Maintenance schedules

[4Q2]

I've noticed that the items mentioned on the maintenance schedule
reccomended by the dealer does not match Subaru's maintenace schedule. I've
also done some research and found that is the norm, regardless of
manufacturer and dealer. My questions are:

1) Is this a dealer rip-off ? (charging you for work that is not necessary)
2) Is this a manufacturer rip-off ? (If you don't do what the dealer
reccomends, your warranty is invalid)

Or a bit of both ?

Subaru's maintenance schedule, in my opinion, is minimal. The dealer's
schedule is not too bad, but is more than expected in some respects. Is this
a case of the manufacturer making it appear thier vehicle is "bullet-proof"
, and the dealer having to deal with reality ?

Has anyone else noticed, or have exaples of, a disparity between what is
reccomended maintenance and what is necessary to maintain both drivability
and warranty ?

 

[clare at snyder.on.ca]

I've noticed that the items mentioned on the maintenance schedule
reccomended by the dealer does not match Subaru's maintenace schedule. I've
also done some research and found that is the norm, regardless of
manufacturer and dealer. My questions are:

1) Is this a dealer rip-off ? (charging you for work that is not necessary)
2) Is this a manufacturer rip-off ? (If you don't do what the dealer
reccomends, your warranty is invalid)

Or a bit of both ?

Subaru's maintenance schedule, in my opinion, is minimal. The dealer's
schedule is not too bad, but is more than expected in some respects. Is this
a case of the manufacturer making it appear thier vehicle is "bullet-proof"
, and the dealer having to deal with reality ?

Has anyone else noticed, or have exaples of, a disparity between what is
reccomended maintenance and what is necessary to maintain both drivability
and warranty ?

I spent 10 years as a dealer service manager for a (non Subaru)
Japanese car dealer.
The "company line" is the minimum required maintenance to meet
warranty requirements. It is heavily influenced by legislation and
"competition"
The dealer recommended maintenance, in our case, was what we had found
was best to make the car last - without unscheduled repairs, over the
long run. It didn't vary MUCH from the "b" schedule ("severe service"
) from the manufacturer.
Some customers questioned it, and they were told the factory
recommended maintenance would get them through warranty. but if they
wanted the best VALUE out of their car, follow our recommendation.
Most did. Some didn't. Some later said they wished they had.
If they followed our recommendations and had service related problems
(lubfication related etc) out of warranty, we went to bat for them
with the manufacturer, and sometimes when I could not get the
manufacturer on-side, we covered repairs on our own.
Those who insisted on minimal maintenance were "on their own"

YMMV etc.

 

[houndman]

I've noticed that the items mentioned on the maintenance schedule
reccomended by the dealer does not match Subaru's maintenace schedule. I've
also done some research and found that is the norm, regardless of
manufacturer and dealer. My questions are:

1) Is this a dealer rip-off ? (charging you for work that is not necessary)
2) Is this a manufacturer rip-off ? (If you don't do what the dealer
reccomends, your warranty is invalid)

Or a bit of both ?

Subaru's maintenance schedule, in my opinion, is minimal. The dealer's
schedule is not too bad, but is more than expected in some respects. Is this
a case of the manufacturer making it appear thier vehicle is "bullet-proof"
, and the dealer having to deal with reality ?

Has anyone else noticed, or have exaples of, a disparity between what is
reccomended maintenance and what is necessary to maintain both drivability
and warranty ?

I recently bought an 07' Impreza, and the dealer sent me 2 letters
to come in for the 3500mi oil change, and Even listed how many miles I
Should have on it at the time. I don't drive the car daily, just on
trips, and only had half the miles listed. The dealer is in the burbs,
and I live in a city, so wondered if they figured I just drove it in
the city, but I just drive in it to get onto highways. I contacted
Sube to find out why the dealer would bug me and IF they wanted the
shorter change interval, to keep the warranty, since the H-6 motor has
a shorter interval for Some reason. They said the dealer must have
some reason, But if I didn't drive in extreme conditions, than just go
by what the factory recommends. The factory does say, 3500mi for
driving extremes, but That's Not Me...

VF