Subaru Crew: Official SOA Presence (aka Patti)

joybell

I filled out a survey after I bought my Forester. I did it online. But was hard to describe my decision/buying experience when I could not make comments, just mark off a point on a scale. Regarding the dealership, I gave one of the lowest possible marks for showroom cleanliness and presentability, but there was no place to mark the reason why. The same goes for the condition the car was presented to me (didn't notice glue spots on the windshield until later). Also, there is a box to mark off if you want the dealership to get the results of the survey. Although that kind of direct feedback might benefit them, it's a little scary to do if you did not give the dealership "good grades" without having the opportunity to give the reasons for the marks, and you have to go back there for service. I'm in Canada but I think the US survey is similar. BTW, there was also nowhere to put the comment that although I love my Forester, I don't like the cladding.

ateixeira

I think that'll be a judgement call. If they fail this fall, I'd expect Subaru to cover them. If they fail in two years, probably not.

-juice

stoner420

subaru_team "Subaru Problems" Aug 13, 2003 6:28pm

Nice! ;-) (That was obviously just a goof when I signed up on Edmunds a long time ago, can't seem to change that part of my info now.. doh!)

imyodaddy

Due to the birth of child number 3 I am in the market for another car. My Golf TDI is too small to carry 3 still in their car seats in the rear, so something has to give. I have driven most everything, and I mean everything that could conceivably meet our needs. A car that I loved and was all set to buy is the 2003 Honda Accord. Fast, comfortable, quiet, and roomy in the back, it would be great except for a few things. The trunk is too small to carry the Graco stroller that matches the car seat. The ground clearance is too low to make it through the snow without dragging the bottom. It is only front wheel drive. As great a car is it is, I was willing to accept something less than perfect until I drove the Forester XT.

Room for the stroller? Yep. Ground clearance. Gotcha covered. All wheel drive? Set to drive in a winter wonderland. Performance? Holy cow kids, watch daddy smoke that 5 series BMW! The only catch is that the shoulder room is a little tight for a size 52 jacket. The car drove well, and the seat is topnotch comfortable. The dealers I have been to so far have been very helpful, and one of them even offered what I consider to be great price for the XT auto. By the way, the stereo/CD is killer. Well, at least it sounds killer to my hearing-damaged-by-a-crying-baby-screaming-at-110 dB ears.

Am I getting one? Yes. Nothing else comes close to what I need at the price I want to spend. And if what I am perceiving to be Subaru’s efforts to excel at customer service are all they appear to be, I will be a very happy client. Except for one thing. Is it possible that Subaru could come up with something like the dog guard that could be used to separate the 8 and 6 year olds in the back seat?

leo2633

There is a partition for use in a police car that separates two prisoners in the the back seat. Maybe that would work . Seriously, I have three kids. Mine are all teenagers now, and two drive themselves everywhere. BUT, we went though that stage, too. Even with our mini-vans, they'd fight, even when they each had their own seats. I figured a school bus would have provided enough space to keep them from fighting (then again, probably not!).

Len

hondafriek

Based on my love affair with the GT, plus your active participation and helpfulness over the time I have been on these forums I had no problem recommending that my sister in law buy a Subaru ForesterXS.

  Cheers Pat.

subewannabe

subaru offers a custom fit, very unobtrusive "dog guard " the separates the rear seat from the cargo area.
mark

imyodaddy

I want to seperate the 8 year old from the 6 year old.

ateixeira

Congrats on the child and the impending Forester purchase. Join us in the Forester thread, it's quite active.

I've had 3 child seats in the back seat of my Forester, one booster and two child safety seats. It's a squeeze but they fit.

To seperate them, you need a watchful mommy! :-)

-juice

forestergump

Straightjackets should work...

On a more serious note, I am somewhat skeptical that three child seats could be fit into the back seat. It seems crowded enough with just one booster seat and an adult in the back of my '99 Forester. YMMV.

ateixeira

I actually took a photo, if you want I'll e-mail it to you. Like I said, tight, but they fit.

-juice

imyodaddy

I was at a dealer today and overheard the salesman talking to his manager, and it appears that there is a halt on the sale of 2004 Outbacks effective immediately due to something wrong with the fuel system. Could we get a clarification on this?

Thanks.

stever

Sure it wasn't a Sienna? Toyota is pushing back production about 6 weeks due to a gas tank leak problem that was discovered during recent crash testing.

I don't see anything on the NHTSA site (yet).

Steve, Host

imyodaddy

The dealer hd just gotten the call about an hour before. And the sign in front said "Subaru."

kullenberg

Patti: I know you're on vacation, but there is no urgency to this comment. In last week's chat room, I mentioned that my dealer here in Boone had his on-line inventory down. It's still down, but I found out why; the dealership was sold to another dealer in Raleigh (Southern States Subaru [can I say that?]). I've read a couple of reports on them, on other foums, which have been positive. Hope it carries over! The previous management has provided stellar service!
Cheers
Pat

subewannabe

Patrick,
   I have found the folks at Don Smith Subaru in Spruce Pine to be very easy to get along with, and they call me whenever they get in a Forester XT I might be interested in. Since I decided to wait on the next-gen Legacy before I decide what to buy, I went ahead and joined IMBA and will get the Subaru VIP benefit of getting whichever car I decide on at invoice, but will have to do business with whichever dealer and salesperson SoA directs me to.
   If you were interested in a WRX wagon, Don Smith has (last time I drove through their lot 2 weeks ago) a new silver 02 that is really nice and available for a discerning buyer.

Mark

kullenberg

Mark:
Thanks for the tip. I keep an eye on Don Smith's inventory also. I'm not ready to buy until next May, when I get rid of the ML430 (great snow car, but lousey Mercedes!). I belong to "Leave No Trace", which also gives access to VIP pricing, with dealer of my choice. Don Smith is about 30 min down the Blue Ridge Pkwy, from us. I had heard that John Cook had been sold, from the Honda dealer, a couple of weeks ago, when I was looking at the Pilot (bad me). I have to take my mom's OB in to the Boone dealer for service in a couple of weeks, and I'll get the lay of the land. Up till now they have been very good. I notice you have an A6; I had a 98 A6q, which I really loved, but I got it hi centered up here in the snow, in 99, and I knew it had to go, hence the ML.
Cheers
Pat

p0926

Pat- Buy the car at Don smith's and enjoy the twisties on the way home! :-)

-Frank P.

kullenberg

The only problem is the BR Pkwy has a 45 MPH speed limit, and THEY MEAN IT!! It's still a pretty way to get somewhere. For those not familiar, they don't plow it in the winter, so when it snows - it's closed.
Cheers
Pat

reddog14

Hi Patti,

Hope you are enjoying your vacation. In case you're bored when you return, how about this:

I am interested in purchasing a Forester in Massachusetts. A local dealer just told me that Subaru of America (Subaru of New England?) charges dealers more for new Foresters and for Forester options than is charged to dealers in other parts of the country, AND more than is listed as the invoice charge for cars and options on the Edmunds.com site. Is this correct, or is he jerking me around? And if it is true, what have we in New England done to deserve this?

Thanks for any info!

Larry

subewannabe

patrick is right...the roads between him and spruce pine are very interesting, NC 221, US 19E or, esp, the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is one of the most beautiful roads in America..except in snow...narrow lanes, no guard rails and a loooooong way down if you lose it!

and the A6 Q is great for the first 4 inches of snow, then it bottoms out...maybe it never accumulates that much in Ingolstadt?
Mark

paisan

They are 100% correct. The problem is not that SOA charges more.

The structure runs something like this:

SOA- Sells cars to SDC and SNE

Subaru Distribution Corp and Subaru New England then sell the cars to the dealers. SNE sells them for a higher price to the New England dealers than SDC sells them to the rest of the country.

=mike

fibber2

that Subaru of NY/NJ is also a separate entity??

Steve

bluesubie

is part of SDC. Unless that changed in the past few months. Edmunds pricing was slightly off when I purchased (NJ), because certain options I bought were not part of a package through SDC.

-Dennis

raydahs

How many stand alone (only sell and service Subaru) dealers exist?

Does Subaru have a certified used car plan like Honda and Toyota, if not, are they planning on doing something like it in the future?

hgutstein

Just got back from long trip to Australia and saw this.. Congrats on all the good things Patti!

Howard

kens

In my area, there are several dealerships that sell only Subaru, but they're usually part of a chain. A single owner will have one location selling Subaru, another selling Toyota, etc -- usually evidenced by (insert owner name here) Subaru. I don't know if there are any Subaru pure-plays, so to speak.

Anyone else?

Ken

dcm61

The dealer I bought my '03 OBW (and '96 OBW and '93 L sedan and '89 GL-10 FT-4WD Turbo Touring wagon) from is a standalone Subaru dealer (Rafferty Subaru). They sold their Pontiac / GMC franchise about 2 years ago. They are supposedly the #1 dealer in the tri-state area (SE PA, DE, S. Jersey).

DaveM

ateixeira

Most dealer here are multiple-brand types, including the Subaru dealers I'm familiar with.

They do have seperate showrooms, though.

-juice

rsholland

Subie dealers, that are "pure" Subie dealers have a warm-fuzzy stone fireplace/chimney look to the front of the building.

Speaking of dealers, I love what VW has done with their franchises. That pale yellow (which was so despised on the WRX) looks great on the VW showrooms.

Bob

ohsubeguy

Patti ...
I just found this board and I'm very excited. I've heard a lot of great comments about you. So, I'm hoping you can help with my case. I've been having issues with the dealership I bought my Forester from since January of this year. My issues are still unresolved to my satisfaction. And my Forester hasn't been the same since January. Juice may have already spoken to you about my case. I have emailed him what has been going on. He indicated he would get the information to you. If you would look into my case I would greatly appreciate it. I want Sube back to the way it was.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

OHsubeGuy

subaru_team

I'm back from vacation and BURIED in work. Steve, I did find your case and I'm checking into some things. You'll hear from someone tomorrow.

I'm not sure about the number of "single point" dealers. I'll check into that also. I know that in the New England area there are quite a few.

Anyway, I promise to catch up on my reading here - hopefully by tomorrow night. I'm still working on getting through my e-mails!

Patti

rsholland

Check this link. It seems SOA has issued a Tech Service Bulletin on a 5-speed H-6 for 2004. Is this something you elaborate on? Or would that put you back in the dungeon? (We don't want that, so a "no comment" would suffice)

rsholland "Subaru Crew - Future Models II" Aug 26, 2003 10:10am

Bob

kens

Patti,

Welcome back! Did you do anything fun for vacation?

Ken

subaru_team

I can't figure out what TSB this is from home. I'll check it when I get into the office and advise. If it's dungeon worthy, I guess we'll know about 30 minutes after I post!!

Patti

subaru_team

I actually got to go fishing for the first time in two years! We stayed "bayside" so it wasn't too rough. I didn't catch anything worthy of a meal, but I did catch a bunch of sharks which are a fun challenge.

I brought my daughter and her friends for surfing lessons. I was amazed that they got them up and catching waves within 15 minutes of starting the lesson.

Cooked a lot of visitors to our place and we had some fun around the campfire. Overall - very relaxing and fun week.

See you at the chat on Thursday?

Patti

ohsubeguy

Patti .....
Thanks so much for the quick response and for taking a look at my case.

Steve
(OHsubeGuy)

rsholland

Jaws re-visited. This was where? NJ?

Bob

kens

Patti,

Sounds like you had a good one. Sharks!? Little ones like dogfish or great whites? ;-)

Chat on Thursday -- I'll be there.

Ken

Karen_S

Welcome back, Patti! Glad you had a nice vacation and happy belated birthday too! :-)

Sharks, eh? Hmmm...wonder if fighting a channel catfish can compare?

subaru_team

grey sharks - the largest was pretty feisty and about 2 feet long. They are difficult to catch. That bugger ended up wrapping itself around my line. I think my brother was a little frustrated trying to get it off the line (as a good captain does)!

We were fishing in the Delaware Bay, between Cape May point and Delaware. My brother did end up catching two good sized flounder (20" +).

I'm hoping to get back out on the boat this weekend. Maybe I will drop a net, bring in a huge haul and have everyone down for a fish fry?

Patti

kens

Sounds like you had fun!

How about you take a long fishing trip so some of us West Coast folks can join! ;-)

Ken

bluesubie

Although this weekend it would take about 4 hours to get down the GS Parkway. Or maybe I could leave at 5:00 a.m. :-)

-Dennis

ateixeira

I'm up for grilled turbot.

You were close to Lewis, DE, then. That's the other side, where the Ferry stops on the Deleware side. We go to the beach near there, in Bethany.

-juice

subaru_team

In fact, I took a good picture of us in my brothers boat in between the ferry headed towards Delaware and one that was headed back to NJ.

Great fishing spot normally. Just a bad day for us related to "keepers".

Chat with you all tonight!

Patti

xccoachlou

"Cooked a lot of visitors" Was this before or after the sharks got them?

Yeah, I know you meant for a lot of visitors, but it was just too funny.

- Lou, reeling after distribution of 400+ laptops to freshmen and the associated seminars.

fibber2

I laughed about that also...

Love Cape May - what a great town if you are into old houses, and especially painted ladies (Victorian architecture).

Steve

c_hunter

I was wondering if you got a chance to read the e-mail I sent a couple of weeks ago, about the clutch on my parent's Outback. I figured it might take a while to catch up on your e-mail after vacation.

thanks,
Craig

fibber2

My co-worker greeted me this morning with a hearty handshake and an offer of lunch (we were out on overlapping vacations). He got the checks you approved for reimbursement.

A small crowd gathered as we retold our stories, discussed the uniqueness of Subaru's commitment to customer service, and your presence on the internet. I have to believe that whatever goodwill outlay SoA may be making now will be paid back 10 fold!

Steve

ateixeira

Good will like that will influence probably another few purchases, I bet.

Thanks for sharing that.

-juice