A friend of mine imported a Turbo from Holland in February and wrote to Subaru UK registering the car with them. 4 months later when he hadn't heard anything he wrote to the MD of Subaru UK saying that he had not had the courtesy of an acknowledgment. To this day he has not had a reply. It is unbelieveable. They are obviously suffering terribly with imported cars and have dug themselves a hole.

Great cars but rude arrogant Main Agent even worse dealers. How long can the JD Power position be sustained.

The bottom line is that Subaru UK have been milking us for too long and they have been found out and can't bring themselves to reduce prices.

 

Well, I've had my first sting as a person who has imported their Scoob from Holland.

Registered the car no problems with IM, but when taking it in for it's 7.5K service at SGT I mentioned to them about a clutch judder in 1st and 2nd when cold.
They first told me IM wouldn't allow this to be covered under my Warranty, but soon after changed their minds.

The next call I get from the Dealer is to say they sent the inspection report to IM, who in turn passed it onto Subaru Holland. They rejected the claim, even though SGT clearly stated it was a faulty clutch.

Left me with a nice £1k bill and I had to send the faulty clutch out of my own pocket to Holland to try and get them to change their decision !!

IM don't want to know, but I s'pose it's their way of saying you should have bought from here at rip off prices.

 

Sorry to say, your warranty is with Subaru Holland (you paid them for the cover not IM), IM are just passing the paperwork over to them to get the go ahead to do the work, (as a dealer sends it to IM when UK warranty work is needed), IM would pay for the work and then claim it back from Subaru Holland. So as it has been rejected by Holland ??

 

If the JD power placing falls due to poor backup and delivery of service then it will only hurt our residuals more. The magazines love something to print and the press is very fickle.

My dealer has been very good and nothing has been too much trouble. I had a slight crunch from 3rd gear synchro under full bore changes. They stripped and replaced the gearbox parts even though they could see nothing wrong. I had a loan car and an apology for the inconvienience.(@3k miles)

I was considering importing my next car but am having second thoughts now. Mind you, a 5-6K saving is still a good argument.

F
MY99 UK

[This message has been edited by Floyd (edited 23-06-2000).]

 

Can anyone put up the text of the 'EEC wide' warranty they received with their imported (Holland or Belgium) car.

What puzzles me about all this is that the warranty as I understand it is meant to be valid throughout the EEC. Therefore I would assume that a dutch scooby owner coming over here with his car and having a problem under warranty just takes it into a UK dealership and asks them to repair it, the work gets done and SUBARU (not IM) get the bill.

I don't see how IM can force you to 'register' in order to receive warranty service. If the car was supplied in the EEC and Subaru give an EEC wide warranty, why should there be a problem?

I suspect the threat of legal action to recoup your £1,000 would get a VERY quick response, as would a complaint to the european comission. Any letter to SUBARU UK should refer to you seeking DAMAGES as a result of their failure to meet their contractual obligations to you (i.e standing behind the warranty).I certainly won't put up with ANY cr@p regarding the warranty on my car and I would suggest that other owners having problems shouldn't either! Take action - moaning about it won't help - a solictors letter may!

Pete

 

PT - What's a 'negotiator'?

Anyway - I think they're just making life difficult for those buying from the continent. They'd more than likely back down at the threat of legal action. But their tactics are working - because we're talking about it here.

The chances are this thread has already made one or two people think twice about importing!

Regards
James

 

maybe you should read the terms of warranty from the importer in holland and you will find that clutches are not covered at all, the uk cars are so swallow the 1k bill and think of it as you only saved 3k at the mo, as for legal action read the eec warranty conditions as you will find you get the terms stated in the country of purchase , you payed your money and took your chance

 

I thought transmission shunt between 1st and 2nd was a Scooby characteristic!

I guess also that moaning about IM not honouring euro warranties is much the same as people that bought UK cars from IM moaning about people that by imports devaluing their UK cars.

What is it they say ..... what goes around comes around?

Ed

NB Don't forget, I doubt there is much reciprocity for IM as how many people buy UK Scoobs and take them to Holland?

[This message has been edited by EdwardH (edited 23-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by EdwardH (edited 23-06-2000).]

 

All this warranty hassle makes me glad I payed "over the odds" for a UK spec car. This was one of the things I feared when I decided not to for an import (not gloating, just stating facts).

On the subject of JD Power, I guess they are just interested in UK spec cars. Anyway, in the UK, I think the survey is severely skewed. The respondents will typically be:

1) Severely pi55ed off with their car, e.g. a friend of mine who owns an Alfa and dreads getting in it for fear something else will fall off/go wrong

2) Love their cars to bits and want to tell the world how good they are (hello scooby drivers!)

3) Anoraks who have got nothing better to do

In the states JD Power have access to registrations, and their survey is driven off that, rather than voluntary responses. Surely it's time we did the same in the UK?

Cheers

Simon

 

Simes (and sorry to divert the thread a little)

Agree exactly. I've always been sceptical of surveys where the contributors (?) select themselves.

There's nothing like a retired chap wanting to tell the world (aka reinforce his buying decision to himself) that his Toyota Corolla is brilliant and that service is exceptional (yeh, probably is when you turn up at Service Reception at 11am and take the car away at 3pm)

There's nothing like a company car driver wanting to tell the world that his Vauxhall Omega is c**p - getting to Service Reception at 8am, mixing it with a load of Astra Van Mans, picking it up at 5pm, waiting in a queue, arguing the toss about why did you change the clutch when all I told you was to put some oil on the pedal to stop it squeaking (been there, done that! - pedal sqeaked at 1 mile down the road again!) etc

So Toyotas come in at the top, Vauxhalls come at the bottom...but are they really that different these days?

I doubt the majority of Scoob owners are retired, want to re-inforce their buying decision etc, so how come they are top?

Anyone here contributed to JD Power? Why did you do it?

Yours (just interestingly....) etc

[This message has been edited by MartinM (edited 24-06-2000).]

 

You guys really do want not only your cake and to eat it, but expect it gift wrapped, individually decorated, someone else to cut and chew it for you, and not have to pay for any of it.

The risks were always known about buying EU imports, as has been said before, you paid your money and took your choice, you made your bed, lie in it!

You don't hear guys (or gals! ) who bought UK cars complaining about paying over the odds, maybe the cost saving isn't worth it!

 

Dave,
I presume you paid £6 grand too much for your car.

By law IM have to honour the first year warranty- I have it in writing from Ed Swatman.

If you haven't got anything constructive to say then don't post and waste our time.

Kevin,
Ed Swatmans office must be deluged with letters, he always takes at least 6 weeks to reply then claims "it took unusually long in the post". However I've sent him 4 letters and he has replied to each.

I have to say I'm a bit concerned about the clutch/gearbox probs. My MY99 is exhibiting the same symptoms. The term of the first year warranty are the same as UK. SO if there is amanufacturing fault, they should pay. Don't let it lie.

I'm still "discussing" my Belgian 3 year warranty with Mr Swatman. He's not convinced he'll be helping me out for the 2nd and 3rd years, but we'll see. He WILL get fed up with my continued letters, until an arrangement is found.

 

I'm, puzzled. I can't see what Subaru UK should be responsible for a warranty of a car that they have not had the benefit of the revenue for. I do understand however that EU law says Subaru must honour the 1 year warrnty so the UK agenet should provide a reasonable level of service to fulfil this.

I considered buying an import but have such bad luck with cars and need decent back up, and have a Subaru dealer 500 yards away from me, that I paid over the odds for a UK car.

If you get hassle with warranty claims for your first year I'd suggest contacting a solicitor to clarify the EU warrnty law and Watchdog or motoring press. ...JD Power winner giving poor service..mmm.

Good luck


AllanB

 

I also thought about the Holland import route to purchase my new scoobie - I also briefly considered the 'grey' route ... not a wise move for a standard Scoobie!!
Having looked hard and long at the 'no PX'.... the 26 weeks wait ... the 30% deposit ... the warranty issue ... the dealers possible attitude ... the lower resale values ... the cost of a Cat1 alarm .. it became clear to me that I should stick with a UK spec - I may be worse off now but 35 months down the line when a piston flies through the block I have the cast iron UK warranty to fall back on.
As with everything in life - you get what you pay for - so stop those crocodile tears !!
Pete

 

BTW do Subaru UK have to acknowledge the fact you have registered your European car with them?

>> By law IM have to honour the first year #
>> warranty- I have it in writing from Ed >>Swatman.

Sickboy, read the thread carefully, it appears that the Dutch warranty DOES NOT include the clutch, so Subaru UK do not have to honour anything.

Also as has been pointed out before, the warranty is with Subaru Holland, thus before a claim can be honoured Subaru Holland must accept the claim, thus you can be without your car whilst this process is going on.

Read the other threads about 3rd party warranties and you will see why I and many others have paid for a UK car with 3 year manufactures warranty. I do not think I have paid £6k too much, I think I have got what I want with peace of mind for 3 years.

I agree with Dave and others, if you decide to import and save yourself money (nowhere near £6k when I looked at it) you do so on the understanding that the warranty situation is different.

Ref JD Power, I filled one in a couple of years ago, it is a very fair and balanced questionnaire, include dealers, servicing, performance, how the car is to drive etc etc.


Greg

[This message has been edited by gregh (edited 25-06-2000).]

 

Sorry Greg,
the 1st year warranty on all cars sold in the EU is the same.

There is a web page about this somewhere. You don't think IM are doing it out of the kindness of their hearts do you ;-)

Anyway, I don't know what the conditions of a Dutch warranty is but it should make know difference as IM have to honour it (as long as it is service according to manufacturers schedules etc etc).

AllanB, I agree, Subaru UK should not have to pay themselves. Without repeating what has been said in numerous posts before, all I'm asking for is that they help out with claiming process if need be. I am spending a considerable amount with IM on servicing (indirectly as it may be). Who knows when the Government forces UK manufacturers to drop the prices (and I don't give a hoot about making excuses why they are the same price- Yeah right), I may buy a car in the UK.

I would have rather done that anyway.

Oh and another thing, I saved 9 grand. The dealer undercharged me by mistake, plus my VAT paperwork was lost by the Inland revenue. Ha ha! I've phoned them several times about it and they can't find it!

Oh and that is for a 3 year warantied car. Ed was most "surprised" that Belgium do this as standard. He has however ducked out of answering my questions (so far...)

 

I wrote to IM 6 months ago to register my car. I havn't had a reply. I think I will send a letter registered post just to make sure.

My experience of my local dealer has been that they could be much better.

When I collected my car in Holland, they said they had forcast 1000 Impreza turbo sales to England this financial year. This would suggest that a significant percentage of nearly new Imprezas are imports. If IM continue to give us all crap service then they will end up near the bottom of the JD powers survey, rather than at the top.

My friend imported a BMW Z3 from Belgium last year. It came with a 3 year warranty, and the local dealer has been happy to repair the many faults which have occurred.

[This message has been edited by ^Gazzer^ (edited 25-06-2000).]

 

all warranty across europe is not the sam , each country has different warranty , you should read what you get very carefully before you hire your lawyers and eat more in to your 6k or so saveing , and clutches are not warranted from cars in holland and no matter what the guy thinks about his 3 year warranty on his import , im pay for that not subaru so why should you get it , you wanted to save money so why should im pay for your money saveing and take it out of the pockets of the guys who buy from british dealers

 

gregh,

I'm sure the questionnaire is well balanced etc. etc., that's what these guys are paid to do.

What interests me is what motivated you to respond to the survey.

The point is, in the UK people only respond if they have the motivation to do so, whether it be an axe to grind, you love your car or you just want to tell the world what you think, which in my opininion skews the survey.

However in the states JD Power have access to registrations so it is a random poll.

Having said all that I bought my scoob secure in the knowledge that owners love 'em and they are reliable, cos JD Power said so .

Cheers

Simon

 

Sorry, a slightly different subject but have you guys (I mean UK car owners with 3 year warranty) done any mods to your cars or are you keeping them completely standard?

I am a UK car owner myself. Thinking of getting a downpipe but heard that it's a dodgy move warranty-wise. So I am thinking - I paid 6k more for the piece of mind, so should I be risking it with the mods?

I know in the end it's my decision but just wanted to get some "external perspective".

Thanks in advance!

Andrei

 

I put all the prodrive stuff on my uk spec turbo. the scoob's 3yr warranty is unaffected by prodrive stuff. subaru fully support them.

If it affects any decisions though I paid just under 29K for mine and could've got a fully loaded jap import STi for 26. horses for courses - I wanted the warranty.

[This message has been edited by Fosters (edited 26-06-2000).]

 

Bizz,
I'll take consolation in my letter for Ed Swatman agreeing to honour it then.

Obviously they don't like Holland.

Anyone heard of "shadenfreud". It means gaining pleasure from someone else's misfortune.

I'm sure UK vs UK import onwners are both guilty (warranty vs savings) but its a bit sad.

We're all supposed to love Scoobies.

 

Simes,

What motivated me to fill in JD Power?

I have done two. The 1st was with a Calibra, nothing special about it, but average dealer service, and v poor paintwork that the dealer couldn't give a monkies about. Second was an MGF, whilst it was a joy to drive, the dealers servicing and faults on the cars left a lot to be desired, so I wanted to fill in a JD power sruvery!

Greg

 

No dealer or importer will cover clutches under warranty UNLESS there is a recognised design or manufacture fault . well obviously there is as so many Imprezas have clutch judder , keep up the pressure the Dutch importer should cough up.
As an asside is your new clutch covered for a year or untill the car is 3 years old ? now there is a grey area

 

Subaru Holland buys off the warranty from
Fuiju (subaru japan) and provide their
own 1 year stupid warranty...so I can
imagine Subaru in the UK is doing difficult,
our dutch subary is more like a ordenairy
traiding-company.
-warranty lost when fitting prodrive kit
-no warranty on the bad brakes
-rejecting every warranty issue...at least
they try
-etc...

lot of fun with dutch imprezas

rene

 

Re UK car modificatiions, obviously the warranty is invalid on the items fiutted unless from the Subaru/Provrdie list. However it seems other modsand their warranty impact is at the discression of the dealer. I've had a Scoobysport back box fitted and the dealer said this should not make any difference the the warrnty and if a fault occured with the engine they would not have a problem sorting it and would not claim it was the exhaust that had caused it. However he did advise to keepo the old bit so if IM needed to inspect the car there would be no issues at all.


AllanB

 

I realise that this is off the thread, but I had a clutch replaced for MY98 5 door yesterday by Lavender Hill Garage. They gave excellent service and it was good to see action when the clutch was obviously faulty. I didn't know much about importing back in '98, but still like the peace of mind buying locally gives me, enabling me to take stuff back and complain to the individual who I bought from/did the repair.

I have had a number of different cars over the years since I started driving, the Subaru is great fun, and overall the experience has been a good one - I am now awaiting the new model, like I am sure many others are - I guess we'll see it at the Motor Show...