It's worth a try

[Z3Dreamer]

I received an airbag recall notice for my 17 year old Subaru with 166,000 miles.

Instead of replacing the airbag, I want to ask them for a $1,000 credit that can only be used at a Subaru dealer within the next year. And it can only be used at for the purchase of a new or used Subaru. And I must turn in my old Subaru to get this.

Basically, "Store Credit".

Anyone successfully done this?

The only reason I think maybe is that 10 years ago Toyota bought back a truck I purchased. They did this for 110% of Blue Book. This was in lieu of fixing some rust issue with the frame. This example is not spot on but...

 

[foxfirev5]

I can't imagine them going for this on a safety recall.

 

[aja8888]

I can't imagine them going for this on a safety recall.

Agreed. Nothing in it for the dealer.

 

[njhowie]

They may do it - it's basically a $1000 trade in. $500 is typical low ball if you managed to drive it to the dealership. If it is in decent shape, runs well, and passed your state inspection (assuming your state does them), they may well give you $1000 for the trade-in since they wouldn't have to do the airbag recall replacement.

 

[Aerides]

unlikely, because they are still liable to a "subaru airbag failure accident" headline, so I'd guess their lawyers would not say yes.

 

[finnski1]

I received an airbag recall notice for my 17 year old Subaru with 166,000 miles.

Instead of replacing the airbag, I want to ask them for a $1,000 credit that can only be used at a Subaru dealer within the next year. And it can only be used at for the purchase of a new or used Subaru. And I must turn in my old Subaru to get this.

Basically, "Store Credit".

Anyone successfully done this?

The only reason I think maybe is that 10 years ago Toyota bought back a truck I purchased. They did this for 110% of Blue Book. This was in lieu of fixing some rust issue with the frame. This example is not spot on but...

No but if you contact SOA(subaru of America) by phone and tell them you heard that if you already own a subaru that you could get a $500 owner loyalty incentive towards the purchase of a new subaru.
Took me 2 minutes and they emailed it to me. The dealer treated it as cash at the end of the deal and took $500 more off my final negotiated price. Don't mention the coupon until you have completely agreed on a firm in writing deal just so they won't try to could the deal and somehow the $500 gets lost in the sauce and you don't actually get it.

 

[freedomatlast]

The dealer may give you some sort of a "credit" as a sales gimmick to get you to buy a new one. But you won't get any more dollars off of the new car when you negotiate, with or without the "credit". The dealer gets reimbursed by the manufacturer to do the air bag recall so it doesn't really matter to them, and there is no financial incentive for them to bargain with you on it. If you trade it in, they will absolutely perform the recall before they resell it. Now if you can negotiate some deal directly with the manufacturer, that's a different story.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I would call the Subaru of America folks and negotiate this. NEVER would try and negotiate with dealer.

Dealer would not resell car as it would be a litigation risk. But this is just like my Toyota truck example - a buyback and destroy in lieu of a fix.

 

[kjpliny]

They may agree to anything to make a quick sale...but be aware they'll just raise their minimum price or add some other adjustment on a car sale to make up for your "discount". Gotta get and agree in writing on best possible price before introducing a reimbursement like this.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

No but if you contact SOA(subaru of America) by phone and tell them you heard that if you already own a subaru that you could get a $500 owner loyalty incentive towards the purchase of a new subaru.
Took me 2 minutes and they emailed it to me. The dealer treated it as cash at the end of the deal and took $500 more off my final negotiated price. Don't mention the coupon until you have completely agreed on a firm in writing deal just so they won't try to could the deal and somehow the $500 gets lost in the sauce and you don't actually get it.

And Finnski1 is the winner! Called and tried to talk them into the deal as I originally stated. No, but they emailed me a $750 loyalty certificate. Good for one year. Good for a new, previously UNTITLED Subaru. They put "untitled" in caps.

 

[Sunset]

And Finnski1 is the winner! Called and tried to talk them into the deal as I originally stated. No, but they emailed me a $750 loyalty certificate. Good for one year. Good for a new, previously UNTITLED Subaru. They put "untitled" in caps.

Great, so you can get the airbag fixed under the recall, and sell it plus use the $750.

 

[finnski1]

And Finnski1 is the winner! Called and tried to talk them into the deal as I originally stated. No, but they emailed me a $750 loyalty certificate. Good for one year. Good for a new, previously UNTITLED Subaru. They put "untitled" in caps.

Wow you did good . They only gave me $500