Subaru Update

If you have read the recent posting I did about the situation regarding Anchor Subaru and my sister's car, I wanted to post this update.

Thank you to everyone for commenting and please keep it going because there is no end in sight, yet. The car is being held hostage and below you can read the official statement from Anchor Subaru in regards to the situation:

Hello this is Chris Benoit from Anchor Subaru I would like to respond by first stating we take any and all customer issues very seriously and proactively take steps to resolve those issues. We have been able to consistently grow our business over the past 17 years by among other things treating customers fairly and operating with integrity. Further, although we strive for perfection we sometimes make mistakes and when this happens we do the right thing and take responsibility for the mistake. We are a relatively small family owned business and we truly recognize that our customers are the reason we exist. In this context I would like to address some of the points made by the op jmaziarz.

The vehicle was serviced on Saturday 1/14/12 we performed 2 recalls and an oil change. The vehicle was towed in 4 days later on Wednesday 1/18/12 having traveled 132 miles since the Saturday service. We visually inspected the vehicle and found an internal engine noise, the drain plug and oil filter were tight and no oil was leaking from either place and the oil level was full. If we had found that either the drain plug or the filter was loose resulting in leaking oil causing the failure, I would have at minimum apologized to the Wilsons and paid for the repair. However, this was not the case. To support the point that we did put oil in the vehicle it would have been unlikely to have made it 2-3 miles before failure, whereas this vehicle drove 132 miles over 4 days before the failure.

In discussing the findings with Mr. Wilson the Service Advisor said that there was an internal engine failure causing the noise, the drain plug and filter were tight and that the oil level was full, and thus the failure was not caused an improperly performed the oil change but rather an internal failure.

The advisor then offered the possibility of Anchor obtaining goodwill assistance from Subaru of America to help defray some of the costs (the vehicle is out of warranty by 5,000 miles). The only requirement is that we would need oil change records as supporting documents. Mr. Wilson provided the records and they were presented to Subaru of America. The next step in the process it to obtain customer approval to disassemble the engine to determine the point of failure and report the findings to Mr. Wilson and Subaru of America. They will then determine the level of assistance if any that will be provided.

Throughout the process we have been in contact with Mr. Wilson and Subaru of America. We last called and spoke with Mr. Wilson on Monday 1/23/12 to get approval for the disassembly. We were told that he would call us back and we have not yet heard from him. We are looking forward to getting his approval and moving forward.

I would ask that Mr. Wilson contact me directly at (401) 767-5000.

Thank you,

Chris Benoit
Vice President
Anchor Auto Group
Anchor Subaru
Anchor Nissan

And here is my reply:

I would like to thank Mr. Benoit for responding. However, the facts remain that on two occasions, during two separate phone conversations, once to J. Wilson and once to Mr. Moore (J. Wilson's father) the reason for the engine fail was said to be "no lubrication in the engine" and it was only after proper paperwork was provided proving constant maintenance to the car and it was discovered that the latest oil change was in fact done by your service department, the story changed to an internal engine failure. Here I would like to point out that your dealership itself sold this car to the Wilson family 2 years ago. You stated that you are awaiting to hear from Mr. Wilson on whether or not to dismantle the engine. The facts are that it is entirely possible that if you and your dealership decide to not be responsible for the "engine fail" once the engine has been completely dismantled, Mr. Wilson will be charged the labor fee and then the rebuild cost to his engine. One can understand why there is a delay in his decision since perhaps he now needs to reach out and consult a lawyer. The Wilson family owns only this one car and has been without transportation according to you, since 1/18/12. Today is 01/27/12...and being that you take "any and all customer issues very seriously and proactively take steps to resolve those issues", why haven't you offered them a loaner car during this time? Let me ask you also, since there is a huge amount of public outcry about your treatment of this situation and we have heard from a number of unhappy customers coming from dealings with your dealership, how can the Wilson family feel certain that their car is being handled properly or that they will get an honest outcome? You sound very convincing in your response Mr. Benoit, but the facts show a lack of customer care and a change in your dealership's story. What started out as "lack of lubrication" and engine seizure has turned into a faulty Subaru engine that is suddenly the fault of the customer (when in fact the car was recently purchased from you and has been perfectly maintained). Even though you tried very hard to sound caring and concerned, I am left with doubts. And in the time that has passed, this is the very first time the Wilson family has ever heard from you, here on this very high traffic blog where many people have commented on the unfairness of this situation. In fact, I myself sent the link to your dealership's attention yesterday when I visited your contact page. I also visited the contact page of Subaru of America, explaining that this situation was creating a negative buzz about Anchor Subaru and, by extension, Subaru of America. How sad that it ever had to come to this but the reason I wrote this blog was because of the lack of care, concern and fairness that was shown to the Wilson family. And in writing this, I have heard many more sadly similar stories. Unfortunately, it would seem that the general opinion and advice to the Wilson family is that if they want justice, they need to seek legal advice. How sad that it comes to that. You may be a "family owned business" Mr. Benoit but you haven't treated the Wilson's like family and that casts a shadow on the name of Subaru as well.

Just as an added bonus, I asked about the recalls that brought my sister's Subaru Forester in to Anchor Subaru in the first place. One was a recall that had to do with the engine control module reprogramming. So beyond the oil change itself, they were the last people to touch the engine and then three days later the car died. And Mr. Benoit said that the car was driven for four days before it died when in fact, it was three. The car died at night on the third day and was towed back to the dealership late that same night.

There is still no help being offered from Anchor Subaru, other then the comment by the Vice President Mr. Benoit, as seen above.

I ask again that everyone please pass this blog along and let everyone you know hear about this situation. You can never underestimate the power of the written word or the people behind it.

Thank you again.

And please scroll down the comments section  of Subaru, How Could You? to read Mr. W. Moore's addition to the story. It's very interesting as well.

And stay tuned for further updates as then occur.