Turbo warranty warning

[NE.PA]

I want my story to help inform others. I bought a Subaru VF52 Turbo from HPT Motorsports. It did not get installed for 10 months, but once it was, it broke after 130 miles. HPT said the warranty was through Subaru and where- as they were somewhat helpful, they would do nothing beyond what Subaru honored. I dealt with Fred Beans Subaru who HPT had bought the turbo from. Fred Beans is willing to help me and I would recomend them. Ultimately Subaru denied any warranty they cited; The multiple chain of custody of the turbo, The turbo although installed at a establish repair shop, it was not installed by a Subaru Dealership, Finally they cited that my car has a previously salvaged title and nothing I buy from Subaru for this car will have a warranty. Whatever I am out 1200.00 and everyone is sorry.

[BarManBean]

what caused the failure? Sorry for your situation but your story is missing a lot of details...

[NE.PA]

I don't know what caused it to fail. The shop installed it after rebuilding rebuilding the motor. They are reputable and assured me that they primed the whole motor along with the turbo. When I was looking at the turbo before I sent it back, I notice the internals were very loose. Really it doesn't seem to matter to Subaru of America the "whys or hows". I talked to a customer service rep at SBA. Does anyone know of any further actions I can take?

[AZP Installs]

Did you install new oil feed lines (bought by HPT on the same invoice from FB)? Subaru warranties their parts for 1 year and on the turbos ONLY if you bought and installed new oil feed lines at the same time. HPT should know this if they are reselling these turbos.

 

-mike

 

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[fahr_side]

You had zero chance of success in warranty claim from the moment you bought the turbo. The VF-52 is a WRX turbo. Subaru are not going to honor a warranty claim on a part that was fitted to the wrong car.

[NE.PA]

I did buy the oil lines.

Yeah I had zero chance of warranty for a lot of reasons, but they (SBA) did not mention the wrong car as one of them. although they probably would have thrown that one in if they had to.

I am alittle disappointed in HPT. They are a somewhat worthless middleman. They take a cut of profit with no liability. If I buy pants from target and they are defective, Target takes them back. Target doesn't refer me to the pants manufacturer. These warranty issues are probably spelled out in fine print somewhere. I just want people to understand whats happening as they modify their cars. I've talked to AVO and they don't have any issues with warrantying their turbo on my car. Subaru should honor their warranty too. 130 miles almost has to be a manufacturers defect. Someone from the dealership said they've had a lot of VF 52s returned.

[NE.PA]

AZP you should be interest in SBA customer services attitude to not wanting to help me much in part because I didn't have my work done at a dealership.

[AZP Installs]

Places that are middlemen often times do just as you describe and pass the buck. Good customer service like that found at infamous or at our shop would not have let that happen. The reason Subaru isn't covering it is because their warranty on REPLACEMENT OEM parts is 12mo/12k miles when used in the oem application. In your case the Wrx would be the oem application. Other than in the oem application the warranty is void. Aftermarket turbos dont have such restrictions n their warranty. With that said, we have had a few vf52s warrantied in similar situations by going to our supplier on behalf of our clients. The other reason Subaru won't warranty it is because you aren't the original owner of the turbo.

 

I still throw it back on the pump and dump Internet shops out there who can't afford to do correct customer service due to their ultra low pricing they provide. Then folks come on here and whine when they don't have a good experience.

 

-mike

 

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11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts.

Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us.

AIM: AZP Installs | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.2971 | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber

"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"

[fahr_side]

I've talked to AVO and they don't have any issues with warrantying their turbo on my car.

 

I think you'll find it more informative to ask people with failed AVO products about their experience trying to get service. Any vendor will say their service is great when asked for comment. It's what they do when asked for service that counts.

[NE.PA]

Which turbo do you recommend cost is an issue since I'm paying twice. I am told by the previous owner that this is a stage 3 Legacy. 750 injectors. Headers and full exhaust. It had a 20g on it before. Looking to medium performance like the VF52, because this is for an eighteen year old. I don't have any local suppliers of aftermarket subaru products. I really am in a steep learning curve with the Turbos and the tunning involved. I've tried ordering my parts from several vendors. Looking for one that is trustworthy.

Whining isn't my purpose. I try to do due dilegence and I hate when businesses let me down. When they do I try to pass the info on to others.

[lieutenantcolumbo]

I think you'll find it more informative to ask people with failed AVO products about their experience trying to get service. Any vendor will say their service is great when asked for comment. It's what they do when asked for service that counts.

 

Agree 100% that service counts, but can you provide specific links for AVO failing to warranty a turbo?

 

I don't recall seeing any failures of AVO turbos on the sites I frequent, much less a warranty refusal.

[bmx045]

Whatever the reason was, it was likely not the turbo itself failing (i say, likely). 52's are pretty solid, reliable turbos. if the motor was rebuilt perhaps they didn't take the time to clean the banjo filters for debris (which could have caused the first failure). this would in-turn starve the turbo of oil if these screens were blocked. who knows, there's quite a few reasons a turbo can fail

[fahr_side]

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/turbo-failure-wiki-173358.html

[AZP Installs]

Which turbo do you recommend cost is an issue since I'm paying twice. I am told by the previous owner that this is a stage 3 Legacy. 750 injectors. Headers and full exhaust. It had a 20g on it before. Looking to medium performance like the VF52, because this is for an eighteen year old. I don't have any local suppliers of aftermarket subaru products. I really am in a steep learning curve with the Turbos and the tunning involved. I've tried ordering my parts from several vendors. Looking for one that is trustworthy.

Whining isn't my purpose. I try to do due dilegence and I hate when businesses let me down. When they do I try to pass the info on to others.

 

Why not work with a local installer/vendor to help build a complete picture of what you want to do with the car? We often will work with our clients and take a holistic approach to their car modifications. That is your best bet.

 

-Paisan

 

 

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Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us.

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"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"

[BarManBean]

Do what you want--and I wish you the best of luck with getting the car back up and running--but you shouldn't be putting anything larger than a vf52 on a car for an 18 year old. If you pay for it, and he/she has no accountability they're going to eff up somehow. If the 18yo is paying for everything, that's a different scenario as far as I'm concerned.

 

Just my $.02.

[spec.B Dream]

Hey, NE.PA. I'm local and can help you out with picking a turbo. I'm running a BNR HTA68 and can give you a ride so you can see if you like it. I did have to send it back twice for warranty work, which BNR honored with no issues (they since switched bearing suppliers and I've now had no issues for 8 months). BNR turbos are very affordable.

 

Have you checked out nebraska-subaru.com? It is a great local site with lots of helpful friendly members.

[Alfred_Buchi]

Do what you want--and I wish you the best of luck with getting the car back up and running--but you shouldn't be putting anything larger than a vf52 on a car for an 18 year old. If you pay for it, and he/she has no accountability they're going to eff up somehow. If the 18yo is paying for everything, that's a different scenario as far as I'm concerned.

 

Just my $.02.

 

What a great point. My first car was a baja bug that I literally did not give a CRAP about. I drove that thing so recklessly that I can't believe I'm still alive and that I wasn't expelled for using the highschool track as a drift course.

 

My aunt gave me her 1990 prelude since she hated my bug - called it a death trap. And guess what, I didn't give a CRAP about that car either. I was just as reckless in that thing, only I drove faster.

 

Finally when I BOUGHT my first car (1998 prelude) I realized that I cared. I realized that if I break this car it's my money that's gone to waste. Subsequently, for the first time in my life I drove a car at 80% of its limits instead of 100%.

 

Giving a kid a fast car in my mind is worse than a parent giving their kid booze or weed. You're endangering their lives and the lives of innocent drivers everywhere they go.

[NE.PA]

My son is about half invested in the car with plans to pay me the rest. I'm just trying to help him get there before he goes to college.

spec.B I called BNR (bryan) told him what I have and he suggested 18G. I noticed a lot of people on this thread and other have BNRs so I went with it. Thanks though. You probably know this car. Quicksilver (or some form of that handle) originally owned it.

My first car, that I bought, was 1972 chevelle. I remember the love and pride. I won't make any excuses. Ok 1 excuse. We bought this broken car at an insurance auction alot of its performance was unknown to me. I didn't know it was a stage 3 in it's former life. My son visits this non running car at the shop. He cares enough that I think it'll be ok.

[Alfred_Buchi]

I'm a younger guy, and I have nothing but respect for a father trying to get his son something he will enjoy, so I'm not trying to call you out by saying this.

 

I guarantee you my dad would have said the same thing about me. He trusted me too much and gave me too much freedom. I SURVIVED my high school and early college years through blind luck. I can't even count on both hands how many near fatal accidents I have had both on and off road. I didn't think I was invincible, but I did think "it won't happen to me".

 

Get his car up and running (get a pro tune done by someone who knows what they are doing), and then get your son on the track where he can learn to drive it in a controlled environment free of telephone poles and head on traffic. 320 whp is not something you want him exploring the limits of on the street. Hopefully you plan (or already have) some suspension and brake upgrades to keep all that power under control.

 

Best of luck to you guys and I hope your son understands how lucky he is to have a car like this at 18. In high school my best friends had: Integra type R, mustang GT, camaro z28, wrx, and 2 M3's. All of them ended up totaled except the mustang. Both of the M3's were owned by the same kid who got a second one after the first was crashed, his second totaled m3 cost an elderly couple their lives.

[fahr_side]

Would you like to adopt me? I promise I'll go back to school if you buy me a nice car!

[spec.B Dream]

My son is about half invested in the car with plans to pay me the rest. I'm just trying to help him get there before he goes to college.

spec.B I called BNR (bryan) told him what I have and he suggested 18G. I noticed a lot of people on this thread and other have BNRs so I went with it. Thanks though. You probably know this car. Quicksilver (or some form of that handle) originally owned it.

My first car, that I bought, was 1972 chevelle. I remember the love and pride. I won't make any excuses. Ok 1 excuse. We bought this broken car at an insurance auction alot of its performance was unknown to me. I didn't know it was a stage 3 in it's former life. My son visits this non running car at the shop. He cares enough that I think it'll be ok.

 

I do know the car and former owner. I know mark still has some parts for the car and was trying to get in contact with the new owner. Mark is a good guy. He's got tons of logs from tuning that car. He's helped Joel and me out several times with our Legacys.

 

What shop are you working with? Let me know if you need any help. I'd love to see that car again.

[qikslvr]

I heard about this thread through the grapevine. My main concern would be that you need to get ahold of me when this thing gets running again. When I sold the car, it had a tune on it that was specifically for the parts that were installed at the time. If parts have been changed, especially the cold air intake or the boost control solenoid, it could have serious consequences for the motor and we should address that before you take it out and open it up. Unlike your 72 chevelle, you can't just bolt on new parts, turn the air/fuel screws on the carb and adjust the timing with a light and take it out for a beating; this vehicle HAS to be thouroughly tuned with a laptop for each and every change you make to it especially if you change the turbo or other parts I mentioned. If it isn't, you are just asking for trouble.

To prevent any further issues; please contact me when you get it back and we can get together and make sure it's safe to drive(let me know if you need my ph# again). Below is an airboy dyno sheet of what it once ran like... I too would like to see it back on the road again;).

[qikslvr]

Get his car up and running (get a pro tune done by someone who knows what they are doing), and then get your son on the track where he can learn to drive it in a controlled environment free of telephone poles and head on traffic. 320 whp is not something you want him exploring the limits of on the street. Hopefully you plan (or already have) some suspension and brake upgrades to keep all that power under control.

 

Don't worry, this car has/had TEIN flex coilovers, front and rear sways, endlinks, brakes, bushings, mounts and about every other upgrade you could possibly think of when I owned it, so it should be safe for that power level. Oh, and I have hundreds of maps for this car, so I'm sure we can find one that; with a little adjustment, will work with whatever turbo ends up on it.