Well, here is a pic of my 9 month old Forester's wheels. Is this normal?

Well, nine months ain't long, but has somebody scratched the paint on the rims? Looks like someone a bit ham-fisted got excited with a lug wrench :-)

 

Sand and re-paint the rims before it grows.

Well, here is a pic of my 9 month old Forester's wheels. Is this normal?

 

those are steelies still, and steel rusts.

Then it should have been sold with hubcaps.

Those rust marks are definately a direct result of a person using an impact wrench on your lug nuts and damaging the paint. I hate impact wrenches on lug nuts. They are totally unnecessary with the proper tools and never sieze. I conceed they are faster, but haste makes waste sometimes too. Special impact sockets with plastic bushings to protect the rims are available. If I was a tire shop I would have some, because of customers like me. Was the factory responsible?The steels will rust no matter what you do. I have learned the hard way that winter tires and rims are the way to go if you value your nice set of rims.

I met with my dealer and they pointed out that the rust was along the entire seam; not just the one foot section that I had noticed. They determined that the source of the trouble was a missed weld which allowed water to accumulate.

 

After a couple of calls between the dealer and district manager, I was informed that they would cover the repair/repaint. Done & done. All good.

 

I would suggest that anybody who has an issue with their Subaru should call SOA and have them take out a case number- every time I've called them they've been friendly and helpful! Be calm and explain your situation. My approach was "This is my second Subaru and I've been really happy with both of them, but I've got an issue with... which I hope you can help me with."

.....buy all ur used Subaru`s from JAPAN!!!!....thats my advice.......

 

If u need any help then give me a shout!!

 

.....though seriously reading this thread worried me at first......my Subaru is a 1994 Legacy 2litre twin turbo (japan model...i am in japan)....and one of the things that attracted me to it at first was the quality of the finish and its condition........that and I knew that the subaru turbos were seriously quick cars with the added practical advantages of 4wd and luggage/people space......

 

I was thinking of upgrading to a newer model in 1yr to 18months time.......not sure if its worth the cost!!.....especially as very happy with current model....and only 30,000miles covered on 9.5yr old car!.....