SUBARU??? after 2 of 'em, going back to toyota

I bought two subis. 1999 and 2005 outbacks. both brand new from dealers.

the 1999 got wrecked at 85,000 miles, by a mechanic who replaced the timing belt without the necessary application when reinstalling the tensioner after repairing leaking cam seals. not only did it cost me a lot of money, TWICE, but it left the car leaking antifreeze when he replaced all of the valves the second time around but it left the car sounding like a truck. I had to get a mechanic to repair the damage after the second attempt by the original mechanic and the judge threw me out of court. said it was an old car. the noises and the leaks remain.

the 2005 hit an abutment in ft. lauderdale, and bent a trailing arm which attaches to the axle and a knuckle, along with the wheel and, of course, blew the tire. the selling dealer, when i complained about leaning tp the right, said he could not fix it because he was new in the biz! the dealers and distributors, for the most part are atrocious. they have lied to me several times. one, in pompano beach, florida, when i complained that the car leaned to the right, actually told me that ALL AWD cars lean to the right. right! also, the telephone receptionist was super nasty and insulting to me. the distributor in feasterville, pa LIED to me that the part was on the truck for today's delivery. they told me that for 7 days! finally, they admittied that they could not find the part. Another dealer told me that he could get 5 of 'em in one day but it was too late and i limped the car back to florida where it now sits like a sick dog.

the dealer in Ft. Myers has such a bad rep that i dare not go there. one customer told me that he had his subi there for almost a MONTH waiting for "delivery" of a new alternator. he finally called subaru and they told him they could give him as many as he wanted right away. When he arranged for the dilivery the Ft. Myers dealer charged him $1,000.00 for the unit, installed.

Now, I'm no mechanic but I know about alternators and they are not very expensive. Not only that but I have installed several of them over the course of my 69 years and it's not very hard.

My gavel finally came down when I contacted subaru by email. They responded in a rather untimely fashion and never addressed the issue but talked about a 2004 warantee, completely side stepping the real problem which was with their dealers and their distributors.

Let the buyer be aware.

ps...please see my other posting re electric if you are a techie.

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Reply to
uandeye
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Sounds like you need driving lessons and better judgement with your mechanics! This absolutely goes against the normal experience for Subaru owners. Though if your dealing with a decent dealership and your claims are fair and legit, you should expect a fair hearing. The fact that the Judge "threw you out of court" suggests that your claims are anything but legit. I would expect that you'll have the same responses from whoever else you deal with in the same set of circumstances.

Reply to
Grolsch

He is right about the Pompano Beach Subaru dealer. I bought mine from them and they lied to me also. Didn't like their service department at all. I moved and the Palm Bay Subaru dealer is great.

Don

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Reply to
Pinehollow

belt without the necessary application when reinstalling the tensioner after repairing leaking cam seals. not only did it cost me a lot of money, TWICE, but it left the car leaking antifreeze when he replaced all of the valves the second time around but it left the car sounding like a truck. I had to get a mechanic to repair the damage after the second attempt by the original mechanic and the judge threw me out of court. said it was an old car. the noises and the leaks remain.

attaches to the axle and a knuckle, along with the wheel and, of course, blew the tire. the selling dealer, when i complained about leaning tp the right, said he could not fix it because he was new in the biz! the dealers and distributors, for the most part are atrocious. they have lied to me several times. one, in pompano beach, florida, when i complained that the car leaned to the right, actually told me that ALL AWD cars lean to the right. right! also, the telephone receptionist was super nasty and insulting to me. the distributor in feasterville, pa LIED to me that the part was on the truck for today's delivery. they told me that for 7 days! finally, they admittied that they could not find the part. Another dealer told me that he could get 5 of 'em in one day but it was too late and i limped the car back to florida where it now sits like a sick dog.

customer told me that he had his subi there for almost a MONTH waiting for "delivery" of a new alternator. he finally called subaru and they told him they could give him as many as he wanted right away. When he arranged for the dilivery the Ft. Myers dealer charged him $1,000.00 for the unit, installed.

expensive. Not only that but I have installed several of them over the course of my 69 years and it's not very hard.

a rather untimely fashion and never addressed the issue but talked about a 2004 warantee, completely side stepping the real problem which was with their dealers and their distributors.

Reply to
Wandering Willy

I also moved on from Subaru due to horrible treatment on warranty issues, with one big one: My '01 OBW had some slipping clutch issues, starting at only 7k. The earliest I've ever had a clutch problem on another car was 120,000 miles. I've never owned a vehicle without a manual transmission. I _like_ stick shifts.

The issue that affected my car was mentioned several times on the "Car Talk" radio show, and on Internet forums, etc... I don't drive hard, and my only towing was well within Subie's recommendations in the manual. As I pilot, I'm the type of guy who reads manuals cover to cover.

On trip after trip to dealerships (note the "s"), I was told that "they couldn't duplicate the problem", "they all do it", "clutches aren't warrantied", etc... I was told that they would replace it, but if Subaru denied the warranty, I'd have to pay for a new clutch. Subaru clutches go for about $1200 at my Northeastern USA locale's labor rates. I even demoed the problem on an interstate. With the RPMs climbing by hundreds, and the speed remaining constant, the service writer denied anything strange was happening!!!!

I think the only reason this issue didn't get more attention is that the great majority of OBW's are sold with automatic transmissions. It's too bad, that OBW was a terrific snow and rainy weather car.

I also had some relatively minor issues with a rear armrest that wouldn't stay attached (I don't have kids and had rear pax ONCE ), headlight aim and usability, accelerated brake wear, and rattling doors. I've had warranty issues with Toyota, as well, but they were quickly and correctly fixed, and we moved on.

Toyota rules...

Reply to
B a r r y

I didn't see where he expected the car fixed for free after the accident. They way I read it, they told him it couldn't be fixed.

Reply to
B a r r y

Slipping clutches continue to this day, legacygt.com has tales of woe there. I own an automatic 05 Legacy GT which has been a great car, but it is not Lexus in build quality however good it is.

You were badly treated by typical BS Sube dealership tactics. If it happens to me, I won't go back for more.

Reply to
Bob H

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