Hmm...I actually have a very different experience of after sales for my second Subaru, which is the current new Forester turbo.

My first Forester was from 2009 till 2013. Nothing to shout about at MI during my 3 year warranty period. Well then again, there was nothing wrong with my car during the whole warranty tenure. So just regular servicing at the old MI HQ back then.

But with the new Forester I actually had pretty good after sales treatment from Subaru MI. 8 months into ownership and my engine BLEW. That's right, new subaru DIT engine. Same as the one in the coming new WRX.

There was some slight issues already. But it was not regular. But the engine knocks (very loudly) when accelerating at low speeds or up gradients from low speed and loses power for half second. For example from traffic lights or up a bridge from a merging lane. Not during high speed pushes. During very normal accelerating scenarios.

Research, research online...found Australians also facing same issues. Initially aussie owners found that the air intake clamps seem to be the culprit. But apparently Subaru sent engineers over to Aussie to test and figured out that it was the engine tuning issue. So new maps, new spark plugs. Problem solved.

Subaru MI replaced my whole engine. Brought in from land of rising sun, gave me an XV to use (which they offered me after I mentioned how I needed a high riding car for my work) and now I have back my Forester and loving the new engine with the brand new tune. No more problems. And apparently they are applying this new tune update to the WRXs as well according to some of the Aussies.

Another FXT owner that I met also had the knocking problem, but his engine did not blow. They also gave him a courtesy car while updating his tune.

The engine replacement under warranty was really no fuss at my end. Only needed to hand over the documents to them for the car registration update and reinspection, which MI handled everything. Whole process including testing, inspections etc. took about just over a month from the day it was decided that the engine needs to be replaced.

All the while the attitude I got from MI was generally good and friendly.

For my previous Forester, my review of MI after sales would be neutral.

But this time round, I think they are trying hard to please and making changes and I am happy with the way they took responsibility and dealt with the problem. Of course not the record breaking award winning red carpet service, but definitely much better than some other car brands that my company owns.

Wow... That's interesting. I purchased my first scooby in jan 2010. I have to say that it's a great car. No headaches but towards the end of the warranty period, I experienced some slight knocking sound coming from the front suspension. I went to MI and ask them to check. Once I reached there, they said all the ram have been used and I need to wait for about 30-40 mins. I agreed and waited. When e ram was free, they didn't bother to check and I had to ask the technician in charge. He asked the problem again and I told him about the slight knocking sound. Guess what he said after that! He told me that he needs at least 1/2 day to check the knocking sound and asked me to come back 2 days later in the morning for checking. No guarantees that the correction / repairs could be done that day coz they might not have the part!!!!

Argghhh.... My frustrations was, if you need half a day to check at least let me know earlier so that I don't have to wait there for 1 hour like I have nothing better else to do!!!!!

Left MI and vowed never to return again as my warranty has ended. I don't mind paying for the overcharged service and parts and I only use MOTUL oil. But it's another thing if you don't respect me as a paying customer.

People who drive these sort of car usually will DIY or have their own workshop that does maintenance/mod on car like that
Driving enthusiast car & go back SC is

Yah that sounds frustrating. But I can see their efforts to improve the after sales recently. I believe they are really trying to penetrate the market. Whether they succeed or not is a different discussion. But I honestly am quite glad with their improvement and hope they continue to improve.

I mean even with the DIT engine problem, which I expected anyway. New engine and all. Now that they figured it out the DIT engine with their CVT is really really something. At first I thought damn....CVT.....sure feel sluggish even compared to the ancient 4At on the previous forester. But I am never happier to be proven wrong by subaru. Its lovely. During the month that I did not get to drive my Fxt, i really felt lethargic each time I needed to drive. Life is good again now

get how about a v10 recon...alot cheaper, got dual transmission, family type hatch...and performance

Really depends on the drivers. For some drivers, scoobies are all about mods and more mods! To others, scoobies are just the right car to have fun without going through those extensive mods!

New Teana owner will get priority service in Nissan SC. Much like vip customer. U can have access to their service manager, priority service bay and guaranteed time to get back your car. But teana is just like normal passenger car with soft suspension n normal engine performance as compared to legacy.

I like legacy as well but thinking of the number of that model on the road really spook me about the availability of parts. If warranty still ok but after warranty it will be a nightmare. Really hate it when u got no choice and everything have to go back to authorizes SC. No problem if u got deep pocket.

There is another car is in high demand now, the merc cla. But problem is the waiting list is 1 year at the moment.

Please note that most parts that wear out are 'CBU' parts. If you understand what CKD means, you'd know that important parts and parts that are difficult to source locally are knocked down and sent here for reassembly. Almost all the parts that I mentioned in my previous post are not CKD parts that is sourced locally. So that makes no difference whether the car is CKD or CBU.

Just like the XV now, it is CKD but majority of the parts under the hood like air-con compressor, steering rack, suspension, windscreen (low volume sales, very good chance it is not made locally) are very likely to be 'CBU' parts since it is not replaced with a locally made version.

CKD does not automatically means that most parts are local. You can knockdown the entire car, send it to Malaysia's assembly plant and just use local tyre and seats and that is considered as CKD while the rest of the car is original from overseas.

I'm thinking exactly the same thing but what the heck do you mean by 'dual transmission'?

v10 does not have "dual transmission". I believe you meant DSG type but still not available on v10 or even v11. v11s are now using CVTs. Anyway, the v10s are using 5 speed autos.

It is a great car as it does fill all the criteria - family hatchback, performance based and practical for daily use. Been using it since 2010. The only downside is the FC. Don't expect good / great fuel economy from a 300bhp vehicle! I believe same goes with the Legacy too.

I had a call from a subaru SA to sell me a 2013 Legacy at a good price. Was tempted to change but... second thought, I decided to keep my v10 and be happy about it!

Why?

Simply because I love my v10 and I have 2nd and 3rd car to satisfy me on other areas such as FC, comfort etc.

Also, when I asked the SA about trade ins, he said he'll get high price trade ins. When he asked what car, and I replied v10, the next statement he made was hilarious - "Erm... better you sell it yourself lah". Being a scooby SA and not willing to take the challenge to get the high trade in price says a lot on the brand and the quality of their SAs.

cheers!

bro as ur mention parts in ur wrs sti sure hard get in malaysia ,dun forget ur car is a CBU & performance car ~ is a good news for u also still can get at nearest country even though cant get in malaysia ~ at least u know where can find the new 1 and period to waiting ~ try compare with other brand CBU performance car see how long u need to wait ~

for XV as CKD car ~ yes majority parts is from japan ~ but for parts as u mention about as i know windscreen , absorbers, break pad , etc majorlity wear and tear parts also supply by local ~ all the CBU parts sure can least long time ~

u think go get a CKD project so easy meh ~ government so eazy approve u do CKD just import the parts and assembly here then sold as CKD price?? sure got some term and condition ~ if not XV can sell with current price with full spec version le ~

not the scooby SA dun wan sell at high price their also base by user car pricing ~ yes we have high trade in price ~ but not enough to cover ur expecting price ~

subaru legacy sure better FC if compare with WRX STI ~ legacy is a family car with performance ~ fuji heavy industry sure will consider about the FC of legacy ~

If buy from grey mkt or second hand car dealer e.g. a used Legacy/WRX Sti ... MI will service or not? If not, go where for servicing?

Xuzen

This post has been edited by xuzen: Jun 5 2014, 02:34 PM

they sure will do. I saw a few old subarus at HQ n dat means MI still can do servicing and supply parts even for old vehicles

Let me put it this way. Subaru is a cold brand in Malaysia. As a cold brand, the SAs need to be 200% better than those hot selling brands like H or T. You'll need to take the extra mile to satisfy your customers. Am sure that Subaru is giving higher commissions than those hot brands.

When I bought my scooby in 2010, I had a great SA. He went to the extra mile to ensure that I had a great trade in price. He called a few dealers and got me a great price on trade in and a good discount on the scooby. He ensured that I receive the best value and service. He did outshine as a SA. As a reward, I tipped him RM 500 on the day of my car collection! Yes, RM 500 in CASH for him! I know he had gotten commissions from the sale of the car as well as the 3M tint that I installed. However, good SAs like this is hard to find and I'm one who likes to reward people like this!

For the recent scooby SA, he didn't even bother to get quotations from other dealers and just say it's better for me to sell on my own. Come on. We are buying a car that's over RM 200k! This is the range of Mercedes and Beemers. People who buys this brand should come from above average income. At least show some courtesy by checking on the price OR at least be hungry for your own sales!

Anyway, I decided to keep my scooby and am now thinkiing of changing one of my other car to the new Merc W205. Sorry Motor Image Malaysia, you've lost a potential REPEAT customer.

Dude.. my WRX is from MI so there's no excuse from MI to not have parts to service a car that they sold. I don't blame them if they don't have STi parts in which is why NONE of my STi buddies would even bother to go to MI.

The terms and conditions are not difficult, the more local parts used, the higher the rebate the gov gives back as incentives. It is not difficult to setup shop in Malaysia. It is just that people don't want to do it because there are better alternatives in Thailand (that is until they lost their gov). They also don't want to open shop here due to the 'unfair' incentives that Proton/Perodua gets form the Gov. The NAP also create havoc when the Gov changes their mind every 1-2 years. The recent removal of hybrid incentives for CKD hybrid at the end of 2015 was one of them and pretty much screwed up Honda as they are assembling the Jazz here. Mercedes just launched their CKD hybrid but that would meant they were setting their CKD hybrid in Malaysia last year before they announcement. I guess they are also screwed after 2015.

The WRX STI 2015 is awesome

service is available for recond legacy ~ cos parts and oil are using same ~ should be no problem ~

You can always sell me your scooby if you don't want it and I promise I won't take it back to MI for servicing.

My friends recent encounter with a Honda SA reflects your sentiment of a good SA. She's trying to trade in her old Myvi (9 years) for the new City. Honda SA said their own ' Honda secondhand dealers' has no market for old Myvi but outstation might have. So they put in the extra effort to try to sell the car in Melaka, anywhere as long as it is outside of Kelang Valley to get a better trade-in price. At least they did not stuck up their noses and said that Myvi has no value go sell it yourself. Even H and T SAs are working extra hard to push their cars.

I always thought that trading up will always give better price when you bring the car back and trade it for a newer or better model. I guess that does not apply to Subaru. I guess my business is also going to grey importers too.

The new 2015 WRX is awesome... the 2015 WRX STi is not that awesome as it is using the old engine and drivetrain from the old Subaru WRX STi.