Hi,

First posting here and it's a long moan ! I purchased a used '01 model WRX from Oaken Subaru near Wolverhampton in January this year, having been assured by the dealer that it was one of several 'ex-management' vehicles from Subaru UK. I've had various issues which haven't been dealt with very effectively by Oaken Subaru, the main one of which is the fact that the car hasn't felt right on the road since i've had it. They have recently replaced the clutch (still way less than 20,000 miles on the clock) due to judder, which I see mentioned quite a lot on this forum. Secondly, the brakes are poor (again I see this mentioned all over the forum) - two different dealers have looked at the brakes and pronounced them fine.

However, on driving home during a wet, muddy day a few weeks back I noticed that one of the rear discs was covered in mud when I pulled up at home - suggesting that the brake on that wheel is not coming on correctly. Oaken have looked again and still say it's fine - but I know that I can feel the car 'snap' when braking hard which also points to one back brake being delayed coming on.

Another key point here is that when I took the vehicle to another dealer and mentioned the 'ex-management' bit, the service manager told me that Subaru UK do not give the WRX to management and if this is the case I am going to look at a case for 'mis-selling of the vehicle' as it is more likely to have been a press fleet test vehicle !!

This brings me to my last tale of woe with Oaken Subaru. When I originally picked up the vehicle, three of the alloys had kerb damage and were replaced by the dealer for new wheels & Bridgestone tyres. These have lasted 5000 miles on the front, being shredded on the inside by poor alignment (the vehicle does not go on any track days and is driven 16 miles per day to work and back).

I thought the dealer would show some courtesy by offering to sort this out, but have been landed with a bill for tracking at £25+vat and the tyres - overall a bill of £184 (which I think is bad after only 5000 miles of driving). The other point here is that the dealer did make a concession and said that as a goodwill gesture they had given me the two Bridgestone's at a discounted rate of £65 each.

Fine I thought, until a closer look at home. When I inspected the car more closely, the two 'new' tyres on the front are actually PART WORN (and have confirmed this with a local tyre dealer)!!! So, the dealer gave me tyres at £65 as a gesture, but it turns out that part worns for this size should be priced at more like £35-£40. And that's still not the end of it - you remember I said that I'd had three new wheels, so the whole set were immaculate ? Well, two of the wheels now have dents in the rims and kerb marks - to my horror i've just discovered that the dealer swapped not only the tyres but also my wheels with another vehicle !! Angry, i'm bloody fuming...

Anyway, about to call Subaru UK to ask about the origin of the vehicle and the shoddy dealer practice - anyone got experience of Subaru or a good contact to call there ?

Rant over !

Joe.

 

Speak to customer services at Subaru UK on 0121 522 2000 or ring back Oaken and ask for the Dealer Principal/Owner

 

Can't offer any practical help but give them hell, that's taking the pi$$! Collect all the evidence you can and stick to your guns.

I had problems with a Vauxhall dealer years ago - it took a lot of angry letters (including trading standards, Vauxhall customer services etc) but I eventually got it sorted. Vowed never to get another Vauxhall again.

Richard

 

out of interest are the reg letters KOE or something similar? You should hope its not a press car because they don't even get run in properly and get thrashed from day one Welcome to scoobynet by the way sorry its not under better circumstances

 

KOE is very familiar !!

Wit reference to one of the replies above - this is the Dealer Principal we're dealing with !!! I did make a point of asking directly 'can you guarantee that this is not a press fleet vehicle ?' and was told 'of course not sir, we wouldn't want to sell you one of those!'

If this proves to be the case, a solicitor will be in touch with them shortly ! Do you think Subaru UK will tell me the vehicle's past, or will it side with the dealer as so many other pathetic manufacturers do ?

Joe.

 

God what a nightmare
I think I'd have tipped the MD's desk upside down long before now!

AFAIK Oaken are a small family run business. The type I'd expect to be more sensitive to after sales issues than a major franchise

IM certainly do/did run WRX fleet cars. Speaking to one of their senior management recently he told me he had just changed from a WRX to a Forester (and Mike Woods used to drive one)

Didn't think clutch was such an issue with the 01s, so possibly its had a hard time or been a press car!

 

JSS 44

If you mail me with the reg # (don't post on here unless you want to) I'll see if the car has featured in any car mag tests. I've got a few Autocars and EVOs. Not optimistic for you, but worth a try

 

Joe

It may be a good idea to post the reg and see if anyone recognises it. I know people on here can be funny about reg plates but lets face it how many people on the road everyday see your reg plate? They are able to see where you go too so putting your reg up is not a problem. I guess from you your reply it is a KOE plate then?

 

Of course SUK/IM may have registered a bunch of cars at the same time, then distributed some to the press and the others to their own staff. Whilst it is true that most press demonstrators have KOE registrations, that doesn't mean that all KOE registrations are press demonstrators

 

Indeed not, they could equally be the promo cars that potential customers were invited to drive around race circuits.

 

I t might be worth calling Subaru PR guys and asking if your car was on their press fleet - they should be able to tell you quite easily.

Who's on the V5 as previous owners?

 

Hmm.

Another Dealer has just confirmed that the vehicle is shown on Subaru UK's database as being 'ex Press Test Fleet'. Oh dear.

Spoken with trading standards who say that unless i've got any corroborating evidence to say that the dealer insisted it was not a press fleet car, then it's my word against his.

Got to consider the options now. Trading standards did say that I can go after the dealer for the difference in value between an 'A1' vehicle and a 'Trade' vehicle....

 

You really need to confirm from IM/Subaru if it was indded a press/test car as it sounds. KOE reg plates have been seen in lots of press articles. If this was a test car then that is pretty disgusting in my book and I'd be very angry. I'd approach the owner of the dealer first and if no joy then I'd go to Watchdog they'd love that story as would the motoring press. If Subaru don't help, which legally they don't have to , they need to consider the implications to the market of thier dealers bad practices.

I had major issues with a Fiat dealer in the UK, Fiat UK did nothing so apart from a one sided investigation and sided with the dealer I wrote to Gianni Agnelli who used to run Fiat from Italy, who took away thier Fiat dealership and then they went bankrupt. Ha Ha .That I'll teach them to **** about with me. They did deserve it I can assure you as they puntured the body work in several places with screwdrivers, blew the engine, caught them doing handbrake turns in it etc. !


Good luck and let us know how you get on.


AllanB

 

**** that wasn't what you wanted to find out have you confronted the dealer now? Are they a genuine subaru dealer?

Paul

 

The flip side is that Press Cars would be very well looked after by Subaru (UK) - I bet they are serviced & valeted every week & have any parts they need to keep them tip top.

Lets face it they wouldnt be sending out a shed to the Press now would they?

They also do run in their cars before handing to the Press - as even in Autocar etc - the 'First Drive' tests often have a mileage of a coupla thou on them before they've done the test. I presume to make sure the car in in perfect condition with no rattles etc and had the 1000 mile service done/oil change.

Just my thoughts......

 

you have got to be joking. Press cars are thrashed to hell by journo's trying to find the limits (usually badly at that). How many 0-60 sidestep the clutch attempts do each journo do? Got to be at least 10. How many 100MPH to a stop hard braking runs? The list goes on and on!

I would want to hand that car back and get a refund myself.

 

Spoken to Subaru UK - it took ages to get them to admit that it is an ex Press Fleet vehicle, but they have said it makes no difference to the vehicle - yeah right ! So no joy there.

Dealer has been just as vague, so I think i'll be calling Watchdog to see if they'd like to send a letter to the dealer..

 

Go for it. I had a friend who worked at SAAB GB in marlow and he had to run in the cars and fix them before they went to magazines/ tv. He only had to 600 miles on most of them and they were so thrashed that it was silly He was told to thrash them so that they make good times to 60 etc an embaressing example of this was that he had to run in a SAAB 9000 2.3 turbo and an old boy had to run in a 9000 areo, because of the way they were run in the 2.3 turbo was faster than the areo . I would not be happy to know that my car had been treated this way [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] Have you called watchdog or anyone? It would be interesting to see what they say.

 

I cant see what all the fuss is about. I worked for a main Uk manufacturer previously and we sent demo's out to the motoring press for long term reports, so we never saw then back at base for sometimes as long as 6 months. They never came back abused in any way, shape or form, because, the reporters knew, if it came back wrecked, they dont get a second chance when the next new ones come in, so they all treated the vehicles with the utmost of respect. Either that, or No Job, so what are they going to do when there money for a "write up"is at stake? the "test/demo" cars you see on tv on some of the more "seedy" test car programmes are not sold afterwards. They are the cars which then go to places like "Mira" or "Thatcham" for the other side of vehicle testing, ie anti theft,collision impact or panel replacement, so never see another piece of "legal tarmac" again.

 

Press cars are thrashed, mercilessly. The journo has to get the best 0-60 time, otherwise the car looks bad by failing to meet the factory 0-60 time. Normally press cars are auctioned, rather than going through the dealer network, though they still have the 3 year guarantee.

Take the car to another dealer, and see what their opinion is. If it seems a bit corporate, try and independant inspector.

Colin.