[GTA] where are you taking your BRZ/FRS for service and inspection
 

Do you take your car to the dealer to get the scheduled service/inspection? If no, where are you taking it to get serviced? I'm not just talking about getting oil changed. For each Subaru service they check a number of things (ie. adjust drive belt, transmission fluid, differential, hoses and clamps). I'm just wondering if you guys are doing the dealer service or just changing the oil yourself?

Dealer for everything until the warranty is up (which will be long past me owning the car still).

you don't plan to keep the car for more than 3 years?

With my history in cars, probably not.

+1 for Ivan @ iGarage. Good with Subaru motors. Honest mechanic and fair pricing.

Or if your wallet feels heavy and you want a Subaru race shop to work on your car (that is if they even do service work) try Can-Jam Motorsports

Or just go to a dealership. But personally I don't like dealerships working on my car - most of them just do not care about your paint and interior.

I detail my own cars and I am too OCD to go to a dealership.

thanks i'll keep iGarage in mind. I'm OCD about paint and interior cleanness too.

+1 for Ivan at iGarage, he uses OEM subaru filters and Motul oil

Apparently 1 or two FR-S' go to him as well but I've been going to him with all my past cars for basic maintenance, definitely knows honda and subaru engines well

Does iGarage go through the same number of checks as a subaru dealer? ie check transmission, differential, drive belt etc? How is the pricing compare to dealership?

Do they keep the inside of your car clean? I've had experiences with my other car when i took it to get maintenance, i get oil stain on the inside of my car.

My drive way.

I always use Nam @ NV Auto in Hamilton. Was Subaru certified, they do some great work with all the Subaru's I've owned as well as the FRS.

Does a subaru dealer actually do that during a regular oil change maintenance? I don't think they do more than a glance, checklist, and maybe a test drive if you complain about something

Pricing is significantly cheaper than dealership (contact Ivan for a quote on whatever you need done). iGarage is a tiny garage the width of a car lift with 2 lifts one behind the other. But you get great service and can even watch him do the change if you want. I've never had a cleanliness issue and I'm crazy about my car.

But just as an example, Ivan pointed out a tiny crack in my control arm when I had my old maxima on the lift for an oil change. He's honest with you and isn't out to make a quick buck off you (didn't tell me to replace immediately and not even to do the work with him)

he is busy as hell right now though - so book early if you need something done.

one of my cars wouldn't start last night and he offered to come after work and take a look.

Those dealership inspections that they do for you and basically charge you for. pile of crap. any mechanic would be able to take a look underneath and spot problems. heck jack up your own car and go under to look.

Yea i'm seriously considering iGarage. For my first oil change I'm also considering getting my differential fluid changed (not sure if it's a good idea but i saw some guy on here changed his and it was full of metal shaving). Is it just one guy working at iGarage?

@rawbz, i've never had a Subaru before so i don't know how Subaru dealers are like. I had a Nissan and i took it to the dealership for maintenance. For things like checking drive belt etc, I can't tell if they actually do it or not, but they do lubricate the latches and top up all fluids. Since you guys are recommending him then i think it's worth a try. There are so many great recommendations on this forum and i've taken a lot of those recommended products/services. So far there has not been any reason to regret any of the forum member's recommendations.

There are two people working at iGarage.

Ivan is the owner. Tell him Brian and the ft86 guys recommended you. I'm sure he'll be happy about that.

I can check the drive belt myself. I can lubricate hinges myself too. Topping off the fluids is also something I enjoy doing myself. It is so easy.. Why pay someone to do such simple things? The drive belt is right under the hood.. You will know when to replace it just based off your mileage. When I worked at a dealership most of the techs didn't do the whole inspection thing. If the car was in for an oil change they would change the oil and off the car would go. Only really old cars we would put on the lift and take a look (if the inspection was paid for) On new cars we don't bother.

Most dealers blast hinges with lithium grease. It looks like crap and is uber hard to remove. I lubricate it myself - its cleaner and I am more careful.