Subaru Crew Best Service Facilities

hondafriek · February 2003

Are you implying that Mikes SVX is in rough shape,LOL.

Cheers Pat.

dpwdsw · February 2003

Can anyone recommend a good Subaru dealer in Eastern Ma. for servicing? Not that the dealer I service with is really bad for most items, it's just that they don't really listen to what the issue is. Too many times when I pick up my car after servicing I read 'no condition found' on the invoice when there is a problem that mostly concerns suspension noise.

Thanks

lark6 · February 2003

Mike's is in decent shape, but I've only seen it once. The one at Flemington was kind of beat up looking, very worn interior, rough paint, nowhere near as nice as Mike's.

Ed

bat1161 · February 2003

Vinny,

It's nice to see another SI person here on Edmunds. I would second Mike's recommendation of Mark @ Manfredi for buying, and Flemington for service. I know it is a bit of a drive but it is worth it. It's a funny coincidence- I was at Flemington this weekend (see post#1210 on the Legacy/Ouback problem board). While there I met a woman who travels about an hour to go there for service as well. We were talking about the local service places:
Beltway in Brooklyn- a co-worker of mine had her sisters car get banged up by the dealer when in for an oil change. Beltway tried to deny it, but lost.
Manfredi service- I remember Mark (dealer) saying their service dept was so-so.
Bell in Rahway- I've heard bad things about there as well, and so did she.

I know it is a bit of a ride from SI, but I feel it is worth it. They have always treated me fairly, and they do not try to gouge you. While you are there, you can take as many test drives as you like also:-)

Mark

paisan · February 2003

It's in ok shape, could use some dings taken out of it and rubber gaskets are showing their age.

Other than that it is good

-mike

edunnett · March 2003

Steve, I have read a bunch of posts on this and other boards about an unidentifiable burning smell on low-mileage subies. What others have found (and I have just found this weekend) is that either due to a bad seal or too-thin CV joint grease, the CV joint and/or the connection between the CV joint and the front differential begin to leak grease. The grease is thick as hell and you likely will not find spots on your driveway, however it does drip onto the exhaust and burn off - causing a burning smell from the font of the car only after the exhaust pipes get really hot. To make sure it's not something else:
check all your other fluid levels (oil, gear oil/tranny fluid, Power steering fluid) for indications that they are leaking, check under the car for puddles of anything you can identify. Get under the car and locate the front differential (it's a big hunk of metal near the transmission and between the two front tires, your axles connect to it via the inner CV joints (identifiable by their proximity to the CV boots - black rubber boots)). If you see ANYTHING leaking out of the CV joint, CV boots or differential then that is bad. If you are within 60K miles, it's likely covered on your powertrain warrantee Take it to a dealer for warrantee work.

edunnett · March 2003

Very impressed with the service department there so far. I never go to dealers 'cuz I think they are are a rip-off and I do most of my own maintenance anyway. But recently I had three problems that sound, smell, look like warrantee work so I took it in. The problems were:
1- for the last 10K miles or so, I hear a quiet and intermittent "clunk" from the rear when upshifting under 3K RPM.
2- for the last 3K miles shifting into 1st gear (either from neutral or from second) causes a grinding sensation (yes, the clutch was completely disengaged).
3- I have a burning smell that I found to be burning grease coming out of my differential.
Anyway, they were totally cool at Carlson Subaru, they listened to what I had to say, took it for a test, kept it for the day diagnosing it and in the end told me I needed a new rear diff, new first gear and other assorted things around the front diff - all warantee work. They didn't balk at being upfront and honest and "doing the right thing". I have yet to have my car fixed there, but so far impressed with their integrity. -elissa

psfod3 · March 2003

Anyone had any work done at Freehold Subaru in Monmouth County NJ. They are pretty new as a Subaru dealership

bluesubie · March 2003

I don't hear too much about them.
You could try a search in the Tri-State Forum at nasioc.com.
Or just go to Flemington. :-) If you go to a "new" dealer, find out the tech qualifications (i.e. Senior Master Techs).

-Dennis

vin_ams · March 2003

I have not been back to check the replies to my question from Feb. 20. However late I am in checking the responses. I appreciate all of them. I did purchace a 2002 H6 VDC last Sept.It was a real good sales experiance at Manfredi. From the service aspect however, they really do drop the ball. All of the minor problems became quite an experiance to attempt to have corrected there. From alternator noise (not through the radio), burning smell, inside and outside of cabin, poor cold start. And on, and on. Nothing major, but this dealership really needs to take some customer sensitivity training. To give an example, the service Mgr. told me the alternator noise was normal ( it shows up as a whine on part throttle cruising), and that I would be charged a diagnostic fee to determine the problem, since they do not perceive a problem. I have a friend in the trade that uses Bell for some of their work on WRX's, and he sent me over to Bell Saburu in NJ. Within a 2 minute test drive they acknowleged that they felt an alternator was needed. . They will have the vehicle for a few days, to square away the other concerns I have. I see from the posts that Flemington Saburu is good. I am please to say that at least Bell Saburu is listening to my concerns, and trying to address them. So far my experiance at Bell is good. I will respond back when vehicle is picked up in a few days. If not, I know I asked for it since I did not read the posts after I initially put in my request for info Feb. 20 #199. It was also great to hear from guys in the SI/Brkn/NYC area. Hey Paisan, Hypov, Bat1161,bluesubie,hypov, thanks for the replys. Any of you have an H6?

paisan · March 2003

Yup the service at Manfredi/SI Subaru/Isuzu is horrible. Sales is great, but not the service. Similar problems with my Isuzu at the SI service place.

-mike

bluesubie · March 2003

Well it looks like they finally cleaned up their act! I went through some very painful times with them (about 26k miles worth). Everything from rude service to lies.

The sales staff was great (my wife bought her 99 OB there) but the service was awful.
Shortly after my meeting with the District Service Operations Manager, they cleaned house in the service department (Service Manager and Advisor). Ok, a lot of people probably complained and it wasn't just me. :-) Carl, the mellow parts guy, took over as Service Manager. That was about 2 1/2 years ago.

-Dennis

vin_ams · March 2003

I'll know soon if they cleaned up their act.I sure hope this works out well at Bell. If not, I will try to meet a factory rep. at the Flemington dealer. Hopefully it does not come to that. Carl is still there. Service advisor was Alan, who indicated that he was new. I will repost with the outcome here.

bat1161 · March 2003

Its sad to hear that Manfredi still has not cleaned up their act in their servcie dept. I guess not enough people respond to the surveys from SOA.

Good luck at Bell. Let us know how everything works out.

Mark

bluesubie · March 2003

Also, if you're planning big services (30k, 60k, etc.) Flemington will be cheaper. Bell has a lot of add-ons. They replaced the platinum plugs on my wife's OB at 30k, even though the manual calls for 60k replacement. Flemington goes by the book. Plus they give you a rental for those services no matter where you bought the car.

-Dennis

blackbean · March 2003

Looking for a good indpeendent Subaru mechanic in the Boston Metrowest area. I bought my car at Natick Subaru, and they have been very good with the work done so far, but I want a place to go after the free oil-chnges on the LL Bean run out. Looking primarily from Needham to Franklin. Funny - we have one of the highest concentrations of Subies in the US, you would think we would have some good independent mechnaics around!

vin_ams · March 2003

Before I heard responses about the quality of service at Flemington Saburu. I already had an appointment at Bell Saburu. I brought it in to repair a driven noise that shows up at 2-4k at, and quite pronounced while driving. Bell replaced the alternator, I myself thought this was likely the problem. When I picked it up, the same problem noise was present, no change. A number of you guys had mentioned a Sales rep. at Manfredi named Mark that was really good. I visited him yesterday. We stated and ran a number of H6 engines. They all had pretty much the same noise present. Mark mentioned that the H6 3.0 used a timing CHAIN. I totally did not know this. I feel very comfortable that the noise is the timing chain, and probably normal. It is sad that it took a salesman to point this out. The only place in the manual to mention a timing chain on the H6 is in the maintainance schedule for 105k where there is a footnote that on H6 no scheduled replacement is necessary for the chain. I am amazed that since Oct.2002 I have spoke to 3 different dealership service depts. about this noise, I also covered their views on timing belt replacement, so on and so forth. No one ever mentioned that there is a chain in this 3.0. But thanks to Paisan, bat1161, and a number of others who mentioned the Salesrep. Mark at Manfredi Saburu in SI. He has a wealth of knowledge about subies. I just never ever even considered there being chain instead of a belt. As far as the experaince at Bell Saburu, they gladly replaced the alternator based on a test ride, and hearing the noise. The fact that it was not the problem, more indicated their lack of experiance with, or the small numbers of H6's out there that they see. They did try however. I will use Flemington Saburu when necessary. The little extra time to get there should be worth it. Thanks to some casual discussion with a salesrep, I have peace of mind. In hind sight, I should have been better prepared and known about the chain. I always tell customers of mine not to assume anything. If I knew that it was a timing chain, I would have saved myself alot of legwork indeed.

paisan · March 2003

Glad that Mark helped you out! Check out pics of the installfest in the events section.

-mike

fedupobowner2 · April 2003

Help!~ we are searching for a decent, honest dealership in the western North Carolina area to get our 2002 Outback serviced with., We are within 2000 miles of the basic warranty wearing out & still have things to be repaired our local dealers did not even try to repair; broken heater core (bad defroster), electric windows don't functioning properly, car pulling to right when you put on brakes, etc, etc. Please do NOT recommend either HUNTER Subaru in Hendersonville, NC, PRESTIGE in Asheville, NC, or Don Smith's Subaru in Spruce Pine. They have all treated us very unfairly & refused to fix vital things they should of under the warranty. the car is still under warranty. Also don't recommend to me the dealership in Hickory... I can't remember their name but they refused to fix my defroster system last spring, saying they had to wait until it was dark to do it, so I should wait until fall to bring it back to them! I then had to drive up Old Fort Mountain when it was raining 1 inch/hour in the dark with no working defroster!~ A very scary & dangerous drive that was. I'm willing to drive a total of 90 minutes-2 hours if I could at least find an honest Subaru dealer in the south that would fix my car under the warranty & not put on the invoice "no problem found" which is what has been put on 95% of all my invoices when I try to get something serviced at a Subaru dealership in my area... OUTBACK has 34,000 miles now I HEARD about a ROYAL Subaru in Decateur, GA. Are they any good or the typical "no problem found" type of Subaru dealership I've encountered in past year? TIA

rsholland · April 2003

I know there's a Subie dealer there. I don't know anything about them, however.

If you take I-40 East into Wilmington (I-40 ends there and it becomes College Ave.), and then make a left on to Market Street (I think), it's up about a mile or two on your right.

Bob

fedupobowner2 · April 2003

Yes, Wilmington would be too far to drive, at least 6-8 hours away. besides, I want to go to a place where I KNOW the customers are treated right, not just one with Subaru sign over door. thanks anyway.

rsholland · April 2003

That's roughly the same time it takes me to drive from the Baltimore/Washington area!

Bob

windsurfer02 · April 2003

Hey, we must have visited the same neck of the woods, genieve. I also got very shoddy treatment/poor service by Hunter SUBARU in Hendersonville, NC, and Prestige SUBARU in Asheville, NC when visiting friends in the mountains. I also tried the place down in Hickory once, I'm not sure of their name either. But, some one named Terry there in Hickory actually recommended to my friend they get their master cylinder replaced when they were having brake problems too. So, at least they're knowledgeable.they followed their advice & their brakes haven't failed since. I'm looking for a good subaru shop who treats their customers right also. We'll be travelling through the northeast georgia/southeast tennessee area & need to get some stuff fixed before our warranty runs out too. Anyone use any of the subaru dealers in that area for warranty work & were pleased with service, attitude, etc?

forestergump · May 2003

I'm curious if anyone has any recommendations for Subaru service in the Chicago area, as I have some mixed feelings with the dealer closest to me.
-Bob

subearu · May 2003

If you're near the Libertyville area, Liberty Auto City is a good Subaru service place.

I have a local dealer 20 minutes away, but for service I prefer going the 40 minutes to Liberty.

-Brian

jlemole · May 2003

Wondering if anyone has experience with World Subaru in Shrewsbury, NJ. I've used Freehold (where I bought my 02 OBW), but they haven't inspired a great deal of confidence (I also heard they're a pretty new dealer).

I tried Manfredi on SI once. I waited about 20 minutes to even have the service manager speak to me -- I ended up leaving. BTW, Vin, Mike and Mark, I'm a SI native and still have my business here.

paisan · May 2003

I think pretty soon we are going to have to have a Denninos Pizza and Ralph's Ice's Meet!

What do you guys think?

-mike

paisan · May 2003

By the way?

-mike

cptplt · May 2003

Gary Lang and Roto aren't bad. Schaumburg is ok too but they never seem to keep any of their mechanics long so if its major stuff they may not be the best place as they may not be very experienced.

If you don't need a dealer but want a very experienced Sube mechanic go to Import Motors in Schaumburg. John Naltsas is one of the few Subaru Senior Master Techs in the Chicago area, he used to be in charge at the Schaumburg Audi/Subaru dealer till a few years ago when they dropped Subaru.The present Schaumburg Subaru dealer techs are always having to call him up for advice.

jlemole · May 2003

Mike: Denino's and Ralph's sounds great. Then maybe an outing at a SI Yankees or Brooklyn Cyclones game.

Vin: I'm ready to switch to synth in the tranny and diffs (already did Mobil 1 in the engine -- sorry). What Amsoil should I use in my 02 OBW w/auto, and maybe you can e-mail your numnber to discuss further. E-mail is jlemole@comcast.net

bluesubie · May 2003

Don't know much about World Subaru.
I went to Somerset Subaru a few years ago and they were very good.

I ended up switching to Flemington because Somerset is closed Saturdays. Flemington will also do minor repairs on Saturday while some dealers only do oil changes. Flemington and Somerset both go by the book and don't have add-ons.

I live in northern Middlesex County and make the drive to Flemington for service on two Subaru's. Much better than the dealers closer to me. It's also easy to speak with the Service Manager, shop foreman and dealership owner.

-Dennis

bat1161 · May 2003

Jon,

I have not tried World; I ususally make the trip out to Flemington. In the 3 years I've been using them I have had no problems. They seem to stay on top of things and don't pull the "that happens to Subaru" line other dealers do.

A SI/Bklyn meet sounds good!

Mark

vin_ams · May 2003

Nice to hear from you guys again. A meet at Denino's/Ralphs sounds great, (I live right around the corner). I am looking forward to going to the Flemington dealership, right now everything is doing ok on the Subie, so it might be a while.

vin_ams · May 2003

Jon, Amsoil TGR or AGR 75w/90 in rear, and final drive, Amsoil ATF (product code) in Auto.Trans. and Power Steering will give nice performance, and great protection to your Outback. I will email you with other info.

paisan · May 2003

I have to get in touch with you for some Amsoil stuff I think.

-mike

jlemole · May 2003

I just got my 02 OBW back from World for replacement of the oil pump seal and crankshaft seal. They seem pretty good, knowledgeable, etc. In fact, they may be the only dealer I've ever used that actually called me to tell me the car was ready (and it was done by early afternoon to boot!). At 19K miles everything done under warranty. They also replaced my driver's door panel under warranty (I leaned on the armrest too hard and cracked it). I'm gonna get a few more service visits with them, and I'll report back. At my pace, I be doing a 22,500K service real soon. Their 30K menu looks like it contains a lot of extras at $385.00, and that's w/o a tranny fluid and coolant drain. Might see if I can get a cheaper price a la carte.

P.S. They're about 50 minutes from SI w/o traffic, GSP exit 109. Better yet, only 15 minutes from my home.

Vin-- thanks for the Amsoil info. I look forward to your e-mail. I'm really keen on making the switch now. BTW, do you know a competent local independent that can change em' out for me?

paisan · May 2003

http://iace.com/azp should be able to take care of that stuff for yah

-mike

vin_ams · May 2003

I'm glad it worked out well at World Subaru. I did send you an email on 5/27, and I just resent it. When I mentioned a shop for changeover, I did not realize that you were a while from SI though.

jlemole · May 2003

Thanks for your responses. Vin, I did get your e-mail. As soon as I get a chance, I'll call to order the fluids. My office is not far from you (I'm in Clove Lakes). Maybe I can swing by one night on my way home.

Mike, once I get the fluids, maybe we can get together and you could help me with the swap? BTW, are you in SI or Brooklyn??

paisan · May 2003

Down near the outerbridge.

-mike

didjfan · June 2003

Just got a subie. Anyone from Diego want to recommend or slam a dealer here???

joybell · June 2003

Since I don't have a dealer in my area anymore, I am going to do the warranty service checks at our local garage, and if they find something wrong, I will then take Forester to the dealer to have the problem fixed. Just before the warranty runs out, I will take it to the dealers for a complete warranty service check. It is cheaper for me and a lot more convenient. With my previous two new Subarus I always went to the dealer, at least until 50,000k. After that I just handed our local mechanic a list of stuff to check out as per the service booklet and he did it. Does anyone see a problem doing it this way. Of course the dealer doesn't like it, warning me that if anything is tampered with and then causes a problem the warranty will not cover the replacement of the part. However, the mechanic we use knows that he is only to check the components, not attempt to repair them.

ivestorpark · June 2003

Generally dealers who offer free loaner service give you a loaner car that may be a year or two old and is a couple of notches below in quality vis-a-vis to your car. This is to ensure that you return the loaner ASAP to get own better car back. Also you're paying for the loaner in your service bill. You don't see the charge, it's just in there with jacked up parts prices, labor charges, and any other charges that they can get away with.

joybell · June 2003

I had a late model Sunfire (was not impressed) for two days when I took our Chevy truck in for the end-of-warranty checkup. The loaner was covered in the warranty, and they found LOTS of stuff to fix (shocks,brakes,oil seal.....), so GM had to pay for it. The truck only has 19,000km (11,500 miles) on it in four years and had been serviced by our local mechanic. This was the first GM dealer servicing on this truck, and they didn't bicker about anything having been tampered with by a non-GM mechanic. I don't see why I can't do the same with my new Forester. I don't need a loaner car when taking the Forester to our local mechanic, and can save a lot of time and money by waiting for a Subaru dealer's full checkup at the end of the warranty only.

dwest6 · June 2003

Going to buy my first Subaru. Recommendations on best place to purchase and service? I'm in the Farmington, Farmington Hills, Michigan area.

Thanks,

David

squeezedlemon · November 2003

Hello,

I am looking to get a front differential seal job done by a competent mechanic who'll charge less than the dealership is asking for my 96 Legacy Outback 2.5 L. My wagon has 130K on it. Also I need the rear main seal on my engine done which should be accessible when they pull the tranny. Anyone have any positive experiences with transmission mechanics within Rt.495? I live in Boston. Thanks.

Also Import Auto Services in Marlboro recommended Bonded Transmission in Framingham. Anyone ever deal with them?
They offered a 12 mo 12 K warranty on the front diff seal job.

Regards,

Matt

stuhall · December 2003

I just bought my XT from Rancho Subaru. They're service and dealer prep so far has been awful. Where did you purchase? My moonroof is rattling so I need a competent tech to look at it.

sep_ · December 2003

Hi Stuart,

After taking a very informal poll (Basically accosting other Subaru owners in parking lots while I've been out and about) I've heard good things about the service department at the dealership in Irvine. A bit up the road but if they can fix your moonroof it'd be worth the drive.

Hope that helps,
Sep

lowellk · December 2003

Stuart,

I've gotten satisfactory service for our '01 and '03 Foresters at Bob Baker Subaru in El Cajon.

Cheers,

Lowell

kajeco · January 2004

has anyone had experience with the hyannis subaru service department or any independent repair station between swansea and hyannis? i am in the middle of major repairs, due to a major local new bedford mechanic screw-up, and would like to avoid the runaround in the future. there are just too many repair places to select from in the greater new bedford area so, unless someone can point out a shining star here, i am willing to drive out to the cape, if necessary.

thank you!

[b][i]-k[/i][/b]
8degrees in 'neu beige', ma

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