Service your Subaru while you shop

The idea of getting your car serviced while you shop, watch a movie or get your nails done isn’t new; Kmart Tyre & Auto Service has been doing it for years.

Nor is the ability to browse new models and even buy a vehicle at a non-traditional car dealership located in a retail CBD or shopping complex; many such automotive brand stores exist around the world and Genesis will soon join Tesla with three factory-owned inner-city retail outlets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

But Subaru appears to be the first car brand to allow its customers to buy as well as service their vehicles at an Australian shopping complex.

In what’s likely to be the first in a network of Do Service centres based in major shopping centre, Subaru last week opened its first permanent shopping centre service site -- in the carpark of Werribee Plaza southwest of Melbourne.

Allowing Subaru owners to get their oil changed while they get their hair cut, the pioneering service facility joins the Japanese car-maker’s first permanent shopping centre-based retail premises,

Subaru Do Store Werribee Plaza opened in December 2016 and it’s now complimented by the Subaru Werribee Service Centre located just outside at the main entrance next to Myer.

The two-bay service site offers the usual range of vehicle maintenance services and is open six days a week with extended trading hours in line with late night shopping.

Owned by Subaru Melbourne Group, the Werribee service site provides an express service, offering customers fast and convenient scheduled services and minor repairs.

There is no price premium for the convenience of servicing while you ship, as capped-price servicing at Werribee Plaza costs the same as any other traditional Subaru workshop.

Subaru says any major mechanical work will be conducted at the associated Subaru Interactive@Docklands site.

The initiative follows Subaru’s pioneering pop-up shops and online retailing strategy.

“The evolution of our Subaru ’do’ initiatives from pop-up stores, to permanent shopping centre locations, through to mobile test drives, mobile service vans and now our first shopping centre service site has been positively embraced by our customers,” said Subaru Australia managing director, Colin Christie.

“As part of Subaru ’do’, we continue to look for new ways to innovate and bring the Subaru brand to our customers, when and where it suits their lifestyle most.

“The Subaru Werribee Service Centre is yet another example of how Subaru continues to deliver on its promise to make buying and owning a Subaru easier and more convenient.”