Hi all,
After reading a letter on HJ's page in todays Telegraph from a guy that has imported a new Subaru Impreza Turbo which has snapped it's timing belt at 26k, i wondered if we could pass a hat around us forum members to assist him in paying for the required repairs ?
It appears that he has no regress with the UK the dealer but the supplier which is based in Holland.
I do possess an old 'Dai cap' so shall i pass it around ?
Rgds,
Ash. ( skint but will donate the cap )
p.s why bother buying an import when he would have had the support of the Uk dealer if things went pear shaped ? MONEY ! lossed more than he gained now sadly.
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A case of schadenfreude Ashley?
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No, not me Bob.
I just wonder why people go through the heartache and bother of importing a car just to see things go totally belly up. The chances are that when things do go wrong, they go wrong in a big way, and it'll cost a packet.
After watching QW a few weeks ago there's a huge chance that the imported car that you are driving around in is stolen, and when the police catch up with you there's only one loser:- You the innocent purchaser.
I would rather buy a second hand Uk car rather than a new import. Maybe i'm wrong, but that's my view anyway. Give me a warranty that's backed up by a Uk based company any day. There's no way i'd part with my hard earned cash on an import when for a few dollars more i can buy a genuine uk registered car, and when something goes wrong, i just go back to the dealer that sold me it ( or in my case, my local franchised dealer that will look at my car with no questions asked ).
Ash.
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Methinks I detect the smell of sour grapes!!
I have an imported Focus, 19 months old, which was covered by the Ford Motor Co for its 12-month 'pan-European warranty' . I saved c.£2500 on the purchase. (At the time, Ford UK's warranty was also 1 year)
At the end of the year, I purchased a 3-year Mechanical Breakdown Insurance, and c.4 months later made a claim, for a new inlet manifold/egr valve (£300+).
To my surprise, 'because I had owned the car from new', The Ford Motor Co made a goodwill contribution of 60%, and I've claimed the rest from the insurance co.
The moral, IMHO, is, if you wish to import, you can save lots, but remember your warranty is only 12 months, so it is probably wise to make some other arrangement thereafter.
Oh, and it might be a good idea to buy a Ford...(never thought I'd say THAT)!!
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I think people are missing the point the car was out of warranty,even if he had bought it in the uk the outcome would be the same.
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I read the letter too Ashley - the guy bought the car new from a dealer in Holland. The QW article was about buying second hand Japanese cars wasn't it?
The reason thousands of people import cars from Europe is simple - they are much cheaper. It is solely due to this that most manufacturers have at least frozen or reduced their prices on the UK market.
I thought most Japanese cars sourced in the EU had a 3 year maufacturer's warranty that that was valid in UK; certainly Nissan and Toyota have. Despite what HJ says I am surprised that Suburu are not similar.
Regardless of the above surely TW(the owner) has had a rough deal and your first input is hardly sympathetic is it?
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I admit my posting was a little tongue in cheek, but i do agree that the guy has been given a raw deal, especially when the car was bought new and not second hand. You'd have thought that Subaru would make a good will gesture and help towards the cost of repairing the car at least.
Sour grapes 'eh ? I'm a converted VW fan, some would disagree with me obviously,but i would never consider reverting back to petrol when i can get 50+ mpg out of my diesel and this government keeps putting the cost of fuel up. Everyone gets their fingers burnt once in a while, lets hope that we all learn from other peoples misfortune so that we do our best to minimise the risk to ourselves. Oh, and i do sympathise with TW because i've had warranty problems with Vauxhall, that's why i drive a VW now.
Rgds,
Ash.
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I have just checked subarus european webb sites and they have a three year gaurantee or 100000km plus 5 years for the all wheeel drive system
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the uk also is three years pan european gaurantee.One can only assume that
this was brought in after the car purchase
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As far as I can gather the UK Subaru 3 year warranty is by IM Group which owns Subaru in the UK. If other Subaru national concessionaires (including those owned by Subaru Japan) offer a 3 year pan European warranty, a deal would have had to be struck for warranty claims to be handled by IM Group in the UK. If the UK Subaru dealer referred the reader back to the dealer in Holland where he bought the car, then that suggests no such deal has been struck. There is talk of compulsory pan-European vehicle warranties covering all sorts of things including the emissions system (as in the USA) but no directive seems to have been issued. Obviously once it has, the manufacturers and importers will push for higher prices to make up their losses.
HJ
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I've thrown out the article now but I believe he(TW) said he took it up with the firm who arranged the import of the Subaru and they said it was the Dutch dealers problem; perhaps he never even tried the UK national concessionaire or even a UK Subaru dealer.
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No, Bob. It read, "My UK dealer, who has serviced the car since I imported it, tells me that a guied was fitted incorrectly during manufacture........The UK dealer denies any responsibility." That's why I suggested that if checking the timing belt formed part of the service schedule and the dealer had failed to do this, then TW might have a claim against the UK dealer.
HJ
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£14,475was £15,275Details
£14,450was £14,694Details
£13,573was £13,700Details
£19,914was £23,846Details
