Subaru Dealership Customer Service?

As a side note, I bought a new Subaru a year ago from Capital Subaru in Fyshwick and have found their service department to be very friendly and professional. They are moving into a new bigger premises shortly (if they haven’t already) so perhaps try taking your business to them z220580?

I have to agree, Rolf has put me off buying another Subaru… after they tried to convince me that my brand new tyres were worn out, failed to replace parts that were at the end of life as part of a regular service, and they used incorrect parts to fix the dead peddle (yes, its an auto).

Some one said Subaru are an pain becasue they keep changing part numbers… I sorry, but if your the dealer ship for a manufacture, should you not be accross the various updated to your products (or at least have cross reference manuals).

I’m not saying Subaru are alone in dropping the ball though. My other car, a performance Nissan developed an interensing ‘wiggle’ under hard acceleration. I figgured the suspension bushings were wearing out, after all, the car had 60k on it (I’d bought it new and had it serviced by the dealer). The car went back to Nissan for its 70k and 80k service with nothing out of the ordinary being reported. Then, as I as not a fan of dealer servicing and the warranty was up I took it my my favorite mechaninc, who picked up the off side rear wheel bearing had colapsed, the whole thing was being held in place by the breaks! And just to make sure you seeing the point here, the car had visited Nissan twice with this fault.

I agree, there probably are deal service centres out there who do great work, but I’m yet to come accross one.

He didn’t say it hadn’t been serviced since he said the 2009 service was when the radiator was replaced

……and to all the Subaru drivers reading this – TURN YOUR FREAKING WANKER LIGHTS OFF !!!

Troll sniffer, I agree with you. There is a reason why the screw is plastic. You would have to ask a mechanic, but my guess is, it is sacrificial. Ie 19.95 screw versus $5000 engine rebuild. It will only do its real job when it runs very hot for extended periods of time. It didn’t fail it actually worked. Just a guess. Its not like it is a moving part. You might have another bigger problem elsewhere. Good luck with that.

I know a good mechanic but he is drinking beer and eating prawns in Townsvile. So he probably does not want to be disturbed with, cheap, whining, no-nothing customers.

Moose said :

This kind of a post makes me uber sad to have someone like this driving a Subaru. They’re beautiful cars, with often wonderful owners who can care for a car properly. But when someone like this comes along for a bitch and a moan? Really mate?From all said, Subi dealership gave great service. Just because they don’t have the right screw is no need to go onto a public blog for a moan. Go back to the livejournal, myspace, whatever, and have a go there. Heck, while you’re still on the internet, go to carsales and list that Subaru, or learn to look after your car instead of moan about how the world isn’t revolving around you.

People keep taking their cars back to dealers because they think they are getting the best possible service by properly trained techs – and they are prepared to pay a premium price for that.
I think he has every right to bitch and moan…

Stealerships are usually the same; they’re all Dr Jekyll when they’re selling you a car and Mr Hyde when it comes to taking care of it when it’s with them for servicing. Parts for my w124 Merc bought at Merc spares in Fyshwick are close to half the price being charged by the local Merc stealership.

I agree with #11. Haig Park or Subaroo are great.

Subaru aint what they used to be. Unlike some others here, I don’t think you are at fault in the slightest. I think they have a lot to answer for in regards to the parts they use. I have heard other stories from that Subaru dealer but what dealer doesn’t have horror stories? I had one myself last week with another dealer in Phillip but they were excellent in dealing with the problem and as such, I will not name or shame them. Everyone has bad days, but when you are just going in for a scheduled service, you don’t expect headaches. The only reason why I get my car serviced at a dealer is because it is near my work and the convenience is worth it.

Don’t blame the dealer, is it their fault this plastic screw has melted? No, as said it will not melt if it is subjected to normal temperatures, which is YOUR fault. You say the ‘original’ screw was used, yet you say the radiator must be different/dodgy.. If the original screw ‘still fits’ then it must be the same type of radiator, no?
You also say you serviced it in JANUARY 2009! Thats almost TWO YEARS AGO! Cars there are advised to be serviced every SIX MONTHS! Even if you went and got it serviced at another mechanic, that’s your problem, they probably didnt know the radiator had been replaced, if you had of taken it back to Rolfe, they may have checked it at the next service, which also brings the point if it was taken to another mechanic, whats there to say they didnt f**k around with the cooling system (which would have used the screw)
Dont blame others for your mistakes!

I’d be willing to bet the “melted” screw had been forcefully screwed in and had snapped inside the radiator. I guess I’m one of the few here to expect decent service from places like this, but then again I’m new to Canberra 🙂

I generally go by the rule that if I am to spend money to someone else for providing me a service, they have to provide the same or better service than I could provide myself. In other words, if I go to a pricey restaurant I want to be provided with food that is equal to or better than something I could cook at home. If I get my car serviced I expect them to have a greater knowledge of cars than I do and use parts and tools that are better than what I could use myself. It goes the other way too, when someone pays me to do a job I make sure they feel they are getting their moneys worth.

If I was in the OP’s shoes I would feel ripped off as well, just because something has an arbitrary 1 year warranty doesn’t mean it should break down just after that time. I would have at least expected the dealership to fix the problem, not do a Barbara from Bankworld!

Do yourself a big favour and take your Subaru to Darren at A&D Automotive 62809911 in Canberra Ave. Darren will save you $$$ by charging less than the dealers, and only carrying out repairs that are needed, look after your car well (he is a Subaru tragic), AND give you the courtesy car for ten bucks for the day if it’s available.

cranky said :

Thank you for that Wraith. I needed it.

LOL

Welcome

Thank you for that Wraith. I needed it.

LOL

Ozawkie , Kansas, December 12, 2008

A Kansas farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone failed to ring when her friends called – and that on the few occasions, when it did ring, her dog always moaned right before the phone rang.

The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog or senile lady. He climbed a telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber’s house.

The phone didn’t ring right away, but then the dog moaned and the telephone began to ring.

Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:

1 . The dog was tied to the telephone system’s ground wire with a steel chain and collar.

2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the number was called.

4.. After a couple of jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate.

5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to ring.

Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by

pissing and moaning.

Grail said :

Just ‘cos you own the dealership Moose, doesn’t give you free rein to go blaming the victim 😛

What kind of operation are these guys running where they put non-genuine kit into a car being serviced at a dealership?

The dude said they reused the screw to save him buying a new one. If the old screw fitted the new radiator, then perhaps the new one is genuine??

I agree with the above comments regarding the use of water. How old is the Subie, maybe that’s why they don’t have the right part as it’s old?
Also, you haven’t had your car serviced in over 20 months? And you’re wondering why something went wrong?

I went there with a 2000 model WRX with some suspected boost\fuel problems and because I thought well if anyone would know it would be them… wrong. They gave me a quote which was up near $5000, new turbo, gaskets etc. LOL I took it to Total Traction Services in belco and they cleaned the air filter and sensor and replaced the spark plugs for $100 I think, stuff I could have done myself, but I honestly I’m not the biggest fan of working on cars and at the time I had no tools or time.

I did had a workmate who did buy a brand new STI from them and blew the engine up, not sure on the details, but to get it replaced he went through A LOT of trouble with them and hates the place now… Subi payed for the engine, but Rolf made him pay for the labour :-\

Just ‘cos you own the dealership Moose, doesn’t give you free rein to go blaming the victim 😛

What kind of operation are these guys running where they put non-genuine kit into a car being serviced at a dealership?

Never, ever, ever get your servicing done by a dealer if you can help it.

Rolfe have built expensive new premises & now charge outrageous prices.

I’ve stopped going there & now get my suby serviced by Haig Park in Mitchell. They are Subaru specialists & charge 30 to 50% less than the big dealers for their work.

They also give you the option of using 2nd hand parts to save $$$.

This kind of a post makes me uber sad to have someone like this driving a Subaru. They’re beautiful cars, with often wonderful owners who can care for a car properly. But when someone like this comes along for a bitch and a moan? Really mate?From all said, Subi dealership gave great service. Just because they don’t have the right screw is no need to go onto a public blog for a moan. Go back to the livejournal, myspace, whatever, and have a go there. Heck, while you’re still on the internet, go to carsales and list that Subaru, or learn to look after your car instead of moan about how the world isn’t revolving around you.

troll-sniffer said :

The other aspect of the story that is puzzling is the mention of water. All the Subarus I know of use coolant, you know, yucky green liquid, that is used to protect against corrosion and act as anti-freeze.

I thought you mixed the coolant with water, to save you from having to buy the water and plus-sized plastic containter that holds the mix?

All in all, it boils down to that Rolfe having NO IDEA what they are doing – They don’t know what radiator went in, they can’t match it with their Subaru parts, and they don’t even know how to replace the screw. Sounds like a really cash worthy and professional service to me, but not very mechanically minded.

Perhaps the Sniffer can go and work for them?

To my rather practised eye this post would appear to be from someone who expects the world to revolve around them. The key to my reasoning? The plastic screw bit of the diatribe.

Now forgive me for being just a little on the pedantic side but I would dearly love to know how a plastic screw has melted when exposed to the temperatures maintained within a radiator? Ninety degrees you say. Well let’s up the ante and go for 110 degrees, in a pressurised system. 110 degrees will not melt any normal plastic that I am familiar with that would be used as a radiator part. This would indicate to my mechanically-savvy brain that the radiator may well have been subject to far greater heat than is normal. This can occur if the radiator is not regularly checked (as part of being a responsible car owner) and boils, and the system runs out of water or coolant and super high temps are reached.

The other aspect of the story that is puzzling is the mention of water. All the Subarus I know of use coolant, you know, yucky green liquid, that is used to protect against corrosion and act as anti-freeze. Using just water in Canberra will almost certainly result in freezing, leading to leaks and other damage in the cooling system.

I suspect we might be getting closer to the full story now…

Personally I steer clear of dealers for servicing. They are simply overpriced.

Much rather go to a local mechanic who can remember my name, remember my car, and charge less. Current car, a little Mazda 2 runabout… Slaven Mazda quoted me $220 for a standard log book service. Mitchell Service Centre charged me $190 including the use of fully synthetic oil (at my request).

If you get no joy out of Rolfe, try NATRAD in Philip. I’ve used them a couple of times for engine cooling problems over the last 10 years. Never had to take the same car back.

If they put the radiator in for you, they really should be able to check what sort it was, and find the correct screw. I find it amazing that a new radiator doesn’t come with they, but hey, car manufacturers aren’t in the business of making thing easy.

What the hell are you doing putting water in your radiator for anyway? That’s probably the start of your problems.

Try dealing with the Belconnen Holden service team.

They call you the next day asking if you PAID !!!

Sounds like it might not be a Subaru radiator – maybe a cheap chinese import, you wouldn’t know the difference until something like this happens. I smell a rat.

I recommend just going to a radiator specialist and asking them to look at it. All my dealings with Rolfe Subaru have been painful adn in the end I gave up and went elsewhere. Most mechanics can get you the same genuine parts with the same warranty, so it’s not worth the hassle. Besides that, most aftermarket parts are better than the genuine thing these days and most are cheaper too.

BTW I drive from the other side of Queanbeyan to Phillip everyday and it is 15.2km, not 25-30.

So what, it’s leaking water. Watch the temp guage and stop being such a nancy. Book it in and get it fixed. NATRAD, Subaru, whatever. New Subaru parts carry a 1 year warrenty. Onviously when you had it serviced (almost 2 years ago) the “screw” was fine. Try dealing with Subaru themselves, pains in the ass, they seem to like changing part numbers and compatibilities on the fly for no reason.

They seemed to give you good service, dropping everything and rushing to your aid. Wish they were like that for me. Can you blame them for not having a screw in stock?