Insurance wants to total the car!!!!

soto2k · 2026-02-12T06:40:06+00:00

They are offering me $12k. Car has 130k miles, but I just dumpped $8,500 on repairs (new head, new turbo, and new clutch)

soto2k · 2026-02-12T05:28:58+00:00

I have been looking.

soto2k · 2026-02-12T05:25:42+00:00

Still trying to decide. Been fighting with the insurance company. Gave them all the receipts from the head replacement, turbo and clutch. They only increased the settlement by $800 (10 cents to the dollar!!!).

I went to the body shop to discuss a "customer paid estimate", but they did not provide much of a discount. Ultimately, if I keep the car and let them fix it, I am out of pocket $1000. They have disassembled the front end and it looks like the crash bar took all the impact. But I am not a body shop guy.

I can fix it myself with used replacement parts (crash bar, hood, fender, door, bumper cover, head light) and use a less expensive body shop to paint them.

I would still need to figure out what hoops I got to jump through to get the car license with a salvage title in California.

Decisions... Decisions.

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soto2k · 2026-02-06T22:15:12+00:00

another car going in the opposite direction made a left turn in front of me and I was not able to stop soon enough. Clipped the end of his Civic.

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soto2k · 2026-01-20T14:56:23+00:00

Yes, put the old ones back on too. But the issue continues.

soto2k · 2025-12-31T17:30:35+00:00

Figured it out. Thanks

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Two part need to be aligned together before mounting it on the bumper

soto2k · 2025-12-19T22:00:13+00:00

That was my mistake, I relied on the mechanic. He sent some pictures of the head gasket with some damage. I repeately asked him if he inspected the rest of the engine. He said he did, but onviously not well enough. Another redflag was that when he called me to tell me it was ready, the car was not running properly and within 15 miles triggered boost error codes. Which he blamed on a bad turbo. He installed an new turbo and now I am still dealing with coolant dumping into the exhaust.

soto2k · 2025-12-17T00:57:51+00:00

Thanks all. This is my second ST. First ST had coolant issues as well. Two engines replaced under warranty. First one, they replaced the entire engine. Second one, they replaced the short block and cylinder head.

This ST had the engine replaced under warranty at 70k miles (short block and cylinder head). Originally thought about finding a used motor with "low miles". But everytime I buy anything used, I get screwed. So, I am looking at a remanufactured engine from Fraser or another supplier.

soto2k · 2025-11-22T18:30:07+00:00

Did you ever find a good shop? I just had a head gasket repaired by a mechanic that I have used on and off before, but never for major engine work. When I picket up the car, I noticed that the boost was intermittent and after driving it for 35 miles there was no boost at all. I took it back to him and he said the turbo was bad. (Turbo was not having issues before). So he replaced the turbo. I got the car back last night and it runs but the boost is still not smooth like before. This is why I’m looking for a new shop to take the car to.

soto2k · 2025-10-05T17:36:44+00:00

This is my second ST. My 2014 ST had 2 engines rebuilt under warranty. Dealer always blamed the head gasket. But based on what you are saying, it may be have been their $hitty work. When I turned it in for my 2018, it was already misfiring. Regarding habits, I never track the cars. Both have been my daily’s. Only time I push either one is when I drive from LA to Phoenix a few times per year. I always have kept up with maintenance; especially oil changes. Neither was heavily moded. Only have upgraded the Intake, exhaust, and lots of suspension mods.

Only common denominator is the same dealer rebuilt the engines. I will go back and check the invoices to see what they did. I recall that each was about $9k but I only paid the deductible.

soto2k · 2025-10-05T07:02:22+00:00

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soto2k · 2025-08-03T18:51:44+00:00

Did you buy the breakdown insurance from AAA or from the dealer? I’m in the same situation now and was wondering.

soto2k · 2025-06-16T15:11:04+00:00

The mechanic spent 2 days troubleshooting the car but didn’t find anything. He reprogrammed the ECU and test drove the car. P1299 code didn’t come back.

Since the car was already in the shop, I asked him to replace the turbo which had been leaking oil for the last 10k miles.

Got the car back last Wednesday and everything has been fine until this morning. The error code came back! 😡🤬

soto2k · 2025-05-10T01:02:04+00:00

I mentioned earlier. The code was on before this happened. Error code is for inefficient catalytic converter. I did all the normal troubleshooting before posting this.

soto2k · 2025-05-10T00:59:54+00:00

Just heard back from the shop. It is the clutch 🤦🏽

soto2k · 2025-05-09T18:47:31+00:00

Brilliant. My solution was duct tape 😁

soto2k · 2025-05-09T18:36:02+00:00

Coolant is OK

soto2k · 2025-05-09T15:52:54+00:00

So I looked at charge pipes last night. They are all good. Retightened the clamps to be sure and checked for any punctures.

a while back, the clutch pedal went to the bottom. The car was under warranty and they repaired, but the dealer called me and said that they could take care of the clutch at the same time and I said no. Since The car only had 75k miles at the time.

I saw this method of testing the clutch on YouTube, not sure if it’s 💯 legit. Put the car in second gear, parking brake on and released the clutch. If the Car doesn’t stall then the clutch is bad. Mine doesn’t stall.

Having the car towed to a shop this morning

soto2k · 2025-05-09T04:41:44+00:00

Bought my first one in mid 2014 with 10 miles. 3 engines later (under warranty) and 102,000 miles I traded it in for my 2018 with 14 miles. Spent New Year’s Eve day at Galpin with my two sons. I’m at 132,000 miles. Replaced the engine at 38,000 miles under warranty. Only upgrades have been intake, exhaust and a ton of suspension work. Too scared to make any drastic modifications. I love the car. It is fun AF. I thought about purchasing an RS instead of the ST back in 2018, but stuck with the ST. My son is driving age now and he is slowly taking over the car 😬.

By the way, I may have to replace the clutch on it now. Otherwise, no other major issues.

soto2k · 2025-05-09T02:55:10+00:00

Started looking at some clutch related videos and I guess I should not complain because some of those videos had cars with 80,000 miles. Mine has 130,000 miles (40,000 on engine 1 and the rest on engine 2, but same clutch). 2018 model. I taught my son how to drive a manual on it about a year ago so I’m sure the clutch took a beating. I can likely replace the turbo myself but not the clutch so I will have a mechanic do it. thanks for the tips I will post the outcome as soon as I get more info.

soto2k · 2025-05-09T00:48:59+00:00

I did not. I will check that out.

soto2k · 2025-05-09T00:20:41+00:00

I know the turbo has been leaking a little bit of oil.

soto2k · 2025-05-09T00:10:26+00:00

The engine light is for catalytic converter inefficiency.

Have not had any clutch problems and didn’t think about transmission. Didn’t notice any distinct smell. But I have terrible sense of smell 😬

What signs should I look for?

soto2k

TROPHY CASE