end of the tether

[LIBER8ED]

hey guys, now i know that most of you are aware of the issues that i have been having with my car for many many many months now, and im getting to the end of what i can tolerate.

A quick update to explain my situation, 18 weeks worth of unscheduled maintenance the car is now up to, with the issue still not being resolved.

i have submitted two letters to subaru australia and have dealt with two of the customer service consultants down in sydney, and have had Jim McCabe himself (regional state service manager ) fixing my car...

i have suggested to subaru that there be some form of compensation for the shit i have had to go through in putting up with this car over the last 18 months, and questioned Jim in relation to what Subaru are likely to do to help me out.

I have never asked for too much, i mean other than getting my car fixed, i suggested to them that they give me $25k for my car (5,500 more than the trade quote) and give me a good price in the purchase of the new car (my08gt-b)

Jim told me that subaru dont usually "compensate" any issues no matter what the circumstances, but it was out of his hands as he was only the "service manager" and his only obligation was to fix it. which is not getting done, due to the constant returning of the car with my unsatisfied self approaching the counter.

Ive just got off the phone to Subaru Australia this morning, and after speaking to Jade down in Sydney, im told that Subaru arent going to come to the party. Not only not give me that little bit of help to get rid of mine and spend another 65k upstairs, but they arent going to do a damn thing.

Basically im just after some advice, im out of ideas as to where i can take it, and who i can speak to. The car is booked in again to get fixed this week, and ive no doubt that when i pick it up. it will still not be fixed.

ive written letters, spoken to high positioned people, made phonecalls, and im honestly at the end of what i can put up with, without snapping and opening up some unstable cans of whoop ass. i just dont know where to go from here..

am i asking something unreasonable, am i going about it the wrong way, am i speaking to the wrong people, i am just over it guys, and its really starting to tarnish my love for the car, and the badge that it represents.

sorry for the long post.

[Subie Boy]

Hi mate, maybe its time for you to seek legal advice! I think you have a good case to argue in court. I am an in-house counsel but I will not be able to represent you in court as that is not an area that I specialise in but seek legal advice and you will be relieved!!!

[SkoobyGT]

It will probably cost you more $$ in legal fees than what it's worth, but as stated if you want to give it a go at figting it civilly in Court then go for it.

I would eaither ring the equivelant (in QLD) of the Motor Traders Association, and Th eDepartment of Fair Trading.

Both of those should be able to give you some advice.

Tip, have a date and time, list of what has been done, hasn't been done, should have been done, and who you have spoken to. At least that way anyone you speak to is getting the exact correct information.

[swingn]

I'm not fully aware of the issues you've been having (Although I am aware you have had issues).

I had a similar problem with a Mazda SP23 I had before the Liberty. Long & the short of it was I got rid of the car as soon as I could. Large corporations realistically not going to care about the business of one person. That's not just car companies, I'm talking about mobile phone companies etc etc etc.

As it sounds like you've done everything in your power to sort out the situation & have been more then accommodating, I think you have a few options:

* Go to the Department of Fair Trading - You've bought a product & it fails to live up to the quality that's expected etc.

* Legal action - Very expensive & in my opinion, you probably won't get anywhere because they are going to have a team of solicitors against you.

* Write into Today Tonight / A Current Affair - Seriously, they run stories about issues with cars on a semi-regular basis.

Really what you’re doing is "making some noise". They are not going to want the bad press over something that could be fixed very easily via a good trade in & a good price on a new more expensive car.

Just make sure you stay realistic about what you’re expecting out of Subaru. I would ask for the private sale value (Red Book) for a trade in, then probably a few grand off the new car. In Subaru's mind, I'm sure that's doable, regardless of what they have said thus far.

In all seriousness, it depends on how far you want to push the issue. If I were you, I'd just get rid of the car & (No matter how much it pains me to say it) tell Subaru to F**k themselves & buy another brand car & never look back.

[adam]

* Write into Today Tonight / A Current Affair - Seriously, they run stories about issues with cars on a semi-regular basis.

this was going to be my suggestion as well...
sorry 'bout this but "my rant"
we had a volvo that had coolant getting into the cylinders (found out about the 3rd visit) and as a consequence, constant overheating issues and it went to a service centre maybe 5-7 times in 18 months. They did overnight pressure tests, pulled off and checked the heads and in the end basically told my wife that it was all in her head as they couldn't replicate it and it never happened to me whenever i drove it. In the end we just said take the frickin' thing, have a staff member use it as his daily for as long as it takes to see the prob for yourselves. so about three weeks went by and nothing.... then a call saying "wow, it really happens quicly when it happens doesn't it?"
It turned out to be the block itself that was slightly warped so vol.aus blamed the serv.cent saying that they hadn't investigated thoroughly enough so they said "do you seriously want us to pull the entire engine out of every car that overheats at your expense?"
we ended up getting a brand new unit straight from manufacturer.
I guess my point is that if you kick up a big enough stink they will hopefully do something about it.
good luck mate.

p.s. when are you coming to sydney. i need some help cheering the maroons against my mates.

edit: one of my points to volvo aus was that me and my wife were 30yo able to afford a $50k car and we were not going to get poorer over the next few decades so why wouldn't you be bending over backwards to help us? if your last 12 months or so of heavy advertising wasn't aimed squarley at people just like us then who the hell were you targeting?!?!?

[Cagie]

Lib,

Have you spoken to or written to the two names I gave you last night ?

As Skooby said..... speak to your version of Dept of Fair trading.... or as much as it pains me to say this go see those then perfect alledged jurnos at ACA or TT.

Keep fighting mate.

Don't let the bastards get one over you. resend all the letters and all info you have to the two names I supplied to you.

Maybe write to Subaru head office in Japan..... jesus you might give it a try.

Maybe start putting stickers all over your car.... espo when you drive it back into the service dept..... stickers with things like Subys build crap cars and this car is a lemon.... dont by one...

Might be worth a try ????

[LIBER8ED]

great suggestions there guys thanks.

im heading up to townsville with work this weekend, and the car will be back at zupps.. im going to take your idea there adam and tell one of them to use it as thier daily driver, then come back to me and tell me that it runs well, see if that gets me anywhere..

im in the process of submitting a complaint thru dpt of fair trading, that will be sent off in the morning....

its a work in progress that i know wont end just yet

[sooobi]

Where I used to work it would just take lots of complaining and eveeeeeeeeeeeentually the product would be REPLACED..

Threaten them with Fair Trading and use the word 'replacement' from now on... Ultimately they should be delighted that you wish to remain a customer.. the audi is looking better and better, that sort of thing..

[blacknwhite]

When you next go to the Suby dealer to sus out what you want to buy next write all over your cars windows saying will somebody ask me whats wrong with Subaru's after sale care and a mobile number. And if anyone rings tell them.
Provided you arent parked on the lot they cant touch your car
Leave it there all day
They have shitted you right off for long enough now its your turn!
Then hit em with yout trade in on a new one deal
Good luck

[libsti]

some good advice there,
if you have the time i would do all of the following,
lodge a complaint to department of fair trading,as you are doing already
send copies of all correrspondsence to today tonight and a current affair,put signs on your car about the lack of sevice from subaru and send a copy to subaru aust,and japan of everything you are doing,as well as a link to this site.

good luck with everything,i would expect a better than normal exchange price on a new car,let them know exactly what you want this may help,but be relistic.

norm

[coyote]

It's a shame Subaru Japan (generally) build such good cars.

I've dealt with Subaru Australia for 14 years now and must say what this person has experienced is not an aberration, it's just standard Subaru (lack of) care.

[CJ1177]

I've had dealings with the department of fair trading over repairs to a car.
& I'm sorry to not give you much hope with them but as far as they were concerned, "As long as they are attempting to fix it, there is nothing we can do"
I'm like WTF so this can go on indefinitely as long as there attempting to fix it, to the reply of "YES"

But i do agree with the others go to Today Tonight or A Current Affair

& Good Luck

P.S. my car came from Zupps & im also sus about a few things

[bass_ke]

I"ve had dealings with Zupps and our Imprezza, not a Zupps fan at all - Ban the yellow Elephant!

[AdamW]

I had a problem with a new car stereo I brought a while back.. The volume knob died on me in the first week.. I brought it back and they sent it off to be fixed.. Two weeks later and still nothing.. I was driving three hours a day and the lack of music was killing me.. So I stuck a massive sticker on my back window.. “blah blah Burleigh ripped me off, you could be next” and reverse parked out the front of their shop the next time I went in to enquire about my lack of stereo.. The manager fired up quite a bit and I thought he was about start swinging… but then next day I had a brand new stereo and I was happy listening to my tunes again.. The sticker cost me about $15 and took me ten minutes to apply, so I had nothing to lose really..

The Zupps dealership I brought my Liberty from have been useless from day one.. They couldn’t even attach my number plate so that it was level… The automotive industry is pretty dodgy and needs some definite scrutinizing from a governing body.. They need to be held accountable for what they do & sell.. Go hard and don’t back down.. It will be worth it in the end.. Just be damn careful about spending money through legal battles, then it will just become a whole lot more stressful for you.. Sometimes the quick & cheap solutions (ie sticker on car) are the best..

[LIBER8ED]

thanks for all the advice guys..

i love the sticker idea, but i think my gripe has really gone beyond zupps.

the CEO of Subaru has an email in his inbox, and im awaiting to hear back from him.

but im thinking with the sticker idea, hey i love it, but at the end of the day, as poor a job i guess they are doing, Zupps are still fixing my car. i take it in with the problem, they spend time on it, replace something else, and i drive away.

then i just take it back a week later, still unfixed.. so in a way they ARE fixing it, cause i guess at the end of the day, they could just turn me away, or let me in and charge me through the nose. EVERYTHING has been warranty... and that is my main arguing point to this date!