I had deposits at three dealerships, all at MSRP;
Colonial Subaru – Valon Iljazi – Danbury, CT – 800-229-2656
Premier Subaru - Jeff Irzrk – Branford, CT
Manchester Subaru - Gary Smith – Manchester, NH
Gary in NH took a trip to New Orleans to “Learn and Drive the BRZ” the week my car came into port. Although I had NUMEROUS emails and conversations with Gary concerning the options I wanted port installed, he neglected to order them. As a result my BRZ had NO port installed options and, of course, the dealership did not have availability of these parts to install for me. In addition to having to return the car to New Hampshire at some date in the future when these parts became available, I would have to PAY DEALER LABOR to have them installed. Gary’s back-up plan was to get me one from the next shipment in two to three weeks. Flabbergasted by his major dropping of the ball, I cancelled my order on the spot.
Next up was Jeff at Premier Subaru in Branford. I was partial to Branford as they are one of only two Connecticut dealerships that earned the “Subaru Stellar Care Award” for customer service. Everything looked great until the car came in and Jeff attempted to charge me FULL RETAIL PRICE for all the port-installed options. BOTH other dealers, as I’m told is standard operating procedure at most dealerships, were offering these port options at dealer cost, sans labor. Even after the emailing with owner, I requested and they promptly returned my $1,000 deposit due to their excessive greed.
The underdog all along was Valon at Colonial Subaru in Danbury CT. Although a very large volume Subaru dealership, they were further from home for me to service the car and did not have any recent “Stellar Care” awards or accolades. My sales rep Valon was VERY responsive to every email request (and there were many) and the pricing and availability of the car was EXACTLY as he promised. Valon’s pricing never changed one cent and all the port-installed options I wanted were properly ordered and installed. In addition, Valon offered me 2.9% financing that the others did not and the opportunity to double my 3/36 warranty with a genuine Subaru 7/70 $100 deductible plan at a $500 discount for only $1,100 additional. Needless to say, I took that no-brainer offer.
I’ve purchased many new cars over the years and dealerships inevitably spring some extra cost item(s) at the last minute. Usually I’ve been in a position where I was either so emotional about the new car purchase or had “painted myself into a corner”, as I privately sold my old car and had to leave the dealership with the new car of would have to walk home, that these last minute extra cost (and profit) dealer tactics worked. This time, as the BRZ is to be a “pleasure only” vehicle for me, I was prepared to walk away should they try any funny stuff as every, single dealership had with me in the past. No such antics from Valon in Danbury. Everything went smoothly, and all the pricing, right down to the taxes and dealer prep fees, were SPOT ON what Valon quoted me. This was the FIRST truly pleasant new car buying experience I’ve had. I highly recommend Colonial Subaru in Danbury CT and understand, due to their high volume of sales, they are getting more BRZs than any other Connecticut dealership. Tell them
iwantmybrz@gmail.com sent you and give Valon a call @ 800-229-2656! :thumbup:
