My ordeal from Rolfe Subaru in Phillip ACT for you people paying top dollars and expecting 5 stars treatment.
Sunday afternoon, I saw water dripping from under my car. I opened the bonnet and to my astonishment my radiator was leaking water. The plastic screw that is used to flush the radiator had melted and water was just pouring out from around the screw and in the middle of it. I thought, maybe the screw has gone lose, so I get a screw driver and try to tighten it up and bang, it all just gets worse and when I take the screw out, to my disbelief the lower part of it has melted and fallen into the radiator. There is a hole in the remaining screw which I managed to fill with a piece of rubber from the sole of a shoe and power glue.
So, Monday morning the first thing I do is drive straight to Rolfe Subaru in Phillip ACT from Queanbeyan NSW which is like a 25-30km drive with my leaking radiator and I pray to god that the hot water in the radiator does not bust open that screw. To be safe, I brought 3 litres of water along with me just in case.
By the way, I serviced my car at Rolfe Subaru in January 2009 and it cost me $2500, including a new radiator. This very leaking radiator that requires attention.
Long story short, the parts manager checks for the part into his fancy computer system and success, he finds it. I tell him that surely they need to give warranty on their parts. To my greatest disbelief, I am told that when they put in the new radiator, they used my existing screw so as to save me from buying new screws!!! Unbelievable, yes, a new radiator with second hand screw that is exposed to 90degree heat. So, I have to pay $19.71 for the new screw, which I do because I am in a rush to go to work and not in the mood to argue. The parts manager comes out with me to help me put the new screw in place and surprise surprise, the screw does not fit. He is puzzled, he can’t figure out why the screw won’t fit because he checked the part number and it all seems to fit the Car serial number. He calls his mechanic from the garage who tells him to try and find another screw from the store that might be deeper, which he does on the spot. He comes back with the new screws but still puzzled why none would fit. They start wondering what kind of radiator was put into my car for which they don’t stock the parts!!!
They both look at me and tell me “WE’RE VERY SORRY” there is nothing we can do. There is this radiator shop down the road in Phillip, maybe give him a try and he might have a screw that will fit your radiator. I am astonished, I am out of words, I am just plain mortified. The only reason why I ever went to Rolfe Subaru is so that if ever something goes wrong with my car, they give me the assurance of fixing it and providing me with Genuine parts that will not cause my car to fail but right now, they are telling me to drive off my car with a leaking radiator and hopefully someone somewhere might be able to fix my problem.
$2500 and all I got for a failed part is “SORRY”, I am never going there again.