Initial build quality?

Sorry for the loooong post, in advance. Grab a beer.

This might seem like a dumb question considering I have already owned my specB for about a month, but...

 

What was the initial build quality like for everyone's LGT or specB? Something tells me my car was built on a Monday... Although, I don't really know the whole story becuase I bought the car with 4000 miles on the odometer.

 

Supposedly, the owner of the dealership had been driving it. I figured it wasn't a big deal because I test drove the car and everything seemed fine. I did notice a couple of minor problems, though... which have been fixed or will be fixed very soon. Here's what I'm dealing with:

 

1) At purchase, the driver-side door panel buzzed when the radio was on (i.e., when the audio had a moderate amount of bass. This has been fixed with no further issues.

 

2) At purchase, the alignment was off... specifically, the steering wheel was off-center, although I've read here that it's a common problem among many new Subarus for some reason. It took three attempts to get it right, but it was all covered under warranty. Good stuff. Alignment is tricky and takes time to get it perfect.

 

3) At purchase, the driver-side visor light and the dome light did not work. These have been fixed.

 

4) In the meantime, I have noticed the headliner doesn't want to stay put above the passenger-side door and it is sagging (i.e., not connected/installed properly) along the top of the rear window. These things will hopefully be fixed. I'm not too worried.

 

5) Lastly... and this really gets to me. The paint on a section the roof is farked. The story I got was that they tried to buff out some scratches. I'm thinking whoever did the work either didn't know what they were doing and didn't fix the problem, or they just made it worse. There are scratches and/or swirl marks behind the sunroof, several deeper scratches along the passenger side of the sunroof, and several small bubbles in the paint on the passenger side of the roof. There was also overspray on the b-pillar trim and all the rubber trim around the passenger side windows. Sounds shady, right? Yeah...

 

At any rate, I pointed out the paint issue to the service manager and it looks like they're going to cover everything. They have a pretty good body shop that is going to respray the roof. FWIW, the paint on the rest of the car is flawless, save for the "normal" rock chips and stuff.

 

So far, though, there have been no recurring problems. I'm thinking that the car was somewhat abused during those 4000 miles... not abusive driving, really, but rather abusive care.

 

What's important here is that I'm digging their service department because they fix things properly the first time. I'm guessing my experience is a bit outside the norm.

Sounds like you bought a beaten down demo. That's the risk with demos, some are taken care of, some aren't.

Possibly...

 

The engine and trans. are good -- everything runs well. But how can you beat down a demo and have interior lights that don't work? A few of my problems are probably just random defects. A bad connector, a loose door panel clip... etc.

 

The only thing that tells me it hasn't been taken care of is the scratches on the roof. Oh well...

 

It's just weird because everything else is in excellent shape. All the leather is good. Interior trim is good. Wheels are not damaged.

 

Either way, all the work is being warrantied, and they're doing a good job. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Wow, that is a bummer. I'd be unhappy.

 

I bought my '06 LGT in March and it is the second new car out of six cars that had zero problems. Not one issue. The other was our '04 Forester. Both Subies had zero problems after delivery. The Forester finally developed a rattle in the rear bumper now after 2 1/2 years.

 

Sorry to hear your problems, but I've been very happy, ecstatic even, with the quality of the two Subarus we've purchased. Our two Honda and two Toyota's all had some problem that need to be fixed by the dealer after delivery.

 

Be well.

There isn't any new car that is perfect. I would hope a Veyron or Maybach would be, but I bet I could find something wrong with them too.

 

My left over '05 with 50 miles on it needed a new rear door panel due to a molding defect in the arm rest. The other rear door needed a ding removed that the car acquired while on the lot. Then the chump that did that scratched up the door window. That was replaced. The radio knob has a big scratch on it. The weather stripping for one of the rear doors had a molding defect and was replaced. The "2.5" on the trunk lid is missing...don't care as the other badges will be gone soon too. There appears to be some sort of issue going on the the front passenger seat upholstery on the bottom edge, facing the trans tunnel...gotta get a better look...might be coming unattached...hard to tell.

 

That's life for some of us that are really fussy and really observant. It is a curse.

That's life for some of us that are really fussy and really observant. It is a curse.

 

Ack! This is my problem! ^^^^^^^^

 

Why? lol

 

Overall, the car is great, and I'm glad that the problems I have are minor.

As a specB owner for about 8 months, here's my 2 cents worth. Build quality is average to poor, at best. Here are some things that are wrong with my SpecB.

1. Trim around sunroof opening comes off. There's a piece of trim that sticks out at the corner and wasn't finished properly.

2. Gap between driver's door and dashboard is much wider than on the passenger side.

3. Buttons under navi system aren't aligned properly. (No, I'm not quibbling over small stuff. It's quite visible.)

4. The CD player wouldn't load discs when I first bought the car. It was fixed by the dealer.

5. The plastic dashboard trim to the left of the stereo / a/c controls is obviously misaligned, when compared to the right.

FWIW, I have a friend who bought a Subaru Impreza about a month after I did. The difference -- hers was assembled in Japan and mine was assembled in Indiana. Is that a reason? Who knows?

Friday afternoon car? My car doesn't have any issues so far, some of the trim in the pillars could be a bit better, but still pretty good. No Complains here!

Another SpecB owner here, for 2 months. I should have gotten suspicious when I tried to take a test drive and the car would not start due to a dead battery. Loved the car and bought it anyway. After a week and a half business trip, the car battery was dead again in my garage. Thought it was my fault, so just charged it up. Happened again three weeks later. Took it into the dealer…they said I had to have 3 documented incidents (taking it to the dealer each time) before I would get a new battery (and this was incident #1). They charged it up and said everything checked out. Two weeks later it happened again….so incident #2! Again, they said I have to be inconvenienced one more time before they would replace the battery. I got hot at that, and asked if they wished to loose a customer over a $50 battery? They said SOA tied their hands on giving me a new battery, but would I be satisfied if they stole a battery out of a new car on the lot and swapped me for it? Of course I said yes, but I can’t guarantee that they actually did it…….the car is still starting, but the battery always seems to be low when I put the charger on it!

It may be a pain, but after that, and some frustrated expressions, I would buy an Optima Gel-Cell, and be happier.

 

Getting another sub-standard battery from another lot-car (who knows how long it has been sitting there, with the clock and other things running down the battery on a trickle of amperage use...) wouldn't impress me.

 

It is more expensive, but this seems to me like replacing the crap windsheild wipers, failure prone light bulbs, putting on better brake pads, and filling the crankcase, transmission, etc... with better synthetic fluids, and replacing the bargain-special tires with competent rubber.

 

OEM is not a guarantee of high quality in every instance.

 

It may be annoying to have to "re-buy" all that stuff, and it sucks to have to spend that money, but better parts are usually more satisfying to have and use.

I have had my Spec B for about 4 months, and here is my list of problems

 

1. I can't drive it while eating

 

2. I can't drive it while sleeping

 

I dont really blame these on the dealer though.

Sounds like you bought a beaten down demo. That's the risk with demos, some are taken care of, some aren't.

 

I have had a spec b for 3 months. The build quality is only average. Some basic materials are of poor quality such as dash plastic and the carpeting. I have had some clutch issues. Some slipping and burning with moderate clutch load encountered in normal driving, ie starting from a stop on steep inclines or merging quickly into traffic from a stop (not to be mistaken for high rmp launches). I have owned other AWD turbos and other cars with over 350 hp, 350 lb torque without any clutch problems. All clutches lasted 70-80K. I also have 2 paint chips on the hood. The paint seems thin and soft. My other car, a Saab 9-5 aero wagon has no chips, same commute, 3 years.

I have had a spec b for 3 months. The build quality is only average. Some basic materials are of poor quality such as dash plastic and the carpeting. I have had some clutch issues. Some slipping and burning with moderate clutch load encountered in normal driving, ie starting from a stop on steep inclines or merging quickly into traffic from a stop (not to be mistaken for high rmp launches). I have owned other AWD turbos and other cars with over 350 hp, 350 lb torque without any clutch problems. All clutches lasted 70-80K. I also have 2 paint chips on the hood. The paint seems thin and soft. My other car, a Saab 9-5 aero wagon has no chips, same commute, 3 years.

 

I won't defend Subaru paint but I will point out the 9-5 I saw recently with the entire front half of its hood peeled down to primer!! As for the clutch issues I keep hearing about, I can't say that I've owned a LGT but I do drive them regularly (as Subaru Sales Manager I make sure I drive every car) and I've notice nothing abnormal when new other than its a subie and you get NO wheel slip. I've had customers come out of M3s, S4s, 911s, etc get in and be choppy on the clutch but they smooth out by the end of the test drive.

I have had my spec b since feb. In the 6500 mile that I have driven it, there are a few quibbles that I have.

 

1. The paint on the steering wheel audio controls is going to be an issue. I think that in a few years it will be completely gone.

 

2. The floor mats are not as good as my 2002 gt limited. Thinner than the 2002

 

3. I think the clutch is much better than the 02. The 02 lasted fine. I traded it in at 118,000 for the spec b.

 

Other than that, I saw no discernible defects in the workmanship, other than the paint quality, but I think that is well documented.

 

No other issues. I am quite happy with it.

Only problems so far are rattles and noises. No actual powertrain or electric issues. Its just too dang noisy.