The Warranty Runaround

I'll never buy an "extended" warranty again.

Mar 23, 2000 - The Used Car Blues catch up to me, sort of.

Well ultimately, the laughs are on me. Way back when, I took the Whale95 in to have them interpret the "service engine soon" lamp on my car, and in passing, mentioned that the car used a quart of oil every 400 miles. I was treated like a complete idiot and told, that "No way, it'd be smoking like a freight train if it was burning that much". Well, duuh! It's not leaking, it's not burning it, and I can't figure out where it's going, that's why I asked. I was sent off to begin and documented "consumption test". I'd have to bring the car in every 500 miles to let the CarMax certified Mechanics determine how much oil was being used. But there was a wrinkle in the plan. I was due to leave for Thanksgiving to visit friends and family and it was 400 miles there, and 400 miles back! And so the deal was to have the CarMax back home check it out, too. Along the way, I should keep the empty containers (should I have to add any oil along the way) so they could determine exactly how much was being consumed.

Well, lazy me, I just kept adding oil and holding on to the containers. And then between work, and Holiday travel, the odd interview trip, and an unexpected trip home for the funeral of a friend, time passed by.

I now have a case of empty oil containers in my trunk. And I realize the warranty is about to expire so I call to take it in and they can see how much oil it's been using. The warranty expires on or about April 15. Guess when the soonest appointment I can get to take my car in? You got it. April 15. Unless I want to leave my car up there and maybe they can squeeze it in. Hah! Not to mention that the customer service guy I talked to (the same from the original trip in) laughed out loud when I mentioned the "keeping the empty containers" bit. But, as memory returned, I recalled the exact details. Anyway, he also said that I could take my car to an approved CarMax warranty shop and maybe they'd be able to look at it. They directed me to the nearest Chevrolet dealer. I called. Well, damn, I'd have to do the "oil consumption test" and get the problem all documented! I told him I'd get back to him.

Driving 500 miles in the next few days wouldn't really be a problem as I'm feeling the need for a roadtrip anyway.

Finally, the Manager of CarMax (of Kennesaw, GA) got out of his meeting and returned my call. As you can imagine, I'm hardly satisfied with this state of affairs. We talked a bit and got the details of the "oil consumption test" straightened out, and to some degree it's my fault. But I feel, in the greater degree, it's the "Warranty Underwriter's" (Virginia Sureties) fault for coming up with all these damn hoops to jump thru just to get a repair done. I don't give a damn about their problems with customers that may have ripped them off in the past and causing the need for these elaborate requirements. My car is messed up and I want it fixed. And to add to all the pain and frustration: An official consumption test consists of not one, but at a minimum THREE 500 mile trips with suitable checks by CarMax mechanics to verify that I haven't tampered with anything. *GACK*

So after further thought over a few beers I've decided that it'll just be cheaper in the long run to have the repair done myself. Fuck 'em.

Oh, by the way: I've found the nature of the problem. In preparation for taking my car in for this work, I removed my SplitFire sparkplugs and replaced them with ordinary AC-Delco plugs. I didn't want my $4.50/ea plugs disappearing in the shop. On inspection, one of the plugs was severly fouled with a white chalkie substance that did not chip off easily at all. I asked a couple of independant mechanics about it, just to confirm my own suspicions. Sure enough, in both cases and on first glance, the diagnosis was leaking head gasket. And it had been "fixed" with a product called "Stop Leak". A cheesie repair at best. And both said "that sounds like something CarMax would do".

So, there you have it. I'll never waste money on an extended repair warranty on a used car, again. Even though it seemed prudent at the time.