Forester Warranty Problem

recap

Bought 2000 Forester new from dealer in that year. Every thing was super till we received WWP-9 notice in 2004 re: having dealer add special conditioner to coolant. This was done, at 57K miles. Since that time took it to same dealer three times for unexplained loss of coolant. Each time dealer checked found no leaks added cooler and conditioner & was told Subaru extended warranty for this condition to 100K miles.
Well! sounds great. Took it in a week ago at 90k miles. They said coolant leak is internal and warranty only covers if coolant leaks externally.
Called SOA they said only if head gasket leaks internally. Forester has and only been serviced by this dealer. Price to fix $2500.
Has anyone had this experience or suggestions of where to go from here? Thanks in advance.

ateixeira

Call 800-SUBARU3 and ask them if they can help. Be real nice, Help Desk folks get yelled at a lot and they'll be more willing to help if they can relate to you better.

recap

Thanks for your reply. I will follow your suggestion and I agree that those folks must take lots of abuse.

discopete

On their website CarMax mentions it when a car still has time and miles left on the original Subaru 3/36K warranty.

Just wondering...would Subaru require the newest owner to supply documentation of scheduled maintainence before they would honor the warranty? If so, and the dealer can't provide the previous owner's documentation, wouldn't that make the "remaining" warranty worthless? :confuse:

discopete

I found out the answer to my own question: The Subaru manufacturer's warranty transfers with the car. IOWs, after you buy the car you can bring it in to the dealer under whatever warranty is still in effect without having to document any previous maintenance.

I didn't experience what would happen if neglect by the previous owner caused a problem, since that didn't happen to me, but I doubt that Subaru would cover it so be careful when buying.

I did get the warped front rotors replaced under Subaru's warranty, however they would not replace the rear rotors because they had already been replaced with aftermarket units! :confuse: However, CarMax replaced the rear rotors with new Subaru rotors under their 30-day warranty, so get the car checked out before the 30-day Carmax warranty expires.

ateixeira

CarMax does claim to do a 114-point (something like that) inspection so at least they tried to address the brakes. Better than ignoring them completely, I suppose.

xwesx

The warranty transfers with the car regardless of previous ownership, but, as you say, warranty claims can be denied if it is felt by the manufacturer that the problem is due to negligence (even if not by you!).

If buying a used car with a warranty, it is always a nice thing to get records with the car. When I recently sold my 07 Outback, I gave the new owner all records, fuel/maintenance logs, and even some maintenance supplies I had purchased for the car. Seemed like common courtesy to me, but it sure surprised him!

discopete

Even with their 100+ point inspection, you gotta watch 'em.

I bought a '96 Impreza in the fall of '02. First I noticed the tires squealing in turns; Turned out that three of the tires had only 20 lbs of air. The spare had 10 lbs in it. They all held air after I inflated them, so they simply had not been checked.

Next, I noticed that the rear window defogger had only two wires getting hot, leaving most of the window fogged over. CarMax sent that out to an outside glass shop under their 30-day warranty and it cost them $341 to fix it. (I'm sure glad that I noticed that before the 30 days had elapsed).

A few weeks later, I had the differential oils changed at Jiffy Lube. I didn't see what came out of the rear, but the front gear oil was nasty black. It obviously hadn't been changed in quite a while.

If CarMax is missing stuff like that, what are all those "points" that they inspect? :confuse:

As noted in my previous post, both front and rear rotors pairs were warped on my "new" '05 Outback XT. Once again, CarMax did repairs under the 30-day warranty without complaint, but only after I found the problem.

I noticed yesterday that the air filter in the OB is very dirty. CarMax clearly didn't check that either. (I wonder if this car has a cabin air filter? I'd better check that, too, if I can find it).

So far, I'm happy with both cars purchased from CarMax, but a buyer needs to stay alert so that the problems can be fixed before the 30 days are up.

discopete

I don't doubt that the new owner was :surprise: by your actions. Most buyers are grateful to just avoid getting stuck with a :lemon:

You certainly did right by him.