dealing with the situation. As to what the compensation should be.....I dunno? It depends on how much time OP has had to spend dealing with this, and what the two parties can agree is a fair compensation...whether it be some oil changes, some free maintenance, or whatever. Let me clarify though that I am not faulting the dealer and it does even seem like the dealer is trying to address the issue promptly...but that doesn't change the fact that the dealer acts as a representative of the car manufacturer, as with that comes responsibility and liability. The dealer knew this when they opened the lot.
Emotionally, however, I want the f**kers to pay. The dealership's manager was a total dick to me the first time we spoke. He never once apologized, but he did imply that maybe it's all my fault; refused to pay for a rental car, saying it's a complicated process that takes several days (the horrified customer service rep I called the next day said they'll reimburse me for everything after I pay for the rental); said it's a-okay for brand new cars to have huge defects because "all mechanical parts break down. It could have broken down after just 10 miles!" (Yes, he really did say that.)
And to satisfy everyone's curiosity, the car is 2013 Kia Rio LX sedan.
>Kia Rio
>KIA
that's your problem dude, should have just brought back the car to the dealership and said "under the terms of the warranty I am given the option to have the car repaired at your company's expense or to just give the car back with a FULL refund. I have chosen the latter and will buy x brand name instead, k thanks bye."
Update on my situation: the car broke down on Sunday, when the dealership was closed. I had AAA tow it and had to take a bus home.
On Monday, I rode a bicycle to work (there are no convenient bus routes), arrived 20 minutes late, called the dealership. They said "it's a hose problem, come on over, we fixed it." I used personal time to leave work early, rode the bicycle across the city (Las Vegas at 3pm...), finally got there and was told something else was wrong with the engine. (They couldn't call and tell me that, apparently.)
Got a rental with my own money (the manager said it was a long and complex process and they'd get back to me), drove home.
On Thursday, the car was finally ready. Left work early again, returned the rental car (fortunately, by then the Customer Affairs at Kia had agreed to pay for it), picked up my car. Nobody at the dealership would say what was wrong with the engine - they said they just sent it back to their HQ and nobody will ever know... When I asked the manager why a brand new car would have not 1, but 2 critical problems, his reply was "Hey, these things happen. Cars break down all the time." (No, really, that's exactly what he said.) When pressed for details, he just kept parroting that over and over. (I loved the fact that their "360-degree customer service" banner was in the background...)
Bottom line:
I had to use personal time because I was late to work due to the car malfunction and because I had to leave early (twice) to pick up the car. Didn't get so much as "holy crap, I'm so sorry" from the dealership's manager. Got trolled by a bunch of wannabe-crusaders on SD.
Oh, and just in case anybody else wants to pick a fight with me over trivial details - I was on the f**king highway, in the far left lane, when all of that started happening. Do you honestly mean to tell me that you would stop right there and block the traffic, as opposed to heading for the nearest exit?
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On Thursday, the car was finally ready. Left work early again, returned the rental car (fortunately, by then the Customer Affairs at Kia had agreed to pay for it),
I had to use personal time because I was late to work due to the car malfunction and because I had to leave early (twice) to pick up the car. Didn't get so much as "holy crap, I'm so sorry" from the dealership's manager.
2. Don't blame them for you being late when you couldn't figure out when to leave your house to make it to work on time...
Is that how it is?
Can't have much sympathy for the OP's being late and personal stuff; that's his plan. And cars break. And they're fixing it. Big deal.
My new car came with a bad tire and they had a hard time, but good faith, in diagnosing it. Was something I think called radial pull. Should I have demanded more than a replacement since it took a few trips before they opted to replace it, and several otherwise billable hours?
Maybe the OP should get used to this:
http://www.consumeraff
An engine replacement is the best option that the OP could have hoped for. Engine overheating causes cylinder head and/or engine block warpage due to the effects of thermal expansion. As I see it, the dealership could have done the following:
1. Offered to replace the faulty radiator under warranty, but given you a hard time about the engine damage due to your negligence of driving on a low coolant warning light while the engine temperature gauge must have surely been rising.
2. Offered to repair or rebuild the existing engine by machining the block, cylinder head, and mating surfaces. This would likely fix the problem, but your engine would forever have a giant question mark regarding future problems.
3. Replace the engine.
The OP would have a legitimate grievance had the dealership offered only options 1 or 2, but number 3 - full engine replacement - is the best that any reasonable person could hope for.
It is also my opinion that the OP has a healthy share of blame. It is not reasonable to expect someone to immediately pull over when the low coolant light comes on. I wouldn't. But I'd sure as hell keep an eye on the coolant temperature gauge and pull over as soon as it begins to rise past normal levels. The argument seems to be that the OP is innocent, because he or she was simply unaware of potential hazards and their affects. This is BS. A car is a sophisticated piece of machinery, and one doesn't simply waive responsibility by remaining ignorant of its workings. It's asking for trouble. My advice to the OP is to ask a friend to teach them "Automotive 101" to prevent these types of issues in the future.
The OP should be grateful that the dealership handled the issue in a professional manner, and looking to profit (in addition to a brand new engine) is absurd at the highest level, and, quite frankly, unethical.
Bonus content: Things break on brand new hardware all the time. An automobile contains thousands of mechanical components working together, and the rules of probability dictate that some will likely be defective from the factory. A simple part failure does not mean that the car is a "lemon"! Thankfully, the faulty component was one that never put the driver's life in jeopardy. Had a tie rod, for example, broken at highway speeds the driver may not have been so lucky.
Good to see you old timer!
Seriously...I think that you provide a fairly unbiased answer.
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Good to see you old timer!
Seriously...I think that you provide a fairly unbiased answer.