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Urgent!! Minor engine oil leak! Should I KEEP or RETURN my car to dealer?
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jennycong
New User
Aug 15, 2010, 11:16 AM
Post #1 of 2
(4646 views)
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Urgent!! Minor engine oil leak! Should I KEEP or RETURN my car to dealer?
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Hello, everyone,
Urgent!!! Pls help! Need to get second opinion from you!
I purchased a used car—2003 Honda Odyssey EX-L minivan ( mileage 66K, V6) from Putnam Toyota yesterday. They don’t allow me to take the car to my mechanics man for inspection before I pay for it. They said that another buyer was waiting in the lot to buy it. So I paid $500 for a 2 days cancelation policy. In case anything goes wrong with car, I can return the car to dealer in 2 days---I will lose $500 as restocking fee.
So, after I bought it, I took the car right away to a mechanics “Honda Acura car repair shop in Campbell, CA” for a full inspection. Bad news. The owner John said that there was minor engine oil leak. He lifted the car, and showed me that there was a “palm size” WET area at the bottom of the car. I didn’t see the oil dripping, but I did
see this area had oil and was wet.
He did test drive for 5-10 minutes. After that, he opened the hood, there is some burning smell. He said the smell was from engine oil leak.
He did clean and wipe off this area. He asked me to drive 100 miles today and asked me to come back tomorrow to see how severe the leak is.
I did purchased 3 years warranty from dealer for $1100. But John said that he filed/saw so many claims that insurance company wouldn’t pay for—even the customers thought they had warranty on it.
In my inspection report, John is writing :
“ Minor engine oil leak at rear of engine. Leak at intermediate shafi that mounts to engine block. This area may have high stress under driving condition—May cause engine block damage cracks. “
He said the engine block damage cracks may cost $5000 to $7000 to repair it. And the problem can get gradually developed and get worse a few months. I am really scared.
Here is my 3 year car warranty ---the EasyCare contracts—StatedCare (administered by automobile protection corporation-APCO ) from the dealer.
On this 1 page warranty brochure, it says:
“It covers mechanical breakdown on the following items of Engine:
All internal, lubricated parts. Cylinder Block; Cylinder Heads; Harmonic Balancer; Timing Chain, Timing belt, Balance shaft belt, gears, pulleys, guides and tensioners; Oil pump, Intake and exhaust manifold; Diesel Engine
vacuum pump, Engine Mounts. The following pars are covered only if damaged by the failure of an internal, lubricated part: Cylinder barrels, Timing Chain cover, valve covers, oil Pan and Rotor Housing. “
So now I am really scared. I only have 1 day to make decision. I want to get second opinion from you here:
1. Should I keep the car ( I guess that I can keep adding engine oil myself? ) or just return the car ( I will lose $500 restocking fee ) to avoid future headache?
2. How serious can this “minor engine oil leak” be? If it leaks a lot, then I will return it. But if it only has VERY MINOR leaks after I drive 100 miles today, do I have to fix this problem? How much it cost? Can I “live
with it” without fixing it? What is the potential future problems for this?
3. If you read my warranty wording above, do you think that the insurance company in general , will pay for repairing the “minor engine oil leak” or Not? What is your past experience on this? ( today is Sunday. They are
closed. John says they usually require the shop to send pictures to them for evaluation. But I only have 1 day left
to return the car! )
Thanks for reading. Appreciate any help here!
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Aug 15, 2010, 2:55 PM
Post #2 of 2
(4635 views)
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Re: Urgent!! Minor engine oil leak! Should I KEEP or RETURN my car to dealer?
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I guess we'll address the oil leak 1st since that really seems to be concerning you. If the only problem with the van is a minor oil leak then it sounds like a pretty good deal. I'm a little confused on where exactly the leak is.
Pretty much any seal or gasket leak should be covered under your extended warranty. Which is another area that is confusing. I'm not sure if you were saying HE couldn't do the warranty work or he was saying YOUR policy wouldn't cover it. A 2nd opinion might not be a bad idea before you make a decision.
I'm not aware of Hondas with problems with their blocks cracking. Some shops put disclaimers like that on their repair orders just to cover themselves in case a problem like that arises later on thru no fault on their part. That is one area where you might want to talk with John again to be crystal clear on. If this was just a disclaimer they put on all repair orders with oil leaks or if there is an actual problem with these engines he is aware of.
So now the other thing......
With any used car, always get it checked out 1st. Would knowing then what you know now affected your decision to buy the car?
You can always get the inspection.
While it is very possible they had another buyer. This is also a tactic some will use to close a sale "the other person who is going to buy the car". What this does is creates a sense of urgency. To make you think you need to act quickly or lose the car.
It's very simple. If they won't let you get the car inspected..........don't buy it......
If the "other person" was just a selling ploy, then all of a sudden you will be able to take the car to get inspected for some strange reason......
Personally if it was me and that happpened (unless it was killer deal) I would tell then....Thanks...that's ok, "the other person" can buy the car & leave....
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