[timber]

For most of us, buying a vehicle from a dealership can be an exciting experience!
When you post in this forum, please do not FLAME the dealerships.
Post your experience (either positive or negative) in a reasonable, well thought out manner. Remember, we are here to help each other out, so make your post count.

Lets try to use the following format when posting in this thread:

** POST TITLE WITH NAME OF DEALERSHIP, STATE AND CITY**

PROS YOU EXPERIENCED DURING YOUR VISIT

CONS YOU EXPERIENCED DURING YOUR VISIT

ANY FURTHER COMMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE

This is a perfect example:
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/[url=...unt.html#post2337142] Byer's Imports...[/url] Byer's Imports...


Thank you for your efforts in helping other members in choosing a worthwhile dealership!

 

[jeffdg]

Byer's Imports - Columbus Ohio

Mixed Review:

Pro:
- phenomenal service team. They worked extremely hard to get everything right. Also had free loaner cars.
- Price was reasonable

Con:
- Sales team are straight out of the "sheister play book"
- Sales manager was terrible. I had a tire issue and he promised me four new tires for their cost. I called multiple times with to tell the tires I wanted - never answered and never called back.

Verdict: Great place to have a subi serviced, and a place that might be viable for the extremely keen and shrewd buyer.

 

[timber]

Thank you for the review!

 

[EJ257]

Lia Nissan (Schenectady, NY)

Pros:

My cousin works for their corporate office, so I got the car for cost

Cons:

Had issues with the exhaust


The car came with an HKS downpipe on the car. I wanted a stock exhaust, because even though I will modify the exhaust, I want to keep the stocker and I didn't want to have to deal with inspection (I still haven't bought the catted TBE yet). When I approached them about it after the deal was done, they didn't want to pay for the stock downpipe (don't really blame them, considering they now lost $1200 on the deal). It took me flashing my DEC badge and telling them they would lose their inspection license (thus, losing their ability to sell cars in NY) to finally get them to comply.

I feel a little bad because I'm sure my cousin caught some crap over the incident, but it's their fault for not doing a visual inspection of the emission control devices, which is the law in NY.

 

[timber]

Good stuff! Keep 'em coming...

 

[WRXtasy03]

brought in wrx to get turbo feed line replaced. told me cost would be just over $400(special lines ordered for jdm motor usdm lines dont match up)

get car back 1 week after the time they told me it was gonna be done, no big deal to me. get the bill it was over $800. i was a little pissed.

i leave dealer ship and the car was running like ****, on only 3 cylinders. bring it back they tell me cylinder #3 isnt getting power to ignition coil and they switched it with a known good coil, still nothing. worked fine when i brought it in. they lied to me and tried to tell me #3 is on the opposite side of the motor where the work was done, but the replaced turbo lines which are right by cylinder 3. take the car home tear apart wiring harness and discover #3 ignition coil power wire was broken when the intake manifold was removed. solder wire back together and car still isnt running right. discover maf sensor is unplugged, plug it in car wont start. search online and saw they installed the sensor backwards. car still isnt running perfect, backfires when off the gass in gear and car/motor shakes violently when shut off. inspect under hood more and find that TPS connector is unplugged. never again will i take my to gary lang subaru worst job i have ever heard of + terrible service and customer service that lies to u.

 

[Integra96]

Nate Wade Subaru - Salt Lake City, UT:

Positive experience overall. The sales guy was very straightforward and I had no problems with finance. Recommended.

 

[Gyzm0]

Subaru of Dallas

Pros:
Good sales team no games.
Strait shooters on trade in and price.
Good deals.
In and out in 1 hour.
Only Subaru dealer in the area that would let me drive before I buy.

Cons:
IDK



Would recommend this dealership to buy from although I do not know any thing about their service department.

 

[07EJ257]

Subaru of Palm Bay FL

Pros: NONE. I dont have a single thing nice to say about them regarding their service.

Cons: No in house body shop. Had to drive across town for an estimate on a bumper.

Brought my car in for 15000 checkup. Mysteriously had test connectors on my car cut.

Wanted more for parts than the dealer an hour away, like significantly more.

 

[RedWRXwagoN]

Major Tom's Dodge - Subaru Suffolk County, NY

Typical new york car salesman....rarely have any wrx's in stock...didnt end up buying from them, just an overall bad experience.

 

[teflon_jones]

Can I suggest that each dealer gets their own thread? Or that it's at least by state? Lumping every dealer into one thread will make it really hard for people to find information about the specific dealer they're looking for, especially if people post like WRXtasy03 who only posted the dealership name very quietly in the last bit of his post.

 

[RedWRXwagoN]

can i suggest that each dealer gets their own thread? Or that it's at least by state? Lumping every dealer into one thread will make it really hard for people to find information about the specific dealer they're looking for, especially if people post like wrxtasy03 who only posted the dealership name very quietly in the last bit of his post.

+1

 

[07EJ257]

True that or atleast make like a template for them to post off of. And have like

a. state
b. city
c. name
d. pros
e. cons
f. additional comments

make everything uniform

 

[timber]

+1

Can I suggest that each dealer gets their own thread? Or that it's at least by state? Lumping every dealer into one thread will make it really hard for people to find information about the specific dealer they're looking for, especially if people post like WRXtasy03 who only posted the dealership name very quietly in the last bit of his post.

True that or atleast make like a template for them to post off of. And have like

a. state
b. city
c. name
d. pros
e. cons
f. additional comments

make everything uniform

Edited first post. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[brianha42]

Carter Subaru of Seattle

Dealership: Carter Subaru
City/State: Washington, Seattle [In Shoreline off Aurora]

Experience Report:
This was the second of 3 subby dealerships I visited looking for a used 04-06 WRX. By calling before the salesman, Rob Wheeler, had the care prepared by having it brought to the front before I arrived.
After visually inspecting the car including under the hood, the trunk, and all exterior panels I was able to find 1 tiny dent on the hood probably caused by a small rock that wouldn't be worth their or my time or money to fix since it was so miniscule. I then sat in the drivers seat and tested all features of the car. After that he gave me the keys and my dad, Rob, and I took the car for a spin on the freeway [note: he didn't take a copy of my ID].
After returning to the dealership I decided to ask him to make an offer. He talked with the floor manager and made me an offer an astounding $1,200 below the sticker price of $18,000. This was a reasonable price for me and overall he was very pleasent considering I never revealed or even hinted at how much I was trying to spend [$17,400].

Pros:
Knew the qualities and options available to WRX's and the ones the vehicle I was interested in were fitted with. Wasn't ashamed the vehicle had a dent, stated yes, that is a dent when I pointed it out. This conveyed some amount of honesty to me. I didn't have to deal with the closer because the salesman did it for me and I found this time saving as it was around 8:30 PM. Provided me with a detailed Dealership service report that included items such as percentage of brake life left, amount of tread left, emissions, and about 20 other things that all checked out.

Cons:
Lacking more of the same year and style, was the only 2005 WRX Wagons on the lot. Said the inhouse body shop could not or would not be interested in fixing the dent on the hood, this may not have been reasonable considering it was the size of a dime and probably as deep as one if not less.

Overall Conclusion:
Very pleased with service and sales department. Recommend to anyone looking for a subaru and would buy from them again!

 

[timber]

Great job, folks! Thanks for taking the time to make your experiences known! Keep 'em coming!

 

[gfred024]

Dealership: Bert Smith Subaru in Tampa FL

Experience Report:
I had been searching for a black or white 06 STI for months. Well I finally found one so I called Bert Smith. They were asking to much for this 06 STI so I continued my search. The salesman at Bert Smith was very persistent as they tend to be he offered me top dollar for my trade(06 WRX) and $3k off blue book for the StI. Well now we are talking. So I drive all the way to Tampa to look at the car (6hrs). I get there and i test drive it and it is fine. So we get to talking $$ and the 3k of blue book he offered me was bs. So I was ready to leave right then but we negotiated a little and I ended up getting the deal I wanted. So I signed the papers and started driving home. About an 2hrs into my 6hr trip me and the wife are going to stop and get some dinner. When I exit I take the car out of 6th gear as I am approaching the red light and it cuts off???? I am a little nervous now. I crank it back up and now every time I change gears it cuts off??? So I immediately call Subaru of Jacksonville since it is now the closest dealer. I go straight there and drop the car off. I have to get my buddy to drive down from Savannah to pick us up. At this point I am pissed. I get the call from a tech at Subaru of Jacksonville the next day and he says "there is a lot of metal shavings in the oil pan. You have a sump pump failure and your block is toast" So I immediately call Bert Smith to tell them what is going on. Of course they dont believe me so I have Subaru of Jax call them.
So most of everything was covered under the factory warranty.
I ended up getting a brand new engine and turbo under warranty, and a few other goodies like a two car payments, a new clutch, new tires, new radiator(the old one was leaking) and new cv boots payed for by Bert Smith.

Pros:
I dont know if there are any I had to go through the BBB to get what I wanted. I guess if there is any pros is that I got an 06 STI with a brand new engine, turbo, tires and clutch for the same price I paid for my 06 WRX and I got to build a relationship with Subaru of Jacksonville.

Cons:
The dealership must have never done any inspection on the car or they would have found all of the metal shavings or their techs are idiots (either way) I would not recommend this dealership for numerous reasons: I was told the car was all stock when I got there it had painted headlights(which I like but is not stock), an aftermarket bcs (which I did not notice until after the fact), Broken rear seatbelt, Cobb Springs, And one thing that is completely my fault when I finally got the car home after a month of it being in the shop I noticed that about a 3rd of the front bumper had been spray painted black to cover up something.

Overall Conclusion:
Never go to Bert Smith in Tampa!! Go to Subaru of JaX!! More importantly Pay attention to the little things it couldve saved me a lot of stress.
Ask for inspection records and if you are test driving a used car go get it on a lift and inspect it yourself or let someone you trust inspect it before you buy it!!

 

[VenomInside]

Evanston Subaru - Evanston, IL

Pro:
- Sales man was really good. Seemed pretty well educated on the WRX (some were not so much).
- Price was good.

Con:
- I wouldn't say this was really a con for them but the hood scoop had vast imperfections on it (not their fault persay) but they are fixing it for me.

Verdict: Great place to buy a subaru.

 

[FPAEP]

Pro:
- Sales man was really good. Seemed pretty well educated on the WRX (some were not so much).
- Price was good.

Con:
- I wouldn't say this was really a con for them but the hood scoop had vast imperfections on it (not their fault persay) but they are fixing it for me.

Verdict: Great place to buy a subaru.

I also bought my 09 WRX from Evanston. I visited 5 Subi dealers in Chicagoland, and in Evanston was the most pleasent and NO BS dealer. I worked with Evan (highly recommend this guy) and everything he told me turned out very true. I signed the papers on the first day, and the next day I came to get my car. They also gave me a good deal on my trade in.

I have nothing negative to say about them.

 

[lakai99]

Evanston Subaru--Evanston, IL

I also bought an 09 wrx from here and dealt with Evan. Good overall experience, no bs and the whole process was quick and efficient. I would recommend this dealer.

Also, thanks to other posters who helped me steer clear of SoS!