pslewis

OK serious thread this one, I will play with the saddos elsewhere, yes?

The following statements are lifted DIRECTLY from the magazine called IM Group Express - published by their Public Relations Dept. and are for public consumption. (Spring 2001)

Ed Swatman, CEO of Subaru UK, said, "Life in the Auto market is getting tougher day by day, he added, "Our competitors products are getting better all the time and their sales promotions more ruthless. It is essential, therefore, that we must never let our standards slip and allow our rivals to catch up with us"

He continues, " We are also conscious of the importance to FHI (Fuji Heavy Industries) of UK sales of the Impreza, representing, as we do, the largest Impreza market in Europe, and indeed, the second largest export market worldwide for the Impreza Turbo after Australia"

Now, the big million dollar question for Subaru UK is - how many of you out there plan to buy another Impreza?

My personal experience with IM on a warranty issue which would have cost them all of £50 says to me quite clearly that I have been lost to Subaru for the future, through that one simple act they alienated a fierce follower of buying UK and supporting Subaru UK.

Unless things change and IM get their act together in future, then I feel that Mr Ed. Swatman may just as well of been talking to his glass of champagne.

I think all the above is in order Simon? if not, let me know what to edit and I will as soon as possible.

Pete

Neil Smalley

IMHO, it's a perfectly valid question to ask.

My answer is maybe. I've got 18 more months to run on my lease for my car, so changing it now will be a killer financially.

My #1 choice now, would be an EVO 7. Not because of anything IM/subaru/dealers have done, but because at the moment I believe it's a better car.

BUT 18 months is a LONG time away...

D Noble

IMHO IMs attitude to warranty on euro imports stinks, but i have just decided to stick two fingers up at them and take any problems on the chin.having saved £6K,thats a lot of problems worth.

so to make subaru uk really happy

IM BUYING MY NEXT IMPREZA IN HOLLAND!!!!

regards and tot zeins (sp)
dave

[This message has been edited by D Noble (edited 29 April 2001).]

banshi

Get real Pete, gone 11pm on Sunday and you want me to be serious!

Well I'll give it a shot, so far I've had no problems with the car, (holds on to very large log). But experiences reported here, of a more serious nature than peeling underseal, do cause me concern.

I just wonder how many more "characteristics" the Impreza will develop: fails to start on cold mornings, fails to out accelerate a tandam, clutch fails to engage, sonic blue/dbm becomes natural steel finish or maybe leaves you stranded at 3.00am on the M25?

Delays and questionable quality of Prodrive virtual aftermarket products cause concern. Looks and performance of 01 do not inspire.

So the question for me is will the 01 ? 02 UK Sti deliver Subaru's traditional performance & reliability without costing 30K or more. I also have to consider the implications of 10k + depreciation. so the sensible option would be to hold on to it and enjoy it for as long as possible. as the actress said...


Mr N
Slander/libel Edit: A bag of .....
A bag of feathers is a ton of feathers no matter which currency u utilise



[This message has been edited by banshi (edited 29 April 2001).]

pslewis

Perhaps Mr Subaru UK should start kicking some 4rses then before Subaru become, once again, an 'argricultural only' pleasure!

Just my thoughts before I retire for the night! sorry Banshi it was rather late for you!

Goodnight all

Pete

Fosters

I like the look of the EVO VII, but may still go for an M3 - EVO VII's got 4 doors, so is in the lead. buying next year I think.

chuckster

Hmmm, well firstly I have to admit I have a 22B UK, and it's my 3rd scoob, so I've spent a *bit* of money with our friends IM.
I can honestly say though that the service I've recieved has been first rate. Anything thats gone wrong has been sorted for me without any real work on my half chasing etc. I assume alot of it has to do with the relationship you have with your dealer, and how he approaches IM but to be honest I don't use the dealer I bought the car from, but still get great service. Only things that have gone wrong are some trim items - all replaced at service time, and the dreaded DS3000 issue - and the pads were replaced and wheels fixed all under warranty.
I'd certainly buy another Subaru if they come out with one I feel is desirable enough.
Unfortunately 'bugzilla' so far doesn't light my fire, so I have an *ahem* Audi as a second car instead. If another sexy Impreza turns up I could very well buy it, as nothing else I've driven has the character and occasion of the scoob IMO, but gotta wait and see.
Regards
Chuck

chiark

In a couple of years then the 5 door WRX may tempt me...

..from Holland, which is where I got my current car from.

Given that one of the big reasons for buying in the UK used to be "the fabulous dealer support", it does sound like IM do need to address customer service.

Nick.

pslewis

I bought UK mainly for the 'unrivalled' customer support by Subaru - as reported all over, this is the reason I am so hot under the collar about the whole episode of my underseal coming off.

It was a very minor item (one which most of you may think is too trivial to get all worked up about!) but it is one which would have cost very little to put right.

They (IM) refused the dealer permission to carry the work out. My servicing dealer advised me to contact IM direct as they were much more likely to say yes to a customer. I did, and had a 2 line answer back, which told me that Subaru UK are not in the slightest bit interested in replacing the faulty underseal.

Then, and this REALLY put the icing on the cake!! I rang the Warranty Manager at IM, every single question I asked was greeted with, "No Comment" - THATS how to get a customers blood boiling!!

Ooooops sorry for blowing off again!!

I must say that my supplying dealer, a 100 mile round trip away, stepped in and did the work at their risk so top marks for Simpsons of Swindon!!

The dealer where I spend all my 'after sale' money were not quite so helpful, were you Mill Lane??

So, yes, the dealers count for a lot - good ones and bad ones, but IM should show the way to superb customer support.

I have written a letter to the Chairman at IM and will keep you posted as to what he thinks - I hope I get a reply, as to be ignored would just about seal it for me!

Pete

[This message has been edited by pslewis (edited 30 April 2001).]

bros

"I have written a letter to the Chairman at IM and will keep you posted as to what he thinks - I hope I get a reply, as to be ignored would just about seal it for me!"

But presumably it wouldn't UNDERseal it for you, eh Pete?

Bros

scoobynutta555

lol i like the glass of champagne bit, its the little touches of sarcasm that make it for me
well seriously, subaru uk have a high handed air about them. Colin Mcrae had the right idea when he ditched subaru for Ford, who have come a long way since. Even their recent road cars are quite good. I am no Ford lover, i love my impreza. However, there is a soon to be released cossie and possibly a cossie puma. Ford will have my money for the puma if it comes out and the impreza is not improved upon looks wise. Subaru seem to have slipped a long way from 1st place two years running to 49th place this year on JD power survey.Its not surprising they have gone down a lot in customers estimations, i have seen many posts on here slating them not just ps lewis!
What i cant fathom is why they are flogging a wrx over here thats nearly 30bhp down and several thousand pounds more than its jap namesake.If thats not contempt i dont know what is.What gets me is their attitude on imports, they had a golden opportunity to service these cars etc but instead belittled and ridiculed them. This alone has put me off ever getting a uk spec.

JasonHook

Probably not but what to replace it with?
I think the performance cars days are numbered....Speed limits, Petrol Prices, Insurance Costs, Congestion and so on.
Investing money in fast(er) cars doesn't seem so sensible to me.
Despite a bit of hesitation I still love my car to bits but the new shape hasn't grown on me.
It does seem that IM seem a little less keen to please its customers at the moment.

I think I'd go Mitsubishi next time but not a new car again the depreciation is a little heavy.

Jason

Jza

Im not using this as just an excuse to slag you off Mr Lewis, but could YOU be the problem?

Whenever you post on this BBS you wind people up and come across as a bit antaganistic.

Could the way in which you deal with IM and your dealer be the reason for such crappy service? Do you wind them up and argue the point endlessly for hours like you do here? I always treat moaners worse than non moaners - even though its a subconcious thing.

Have you tried being less agressive and point winning?

I have had ****ty service as well but not got to the "no comment" stage!! The staff are always helpfull, until they actually have to deliver something!!!

Just a thought - not a slag of PLewis post (honest - just a few digs!!)

Jza

GavinP

I would say that when the Impreza Turbo or WRX was originally launched in 1993/4, there was no viable competition at the price.

In recent years, other manufacturers brought out similar cars but they were always more expensive (Evo 6 / S3) - hence the popularity continued, the residuals helped and dealer complacency started to rear it's ugly head.

Nowadays however, the other manufacturers are finally bringing competitive products to market at similar prices and Subaru UK are still living in the past IMHO.

I was very disappointed with "Top Gear" for not asking the one question that should have been asked of IM regarding JD Power - "why have you fallen from grace so abruptly ?"

I wonder if they have even asked themselves that ?

The reason people bought Imprezas was because people wanted something different and now by thinking they are appealing to the mainstream, they are alienating their loyal customer base.

Unfortunately, the new car is a bit of a compromise all round and ends up in "no mans land" - not really attractive enough to the mainstream due to the styling and interior (along with the market trend towards smaller cars - and the cost of insurance and fuel).

Unfortunately, the enthusiasts they could rely on to buy the car (against sanity due to fuel and insurance ) are also faltering from indulging because the car is ugly and the performance has suffered.

The car should have been released with the 247bhp engine from the Japanese version - which would have offset the additional weight.

However, I'm sure that with the WRX now on sale in the U.S., they are not as worried as they would have been.....

Thanks

Gavin

spudgun

pete lewis has every right to moan. he spent over the odds on a less powerful uk car, expecting top service from uk dealers. he hasnt recieved this. so when people make comments on this bbs to kiss *** or go on about how great the car is, fair enough, but be warned. without people like pete, myself and others, subaru uk would be in a financial mess. after all, were the mugs who paid over the odds for these cars. personally, i find subaru dealers useless. they dont know their **** from their elbows.
they sent my car to prodrive for ppp. i told them repeatedly, my car has full decat exhaust. thats ok, was their reply. my car went all the way to prodrive, only to come back the same bl00dy day without ppp coz of downpipe. prodrive didnt have spare downpipes, the dealer nearest to them didnt have spares. so i had to take another morning off work to take the car back to the dealer. small things like this when youre spending big bucks does get to u after a while.
imports dont have underseal? so pete buys a uk car with this on, he wants the best and peace of mind. yet his underseal is dropping off, and he's given a two finger salute by IM.he's every bl00dy right to complain.
my new bmw dealer is FAR superior to ANY subaru dealer ive used IMHO.sorry, its a great car, but this jd power stuff in the past is tosh, quite frankly.

Gastro

I agree with Tza...
I'm not slagging you Mr Lewis - in fact I enjoy your bravado....
But have you considered what impact your overall negativity might have on other new owners etc.....
You are clearly unhappy with the service you have got etc and thats fine..... but for a £20K car, what service would you get from Ford, Vauxhall etc... is it really that superior ??? Subaru - I thought was a mainstream dealership - and therefore it wont keep everone happy *all* of the time ??

Be optimistic sometime - it'll do you wonders ..... even in your 40's

Gastro

Steve Perriam

i'm totally happy with my MY00 - a year old next week ! and 12k happy miles.

cant fault my dealer so far either.

however i must admit that my next car is almost certainly not going to be a UK scooby.

the my01 is just horrid to look at although it drives very well. still i hazard a guess they are not selling - my dealer is having trouble selling his demo - he stated he's done lots of demos in it but did not want me to take it for a long spin cos its done too many miles and he needs to sell it quick !

this would have been unheard of a couple of years ago ! the my01 has really not taken off at all from what i see and read ?

i'm contemplating either an import STi (possibly) or quite probably an Evo - IV going reasonable price due to the imminent arrival of the VII or a VII itself.

why ?

more power, something different, better mitsubishi dealers wrt imports........

i still enjoy every mile in my scooby but i honestly dont see myself buying another one ?

cheers

steve

pslewis

Jza - take your point about coming across in an aggressive manner. No, in fact I didnt, I asked Mill Lane to, politely, ask to see if IM would replace the underseal (28th Feb).

I waited until my car went in to have a new cambelt put on, under warranty, because Subaru had set the cambelt guides up wrong and the belt was ripping away on the guides themselves, about 3 weeks after the 28th Feb. to be told that IM had declined accept responsibility for the poor underseal.

So I was hardly jumping about getting all hot and aggressive! Mill Lane said that I should write to Customer Services at IM and they would authorise the work, in all probability. It was a polite letter pointing out that they were, in fact, liable and I would like them to authorise my dealer. Customer Services passed my letter to the Warranty Department who sent me the minimal letter referred to earlier. Even when I rang the Warranty Manager I was polite, to the point and asked some straight questions, the 'No Comment' was a legal response of course as they KNEW that they had no basis in law for their actions - it made me very mad at that point but I am a professional and there is nothing to be gained in acting an 4rse, I WAS in the right after all!

I DO know that I am considered, and have a reputation for being, a real pain in the butt on here and I say things that maybe others would consider rude, aggressive and offensive. But, as I have said before, you can be whoever you want to be on here (I just cant help but wind people up who take life ever so seriously! ) I consider it a hobby! judging by the e-mails I get every day there are lots who consider my comments to be the highlight of their evenings net-surfing (sad, I know! ) but there we have it!

As for the new owners, its a great car - I dont like the look of the new one and wouldnt be seen dead driving one so ugly, but thats IMHO.

As spudgun rightly said, I bought a UK model at UK prices, supporting IM and Subaru UK and I have a RIGHT to expect them to treat me properly - a 'No Comment Mr Lewis' to 4 or 5 reasonable questions is, quite frankly, a DISGRACE and IM should be ashamed of themselves.

Phew, dont anyone else get me going!!

Pete

SCOSaltire

Pete

thats as calm a response i have ever read

sickboy

I bought my car from Europe, mainly because the car is a legend, and the after sales service second to none.

Unfortunately I have been proved wrong for the latter (in the case of IM and trying to pay for extending the warranty).

I have found the dealers ability/treatment variable too.

Scoobysport have restored my faith to some degree, however to anwer the question, I think probably not.

I actually like the new shape once it has been "tweaked".

However I refuse pay inflated UK prices- and cannot be bothered with IM's sour grapes attitude. I have numerous letters from E Swatman containing fallacies and going round the houses.

A friend of mine bought a TT in Germany. He paid his £900 for another 2 years warranty.

No recriminations, no finger pointing. Just excellent service.

Gastro

Pslewis,

Ahhhhhh - now that really is the best post that you have *ever* made......
Good on ya - you see - you can make sense after all

Gastro

g man

MR LEWIS YOUR THE MAN .....Its about time people started standing up for their RIGHTS as CONSUMERS..... and im sitting here naked no flame suit needed.... GOLD STAR TO MR LEWIS....THE GMAN

Jza

Fair enough Mr Lewis, you give them hell. By the way, how can you tell the underseals coming off? I wanna check my car!!!!

Good luck!

Jza

pslewis

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Jza:
<B>Fair enough Mr Lewis, you give them hell. By the way, how can you tell the underseals coming off? I wanna check my car!!!!

Good luck!

Jza[/quote]


Dont know if you are winding me up here - but here goes - if you have a silver car, you look under the wheel arches, if you see silver then the underseal has gone!!!

Dont try this on a Grey import!! all you will see is 3 Refugees from Kosovo

Pete

TRIGGER

I can relate to peoples discontent with IM/Subaru Uk but personally I have had nothing but good service on my Uk cars.

The biggest issue I see is that they have absolutely no concern for those of us that have imported from Japan, and spent alot of money with the parent company. Mitsubishi saw very quickly their mistake and now service any imports. It creates a terrible image when Subaru fanatics have to go to non Subaru garages to get anything - totally ridiculous. We show are committment to the brand by the effort we go to to import it !!!!

Diablo

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by pslewis:
<B>
Dont try this on a Grey import!! all you will see is 3 Refugees from Kosovo

Pete[/quote]

Funniest thing I've read in a while..

Nice one Pete

D

HunterB

Pete,

Agree with everything you've said in this post, except the bit about grey imports and underseal. Most Jap imports are undersealed OK. AFAIK, it's only the Type RAs that aren't undersealed. Anyway, undersealing's a £100 job on any car so it's not much for any import buyers to pay for peace of mind. The underseal that peeled off your car is the same undercoat that's applied to the imports - they're not built in separate factories - but you have a right to expect it to be right because your car's warrantied.

Brian

pslewis

Thanks Brian - I stand corrected then, I thought that the UK cars had underseal applied to meet the tougher UK climatic conditions - could it be that the 'factory car' has "some" coating , but the UK car gets another coating?

Also, the Jap MOT at 3 years is so tough and expensive that most cars are dumped after 3 years, hence why underseal at all??? cant see the Japs wasting money on that?

Pete

Markus

would I get another subaru? YES!

However, this is not the full story. the blackbeast is a grey import. Why? main reasons are a) stiffed when selling my ST24 meant I had very little cash, so needed a cheapish (circa 10k) scooby, and imports were the only real way to go, b) Dealer treated me badly, basically would not let me <B>sit</B> yes, I said <B>sit</B> in the car unless I decided to purchase it, this, quite rightly is silly, as anyone who knows me will attest, I'm tall and somewhat round, and as i'd never been in a scooby, I'd like to know i fit in before buying one. So off to GDA to sit, jump, crawl round Graham's cars, no commitment to purchase, then off to get import from DACAR imports.

As such the "YES" part of the question would be "YES, providing it's an import". OK, so warranty aside, grey land is OK, my garage, GDA, is wonderful, can't fault them at all. Next scooby would be STi, though could not say if it would be 2, 4 or 5 door yet, 5 door probably, but a 2 door would be nice!

just my 2 cents worth.

spudgun

pete
yes i would buy another, i just wouldnt pay 20k for one. i intend to buy another car in the near future to play/mod with. the beemer will be everyday transport. i fancy a my95/96 five door in green. why? less obvious, less noticeable, plus my dog will go in the back.an english bull terrier should be thatcham approved