here's the story thus far. i took my impreza in for the 90K service, and at that time, they're supposed to flush the brake system. a few hundred miles later, i notice that the brakes are VERY weak. i pop the hood, and the fluid in the reservior is BLACK. i took it back to the dealership 3 separate times, and pointed out that the brake flush was never performed, and was sent on my way the first two times, and was told the system "was within factory specs". finally on the 3rd visit, the service manager grudgingly agreed to perform the flush, stating "the tech said he did it already." right. and i'm an idiot, a liar, and fresh brake fluid turns the color of espresso after 700 miles.

i also took it in that day to have my a/c controls looked at since my car started blowing nothing but hot air through the vents. they ordered in the parts, and the day before they came in, the idler pulley that runs the a/c croaked and started making hideous noise. i removed it, and took it to their parts manager, handed him the ENTIRE ACTUAL part, and said i needed another one. comes back with the parts to fix my a/c controls, and a nice new box with the idler pulley assembly in it. after becoming completely distrustful of my dealership's service dept., i decided to just fix it myself. turns out that they mis-diagnosed the a/c problem, and ordered in WAY more parts than the single one that was needed. AND the idler pulley was for the wrong engine, as none of the holes on the mounting bracket matched up. so i go to return the parts, and i'm then informed that there's a 25% restocking fee on all returned parts. that's great, but not when your parts manager sells me the wrong parts, even after showing him the exact part i needed!

i then asked to speak to the manager, and was pretty much brushed off, but did get the money for the parts back after much debate.

i wrote a nice long polite letter to subaru of america to bring it to their attention, and here's what i get:

Thank you for your letter, received by Subaru of America, Inc. on October 8, 2001. We are sorry to learn of the difficulties you have experienced on your 1994 Subaru Impreza.

I spoke with Bill, the Service Manager at Winter Park Subaru. Bill stated that the 25% restocking fee for the parts is valid. He assures me that if you had brought your vehicle into Subaru for the same repair, the charge incurred to send the extra parts back would have been the same. Upon ordering any new parts for your Subaru, please do not hesitate to ask for Bill, and he will guide you in any way possible.

it then goes on into the usual "if you have any future concerns" rhetoric.

so they've basically condoned the fact that their parts and service departments can't give you the exact parts you need, and then charge you a 25% fee when you discover that they're the wrong ones?

and what about my other bigger "concerns"? namely my BRAKES? you know, those things that keep you from killing yourself and others? the fact that i was lied to about the most critical safety system on my car does NOT sit well with me. and then to be ignored and receive a patently insulting letter when i bring it to subaru's attention?

i then took it to Mastro in tampa on thursday to have them thoroughly go over the brake system, and they also found that the brakes had never been properly adjusted at the 90K service. they fixed it in 5 minutes, it was done right the first time, and now i have properly functioning brakes.

what would have happened had i rear ended someone because of my brakes failing? what about the time i've had to take off work to make it to the subaru dealer before 5? or the time i've had to take off to drive across the state to another dealership? am i wrong to demand some kind of compensation in my next letter?

they have NOT heard the last of me. :monkey:

adam.

Forget the letters, just don't go there again.

Mastro is the place to be....you made the right choice. I grow more and more wary of these Orlando subaru dealers as they are NOT devoted to subaru.(They sell many other makes.)

I wouldn't forgo the letters if I were you. I would reply to Subaru of America and ask them as you did here, ...do they condone the level of dis-service that you recieved? I would also send a copy of both letters to the local dealership. Word of mouth advertizing is both the best and the worst kind to have and here at I-Club we all have equal access to the proverbial soap box.

There was a fellow that owed a large metal building that is highly visible from Highway 18 here in Southern California. After having difficult dealings with Subaru and their warranty policy, decided to paint a 5 foot tall by 30 foot long sign that read "DON'T BUY SUBARU, ASK ME WHY!" That kept me away from Subaru for years and I never even talked to him. I just figured that you have to be pretty pissed off to paint a sign like that.

What you have to say about Subaru does make a difference and if you are dissatisfied you have to make sure they know it. A phone (or even an email) call doesn't carry the message the way a letter does. There is something about the effort involved in licking an envelope and sticking a stamp that shows you truly mean what you say.

Good luck.

don't worry, i'm not going to ANY of the dealers in orlando anymore.

i had a problem with my dealership, i turned to SOA, and now as far as i'm concerned, they've turned it into their problem due to their refusal to do anything about it.

let's see...i've gone up against apple, MBNA, and my credit card company due to their s---ty business practices in the last month alone, and i've managed to come out on top every time. :devil:

i should quit my job and become a consumer advocate. :lol:

(adam)

Call SoA and tell them you want to open a case and get the
case number. Go back to your first dealer and tell them you want to make an appointment with the District Service Operations Manager. If they tell you that you can't, tell SoA to set up the appointment for you. Explain everything to the DSOM.

Dennis

What is this going to acomplish? I would move on.

What is this going to acomplish? I would move on.

It's going to accomplish a lot. I went from the dealer trying to charge me $2000 for a new clutch and flywheel to getting everything replaced for free. The service manager had so many complaints against him, he was let go.

Simply badmouthing SoA and giving them crap via letters or this board, will definitely accomplish nothing.

Dennis

Again, what do you hope to acomplish? You found a new dealer and they lost a customer.

That stinks about SoA. I have a problem trusting dealers, any dealers. My dad had somewhat the same problem with his Volvo and the dealership where he bought the car. As part of the 30k service they're supposed to bleed the brakes for him, which he was charged for. He happened to be under the car like 1 day after he got it back and noticed that the brake fluid "nipples" (for lack of a better term) were still covered in thousands of miles of road grime and brake dust, not 1 day's worth. When he complained the dealership basically told him to go away and stop bothering them, so he did. And hasn't used them for again for so much as a bottle of touch-up paint.

Point? I dunno, guess all makes have dishonest/incompitent dealers, just make sure you find a good one.

Thats right, find a good one . Does it make any sense to cry about bad ones?

Does it make any sense to cry about bad ones?
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
You don't get it, do you? This Forum is entitled, "Warranty Issues and SOA Problems". People will come here to address problems with certain dealers. If people just go to another dealer without addressing the issue, people will continue to get bad service.

In my case, I (and I'm sure several others) complained to SoA about bad service. The Service Manager and Advisor lost their jobs. If I would have simply gone to another dealer, they would continue to rip people off. Thanks to the crap that I put up with and my complaining, the service is probably a lot better now at this dealer. That's what I acomplished [sic].

Dennis

yes, i'm going to talk to the district service manager.

and sure, i found another dealer. what is this going to accomplish? i'll tell you.

first off, i was ripped off! plain and simple. the work wasn't done right, and after 4 visits, STILL wasn't done right. i've had about $800 worth of work done on my car since may, and only ONE $169 job was done correctly (replacing a torn CV boot).

second, since my subaru dealer doesn't hold service dept hours after 5 or saturday hours, it's been a tremendous inconvenience to get there by 5. i've had to take time off of work. i could have been making money ($50/hr), BUT instead i'm making $0/hr since i have to schlep all the way back and forth across town repeatedly ad nauseum or to another city when my car isn't fixed right.

if SOA wants me to buy another new subaru in the future, i think some kind of small compensation is in order. say a 50% refund from the dealership, for their crappy work.

third, i'm a civil person. i didn't immediately SUE their asses when my brake pedal unexpectedly went straight to the floor during a routine stop from 45mph, nearly causing me to rear end someone. i tried to let them fix it several times. if they want to keep me shut up and not cause them a public relations nightmare (especially to a smaller company like subaru that's trying to increase their marketshare in this country), i think getting half my money back isn't asking much.

of course i could be wrong. in that case, bring it on! :devil:

-adam-

For all of you that suggest getting a new dealer and moving on: you are missing the point. The dealership needs to be held accountable for their actions whether or not they lose you or me as a customer. Some other poor customer is going to be subjected to the same disregard to customer service, fairness, and good business ethics. How selfish to just take care of oneself, move on and let the next poor sucker get it in the shorts!

In regards to Bluesubie's particular situation: a couple of suggestions such as reporting the dealer to the Better Business Bureau so they can start a file on the dealer or add to it, and report the dealer, citing the specific experience as you would with the BBB, to your State's Attorney General.

You may also want to visit the Subaru Crew over at www.edmunds.com and retell the situaition to Patti, the SOA rep who participates on the boards there.

Good luck,
Stephen