And some more from me too. Iain is honest but it is my impression that he has little time for Imprezas these days.

Powerstation get my vote, for starters they have the decency to respond to emails and phone calls. Dirk opened his workshop up once when he had literally just returned from a family holiday to squeeze me in, and did a cracking job on the car too.

 

Lol... took 1 hour to corner weight my 20 year old classic ... rusted bolts fpmsl !

 

OP is not his customer though, none of us are. That's the point I'm making.

I don't agree with it at all, but it's a sound business model from what we can see from the outside.

 

But it's not though,when your in business you want EVERY customer his neighbour and his dog to walk through your doors as paying customers that is what business is about how they think they can be that selective and productive at the same time is a business model that sooner or later will come back to bite you in your ***,believe me I've seen it before the Subaru will always have a massive following and out of all the jap cars has the biggest,so me personally I would be more open regardless of what car you drive as long as your a potential customer and are prepared to use your hard earned money with me I would be all smiles all the way to the bank.SJ.

 

I just can't believe he said rusties not welcome

 

This is all hypothetical now. Basically he doesn't want us and that points towards him not needing us. So until he comes back to us or goes out of business, you're wrong.

 

I'm not arguing with you mate,and frankly I have never used them in any which way or form and never had any intention of doing so,so I don't really give two hoots,I was just commenting on how a business in my eyes as a potential consumer should be run,end of.I personally have nothing more to add either way.SJ.

 

Doesn't bother me either as I have my local specialist. He doesn't agree with you that's all. Time will tell!

 

Did you do it yourself or where did you have it done?

I'd like to recheck mine after raising it.

But yeah, it took less than an hour when I first had it done during the coilover installation.

 

Agreed,but then he shouldn't advertise that he does on his website.

 

In summary, I had a lot of respect for what Litchfield does. In truth, if I could afford a GTR, then I would probably still be a customer and still be singing his praises. There were two reasons I was offended, firstly it was Ian himself who suggested I get the upgraded suspension, after a year of saving my pennies, it was offensive to then hear my car was of no interest to him. Secondly, as I said before, the website still advertises this £1800 service??

The only other thing I would say, I manage a company (completely unrelated to automotive I should add) and I treat every customer the same, regardless of whether they spend £100 or £20k. In my experience, that is the only way to maintain high levels of customer service. Once you start distinguishing between those customers that get treated well and those that are not of interest, it is a very slippery slope, trust me.

 

.+1.SJ.

 

He's in for a treat in a few years when his fancy Datsun's start to rot. Karma is a funny thing I love the way it comes back and bites people in the ***, his day will come.

 

Seized bolts? Lol. It wouldn't take 2mins to get oxy acetylene out to warm a few nuts up!

 

Can't abide rustists in this day and age

Skidmarques in Essex mate, brilliant service

 

if your after someone for suspension work then as others have said take it to chevron simon is one of the best in the business iv been in a few cars before and after he has set them up and the difference is night and day so much so that my sprint car is going there next week for a setup and to top it off hes a down to earth bloke that respects his customers and some times has biscuits in stock for your brew lol

 

Unfortunately the car industry and Litchfields have moved on, leaving Subaru behind.

 

Not according to their own website. They claim to offer upgrades going back to blobs and hawks.

http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/S...mance-Upgrades

 

**** em! Subarus are still the best performance bang for buck car ever.

 

In reality Litchfields have moved onto cars which have taken over from where Subaru stopped development (due to the recession & yen exchange rate: demand, subsequent lack of investment), as well as high end sports / super cars. Cars such as the new breed of relatively economical 4 pot turbo'd BMW's, VW's, Merc's and new Japanese halo cars such as the GTR. These cars are a modern take on what Suabru should have developed the Impreza into. These cars have the spirit of the Impreza but have moved with the times in terms development of emissions reduction, economy, semi auto 7/8 speed gearboxes, E-diffs, comfort, light weight materials, etc. Where as Subaru are still, even in 2014, releasing models with the same old rubbish 2.5litre engine and same gearboxes etc etc, as they do not have finances for development. Cars such as the GTR, Bmw m135i, 335i, 335d, Golf R, Merc A45 amg etc are now the obvious cars for Litchfields to work with if they want their business to go forward and not stagnate as sadly Subaru have done so.

I do think though that their website should be amended for this, but from a a marketing perspective it would be good not to completely lose their Subaru tuning roots & heritage which is world renowned.

 

As I work in the automotive trade albeit it in the commercial vehicle end of the market I would have happily paid him a non returnable deposit, I wouldn't have expected him to have just held the car for a relative stranger or someone who could have turned out to be a dreamer.

I even offered to drive up to him to view the car before I was in a position to pay for it fully, I was told that the deposit and viewing were not necessary as he would happily hold the car for me until I was ready to get up there, view it and pay for it providing everything with the car was 100% correct.

I am not bitter at all about it, I just bought another car albeit with less mileage and better spec.

I would happily have paid the asking price but business as they say is business, a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's not written on.

 

Ricka you forgot one think gtr 60 grand subaru 30 grand ,also gtr customers got alot more to spend

 

Very true Glen. Its a different market, a far more lucrative market.

 

I had a similar experience with Litchfields early on last year, I called and emailed several times regarding their 08+ suspension upgrades. I was always told that they'd give me a call back as soon as possible.....over a year down the line and I'm still waiting for this magic call back. Like has been said already in this topic, it seems that unless you are spending big money with them and the car isn't a GTR then they basically don't seem interested.

It's a shame really as this sort of attitude can put businesses down the drain!

 

Another trader on here who used to be very popular, had a VERY poor attitude to customers, brusque almost to the point of rudeness, yet his son was pretty good.

The son left...where is that trader now?

 

I find myself thinking, do I really need to keep my T20 Blob's service history with Litchfields (it's been elsewhere before I bought it), and as I need the suspension realigning, will I be better off going to Chevron at Stafford for the service and alignment instead?

Chevron seem to have a great reputation on here, and they're probably a bit nearer to me too.

 

I enquired about booking in my Mk1 type-25 for its 60,000 mile service. They said that they are fully booked for 6 weeks for GTR engine upgrades.
Iv given myself plenty of time and will still use them.