njchen24

Greetings:

As mechanic dummy, do you think I need to perform 15k, 30k, 60k service at the dealer beside regular oil-filter change? Or I just wait until a problem appear before going to the dealer.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Mulder

You do not need to go to the dealer for anything, but that doesn't mean you do not need to service your car. Find an independent shop near you and have the work done there, or do it yourself (not that hard with some basic tools and a place to work), but don't neglect the proper maintenance.
Follow the service schedule specified by Subaru, especially the "major" services at 30K intervals. Failure to do so is false economy and could cause $$ headaches later on.

Wingless Wonder

iTrader: (7)

Keep receipts from independent garages for any maintenance performed. If you do the work yourself, I don't think it's necessary to save the receipts for every single item such as oil filters or spark plugs, but might be a good idea for larger items that you might replace later on such as the timing belt or wheel bearings. I keep a log for any maintenance I perform myself which I think might come in handy should a question arise out of a warranty claim.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

meilers

I have found that few independent shops want to deal with a boxer engine configuration and the finicky ECU of a Subaru. My wife's Legacy GL wagon is smoking, dripping oil and showing all the signs of a head gasket failure, yet the three shops I have taken it to so far have said "well, just degrease the engine, it isn't worth fixing" -- to me, that translates as, "we have no idea how to fix that, just get it out of here."

You're not trying to fix a head gasket, but still, if they don't know how to do that I don't want them doing a 30k service on my car either.

rufxr

Why not take it to a dealer for service? Unless they are terribley over priced ,you can save time by having any recalls or warranty work done at the same time. Plus they have techs that are always going in for new product training.They know what "patern" problems are out there. Working for a dealer myself (bet u couldnt tell) I see many cars with problems caused by other shops not being familiar with the Subaru. Give the dealer a "check out" before u blow them off.

njchen24

Thank you all for your advice and feedback.

I will perform 15K, 30K, 60K and 90K from a dealer nearby my workplace and let hope that they do a proper and decent job.

Mulder

If you go to a dealer, take the service schedule from the manual (or the Subaru site) with you, and insist that they do ONLY the services listed. Dealers are notorious for padding their profits by including unnecessary services such as engine flushes, fuel system cleaning etc. that are of little use but make them more $$.

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

The only really great reason I can think of to go to the dealer is that the service is entered onto the national SOA intranet so you don't have to keep records that you did the service...that's about all I can think of because the dealer's prices are crazy expensive.