Nick

Thanks Paul

I did not mean to suggest that you read my warranty book for me.

I will call Subaru UK.

Nick

CharliePsycho

I had a fairly major crack in one of my front disks and my dealer replaced both disks and the pads under warranty.

Ok if they got hammered on a track day (and you told them) then you are out of luck, otherwise they should be fit for road use... That includes emergency stops outside schools...

I should give them hell and start screaming 'fit for purpose'

The Zohan

Nick

Good luck with it and i hope that you are successful

Please let me know how you get on.

There have been a few cases of problems with MY 99 brake disks - i have seen several Threads on this.

May be worth trying a search on Scoobynet and tackling your dealer with any info you find?

Nick

My local dealer (Atkins) refused to replace my 99my front disks which had cracked, stating that they had cracked due to "hard driving". I have now paid £628.63 for Prodrive upgraded disks & front + rear pads.

In another thread

The Zohan

Nick

i feel that it is really down to how stongly you feel that you are in the right here.

The warranty is 60K. What is 'hard driving' what does your dealer qualify as 'hard driving' is it track days, etc and if it is then and is this the way you have driven your car?. The parts/vehicle has to be fit for purpose and the brakes should be able to withstand a certain amount of use before giving up the ghost The consumer protection act is there for jusrt such situations.

It may be worth a call to Subaru UK and talk to someone there about how long they feel the brakes should last under normal road conditions - i would imagine that it is a lot more than 30K.

Get the disks back and send 'em to Subaru UK for their opinion.

Paul.

I have not had any problems (yet!) with my local dealer as regards warranty issues, they have been good as gold. I do not fancy reading through my warranty book for a Black & White answer, may i suggest you do as it is you who has the problem, i am only trying to offer advice. I would call Subaru UK and talk to them after you have discussed 'hard driving' with your dealer. i would also get something in writing to that effect from the dealers, then tackle Subaru UK - tell your dealer what you are going to do - they may well back down.

My e-mail address is attached to my profile
Please email me if you want to discuss further.

[This message has been edited by Paul Habgood (edited 08 November 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Paul Habgood (edited 08 November 2000).]

Hoppy

Nick, for what it's worth here's my experience. Sorry it's a bit long.

MY00 UK car, 15,000. I knew the brakes were not up to track use so had my dealer - Welch Group, Cambridge - fit Prodrive pads (Ferodo DS2000) front and rear, plus 5.1 fluid. Welch's knew full well why I wanted the upgrade and had no problem with it. (NB Plug for Welch's - Service Manager, Mike Davies, always very keen to help.)

First session at Donington, never been there before, drove like a granny and got everything nicely warmed up. Felt slight vibration from front.

Second session, started pressing on a bit, vibration turned to serious steering wobble. Third session the car felt dangerous on the brakes so pulled in. Discs crazed all over and one rotor cracked.

Complained to Welch's, warranty upheld, and they credited me with the cost of a pair of Bremsport replacements (£142) which I bought from Mike-Scoobymania at the track.

I've now got the AP 4-pot upgrade which makes its track debut at Dono this Sunday. I shall treat them gently at first and then push them as hard as I dare. If I wreck them, apparently I will go down in the Guinness Book of Records.

My view is that your treatment has been unacceptable, especially as you've not been on track (which does put huge loads on the anchors). Is the warranty on the brakes only valid if you promise never to squeeze them hard?

The problem is, primarily, that standard brakes are not up to the car's performance. Why else would Prodrive offer no less than two upgrade options, the discs/pads one that you've just paid for, and the full monty Alcon job?

I would say that the standard brakes are not fit for their purpose and you should at least get the cost of standard discs knocked off your £600 bill. The way it stands at the moment is that Subaru, your dealer and Prodrive have all profited from an inherant product weakness. Doesn't sound very fair, does it?

Good luck!

Hoppy

Nick

Thanks for your help Hoppy.

I'm waiting right now for a call back from the warranty dept at IM. I'll keep the BBS updated with what happens.

Have a good day at Donington!

SCOTTY

I bought my car to drive. If I'd have wanted it to go shopping in I would have bought a Fiesta and I guess you are the same. They should replace them straight away.

Scotty

Nick

I spoke to a John Sherwood at IM. He is cehcking the details with the warranty dept & he has promised to call me back.

My main line of attack at the moment is their statement of "hard driving". I'd like to see them argue that one out in writing.

Nick

>Charlie
How many miles had you been when your disks were replaced?

>Scotty

bob

Hi Nick
Sorry to hear about your problems, Don't get much luck with this Atkins dealer. To late now but perhaps a trip to Bristol would have served you best. I never had these problems with Tiley even though they new of all my extras. They were only to happy to replace my Disks and Pads under warrantee. Had to go for the Alcon's in the end though. Perhaps its all that hard driving we do. See you on the Exmoor run.
Bob

Stile learing to spill

[This message has been edited by bob (edited 10 November 2000).]

CharliePsycho

Nick,

Replaced front disks and pads @ 7500 miles (crazed disks and one rotor with a big crack), I now have 14,000 miles and they are shagged again. So I shall be doing the old fit for purpose route as I have not tracked it; this is 'normal' road use.

The dealer is really pressing me hard to get the Prodrive/Alcon upgrade though... Sorry, but why should I pay upwards of £1500 to replace brakes that should work in the first place?

Now the thing is I drive a P1. If somebody sells a car with nearly 300ps, then the brakes should match that performance.

In the mean time they will be giving me a complete set of disks and pads every service, I suppose it's saving me the cost of the pads!!

Nick

Update

Yesterday, my dealer (Atkins) said that IM had approved the warranty replacement of the disks, but at TRADE PRICE only. Also Atkins say that it will take 6 weeks to get the refund.

Has anyone heard of a trade price warranty before? Does this mean that Atkins are simply keeping their profit margin?

Pete Croney

Nick

So doesn't this mean that the dealer has been fully reimbursed for the discs he sold you. I'm assuming they pay a trade price to Subaru UK.

Either the claim is approved or its not. It does not mention a haggling proceedure in the warranty booklet.

Also, are they holding onto your money for 6 weeks? Their credit account with Subaru UK means they probably haven't even paid for them yet. As the credit note will be issued in the same month as supply, they never will.

This is not good customer care!!

Nick

Thanks Pete.

I spoke to John Sherwood at IM again to query the trade price refund. He has checked his system & can find no record of a warranty clain from Atkins.

So either Atkins are giving me money back out of the goodness of their hearts, or IM don't know how their own system works.

John Sherwood has promised to get back to me.

Nick

Well, John Sherwood didn't get back to me - I had to call him a number of times!

So, it seems that the warranty claim was refused by IM. Atkins said in their claim to IM that I use my car for Hill climbing & time trials. This is complete .....(insert very rude word here)!!!

So, John Sherwood at IM says that he thinks that Atkins are giving me a trade price refund out of their own pockets, because Atkins have not made a second claim - although Atkins said to me that their claim had been accepted (at trade price).

So - what do I do next please? I'm in a **** stirring mood!

Write to IM customer relations next I think?

What sort of miles do other people's front disks last?

[This message has been edited by Nick (edited 30 November 2000).]

Jye

15,000, buts I reckon u could fry them with one or two 100mph + braking sessions.

[This message has been edited by Jye (edited 30 November 2000).]

NIGE K

Hi Nick
Sorry to here about your dilema.
I think that one of the problems here might be that pads (now with no asbestos content), are significantly harder and as such tend to wear the discs at a much higher rate.
This in turn has led to manufacturers clasing this item as a consumable and hence the problem.
This however does not take into account that most scoob's are under braked for the level of power that they are required to deal with and hence upgrades are very common.It's not surprising that they don't last very long.
I noticed in another thread that the new scoob appears to have better brakes, but this is only down to a bigger servo as the disc remain the same size. Will IM ever learn!!!
Hope you get a result.

Nige K




[This message has been edited by NIGE K (edited 30 November 2000).]

Steve Lawson

Nick,

John Sherwood is IM customer relations


Steve

GaryC

Is the car UK supplied? I had the same problem - cracked discs, but caused by using uprated pads. Dealer replaced under warrenty with no questions, no time delay.

Nick

Gary

Yes, UK supplied by the dealer I also use for servicing. Also standard pads.

How many miles old were your disks?

GaryC

Discs were about 6 months/15000 miles old. I do have a very good relationship with the dealer, but surely an impreza is designed to be 'driven hard'?

Could of understood 'getting out' attempts if an EU import, but I would stick to your guns - write to MD of IM

Nick

Update on the situation.

I sent a letter of complaint to IM Customer Relations. John Sherwood just called me back & will give me a written reply after Xmas.

What happend was that Atkins made a warranty claim with a note to the claim that I did time trials, hill climbing & drive the car hard (unknown to me & completely incorrect). IM unsurprsingly refused the claim. I complained & asked for them to try again. Atkins strongly recommended me to get the Prodrive upgrade, which I agreed to.

Now it gets muggy, with Atkins misleading me & being somewhat less that open with the truth. It seems that Atkins make the warranty claim again & IM accept the claim. However as Atkins have fitted Prodrive upgrades to my car, IM cannot progress the claim because no replacement parts are required. Atkins hid this from me by offering "Trade price" refund on the OEM disks.

So what next guys? My thoughts are to wait for the reply from IM. Then a very strong letter to Atkins?

GaryC

Still go with writing a letter to IM/Subaru UK, acknowledging current communication with this sherwood chap. BUT more importantly, write to MD/owner/Dealer Principle of Atkins, he has lied, and his lies have (potentially) cost you money. I would not stop until you have the full cost of the Prodrive upgrade reimbursed!

Nick

Thanks Gary

A letter to Atkins Motors is under preparation!

dowser

Worth the hassle Nick - sounds like you're about to get a free brake upgrade

If Atkins are reading this perhaps they will be more honest in future (and save some money)?!

Richard