Why I don't go to the dealer for repairs

So what did you end up doing?

Yousuf Khan

I'm not fond of dealer and try to avoid him using another reliable shop. Your car is old and way out of warranty but I made an after warranty claim this year on my '03 Forester and was asked to supply all service records not retained by Subaru. I had done all my own oil changes, air filters and other simple stuff and when asked for receipts told them I did not have them but I did have a log book of stuff I had done with dates and mileage. They were totally satisfied with this and without going into detail, I thought that settlement by Subaru of America was very fair.

Brought the car home, and will take it to an independent mechanic for most of the stuff, some I will do myself. The AT problem is a delay in dropping into first gear from being parked. Once in motion, the tranny shifts without delay and with no signs of slippage. If it ever strands me somewhere, THEN I'll think about replacing it. Probably with a used one. What bothers me about this incident is 1) the mechanic didn't do what I requested, but just came up with this list and 2) I had the exact same timing belt repair done at an independent shop 2 years ago for less than half what the dealer wants to charge. And a tranny flush and fill at nearly the same time, at the dealer, solved the tranny hesitation for nearly 2 years. I think it's a valve or some other small part that is sticking.

Bob

Just your basic flake, and official Old Fart! "The missing link between animals and the real human being is most likely ourselves." Konrad Lorenz

You are very lucky, the UK importer will not lift a finger. My Forester auto front diff packed up at 20k miles / 3 years old and they just said 'tough'.

Warranty there must be different than US. We get 3 years or 36 k miles bumper to bumper and 5 years or 60 k miles for drive train. I had a '98 Forester where dealer replaced leaky boot and joint under warranty one month before it expired.

My problem was past the warranty period but my '03 only had 40 k miles so I brought it to Subaru's attention. Got no response or help from dealer but a call to Subaru of America ended up getting nearly a third of my repair bill refunded. Sometimes you have to keep pushing and try all avenues.

I had a flat tire from a nail Sunday on a 1 year old tire and since dealer was closed, I went to a shop that was open for repair. The warranty company would not refund cost of repair since I was within 10 miles of the dealer that sold me the tires. I called the dealer and he's sending me a full reimbursement for the repair. Persistence pays.

Lube, Oil, Filter

Where do you live? ALL tire shops around here charge for tire repairs - and a proper tire repair is about $15. That's not just a peice of string dipped in bat-shit and stuffed into the hole.

Or fix what REALLY needs fixing for about $500 and drive it another 3 years.

And THAT's the plan! I'm retiring in about a month, don't need a new (or used) car payment. (Plus, I've still got the '85 Saab 900 turbo that is still running strong at 325K miles, and the Yamaha 500cc scooter for warm weather.)

Bob

Just your basic flake, and official Old Fart! "The missing link between animals and the real human being is most likely ourselves." Konrad Lorenz

Hate to tell you, but NTW charged me $27.50. They don't just plug but go inside tire. Warranty would have only given me $20 and was refused but, as I said, shop that sold me the tires will reimburse all. Old Nissan tire I had was leaking and had a recall so I asked them to look at the tire. Dealer said he found nothing. It kept up so I took it to a tire dealer that found a nail and made repair. I mentioned this to a Ford dealer shop supervisor and he said they probably disregarded my request at the Nissan dealership as they could not make much money from tire repair.

I'd like to find the government guy that proclaims US inflation rate is only about 2% and kick him in the ass.