04 Legacy under warrenty 10 times to shop

Please tell me what to do.

In Dec I bought a 04 Outback Legacy wagon.

It had under 28K miles. I was told it had been used by a Subaru rep. and it was kept up with all the services and everything was good.

They gave me a carfax. I paid cash.

About a month later the seat heaters would not work. I had it to the dealer where I bought it and at first they said it was the switch they replaced that.

Before I got home I turned them on and they didn't work. I live over 45 miles one way to this dealer.

I was still near the shop and pulled into a parking lot and called . I could not get anyone that could help me or tell me to return it then.

I took it back a couple of weeks later and was told it was the coils bad.

They were suppose to order them and after I never heard anything I called and they wanted me to bring it back so they could be sure that is what it was.

So this third trip they looked at it and said it was the coils and that would take most of the day to replace.

I dropped it off for them to be replaced and at the same time I had the 30K miles check up.

They gave me a rental car and the next day I picked up mine.

Before I got home I turned the seat heaters on and they were not working.

I tried to call them again before I got all the way back home. This was trip number 3&4 because I had the drop off then pick it up.

A few days later my husband noitced the wires behind the drivers side were exposed in a way that anyone could tell that this was not right.

They were outside the upholstery.

So I made a 5th trip to the dealer and they just never said anything except it was to warm to tell if they were working.

Now I could turn them on and some days it could be really warm outside and I could feel them and then some days were chily and they would not do anything.

This was early spring with some warm days.

I then took it to a second dealer that was about 65 miles from where I live.

That dealer replaced the second switch and said it was bad and that they were not working like they should.

I had to make another appt to bring it back to them.

The trip to have it fixed they had it back in the shop for about 10 minutes and they told me it was ok. Now keep in mind this was a 65 mile drive.

So anything someone would ride in the car with me I would turn there seat hearter on and ask if they could feel it.

The answere was always no.

I even got a sensitive therometer and would check the temp inside near the seat then I would sit on it just to see what degree I was getting.

Most of the time low 90 degrees and when it was working the highest was 110 and that was a hot day.

I had a recall from Subaru of America so rather than take it to either of the other two dealers I went to a third dealer that was 75 miles away one way.

They had the car trying to do the service recall for over two hours and then told me they could not download the recall.

They looked at the seat heaters and it didn't take them 10 minutes to find out there was a problem.

They were not getting enought resistance.

It took a while for the seat heaters to come in and I wanted to get the recall and the seat heaters replaced at the same time.

During this time I found some places inside the door way on the back seat passengers side.

It was a piece of the molding that looked like normal until I compared it to the other side. Also on the bottom of the frame was an area that looked like it had been patched.

I had not noticed these I think because unless I compared it to the other dooways it looked ok.

Then lately there has been a couple of times that I put it in gear and it acts like it is in neutral and does not go. When I check to see if I am in drive it is then I might shift it back to park then drive it goes.

I was trying to get my husband to drive it and feel this it didn't do that but instead when we backed out of a driveway that was uphill there was a rubbing type of sound in the rear end.

My husband thought that felt like the deferentail.

When I took it back to the third dealer for the seat heaters they looked that the places in the door and said it had been wrecked.

It was not bad and nothing was hurt that would make any difference.

I was still upset because I bought this car being told that a Subaru rep had used it and everything was kept up.

Even if he never reported it I want to know how much damage it had.

When I picked it up Fri and they had replaced the second set of seat heaters they are not working.

This is the 10th time I had to make a trip for these.

When I went to pick it up my husband was with me. It was late in the afternoon and before I left the parking lot I thought I would turn them on just to see if they worked.

I could not feel anything.

I was to embarrsed to go inside and tell them I could not tell they were working.

They had just finished putting them in.

I thought that maybe it was the hot day.

This was a long drive home so we would turn them on and off then on high and low.

They work on low but not high.

I still do not have the recall done because they have not been able to download it.

I do like this car and everything about it but having to go so far to get it serviced and now I can't get something this simple fixed.

I called the service manager where I bought it and told him about it being wrecked and he said they could not know every cars history.

I told him since it had been used by a Subaru rep they should be able to find out and I had been told how well kept it had been.

That is just one part of this and then factor in 10 trips for the seat heaters and they are still not working.

It is not that I ever had seat heaters in the past but I don't want to buy something and let things tear up and not fix .

I mentioned the lemon law and I was told in TN there is not one for a used car.

Even though this car is still under factor warrenty. I only have about 150 miles left.

Please help. I just want to cry.

Can they just give me another car like this one?

I don't want to get into it with lawyers.

I have been in touch with Subaru of America for about three or four months.

They were going to have a area rep look at it.

The last time I taked to them I told them that this third dealer found it had a problem.

Now I this other thing where it does not go into gear and the rear end makes a noise didn't show up while at this last dealers shop.

Also with a wreck and I have made so many trips that I don't think anyone else would be this patient.

Thanks for any suggestions,

suttles

http://www.carlemon.com/lemonstat.html

No mention of used cars for TN, either try your local State Attorney General or find a lawyer familiar with lemon laws.

Sorry, but 3-4 months, who would stand for it? You have to get an attorney as you can see you're getting nowhere fast...

agreed.

you kinda dug yourself in to a hole by not complaining hard enough about the repairs not being done properly. having been a tech at a dealer for several years i can tell about alot of horror stories of repairs and dis-satified customers. the general rule of thumb is that if you bring the car in for repairs warrantee or otherwise, dont take the car off the dealer lot untill you are sure the problem is fixed. you should have made sure the seat heaters were working before you drove home. YOu cant take the dealers word the the problem is fixed. There are too many techs out there who just replace a part and send the car out the door saying it was fixed when it really was not.

Best of luck.

having driveline problems could be, but not always, a sign of an accident.

you should wash the car then look down the side of the car and compare the painted panels.

a resprayed portion of the car will show itself which may indicate the car was in an accident. you could see a difference in color,texture, or both.

it could also mean that somebody just did some lite damage and fixed it.

at least you'll know if some body work was done.

be careful not to jump to any conclusions until further underbody checking is done.

the more "ammo" you have the more standing you'll have when you need to confront the dealer.

I called the dealer where my seat heaters were repaired this past Friday.

They service manager told me he sat in them and could not tell there was any heat in them.

They had checked to see if they were getting current and they showed that they were.

That makes me feel a little better knowing he could not feel any heat.

It was hot outside but I do know that I have felt them working on some of the hotest days.

I ask if they could just let me trade and give me a good trade for it.

Would it be to much to ask for a above average trade considering all the trips with the distance I had to drive ?

This is not where I originally bought the car.

Should I call Subaru of Americe?

They have a case number for me.

I didn't want a new car but it does not look like there is much difference in the new verses the model I have.

I paid 20K I think for mine in dec and it is a 04 Outback Legacy.

Thanks,

suttles