I found out today with great sadness after I tried to ring them to book a service that Robinson's have ceased to exist.!!
They were one of the last true 'Subaru' enthusiasts that I am aware of in the North West of England. They were always HELPFUL , COURTEOUS and I know it may sound trite , but CARING.!!!
To all the staff and owners <it was a family business> who dealt with me over the years, many thanks. I am sure that there will be many who would like to share the same sentiment.

R.I.P and thanks.!!

 

Ditto. It was my main source for parts, very helpful guy's.

 

Bump, for people who start new threads without checking first

 

There is a new dealer 'M.Kar Subaru' in Rochdale, any know anything about them ?.

My car was a UK car sourced from macclesfield somewhere - I dont really fancy the idea of travelling 60 miles for service and support. It seems the dealers in Manchester and Wirral have also disappeared.

I am starting to worry about Subaru now...

 

Prosport, THE best service center in the northwest (if not the UK!)
01614329999

Tony

 

What area are you in mate?

 

Tony - you beat me to it!

 

I am in Blackburn Lancashire.

The car still has a 2 1/2 year UK warranty! I have found the prosport website :-
Prosport - 0161 4329999 - service@prosport.ltd.uk

Are they an authorized subaru service centre ?...if not I could use them after my warranty expires.

 

With my first scoob, i used Monty's of sheffield once (for the 1k service and even then i was not impressed with the "damage" they did with my car then denied!) Robinsons three times? (once to have the aircon fitted, one service and one other minor issue) after that its been all Prosport

Tony

 

They are an official subaru service centre

Tony

 

Thanks for the useful information, I'll give them a ring now.

 

Robinsons - Suabru enthusiasts? Must have been in a different reality to the one I had many sad experiences with.

 

..going back to my original query..anyone used M Karr. They are showing on the subaru website as an official dealer, and they are only around 10 miles away.
They do seem new to subaru.

Anyone bought a car of them ? or used them for repairs ??
Whats the customer service like ?

 

It's not like your a million miles away from Stockport is it? Or like you need to go there daily...?
I'd sooner go there than a new outfit, Prosport have a damn good reputation on here too.

 

I totally agree with you Chris...
That why I posted the question here...I am wary of a new dealership, and was asking if anyone knew them. (It sounds as though no body does)

The owner of M. Kar on his website, states he has been in the motor trade for a long time - but I need more evidence than that...

 

M. Kar - went a couple of times to buy parts. First time was OK, second time despite several calls I am still waiting for them to get back to me to tell me the parts I ordered are in stock. That was 3 months ago. Draw your own conclusions.

Have used Prosport - quite happy with them

 

Apart from the falling sale of Subaru (let alone the whole car market) these dealership closures really came down to the fact that they are all franchises and a few years ago Subaru UK (IM) required all the dealerships to spend a small fortune to modify their showrooms. I know R.J White in Blackburn was told they would need to spend over 1million to get their showroom to spec and decided (probably rightly) it was not worth it and therefore decided not to renew their franchises agreement. Can you imagine how many cars you would have to sell to recoup that outlay?..Subaru have a small niche market so talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

 

The problem that Subaru have in the UK is that they no longer sell enough cars to cover their basic operating costs. Add to this the fact that £1=122 Yen (it was £1 = 240 Yen in October 2007) so the cost of cars and parts from Japan has doubled, and these costs cannot all be passed on to the consumer otherwise the vehicles would be completely unsaleable.
I think many dealers must be absolutely desperate - the motor industry as a whole is expected to lose 25-30% of all dealerships over the next year or two and niche brands like Subaru could bear the brunt of that.

 

I and my son both use Prosport, they cant be beat, and we travel from North Wales.