scooby L

My 2008 STI came with the Euro "Premium" spec extras.

These included
18" BBS Alloys
Front Recaro sports seats
Push Button start & proximity/keyless central locking
Heated wing mirrors
Touch screen Sat nav

I paid a premium of £2k for these extras over the UK car.

The car's now done 22k miles, and the driver's seat wing is showing signs of wear and tear... ie, the leather has lost it's sheen, with the stitching being more and more visible.

Now I was convinced that my recaro's should not have worn so quickly... in my opinion the leather is not hard wearing enough, a 20k mile car should not be showing signs of seat wear.

anyway

I've notified my dealer, who took my argument to IM.

Their response was "it's wear and tear caused by excessive use by the owner, not a warranty issue, goodbye"

My dealer said they've done what they can, am I being unreasonable? should I take this further with IM directly?

(Recaro do not want to know BTW..they say it'a a Subaru warranty issue)

53

iTrader: (41)

Seat pics and **** dimensions would be needed for a fair response

scooby L

ha ha

34" waist.. not a fat *******!

pic to follow (not got the car here so I'll see if the garage's pics can be emailed to me)

53

iTrader: (41)

I haven't had many warranty claims but they have all been low value. Those recaros are muchous dollar so I guess they aren't going to cave easily.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

What do you expect when Subaru turn their biggest success into a car virtually nobody wants and then make it with engines that blow up after 3000 miles?

There is no money in their pot hence a slightly worn seat is never going to get their attention.

scooby L

Because it's still a warranty issue... and as 53WRX pointed out, these seats aint cheap... There is no difference to these seats and a blown turbo... same kind of money...

Anyway... here's the pic of the seat:

DDS789

iTrader: (2)

Thats shockingly bad!!!

We just bought an Alfa 156 with 122k on the clock, original black leather MOMO seats and they look brand new still!

I would be taking this to the top if they wont sort it! I mean what are you supposed to drive the car in? Silk PJ's

scooby L

My point exactly...

If I'd done 60k and the car was 5 years old I'd have thought "fair enough... not wonderful but it'd covered some miles and the leathers got tired"... but 18 months and 20 thousand miles... that's making it look very 2nd hand very quickly.

scooby L

I've just spoken to IM direct.

Apparently I should not "rub" against the seat when entering or exiting the vehicle, and as far as Subaru are concerned it's not a manufacturing fault.

I told them it's impossible to exit the car without rubbing this wing (His reply was "I'm slight... I'm sure I could"... smarmy git) and thus the leather is not robust enough for day to day use in that location... nothing....

Anyway... now have MD name so will be writing a formal letter to him... even though they say he's already been consulted and agrees with the warranty dept.

Any other hatch's out there with the Recaros?

DDS789

iTrader: (2)

Your quite on course for average mileage too, maybe a touch over. Think its 12k a year?

Like i said you need to go to the top. Be very persistant and dont give up, any company will try and fob you off! Had an e46 BMW 325 and the steering rack/power steering sounded strange (metallic vibrations when steering) Had a moan about it, and they werent having any of it! Kept on about it and they eventually got a technician to show me it was normal by demonstrating how an X5 sounds the same

They went on to check ours and it had massive amounts of play in one of the parts of the steering column (cant remember exactly) But replaced under warrenty, job done

stuart2008sti

iTrader: (1)

Because the problems i had with a warranty claim with IM i will never buy another subaru.What will they say if the engine fails if you did not start it would have been fine.Nothing but a bunch of clowns.

matt2000

iTrader: (3)

That is bad, but I think it's more a problem with the seat manufacturer. Exactly the same damage occurs to the recaros fitted to the DC2 integra type R. Guess that Subaru should be fighting your corner and looking for answers from Recaro.

V555MAC

iTrader: (4)

DO NOT GIVE UP!, not fit for the purpose IMO, keep hounding them!!!!

scooby L

That's some interesting info...

If I can prove this is not uncommon (unlilke what the warranty dept said) then I might get some more weight to my argument.

scooby L

I've just looked at a few of the DC2 integra type R forums, spoke to a contact at capital seating (who stock recaro spares etc) and he's told me the 2008 STI Recaro's are unique to the car, but they could repair the bolster for roughly £100.. so worst case senario is do nothing till it's due to be part-ex'd...then a quick trip to leics and get it fixed before trade in.

I'm still going to chase IM again though.

scooby L

And now I've just talked to Iain Litchfield and he's dropped the Recaro seats in the T20 because of... yep.. Bolster stitching wear on drivers side....but because his car's are Jap imports he's not tackled IM over it... just foots the bill himself..

superstar1

Something as simple as metal studs on jeans can cause this over time when getting in and out, i've had this with previous cars with leather seats, particularly with wide bolsters.

jonny_693

iTrader: (5)

I had a 300k mile BMW with leather and it was in better nick then that, chase it!

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Not saying you are wrong, just that IM must be struggling and hence are unlikely to foot the bill.

Had a DC2 Integra and while the bolsters did wear like that it took a lot more than 20K miles.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

http://www.butterpaper.com/vanilla/e...tachmentID=254

TX.

MOTORS S GT

iTrader: (2)

If your chasing warranty issues with IM i would seriously consider removing your remap banner on the bottom of your threads, its not unheard of on here for IM to look at threads concerning warranty issues, as a Hatch owner with an engine issue found out recently.

You never know your next claim may be engine related.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Do you wear jeans most of the time? Looks like the sort of wear that studs on jeans would make ...

TX.

matt2000

iTrader: (3)

I'm not saying they're the same seats, just that side bolsters tend to go on recaros that are fitted as standard to certain cars (not all). Not very often you hear of people complaining about the bolsters on after Market Recaros.
Hope you get it sorted.

SunnySideUp

That's not good.

Get Recaro to tell you what the life of their seats are and use that to get compensation.

You haven't been engaged in any 'interesting' activities in the seat, have you?

dantastic

I would say the wear/ damage has been caused by the seat belt rubbing not the driver getting in and out of the car.

scooby L

@ TX

Probably right... How about we take those sticks and beat the MD

and Yes I wear jeans moest of the time... but it's been my wife driving, and she does not wear jeans for work...

SSU... I'm 38 not 18... I'm long past those days... I'm more a "I've booked a hotel room" than..."I've found a quiet lane"

scooby L

Cheers for that MSGT

I've got that bit covered

And to be perfectly frank.. If IM say getting in and out of my car has invalidated my warranty...then swapping the exhaust for a 330s one must have blown it into orbit...let alone a re-map on top..

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Drop the managing director a note to say you are about to approach the redtops and the TV, local and national, with a view to showing customers how poor Subarus now are. Tell him you have already written the article about their fall from grace when they won the JD power award in 1999.

scooby L

It's not as if I'm on his christmas list anyway is it...

scooby L

Good point... I'll take some pics with the belt buckled, see if it matches the wear line