Subaru warranty ownership!

Hi. I am looking for a comment from anyone who have bought a new Subaru in the past/present. Having a small factory presence here in OZ (only 10% of Subaru is actually owned by Subary, while 90% is by English Company IGS from memory)I am worried how reliable the Subaru warranty is? Has anyone had a hard time trying to get warranty repairs done to their vehicles? Does Subaru honours their warrantees in full without prejudice? Any interesting stories?

I have a friend who has purchased 2nd hand WRX MY03 from an auction with 5k on the clock (paid about 35k).In a few days, heard a audible knocking sound emanating from the bottom end of the engine. Well long story short, he needs 8.5k worth of engine work and Subaru refuses to comply since the car was purchased at an auction and apparently "the warranty is void". (he has just over 2 years of fact. warranty left plus extended warranty) Well my friend did a car history check and found out that the car was originally used by Subaru Docklands as demo and than on their private training/race course as an everyday training vehicle.(read: abused to death by everyone)It was than promptly sold to an elderly buyer who few weeks after traded it for a new car. The dealer (obviously aware of the problem) auctioned it off. Currently, he employed an independent mech eng to do a full report on the engine and waiting for subaru to respond. However I don't like his chances, esp since the saga has been going on for 3 month now! The moral is: NEVER BUY 2ND HAND WRX.

I am about to get a huge loan for a new outback and worried that if I would ever require warranty repairs Subaru will "wash their hands off me". Any good or bad stories out there?

Cheers Vlad

Reply to
Vlad
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With a pained expression on my face, I have to type:

Why didn't your mate do the history check this_before_he bought the car?

With all the dropkicks out there banging their WRX's off the limiter every green light and roundabout exit, Subaru, of all manufacturers, would probably be the one most sick to the back teeth of shelling out for replacement clutches, gear clusters and diffs, so you could understand them being more reluctant than most to honour warranty without question.

That said, if there is documented proof that Subaru themselves thrashed the car, there could be a hope with fair trading. Auctions' code of selling cars "as is" is only supposed to absolve the auction house of any blame if the car turns out to be a bag of spanners. I'm not sure I see that extended back to the manufacturer, though.

Reply to
Intact Kneeslider

The moral is NEVER BUY A SUBARU....

Alex my friend who owns Mentone Motors had like many here in Vic. the Subaru dealership taking off them so the greedy pricks could sell direct, control the prices and make a extra margin

He said Subaru where a pain in warranty payment thats after spending 10's thousand$ on special tools and manuals BUT they had very few problems with the vehicles if that makes you feel better, the best for warranty attitude is the American companies they are pretty lax

If you buy new any brand and have it serviced and dont abuse the vehicle i doubt they would reneg a geniune warranty issue

Good luck with your new car

CDIHL

Reply to
365GTB4®

Reply to
atec77

Hell, I'd be afraid to buy a WRX that had been out on test drives.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Further to your post,Subaru can void the warranty based on the simple fact that the service maintance are incomplete.This is stated in the terms and conditions of the said book

The warranty is based on the terms that the car is serviced at the said intervals with genuine parts used and by a *a-grade* qualified mechanic

If he does not have the correct documentation he is screwed,based that it is a ex-Docklands vehicle and they knew the car was faulty bet the books are incomplete or missing,Subaru have found a nice way to void it

A *honest* car company would have refurbished the vehicle offered full warranty , just goes to show the ethics (our lack of) from the Subaru people,not surprised at all from them

CDIHL

Reply to
365GTB4®

I bought a 2nd hand impreza Lx from a dealer (Penrith Subaru) and had it serviced and a warranty fix at (Tynan subaru). After the factory warranty ran out, I had a year of "subaru assured" extended warranty.

1 - Tynan Subaru were a disaster, they replaced the hatch hinges and to this day it is still misaligned. They put a huge dent in the front fender, scratched the hatch and for some reason, took out the instrument cluster and remounted it at such a bad angle that an indicator arrow was hidden by the plastic surrounding the instruments. When I took it back to get their repairs repaired, they (the mechanic, not the slimy compaints manager) basically said that they were too busy (multiple marques and high throughput) to get it right the first time. 2 - Penrith subaru honoured the warranty and fixed most of tynans mistakes. They then fixed something else under the extended warranty with no complaints at all. 3 - I think if you buy from a subaru dealer 2nd hand, there should be no problem with warrantys.
Reply to
Dave_H

Take a look at the original Subaru warranty contract. If it states nothing about second hand vehicles then contacting the office of fair trading should sort them out.

Reply to
James Whitehead

Reply to
James Whitehead

Friends of mine bought a WRX new, and had it for about 6 months. Paintwork started buggering up in that short time and subaru refused to do anything about it under warranty. Spots on the bonnet, roof and bootlid had started blistering, and the paint had worn through to the undercoat near the door handles and on the door frames - the sort of stuff you'd expect in a 10-20yo car, not chances, esp since the saga has been going on for 3 month now!

Reply to
Justin Thyme

I bought my 01 GX Impreza from Tynan, never had a problem with them. I've had 2 things fixed under warranty that they found during service. Its coming up on 3 years old now, the factory warranty is about to expire - I got suckered into the extended warranty thinking it was factory warranty, but its from a mob called "All states warranty network" or something, no idea how good it will be.

I've always gotten my car serviced on Saturdays, not sure if that makes any difference.

Dont get me started on a certain Mitsubishi dealer in the Wollongong area... they reversed dad's 91 Magna into a pole while it was being serviced, and they let the battery go flat on his new 02 magna - they had to jump start it when he picked it up, the guy detailing it had left the stereo on.

Matt.

Reply to
Matt Richards
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All new car warrantys are void if the vehicle is used for racing read the fine print. Bad luck, thats the problem with auctions, most don't disclose all the info they have. Should have been stated at the start of auction, may have a case against auctioneers.

Reply to
bugs

one thing worth trying might be

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maybe don't tell them about the history ;) Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

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It's pretty good. My Liberty had a build-defect which caused a ticking sound in the engine, and they fixed it for free even though it was 9 months out of warranty. The only stories of "not honouring warranty" that I've heard which I'd put any stock in is when a car's been punished (ie. used outside of warranty conditions), or when a dealer has made a dodgy call on a consumable that's worn before it should have (eg. clutches ... and probably because the car's been punished, again).

-Forg

Reply to
Forg

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That's a load of bullshit; once a car's auctioned off it's gone; no demonstration vehicle is fully "refurbished", I don't think you'd have seen any of the Holden Precision Driving Team cars being "refurbished" and sold with full warranty when they were finished with them ...

Jeeze you pile on the crap thick & fast sometimes!

-Forg

Reply to
Forg

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Yeah, the year and a half or so I had my car serviced at Tynan's I didn't have any problems; except it was pretty expensive.

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Oh, that's all Mitsubishi dealers; I don't understand how they stay in business with their stinking attitude, it's downright shocking.

-Forg

Reply to
Forg

Subaru is owned by GM.

I am worried how reliable the Subaru warranty is?

We used to be a Subaru dealer not so long ago (long story, don't ask) and had no problems with regards to warranty claims *providing* the vehicle was not abused.

Your friend should have done a check *before* purchasing the vehicle. Yes, vehicles used on the racetrack have no warranty, I wouldn't expect any manufacturer to warrant a vehicle subject to abuse.

Their warranty policy is no different to any other manufacturer's, but they do not tolerate vehicle abuse so unless you are going to track or thrash the bollocks of your new Outback you shouldn't have any warranty coverage concerns.

Subaru's are on the whole very reliable anyway.

Regards,

Clockmeister.

Reply to
Clockmeister

Subaru or any other car company cannot break the law just because it suits them. I know from my experience working in warranty at Ford for 6 yrs that voiding warranty on the grounds you mention is not legal. Car companies only get away with this crap because their customers are bullied into believing what the thieving bastards tell them.

Daryl

Reply to
D Walford

No it isn't.

GM only owns a 20% stake in Subaru - via 20% equity in the Japanese parent Fuji Heavy Industries.

pyro

Reply to
Mr Pyro

Maybe I should have tried a weekend. The weekdays certainly had a lot of cars go through there. I felt sorry for the mechanic he certainly sounded stessed and haggled. Unfortunatley all the shiny floors, coffee and smiling staff dont matter when they damage your car repeatedly. Even after you go back a second time and they do it again. Penrith is a bloody long way to go but my car always comes back in one piece.

The extended warranty I got actually came from Subaru. I remember them advertising it in newpapers as a 'factory assured' warranty available only on 2nd hand cars under 3 years old sold from subaru dealerships. Maybe they don't do that anymore :( Pity, it was great piece of mind.

Reply to
Dave_H

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