New Turbo at no cost

[gcoonley]

Hi Guys,

 

This is my first thread. Was not sure if this was the correct area or not.

 

My dealer asked me if I wanted a new turbo free of charge. They

said that Subaru was trying to get some low mileage turbos (30K - 40K miles)

so they can tear them down and see how they are wearing.

 

I have three questions about this:

 

1. Has anyone else heard of this? It seems a little strange.

 

2. If this make sense, what are my risks?

(I am worried about possible poor dealer work and the new turbo failing

sooner than if I had not done anything) Obviously my first reaction

was I would be foolish not to go for it.

 

3. I assume I would not have any drop in performance. The dealer

said they were also going to change one of the pipes as well.

[AKLGT]

Never heard of it. but if they want to give you a free turbo... *shrug* do it.

[lawl]

Call up SoA to verify.

 

it MAY be a sort of stability/reliability study. or it may be a dealer trick. best thing to do is ask SoA.

 

although i dont imagine they'd have any problems finding their own turbos. i'm sure they have demo cars and whatnot

[rao]

Sounds like a bunch of BS to me.

[Richard B.]

keep in mind...IF you car is running 100% now, it may not be when they get done with it. what's that old saying? "if it aint broke, don't fix it"?

 

sounds like issues to come if you let them do what they wish.

 

who knows. maybe they want to hack it for their own tuning. they could easily pull apart a trade in. no need for a customers perfectly running car.

 

point...

 

don't do it and i would go to a different dealer for now on.

[Gasaraki]

Sound kinda good... almost too good...

[NSFW]

Call up SoA to verify.

 

If true, take them up on it.

If false, encourage SoA to investigate the dealer.

Period, end of thread.

[gcoonley]

I am going in Tuesday morning for a rear strut that failed under warranty.

 

They wanted to change the turbo then. I will follow up once I talk to them

Tuesday.

[whobaru]

I wouldn't go from a perfectly good, factory-installed turbo to a dealer-mechanic installed, possibly defficient turbo. If they paid me, I'd think about it.

[jagcars26]

Sounds fishy,,call SOA

I too am of the opinion,"if it aint broke,don't fix it" theory.You may get back a bag of snakes when the dealer is done with it.

[c-lo]

Sounds fishy,,call SOA

I too am of the opinion,"if it aint broke,don't fix it" theory.You may get back a bag of snakes when the dealer is done with it.

 

 

 

AMEN!

[byron3636]

if your current turbo is running fine why change it out for the same one just new? if it were an upgrade to sti turbo that's a different story, otherwise keep what you have.

[gcoonley]

The dealer I have been working with is Troncalli in Cumming Ga.

So far they have been very up front and honest with me in my various

dealings with them. But it only takes one screw up.

 

Has anyone in the Atlanta area had any experience with them?

Also, what Subaru dealer in Atlanta does anyone recommend?

If I need to switch dealers, I would like to go to one that people here are happy with.

[05Limited]

Subaru of Gwinnett - I used to be a troncalli customer...bought my first LGT there new, but the subaru dealership there is more like an afterthought - I can hardly ever get them on the phone, and always ended up having to work my schedule around them.

 

Subaru of Gwinnett is great - friendly and knowledgeable staff - and very mod-friendly. I've had all my recent work (within the last year or so) done at SoG, and haven't looked back at Troncalli.

[SBT]

Give SOA a call, before you talk to the dealer again about your turbo. Something just does not sound right here. If SOA confirms, with a viable rationale, then let the rest of the crew know. May be regional, may be specific cars, from a specific production run, but you won't know until you ask... and the old axiom, mentioned at least 2x now and bears repeating, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it."

 

One loose bolt, one torn inlet hose, one vacuum or oil line cracked or loose, and your car won't run as well as it used to do. Not saying this would/will happen, just that the reliability factor is built on a number of components working/interacting 100% with each other and when you change one component in that mix, it affects everything else, usually to the detriment of the whole.

SBT

[gcoonley]

05Limited, Where they ever dishonest? I agree with the schedule issue.

For me, my office is a few miles north of them and they have a shuttle that

drops me off at my office. (Very convenient)

I am more concerned with them trying to pull a fast one with this turbo offer.

So far I have not seen anything even remotely shady from them.

[gcoonley]

I hear it is hard to talk to someone at SOA or get them to call you back.

 

Does anyone have nice bypass number that I could use to actually get

a real person who is knowledgeable on the phone?

 

But I think as of now, I will probably pass on the offer. It just smells funny.

[SilverLeg]

It does smell funny, just like your new turbo might if you were to do this.

This sounds like BS to me. Subaru can easily acquire a used legacy and swap the turbos for testing if they wanted to. Why do they have to have yours ??? There are so many used leggys out there that they could do this on.

I would steer clear of this dealer...

[SBT]

?? for the OP - did you buy this LGT new or used? From this dealership or another seller?

 

The only thing I can think of is that it somehow isn't completely stock and they are trying to find a way to get it back to stock. Sounds weird, I know, but stranger things have happened.

SBT

[krzyss]

Obtaining a Legacy might be easy. Obtaining Legacy with well documented maintenace may be not.

 

Have you brought your Legacy to dealer for all oil changes?

What was your OCI (change interval)?

 

As far as "the offer", I would call SOA to confirm. But getting extact thing back (when it is not broken) you got nothing for inconvinience/risk associated with it. I would ask for more (if offer is valid). Something like extended warranty at least.

[lucas569]

it could be his car just falls into what theyre looking for, milage, all oil changes at dealer,who knows?!

 

i dont think its bad imo if it really is true...

[05Limited]

No, they never did anything dishonest, but they were generally lackluster in everything - if you don't mind the extra drive SoG is MUCH better.

[lawl]

I hear it is hard to talk to someone at SOA or get them to call you back.

 

Does anyone have nice bypass number that I could use to actually get

a real person who is knowledgeable on the phone?

 

But I think as of now, I will probably pass on the offer. It just smells funny.

 

i've had zero problems getting someone. i emailed after hours and got a call back the next morning.

 

although u may probably get someone who this hole forum is familiar with

 

make the phone call. it's probably free and theres no risk involved in the phone call.

 

 

if it turns out to be a scam then you can warn your fellow subaru brethren here

[mbcracken]

If you do the turbo make sure they put in some new banjo oil filters.

 

Also, what kind of a warranty are they offering with it.

 

That being said, +1 for "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

Cheers,

Mike

[gcoonley]

I bought the car used, It was about a year old, but it sold new from that dealer and the previous owner had it serviced there. I usually changed

the oil about 5K miles. Not all of them have been at that dealer, but

they have a good feel for the maintenance of the car since it was new