Subaru Service Quality Poor?

[BookemDano]

Hi, On Monday night I picked up my Legacy GT Ltd. When I took delivery from Chaplins Subaru in Bellevue, Washington, the car was clean but there were some minor scratches on the trunk lid and the tire pressure was about seven pounds too low! I attempted to put air in the tires with my air compressor but found that I had to press the valve as hard as I could to get it to work. It appears that the valve stems are defective. So yesterday evening about 5:40, I called the Chaplins' service department. The person I talked with said that I had to take it to a tire store!!!!! However, she said that she wasn't really qualified on this issue and that I should bring it in to service in the morning (this morning) and they'd look at it. OK, fair enough. This morning, they said that it would be better to go to a tire store and have it fixed! Finally, they said that they would help me out and sub-contract it if necessary. I can't believe this. I've had the car something like 40 hours. The attitude seems like "Well the car's yours now. We'll service if it's really necessary!" That's GARBAGE! I haven't the time for this insanity. Washington has a three day rule on purchases. I'm seriously thinking about handing the car back to them. I can not and will not accept rotten service! If Subaru thinks that merely building a nice car is the way to move into the premium car category, they are seriously mistaken. Good service is critical! Now I'm sorry I bought the car. Regards, Dan.

[mattz]

Whoa...take a deep breath first...I can understand your frustration, but Subaru is not 100% responsible for their dealers service quality. Yes, to a point they have a great deal of influence on their dealers, but the individual dealerships are their own businesses. I would contact SOA customer service and explain the situation. If you do not get anywhere, try a different dealer???

[Tide]

moved to warrenty issues and problems. cheers. btw, yes they should fix it, if not have it fixed elsewhere and take them to small claims court. you will win.

[evolutionmovement]

I can't believe those morons - that's a five minute fix even if they have to break the tire down to replace the stem, the valve alone would take even less time. And look how pissed you because they didn't want the $9/hr. tire & oil change kid to spend 5 mins away from BSing with the crew. I don't blame you for being frustrated. Who feeds these people? Steve

[NewGTGuy]

You will get a survey in the mail. Subaru dealers take this survey very seriously as it goes to SOA. I also bought my car from Chaplin's in Eastgate. They told me that if I was going to put anything other than perfect on the survey to call them first so they could take care of my issue. Perhaps this approach will work for you? Good luck! NGG

[BookemDano]

My issue with Chaplins is not the valve stem, it's the lack of interest in helping me. I don't expect perfection. I do however expect that the service department is is interested in finding out what the problem is and helping me get it resolved. During a brief meeting with the service manager at Chaplins, I got the same kind of "It's not our problem" response. I was livid when I left that meeting. When I calmed down, I said, "OK, this is poor service but that's what I have to deal with". So I called Chaplins back and said, "Where do I need to take the car for tire service?" The service agent, "What kind of tire?" (Don't they know that?) I said, "Bridgestone." She said, "Well you'll need to find a Bridgestone dealer." I said, "You mean that you're not even willing to find out where I should take the car!?!" Arrrgh! At that point, I was so mad I could spit nails. If I thought I had a chance to getting another GT Sedan exactly like mine within a few weeks, I'd return the car today (3 day return law in Washington). I was that mad. NewGTGuy - My salesman (Ray) at Chaplins is a great guy. He said the same thing - call me with any problems. The problem is that I have neither the time nor patience to call Ray on EVERY TRIVIAL ISSUE! And I'm NOT going to fight with the service department over every little issue. It is mind-boggling to think that I need a mediator to deal with the most basic of customer service issues - simply caring about the customer. But I do have good news... I took mattz's advice and called another dealer - Carter Subaru in Seattle. I spoke to Dale in the service department. I explained the situation. His attitude was VASTLY different. His first response was, "Bring it in and let's take a look at it. If it's just the Schrader valve, that's pretty easy to fix. Also, we have our own tire store so we can handle it here!" He cared about my problem and having me as a customer. Frankly, I was blown away at the different attitude. As much as I like Ray at Chaplins (and he is REALLY good), I won't buy another car there because of Chaplins' service department. Chaplins needs to realize their service department WILL cause them to lose sales. And, this isn't an idle statement. My wife needs a new car before winter sets in. Her first choice is a fully-optioned, Forester L.L. Bean to replace her Rav4. We WILL buy it from Carter Subaru. Mattz, gentlemen, many thanks for the feedback. It saved my day. Regards, Dan.

[chinchy]

Isn't Carter Subaru the one Subiegal works at? I hate dealers who won't work with you.. Just sucks all the joy out of owning a car...

[BookemDano]

[quote name='chinchy']Isn't Carter Subaru the one Subiegal works at? [/quote] Yep. One and the same. Apparently she is a very nice person... Until she climbs into her racing car! :D Regards, Dan.

[agctr]

At the end of the day, the vehicle has a warranty on ALL PARTS. Now for companies to win their business with Subaru, they have to come up a certain standard and these warranty policies should be in place to not only protect US the buyer but Subaru as well. Yes it is a Subaru problem as you bought the car from them, not individual parts, SO they should fix it or get spares from their supplier and sue them for fault equipment instead of the buying coping it in the neck. Adam.