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Beware of Beechmont Subaru Cincinnati

Hi, Bad experience with service dept. To make a long story short: My

2002 Forester has had an intermittent engine miss/hesitation for about 6 months. No CEL. I changed fuel filter, plugs, and wires myself, didn't cure problem. Let local independent have a try at troubleshooting, they agreed it was engine problem but couldn't figure it out, suggested dealer. Beechmont is nearest dealer. They had it for a day and diagnosed a bad clutch, $1,100 to replace. Granted, clutch is probably worn at 70,000 mi., but it has never slipped the first time. They also wanted me to replace timing belt since getting close for replacement. They charged me $44 for B.S. diagnosis, no indication any engine analysis was done at all. I explained that it was intermittent and since no error codes had been thrown, I understood it might take some time to diagnose. It was like they didn't want to take the time, they just wanted in my pocket. I am searching for any ideas about problem. I have found that sometimes a bad upstream A/F (O2 sensor) will not throw a code. Also, any reccomendations for good mechanic/dealer in southern Ohio/northern KY.? Thanks
Reply to
phatirejunky
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Sorry to respond w/out answering your question, but I'm always skeptical of these "beware of so and so dealer" posts. Why did you pay for services you weren't happy with?

-LK

Reply to
lkreh

Reply to
Bart

Well, the law varies between states, yada yada. Generally speaking, a repair shop cannot exercise a mechanic's lien to hold your if it did unauthorized work or exceeded the written estimate by more than a reasonable percentage. Also, even if the shop did authorized work that did not exceed the estimate, if there's a dispute over the work, you can call your bank, put the money owed into escrow, take your car, and argue with the dealer later.

In our friend phatirejunky's case, maybe there's more to it than he posted, but he says they charged him for a B.S. diagnosis, with no indication any engine analysis was done at all, among other problematic charges. If the dealer couldn't even document the work, there's no way they're going to take the risk of holding someone's car under the circumstances (and I wouldn't have paid them for work).

my two duckets, LK

Reply to
lkreh

What the hell are you talking about? the guy is asking for a good mechanic in the Cincinnati area, what does your diatribe have to do with that?

Reply to
Rhesus Monkey

Wagner Subaru in Fairborn, OH is an excellent dealer. That is a bit North for you, but if you are fed up at this point, it might be worth the effort.

Reply to
Rhesus Monkey

my post was in response to bart's question, which was "Doesn't the dealer have a mechanics lien on a car if you don't pay for service?" Read the posts, monkey boy.

Reply to
lkreh

I did agree to labor costs at $88 hour. I was told worn clutch exhibits same symptoms as I described. The reason I say B.S., worn clutch would not be a intermittent problem, and this problem occurs when engine is under load, which I also explained to dealer. A worn clutch under load will show up as increased rpm's without increased mph. I did not specifically say "Do engine analysis", I should have, I guess? Thanks for legal advice and shop recomendations!

Reply to
phatirejunky

Whoa! Dealer labor prices are truly insane sometimes. But our dealer (Van Bortel Subaru out in Victor, NY) is a lot more reasonable, $69 an hour if I recall correctly. Maybe $72. But we have lots of Subarus up here, so the volume allows them to set a more reasonable rate, I think.

Reply to
KLS

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