Pat,
DSMs spin plenty of bearings, I'd hazard to say, far more than Soobies.
Oh, yeah, and Lancers = Epic Plastic Garbage.
(The Japanese definition of "evo" is, simply, over-engineered cheap plastic-covered crap. Literally.
As to SoobieUSA on Warranty Work:
I have never seen a bigger bunch of LOVING backwards shitbags than SoobieUSA weaseling out of warranty work on STis.
I'm not going too far into the story, but let's say it cost me about $7000 (on a $23,000,44K mile,clean carfax,one owner STi) to learn the hard way that a bunch of asswad early STi owners cookieed the rest of us by flogging their cars and abusing their warranties.
I had a tranny with 44k go bad.
I'd had the car less than 90 days, and never beat on it.
Subaru stonewalled me then flat-out said, "Tough raisin, your problem."
Under factory Powertrain "Warranty"
Yeah, well, they bought themselves a lifetime of bad p.r. for the cost of a tranny.
Brilliant Business Move.
I wouldn't buy anything from Subaru where I had to count on them to "warranty" it, because obviously they won't if they can weasel out of it..
For example, What if you get an early-failing OEM clutch that's not up to par with the motor that Soobie glued it to?
Will they disclaim the fix claiming "abnormal wear and tear" even if they put a raisin clutch in to begin with?
You betcha.
**Especially if you change your shift knob, cuz' that voids all Soobie Transmission Warranties. Think that's lame? Careful, that's the next Service Bulletin.
Nice marketing, it keeps the service bay disgustingly profitable, unless people stop buying their cars over shitty, weasel-y crap like that.
(I never bought a new Soobie, now I NEVER will.)
A spankin' new OEM STi tranny is almost the cost of a brand-new subcompact beater, I'm sure the profit margin helped some dealership owner pay for another cigarette boat to spew filth into Sebago with.
I dealt with more than one dealership on this issue, it's not based on a single experience. If you so much as use a non-soobie air filter they'll fudge you upside down to Sunday, &
taht's exactly the way it's worded.
To sum it up: Don't ever buy a "performance" Subaru & expect the dealership to stand behind the car.
They won't, and they have written copious amounts of "addendum" on exactly how they're LOVING you, and how you should smile and nod happily.
It's updated regularly by a fleet of smiling, nodding Japanese loophole lawyers who give not a rat's ass about you, in fact they hold us in contempt equal (imo) to the way GReddy treats USDM customers.
We're a Bottom Line, nothing more.
If you don't know how to say "fudge you, ha ha, sucker" in Japanese, read the STi Warranty Addendum.