TheCake

Recently had the wagon in here for the lower-arm recall. Pleasant enough people, very small garage with only on-street parking. Made full use of their waiting area which is a comfortable motorsport-themed room.

However, being told my tyres were budget (18" Yokohama Advan Sport @ £200 a corner) and some porky pies about work that needed doing to the car I was pleased the recall work from Subaru was without cost and I won't need to go back.

Not recommended. Sorry about that.

keith kingham

Hi, Sorry we let you down... I do take these things to heart, it was clearly wrong of us to call Yokahama " budget" , I really dont understand what we were thinking of. I have Geolanders on my own Outback and they are NOT budget tyres so..... very sorry. A bit of education needed I think. With regards to any other work you thought might not have been needed , I would really like to investigate the job card and check things out. Please could you either call me personally on 0208 680 4300 or e-mail me on keith@kinghams.co.uk. No witch hunt I dont work like that ( having been a tech myself I know that is counter productive ) However when we **** up I try and get to the bottom of things quickly and try and resolve. Regards keith Kingham

TheCake

Hi Keith,

Thanks for taking the time to come back to me. Didn't expect a reply to this post but appreciate you coming back to me. Hear is the outline from the visual health check which was carried out.

I will email you formerly but in summary;
Inspection Area's flagged as Red
- Wipers/Washer
Comment - Rear washer N/W (not working)
Offered to be fixed or investigated? No. I fixed it myself, was a blocked pipe in N/S/R quarter panel.

- Engine Oil Level
Comment - Off dipstick. Just above low
Offered to be topped up bearing in mind it is a performance vehicle? No. Only mentioned after it had been washed and left the garage.

- Near Side front Tyre
Comment - "inner 1, middle 4, outer 4"
- Off Side front Tyre
Comment - "inner 1, middle 4, outer 4"

Inspection Area's flagged as Amber
- Water coolant level
Comment - none
Offered to be investigated/looked at? No.
- Brake Fluid Level/Condition
Comment - Recommendation reads 'dirty'

The areas of particular interest are the very accurate wear percentages on the brakes, some 10%, some 20%... oddly enough I have just replaced my disks and pads all round 3 months on and there was over half of the material left on them from when new.

Bearing in mind the car was in for the lower arm recall check/grease/replacement which obviously could be a serious safety issue the following note is somewhat alarming

On the section "Under vehicle"
"Assessment limited due to low car"

And on the section brakes/hubs - bearing in mind the comment about brake wear it reads:
"Inappropriate ramp"

And obviously as disucssed above... Tyre Make Budget.....

I will email you personally regarding the above issues if you wish.

keith kingham

Hi Thanks for your reply. I am keen to take issue with the technician who carried out the health check. Please can you e-mail me you reg. number so that I can pull out the job card. keith@kinghams.co.uk Kind regards keith Kingham