The car I'm currently leasing has been good, the dealers are the problem.
This is my fourth Subaru. I've owned two and leased two. This Legacy is a leased vehicle and I have not had a problem with it. However, it's only 3 years old. However, as a result of my experience with 4 Subarus, I have decided that I will never buy another one, due to serious reliability issues, the high cost of ownership and problematic dealerships. The two Subarus I owned needed extensive and expensive repairs prior to hitting the 100K mark. My Turbo Outback which had 27K miles on it when purchased from a dealership, had not even reached 60K when I was told by a local Subaru certified Dealer that it required almost $4,000 worth of repairs to the drive train. Unfortunately, it was 6 months past the warranty so I was on my own to pay, although Subaru eventually chipped in $1,000. Nobody at Subaru or the dealership could explain why this happened, except to say sometimes it does happen. Note I had documentation that every required service was done and done on time and I changed the oil with synthetic oil every 3,000 miles. I also put only premium gas (required for Turbos) in the tank at every fill-up.Two weeks after I got the Outback out of the shop, my other Subaru needed more than $3,000 worth of repairs after about 90K miles, despite having every required service and other maintenance performed on time. After having almost $7,000 in work done at this dealership I noticed that my Outback was still not running properly. I took it back to the same dealer and they confirmed that there was a problem but they couldn't figure it out and believe it or not, sent me on my way. After talking with a co-worker I was directed to a small shop whose owner was familiar with Subarus. He used a laptop computer to reset the Engine Control Module which completely resolved the problem and charged me only $30. I am about to turn in my 4th and last Subaru (Legacy). As mentioned above, the car has been decent but again, the dealership is being less than friendly (don't believe the Subaru Love crap and the quirky/friendly commercials you hear). After driving this car for 3 years, they want to charge me more than $300 because they say the seats are a little too dirty and the console, which sits right under my elbow, is not in a pristine state. The inspector who just did the pre turn-in inspection told us they steam clean the seats anyway, regardless of whether or not they appear a little dingy, so why am I being charged? Note that the upholstery in this car is almost white, so it shows every speck of dirt. Also, how is this not fair wear and tear? Maybe I'm being naive in believing this is unique to Subaru, but I've owned many cars over many years and I've never experienced anything like I did with this brand.
Verified Owner
