The local Subaru dealership was keen to service my 86 when I enquired. They even offered to match the Toyota fixed price cost.

I think we are talking about two different things. I don't see why a Subaru dealership would not work on your car if it is out of warranty. If the OP was trying to get work done through the warranty, Subaru is not going to touch a Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, etc. They would most likely not get approved and reimbursed.

You can't even order engine or chassis parts for an Integra from a Honda dealer (unless they share the part with a Civic) You'd have to go to Acura. Similar situation, but paperwork is paperwork.

Well I even offered to say that there would be no warranty but they still said no.

This is the reason we need to get rid of Stealerships.

Even more stupid than that is VWAG. That's even the same company and the exact same part comes in a different box, different part number and different price.

What are you trying to get repaired? Have you looked at trusted local mechanics? They are typically way cheaper than a local dealership.

I've been thinking about getting a BRZ spoiler for my FRS and having Toyota install. Since its (sort of) also a Toyota part, you'd think they'd do the install? I figure at worst, they ll treat it as aftermarket.

Then as I stated, they're just turning down liability for whatever reason.

Some dealership service departments don't like to service other makes/models, not because they don't know how to, but because they like to focus their technicians on the cars they sell.

Or, perhaps their insurance only covers work done on Subaru cars. Or perhaps they've been burned in the past with work done on a customer's non-Subaru.

Or: the work being done requires a Toyota part, and they cannot get the part for a decent price being a Toyota dealer...

There's a lot of reasons, but in this case just pick up the phone and call another shop.

-alex

Perhaps the Subaru franchise or whatever agreement they have, means they can only service Subarus and trade in vehicles. It could also be an agreement between Toyota/Scion and Subaru to keep it clean and stop any poaching of the lucrative servicing and parts on the shared vehicles?

There's no agreement... it's very simple.

The manufacturer on record for the car (Subaru for BRZ, Toyota for FRS) is the one who provides warranty work via their dealer network.

It's like asking if Samsung will warranty the chip in the iPhone when an iPhone goes bad. You always warranty it with the manufacturer on record of the product, not with the manufacturer of the part.

Or look at it this way: if Peugeot tomorrow decided to sell cars in the US under the BMW brand by BMW via BMW dealers, the car is sold effectively as a BMW and will be considered as a BMW for all legal purposes in the United States (of which warranty is one of them).

-alex

Except Subaru aren't being asked to do any warranty work, are they?
Anyone can service the vehicle as long they are qualified, do the service to the book and use parts to spec or higher.
You can take it to Toyota/Scion for warranty work without having it serviced there unless it's one of those extended warranties which requires specific dealer servicing as a condition.

That's the way it is here and I assume you are much the same?

Anyone saying it's because it might need a Toyota specific part should realize that there really isn't any difference beyond the sticker on the bag.

I just ordered FRS fog light bezels and they have "SUBARU" molded into the back of them despite no subaru anywhere using that part.

Downtown Toyota in downtown Oakland on Broadway automall