For those who might share some modicum of interest in lately
chronicled Subaru woes . . . I was prepared to give my mechanic the
go-ahead for $1500 head-gasket repair, but the Memorial Day weekend
stood in the way of work actually beginning until, he said, Wednesday
(yesterday US EDT). With time on my hands I dug into the World Wide
Web with some vigor, and discovered that Subaru had issued an
advisory on certain of its 2.5L engines up to my model year of 2002.
Ah! I thought. If certain conditions were met, Subaru extended the
warranty to eight years or 100,000 miles. Promising, I thought. But
then the Web was replete with horror stories of people who had the
same rush of anticipated salvation as I was experiencing, only to
have their hopes dashed upon the reefs of reality lying just beneath
the turbid waters of their anxiety when told _their_ engines didn't
qualify.
Sigh.
So I called the Subaru dealer where I bought the car on Tuesday
morning past. The service manager took the VIN number and, as feared,
told me, I, too, was not eligible. But, she said. _BUT_ bring us the
car. We will inspect it, and check your service history, and it may
be that Subaru will contribute toward the repairs. Ah! I thought. The
old Get-'Em-Into-OUR-Shop scam! My mechanic, however, advised that I
follow her advice. He said he had dealt with her in the past and
found her to be honest and reputable (one mechanic talking about
another, eh? <g>). He also said he would include a copy of my service
record, which would show I'd treated my car respectfully. So the the
lure, the hope--in realtiy to HOPE of HOPE--that perhaps a few
dollars could be saved caused me to deploy the AAA card (Plus) and
have the vehicle towed to Augusta, Maine, to Charlie's Subaru Service
Department.
I knew, like those poor Aussies going over the top at Gallipoli, that
I was doomed. But I went anyway, as they did. Nor did I pray, because
God does not answer such selfish and self-serving prayers. One of my
favorite lines from a country song is this one: "If you want to hear
God laugh, tell Him your plans."
The next morning the service manager called to say that the new head
gasket would be installed under warranty.
The money I would have spent on a head gasket now must be given to an
oral surgeon to repair my dropped and shattered jaw.
We pick up the car this evening. I still can't believe it.
--Bob Whitmire
www.bobwhitmire.com
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