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Old 04-26-2013, 01:30 AM   #1
rationull
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: CA, USA
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2011 Impreza WRX
DGM

Default Decent Subaru mechanic in San Luis Obispo area?

Does anyone know of a decent mechanic with good Subaru experience in the San Luis Obispo area? Anywhere between Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles? Or is the service department at Rancho Grande the best option we've got?

I've got nothing against Rancho Grande in my very limited experience (I do my own maintenance so don't really have occasion to go there often) but it seems like a good independent mechanic is needed in some situations.

Any opinions or experiences?
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Old 04-30-2013, 08:27 PM   #2
casper2433
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Member#: 212320
Join Date: May 2009
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Northridge
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2005 STi
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I think Rancho is your best bet. I am in Santa Maria and most places quote me sometimes 50% more than any "ordinary" car simply because they never get subarus out here, thus accounting for extra labor for, and this is an exact quote: "figuring out how to do what needs to be done."

One shop quoted me $1000 just to replace my clutch, with a 2 day timeframe!!! Screw that noise! I won't allow my car to be your guinea pig while you learn how to work on a Subaru.

Oh and on a side note, do you know of any meets up here? There are a few guys 6 houses down from me that have WRXs and I am sure they would go if they knew where one was held. All we have here in SM is a lame ricer meet, where the most entertaining thing to do is sitting and watching the slammed hella flush civics get stuck or mess up their front ends on the gutter that runs through the parking lot.

Last edited by casper2433; 04-30-2013 at 09:15 PM.
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Old 04-30-2013, 10:51 PM   #3
rationull
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Ouch. That is what I feared. TBH my experience with Rancho has been just fine and I've got no problems going there (I bought my car there and it was a good experience) -- but sometimes I'm a little skeptical when the dealer says something is "normal" while the car is under warranty. And by dealer I mean "service writer" because it can be hard to talk to an actual tech.

I don't know of any meets, but I wouldn't necessarily know if there were any -- I'm not really active in the community at all. I see a fair number of WRXs around given the size of the area and the fact that there's only one dealer nearby, but I'm guessing the Cal Poly demographic skews the numbers for a car like this. I probably get a wave back 70% of the time when I see one in time to wave -- even on the freeway -- so I'm guessing a fair number of owners around here actually care about their cars and I could see some turnout if there were any events.
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Old 04-30-2013, 11:21 PM   #4
casper2433
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Ya Rancho is fine. It is a small dealer so every time I have been there I was in and out fairly quick. Speaking of Rancho, I actually need to schedule a service.

What kind of work were you needing? I have found a lot of routine maintenance and upgrade jobs can be done by yourself with some good ol fashioned elbow grease. These cars may seem complicated, but is actually not once you do it once. I only take my car somewhere if it is something I really can't handle by myself, like the clutch replacement, which I still need done actually. Lol
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Old 05-01-2013, 12:15 AM   #5
rationull
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I do my own maintenance, don't really need anything done. I totally agree about not taking it in unless it needs something I'm really not comfortable doing or can't do. I don't even like taking cars in for tires

I took the car in for the ECM reflash recall (that makes the CEL turn on if the car thinks the t-stat is bad -- sounds pretty worthless to me but since it's an emissions recall in CA you're prevented from registering the vehicle if it hasn't been done) and while I was there asked about a "wet" looking spot on the turbo that I thought might be a leak. I've been meaning to post about that but I haven't yet. They said they didn't find anything and when I pointed it out specifically to the service advisor he told me it was "probably cosmoline". Uh huh, just showed up after 25k miles I guess? Anyway, maybe it's not a problem but I thought a second opinion would be nice, if there were somewhere good to get one.
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Old 06-27-2013, 02:51 AM   #6
slo.down805
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Location: Morro Bay, California
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I go to guy that has taken me to stage 2 tune with custom maps and a catted invidia dp. I can give you more info if you are interested, though I am a few months late... With the few local wrx's I've stopped and chatted with, 3/3 all go to the same guy and I have to say I am very happy with my performance.
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Old 06-29-2013, 01:04 AM   #7
rationull
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slo.down805 View Post
I go to guy that has taken me to stage 2 tune with custom maps and a catted invidia dp. I can give you more info if you are interested, though I am a few months late... With the few local wrx's I've stopped and chatted with, 3/3 all go to the same guy and I have to say I am very happy with my performance.
Sure, I'd be interested, but I'm not really planning to do any tuning any time soon. Is this a general mechanic or primarily a tuner?
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Old 08-13-2020, 08:42 PM   #8
IrishCaliSean
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Default Old post but new WRX owner looking for updates

Hey I know this is an older post but I could use some reliable references here. I just bought a 2018 WRX and I am loving it. I am spending my evening's building spreadsheets of all the fun I want to have improving it.

I would like to find a reliable Subie specialist for general maintenance and for performance tuning as I see some of that in my future.

Thanks for the help.
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Old 08-13-2020, 10:00 PM   #9
rationull
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Vehicle:
2011 Impreza WRX
DGM

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I've ended up going to Pokrajac Automotive down near Broad and Tank Farm for what I've needed so far and it's been great. I'll continue going there for anything I need that doesn't absolutely need to be done at the dealer.
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