StiDoc

I bought a MY04 Impreza Sti sourced from Malta and registered on 1/3/2004 i.e. before Malta officially joined the EU. It needs some work done ( replacement rear shocks / struts and finding the source of an oil leak ) that I thought would be covered by the standard warranty for european countries. However, my local dealer and Subaru UK say that due to the date of registration it is not covered under a UK warranty.
I am hoping that I would be able to get the money ( thick end of £2k ) reimbursed from Subaru Malta but I am waiting to hear from them. Does anyone here have any similar experiences to this and how did it turn out ?
I am obviously expecting a delay in getting the money back from Malta but if I cannot claim for the work it makes the warranty that came with the car pretty pointless.

Cheers folks

StiDoc

ANYONE ?

bob r

iTrader: (46)

there was an extremely long thread about a similar warranty issue that was on hear a little while ago, with lots of peeps in similar situations as yourself. try a search

Stainy

Dont think this is the same situation as that thread though bob. When he bought his car, it was not from europe, meaning IM will do nothing and he's left with the Maltese Importer to sort it.

The other thread was on about parallel imports from europe, which is now sorted. But, technically, this car wasn't from europe

tim's wrx

Do you have a 3yr warranty and service book from Subaru Malta ? I bought my WRX after Malta came into EU and my warranty is described by Subaru Malta (in a letter they sent me) as a 3yr (12yr anti perforation) warranty with European cross border acceptance. So not limited to countries in or out of the EU. I suspect that this could be Subaru UK up to some trickery again. Technically they are probably correct in saying that you don't have your warranty with them -it'll be with Subaru Malta; but my understanding is that they are obliged to honour the warranty by contacting Subaru Malta for approval to carry out the warranty work and then they have to recover their costs direct from Subaru Malta, so you should not have any outlay, even on a temporary basis. This is the way that Subaru Japan have structured the warranty system. First, I'd check with Subaru Malta if your warranty has full European cross border acceptance and if so, tell your local dealer that they are obliged to honour the warranty terms and that if they don't agree, then you will be asking Subaru Europe to intervene. I have email address for Subaru Europe - I'll email it if you wish - I found them extremely helpful when I had questions about my warranty at the end of last year.

Tim.

StiDoc

Thanks for that. I`m still waiting for some sense from Subaru Malta but the wording of the warranty looks pretty clear. I`m hoping that if the invoice for the work ( obviously by a Subaru dealer ) is sent to Liaco in Malta then the amount will be re-imbursed ( or is this a little naive ).
The experience will certainly make me pretty wary of being an imported car again and, with my local dealer being particularly unhelpful, I may not go for another subaru again. Looking at some of the other posts along similar lines, I am not alone with that feeling !.
Tim, you have PM

comic cuts

Am sure IM haven't done anything wrong, Malta wasn't part of EU till May 2005 so there wouldn't have been a cross border arrangement set up for your car. Have you asked the real importer of your car to help with obtaining the money back from Malta? After all it was them that profited from the sale of the car to you!

CC

StiDoc

That is my next port of call if I don`t get any luck from Malta directly. i specifically asked whether the car was covered by a warranty in the UK when I bought it so if Subaru keep messing me around then I`ll pursue it with the place I got it from in the UK. I got it from a local car supermarket but I am the 1st registered keeper on the V5.

comic cuts

Good idea, hope the original importer helps you and quickly too. Am sure there will be a warranty on your car but it will be up to either the vendor of the car or Malta direct to help you. Please keep us posted as it's an important topic!

CC

StiDoc

An update :

Here I am well over 4 months on and no further down the line. Despite repeated contact with Malta, no progress has been made. They have apparently been trying to sort the issue out with Subaru UK / Japan but no I am still waiting. The vendor of the car has also been chasing them to no avail. Subaru UK are pointedly ignoring my letters.
I`ve ended up taking some legal advice and although they say it is the ultimate responsibility of the vendor to pay for the work to be done under the sale of goods act and seek re-imbursement, they are not playing ball.
Anyone got any ideas as to how I should proceed ? I was thinking of contacting the Office of Fair Trading to see if they would be any help.
I`d rather not shell out cash for legal fees.

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

definitely contact either OFT or CAB (or both..!). have you got the fact that you were sold the car with a 3yr warranty in writing (ie on invoice)..?

out of interest, who has been doing your servicing..?

This does highlight the fact that you need to register an EU car with IM as soon as possible after purchase. However, the fact that, technically speaking, your car is not an EU import means IM have no responsibility what so ever. The car supermarket is who I would be going after.

badgersport

Unfortunately the Car Supermarket, the Maltese Dealer and Subaru UK are relying on that and doing nothing to help you because they know you're not willing to pay the necessary legal costs to do anything about it. The only way you are going to solve the problem is by paying for good legal advice and threatening the guilty party accordingly.

Do you have any documentation from when you purchsed the car stating a warranty period? If so and they are not honouring that warrant you need to sue (or threaten to) the Car Supermarket. Small Claims court should do it.

When did Malta join the EU and what is the legal situation regarding cars purchased just before they joined. Do you have the same legal rights as if you had purchased the car after Malta joind the EU or not? If so you need to sue (or threaten to) Subaru UK.

If you didn't receive any written indication of warranty and EU law is such that the Maltese warranty doesn't have to be honoured EU wide because you purchase the car before Malta joined the EU then your only hope is the Maltese dealer. If they refuse to honour the warranty you could in thoery try and sue them, but in practice it will be easier to pay for the repairs.

One things for certain though, all of this will carry much greater weight if it comes from a solicitor and not you.

p1doc

get lawyer to draft letter to subaru uk/malta should only cost a few quid and see what happens,they are likely to drag feet as peanuts to them,most uk dealers would be hard pressed to get money off subaru uk for uk warranty work as tightening up on claims so for a non warranty work cash up front
martin
ps nice username

bearded dragon

Provided you have proof of warranty.........

Did you pay a deposit of more than £100 on a credit card? If so, and if you have the necessary docs proving your warranty then I would go after the credit card under the Consumer Credit Act. The credit card will squirm and will need chasing, but the credit card is as liable as the Car supermarket. The minimum they will do is contact the car supermarket on your behalf to 'help sort the problem'. This is because under the credit act, the card company is liable as technically the contract runs between you and the CC. The CC then forms a contract with the car supermarket. So you (may) be able to get the money back from the credit card, and then the Credit Card legal team goes after whoever. Obviously the CC has far more legal clout, and quite often the threat of this is enough to get someone to roll over. However as I say, read up or get advice from Citizens Advice, as the card companies are slippery at best.

I had similar 'help' from local Subaru dealer on my EU import from JamJar. I threatened em with going to the DTI to all kinds of fire and brimstone. Subaru UK were OK, but you had tp push them - they didn't volunteer anything.

Good Luck, whatever.

WR 1mposter

iTrader: (1)

hi mate,
our cars from malta also
have you tried ringing them, obviously they will want it in writing, but
a call may be helpful, and ease your concerns

Liaco number is 00356214181111
ask for Norbet or Antonio, they are very helpful

well i found them to be

MMT WRX

Try giving these a ring www.consumerdirect.gov.uk. I got redirected to these when trying to contact Trading Standards. I actually spoke to a person in the UK and they were keen to sort my issue out...wanted me to keep in contact with updates and for further advice.

Mick

StiDoc

Thankfully seem to be making some progress. Malta are now saying that they will cover the cost of repairs as an act of "goodwill" - this made me chuckle ( through gritted teeth ). Hopefully I should be able to get the problem sorted in the next couple of weeks but I wouldn`t be too suprised if I have to chase them for the reimbursement. If they don`t pay up then I`ve had good advice from the OFT and lawyers re. pursuing them through the small claims court.
I`ve found dealing with Malta to be very frustrating, the staff there are often very difficult to pin down and never return calls etc. I feel another letter of complaint on the way once I have the money is safely in my account !
On the whole EU member state thing, Subaru UK are saying that as the car was registerted ( 2 months ) prior to Malta becoming a EU member state the car is classed as a grey import. If the car had been registered after this date then it would be a parallell import and warranty would have been ok. This is despite the fact that the warranty book makes no mention of the EU or member states etc.
Thanks for all your advice on the problem, I`ll post when the car is back to full health ! The episode has left a rather sour taste and, having had contact with most of the Subaru organisation over it, it doesn`t make me inclined to replace this car with another one. This is despite the fact that I love the car and ( touching wood urgently ), haven`t had any other major problems with it.

Stidoc

StiDoc

When will it end ??
Subaru in Malta have now said that I have invalidated the warranty by fitting "non-approved" parts to the car. They are referring to the Prodrive springs that were fitted by Subaru. I was told at the time that they would not affect the manufacturer's warranty ( although it turns out that I didn`t actually have a valid warranty anyway ) because they were Suabru parts - they are advertised on their website for ****'s sake.
I have sent this info back to Malta with a copy of the invoice for getting the springs fitted and am awaiting their response. Does anyone know if UK or other Subarus have had their warranty work refused for having Prodrive springs ?

If I`d have been told that the Springs would have invalidated any warranty I would either have waited to fit them until after the 3 years was up or save myself ££££££s and get similar springs fitted at a sensible price.

I`m just off to slit my wrists.