Question about Subaru Dealership and Car Tracking

[Sapphireho]

You should put numbers on the doors and hood, maybe some sponsor stickers, and tell them it is the best race car you ever had.

Seriously.....

[alphasaur]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

don't tell them you track to protect your warranty but install a cooler and change the weight of the oil which will most certainly get any engine failure warranty work denied?



This ^
Some dealers would use it against you, some dealers just won't care and some actively encourage tracking. When I bought my FRS my dealer actually gave me a couple of free passes to a track and asked that I let them know how I made out. When I asked what that would do to the warranty they grinned and said " Toyota can't say anything if they don't know".
People need to remember that the dealerships are NOT Toyota nor Subaru no matter what the sign out front says. They get paid to do warranty work and most just simply do not care how it got broke as long as Toyota comes up with the cash.

A heavier weight oil and oil cooler are recommended by pretty much every reputable resource on this board if tracking the car. The heavier use guidelines in the manual seem to recommend 5w30 as well.

If one does need warranty work it's easier in my opinion to swap to a 0w20 weight oil and remove an oil cooler than to retract the statement that you track your car.

While yes some dealers are more friendly towards tracking etc, some are not. There have been documented cases of people being denied warranty repair due to track use, why risk it?

If your dealer is cool with it, awesome.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

They get paid to do warranty work and most just simply do not care how it got broke as long as Toyota comes up with the cash.

They wring their hands and salivate at the thought of recalls and warranty work.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by TommyW

They wring their hands and salivate at the thought of recalls and warranty work.

I wouldn't go that far but they do make money.

[Stephen W.]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

< snip >
People need to remember that the dealerships are NOT Toyota nor Subaru no matter what the sign out front says. They get paid to do warranty work and most just simply do not care how it got broke as long as Toyota comes up with the cash.

Originally Posted by TommyW

They wring their hands and salivate at the thought of recalls and warranty work.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I wouldn't go that far but they do make money.

It does matter what the sign says out front Tcoat. Different manufacturers have different policies. Some don't pay out but rather give parts or flooring credits. All have to give their authorization before any dealer can do warranty work. Plus, the dealers seldom get paid for the investigation time. I'll bet 99% of them don't pay anywhere near enough to cover the costs. I know The Big Three never have. I also know that my Subaru dealer's past two Service Managers always complained about losing money on warranty jobs. As have the managers and mechanics at every shop my wife has ever worked at. Biggest complaint is that they never give enough time to do the job right. Also, the manufacturers usually set their own hourly rate for the work which you know will be less than what the dealerships rate is.
No TommyW, I do not know any dealerships that salivate at the thought of warranty work. Yes, some mechanics may have learned tricks that allow them to cut corners and get jobs done in under the assigned flat rate time. But, those mechanics probably do that to all their jobs. I for one wouldn't like to find out the hard way that a repair to my car was done on the cheap.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

No TommyW, I do not know any dealerships that salivate at the thought of warranty work. Yes, some mechanics may have learned tricks that allow them to cut corners and get jobs done in under the assigned flat rate time. But, those mechanics probably do that to all their jobs. I for one wouldn't like to find out the hard way that a repair to my car was done on the cheap.

I found out the hard way to the tune of 12K.

[MuseChaser]

I don't know why, but the price for an oil change at my dealership ranges from a low of $50 to a high, so far, of $80. I can't buy six quarts of the required full-synthetic oil and a quality filter for much less than that... and almost never for less than $50...AND I have to get the car up on stands and get dirty. Even though my car's out of warranty by a few years (and I just did the front hubs, rotors, and pads myself), I still take it to the dealership for oil changes. No point in doing that myself.

[Jordanwolf]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

It does matter what the sign says out front Tcoat. Different manufacturers have different policies. Some don't pay out but rather give parts or flooring credits. All have to give their authorization before any dealer can do warranty work. Plus, the dealers seldom get paid for the investigation time. I'll bet 99% of them don't pay anywhere near enough to cover the costs. I know The Big Three never have. I also know that my Subaru dealer's past two Service Managers always complained about losing money on warranty jobs. As have the managers and mechanics at every shop my wife has ever worked at. Biggest complaint is that they never give enough time to do the job right. Also, the manufacturers usually set their own hourly rate for the work which you know will be less than what the dealerships rate is.
No TommyW, I do not know any dealerships that salivate at the thought of warranty work. Yes, some mechanics may have learned tricks that allow them to cut corners and get jobs done in under the assigned flat rate time. But, those mechanics probably do that to all their jobs. I for one wouldn't like to find out the hard way that a repair to my car was done on the cheap.

Dealerships are garbage for employees and mechanics, as it seems you know. It's all about that time to do a job vs actual time to do a job. Brake maintenance is $$$$

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by TommyW

They wring their hands and salivate at the thought of recalls and warranty work.

lol i can definitively say i've never known a mechanic that salivates at recall/warranty work.

but all the one's i know would salivate at the opportunity to do any job as time and material instead of book time.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by soundman98

lol i can definitively say i've never known a mechanic that salivates at recall/warranty work.

but all the one's i know would salivate at the opportunity to do any job as time and material instead of book time.

You’re probably right.

haha I guess T and M would actually leave time to scrape off the sealant and walk it over to the trash can rather than just putting it back In the engine.

I hear they allow something like 12 or so hours to complete the job which is crazy.

[CincyJohn]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

I don't know why, but the price for an oil change at my dealership ranges from a low of $50 to a high, so far, of $80. I can't buy six quarts of the required full-synthetic oil and a quality filter for much less than that... and almost never for less than $50...AND I have to get the car up on stands and get dirty. Even though my car's out of warranty by a few years (and I just did the front hubs, rotors, and pads myself), I still take it to the dealership for oil changes. No point in doing that myself.

No dealership (or anywhere else) will do a quality synthetic change for near $50. You can get a Mobil1 oil change and filter deal at AutoZone for $33.

Buy yourself a set of Rhino ramps and install a Fumoto valve and you are done in less time than it takes you to drive to get your oil changed. Besides, you know it was done right.

FYI - the hardest part is just getting rid of the old oil. However, every place that does oil changes is required by law to accept your old oil for free.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

No dealership (or anywhere else) will do a quality synthetic change for near $50. You can get a Mobil1 oil change and filter deal at AutoZone for $33.

Buy yourself a set of Rhino ramps and install a Fumoto valve and you are done in less time than it takes you to drive to get your oil changed. Besides, you know it was done right.

FYI - the hardest part is just getting rid of the old oil. However, every place that does oil changes is required by law to accept your old oil for free.

I know of a couple that have ran specials on full synthetic changes for $40-45. It was always a loss leader, usually subsidized by the dealer changing hands, or getting a new oil supplier.

But my first rule of car maintenance is that I don't have anyone work on my car unless I personally know them

[PenGun]

I just changed my oil. I'm 74 and it took me less than 10 minutes, and half of that was waiting for it to drain. Its so easy with a set of ramps that I think you would have to be a fool to pay someone. The oil filter is just stupid easy, and the drain plug is right there.

[T-Steve]

This reminds me when I was at a HPDE a couple years ago.

One of the HPDE instructors said they are careful to prevent any RACING from occurring. It was simply high performance DRIVING on a track but not RACING. Thus, if any problems occur the insurance and warranty agencies don't consider it "racing" or "abuse".

I'm not sure if a dealership cares, but I wouldn't volunteer the information.