I recently bought a 2011 Certified Used Subaru with 3900 miles from the local Subaru dealer. When I purchased it, the business manager informed me that warranties have changed recently, they are no longer bumper-to-bumper and covered only defects in materials or workmanship. He claimed things like the computer might not be covered, so an additional warranty is a good idea.
Was this just a scare tactic to push me into the extended warranty, or are warranties really that much different than in the past?
Does Subaru still stand behind their product?
Thanks,
Dave
Perhaps you should call Subaru to discuss the warranty. There is a phone number in the owner’s manual. Manufacturers can change warranty policies, but this sounds like scare tactics to up sell the extended warranty.
click on the service agreement area to see what is covered. If your agreement is different, you probably did not buy a Subaru CPO program car.
Keep in mind that there is no such thing as purchasing an extended warranty. What they love to call an “extended warranty” is insurance policy.
warranty |?w?r?nt?; ?w?-|
noun ( pl. -ties)
a written guarantee, issued to the purchaser of an article by its manufacturer, promising to repair or replace it if necessary within a specified period of time : the car comes with a three-year warranty | as your machine is under warranty, I suggest getting it checked.
So-called extended warranties are really nothing more than insurance policies. Generally the average cost to purchase is twice the cost of the average repairs that are covered. The rest of your money goes for those fancy insurance buildings and the people who work in them. Only about half of what you pay will go towards benefits to the owner of the car.
In short you are right: [i] is just a scare tactic to push me into the extended warranty[/i]
Now having said that, there is a value to you and to me to have at least some of the possible failures of your car may be covered. Even if it does not make economic sense, it may be worth it to you. That you have to decide. Good Luck with your decision and have fun with your new Outback. May you never have any need for that insurance.Business Manager is making stuff up in order to make a 200-300% mark up on a warranty you do not need.
The computer is covered by a federal emmissions warranty that is 8yrs/80,000 miles.
Don’t buy anything extra from them, band of thieves.
Subaru has a better bumper to bumper than most car makers including wipers, brakes, clutch and a few other wear items. You have full covereage.
I can tell you that the information that given to you is totally bogus.
The car comes with the following warranties:
[b]>3 yr/36k mile Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty that is actually more complete than most other manufacturers, as it covers “wear items” such as brake pads, hoses, and wiper blades as well as everything else in the car for that time span.
A 5 yr/60k mile Powertrain Warranty that covers the engine, transmission, and AWD system.
A 5 yr/Unlimited mileage Rust Perforation Warranty
An 8 yr/80k mile Federal Emissions Warranty
A lifetime seat belt warranty[/b]
Did your car NOT come with an Owner’s Manual, Maintenance Schedule, and Warranty Booklet?
If not, I suggest that you contact Subaru at the corporate level, in order to obtain these booklets.
If you do have these booklets you should be aware that your current question–as well as most other things that you will ever need to know about the car–is covered by those little books.
All of that being said, I would be concerned about a 2011 car that was for sale after logging just 3,900 miles.
If this was a “demo” car, then my concern would be far less than if this car was a Lemon Buy-back" car.
Do you know the car’s background, prior to your purchase of it?
For your sake, I really hope that it was a demo, rather than a Lemon Buy-back car.
Great news. Thanks.
Yes, this was a demo car. It did come with all the books, but the guy specifically pointed out this statement - “These warranties cover any repairs needed to correct defects in material or workmanship reported during the applicable warranty period and which occur under normal use.” He basically made it sound as if they can almost always prove that there was no defect, it simply “broke”.
It says Limited Warranty throughout the booklet and nowhere does it say Bumper-to-Bumper.
Thanks for the help.
With warranty coverage, they would essentially have to prove either neglect or damage on your part in order to avoid paying a warranty claim.
You can avoid this possibility by doing the following:
Maintain the car AT LEAST as well as is specified in the mfr’s maintenance schedule.
Don’t race the car or use it for any extreme off-road manuevers. Driving on unpaved roads is okay, but doing “rock-hopping” is a big no-no.
If there was no abuse or neglect on your part, then anything that fails IS due to a defect in either materials or workmanship. Try not to buy-into his scare tactics.
Well, he’s wrong (or lying) about the computer not being covered because that has an 8 year/80k miles warranty on it.
Actually, there is a bit of murkiness behind what is and what is not a warranty repair when it comes to Subarus. (I’ve worked for 3 Subaru dealers for what it’s worth.)
Warranty will pay for a defect in materials or workmanship during the specified time and mileage framework but will not pay for what is considered normal adjustment procedures.
In other words, if a drivers door glass is allowing rainwater into the cabin because of defective window glass track then warranty would cover it.
If rain is getting in because the glass is out of adjustment then that would be (or should be) a customer pay procedure and warranty, extended or otherwise, should not pay for it.
(There’s a very volatile situation behind things like this that the customer never sees.)
I would also be curious about the story behind the 3900 miles on that Subaru. I’m not saying it’s a problem at all; just curious more than anything else.
Also keep in mind that the word “Certified” doesn’t mean very much in most cases. Like the use of Carfax it’s more of a feel-good sales tool.