Subaru Dealer Whitelist (positive experiences, truthful dealings)

[Schmidts454]

IL - Orland Park (Chicagoland) - International Auto Sales - Sales

Sales: Jon Fasano (in-person)/Kate Friberg (internet correspondence)
Service: N/A
Story: Sales experience was fine. Paid 25.4K for BRZ LTD. Communication was excellent. Did my homework, so I really didn't need any persuasion/guidance.

[mhughett]

Ar, Fayetteville, Adventure Subaru, Sales


After the car I was going to buy at the local Tulsa dealership was sold 5 minutes before I arrived (with my salesman knowing I was on my way), I called this dealer 100 miles away to see if I can get the same deal I negotiated in Tulsa. No haggling, no added fees, no pressure for other add-ons and no drama. The salesmen are not on commission at this dealership and their only concern is customer satisfaction. I don't know if I will use their service department since it is 100 miles away but it sure looks first class as the facility is new and very well organized. I'm impressed.

[SHWNBRZ]

Carlsen Subaru in Redwood City has top notch service/pricing.

Sam Levy responded to every single e-mail I sent within minutes virtually every single time. He put the car on reserve for me as the BRZ I wanted wasn't at the dealership yet. There was supposed to be a $500 deposit to reserve the car, but after telling Sam that I lived 2 hours away, he said I didn't need to get them the $500 to put the car on reserve for me. A few hours later, the listing on their website inventory was updated. The car wasn't there anymore. I was notified via e-mail that it's reserved under my name and that the listing was taken down so nobody else would inquire about it.

Fast forward 2 weeks. The car comes in early. I get a phone call from Sam asking when I'm able to pick it up. Told him I'll have time the next day.

Went to the dealership and was greeted by Bret Mac. I told him about the deal and he got the paperwork started. Then I got introduced to Rodrigo who ran some numbers for me. He asked if I would consider financing with them if they reduced my interest rate...I was preapproved for a 2.49% APR by a local credit union. They offered me 1.89%. Knew what add ons I wanted and wasn't pressured into buying more than what I needed.

30 minutes later, I had the papers signed...keys on hand...and went about my day.

Later that night I sent Sam a thank you email. Four minutes later, I get a response from him. Turns out he has been out on vacation the past week.

He kept me posted as to what's going on with the car I wanted while he was out on vacation. Wow!

While some local dealers gave up on answering my questions about cars I was looking at, Sam kept in touch and kept me updated. My uncle is now looking at getting a vehicle. Once again, Carlsen Subaru has given me the best internet price on an Outback that my uncle is looking at.

Steer Clear of Maita Subaru in Sacramento.

Those guys gave me a low price (a price Carlsen Subaru still beat by $1K) Then when I asked about loyalty discounts, they turned around and said that the car was actually a customer order. Two weeks later, the car is still on their website with a $2,000 mark up. They initially had the 15 Subaru BRZ Premium in WR Blue listed at $26,742. My internet price was $25,988. 2 weeks later, it's at $28,937.

Maita Subaru is the last place people in the Sacramento area should go to. They're full of shenanigans. I posted my experience with them the last few years on their Facebook review page.

[wrb.brz]

UT - Salt Lake City - Mark Miller Subaru Midtown - Sales

Sales: Carlos Rios
Service: N/A
Story: Despite being a young person showing up at closing time to ask about the brand new BRZ on the front of the lot, the sales staff was very professional and respectful throughout the entire process. They stayed late to run a credit report and crunch the numbers, but I decided to wait until I sold my current vehicle before proceeding. A few weeks later after selling my RX-8, I showed up to sign the papers and they were very accommodating. The transaction was quick and efficient, and they managed to lower the price of the vehicle twice as well as the interest rate once before I walked out the door. It was overall a very positive sales experience, and I would absolutely recommend this dealership to anyone looking for a Subaru in the area.

[02.ACCORD.DUDE]

Wasn't quite sure where to post this...

I got the following sales quote for a base 2015 BRZ (automatic) from a local dealer (NJ):

$28,302

Sale Price includes Subaru destination and handling fee, excludes tax, federal/state fees, license, title, registration, emissions, $289.00 documentation/processing fee, dealer fees, insurance and the like. Price may include all applicable offers and rebates.

Sales tax here is around 7% - I'd obviously try to negotiate down, but is the above base price in line with what others have been seeing?

[SHWNBRZ]

Where are you located? I original quote for my BRZ premium base manual was just under $27,500 out the door. Tax, documentation fees, dmv fees, etc included. Sales tax for my area was 8.5%. My original quote is attached below.

Do note that I didn't ask for further discounts. I was good with the price. My contact at the dealership...who was actually on a business trip (yet he coordinated everything...answered all emails within minutes and contacted me via phone as needed...got to the dealership, 30 minutes later I got the keys and had my car on the way).

I did look up prices on truecar.com to gauge how good the pricing was and I was satisfied.

Attachment 97480

Edit, found my quote.

[SHWNBRZ]

edited the previous post and attachment wouldn't show after the edit.

[02.ACCORD.DUDE]

Originally Posted by SHWNBRZ

Where are you located? I original quote for my BRZ premium base manual was just under $27,500 out the door. Tax, documentation fees, dmv fees, etc included. Sales tax for my area was 8.5%. My original quote is attached below.

Central, NJ - I wonder if location difference is coming into play here?

With taxes and fees, looks like base might come closer to $30,000 - $31,000 for me :- |...

There's no way these things can be selling that high around here, given the time of the year...

Waiting to hear back from local Scion on dealer for a FR-S quote. Nice thing about where I am is that there are plenty of dealers in about a 1 hr drive (these two are literally 15 min away).

[SHWNBRZ]

The local dealership increased their asking price for a WR Blue BRZ. They originally quoted me about $25900 for it...it was the Internet price. MSRP was about $26500 or so. Then the guy says the car was actually a special order...a month and a half later, it's still on their website. At $28937. A couple hundred bucks more and you'd be able to get a Limited in Black/Silver. LOL!

Oh yeah, the person I talked to said they would get back to me if anything changes. He never did. Posted a review about their business online so people get to read about how they conduct business over there.

https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/s...&zipcode=95824

Do check out that link. Since you're after a 2015 auto, you're going for the limited trim. The price they gave you seems like it's pretty close to MSRP....just means you have room to negotiate.

Another thing....its wintery season....icy roads and what not for people up north. Dealerships over there probably won't be able to move BRZ's as much...so they might be willing to make a deal. If it's a few hours drive, an extra 1k off of the closest dealer price might be worth it.

Just take your time. Do some research and you'll get what you want for the price you are willing to pay for.

I almost bit an offer that a local ford dealership was offering me for a Focus ST..it was an offer that was hard to turn down for practicality's sake but in the end, I went with what I really wanted even if it cost more as opposed to something that I almost wanted that was priced for me to take home.

[02.ACCORD.DUDE]

Originally Posted by SHWNBRZ

The local dealership increased their asking price for a WR Blue BRZ. They originally quoted me about $25900 for it...it was the Internet price. MSRP was about $26500 or so. Then the guy says the car was actually a special order...a month and a half later, it's still on their website. At $28937. A couple hundred bucks more and you'd be able to get a Limited in Black/Silver. LOL!

Oh yeah, the person I talked to said they would get back to me if anything changes. He never did. Posted a review about their business online so people get to read about how they conduct business over there.

https://www.truecar.com/prices-new/s...&zipcode=95824

Do check out that link. Since you're after a 2015 auto, you're going for the limited trim. The price they gave you seems like it's pretty close to MSRP....just means you have room to negotiate.

Another thing....its wintery season....icy roads and what not for people up north. Dealerships over there probably won't be able to move BRZ's as much...so they might be willing to make a deal. If it's a few hours drive, an extra 1k off of the closest dealer price might be worth it.

Just take your time. Do some research and you'll get what you want for the price you are willing to pay for.

I almost bit an offer that a local ford dealership was offering me for a Focus ST..it was an offer that was hard to turn down for practicality's sake but in the end, I went with what I really wanted even if it cost more as opposed to something that I almost wanted that was priced for me to take home.

I don't know where the thanks button is but thanks :-P... This particular dealer doesn't have an auto on the lot, so I wonder how much of a break they'll give but I guess I'll just have to stop by and see...

[Llilith]

OR - Beaverton - Carr Subaru - sales

Sales: Dan Doyle, Internet dept.
Service: NA
Story:
Honest and straightforward transaction. I went thru their internet dept and got quoted a price that beat all the dealers nearby. No haggling or surprise costs, no hard sell on stuff I didn't need. The entire process was great, even the part at the end with the finance manager. Quick easy transaction. 😄 Dan is a straight shooter - it was so refreshing after shopping for awhile and getting the same old song and dance at other dealerships. I almost bought this car three times - the first two I walked because of the games.

[Jesse36m3]

RI - West Warwick - Balise Subaru - Service

Sales: Lauren
Service: 100% warranty work - HPFP, window switch, rear shelf rattle, wheel bearing and rear view mirror.
Story: Just want to say I had an absolute pleasure dealing with the service department. I came in for 5 complaints/tsb problems. They took care of everything without a question asked and Lauren gave me detailed updates every day before closing. Had my car back in three days and that was only because they had to order some parts from NJ.

Overall 10/10.

[randombvr]

CA - Albany - Albany Subaru

Sales: Don Myers

Incredible. I did a fair amount of price comparison, using TrueCar as a starting point and then getting dealers to bid against each other (I searched nationwide but focused in California as a dealer across the nation would really have to undercut to make it worth my time). Don beat invoice price. No one came close to matching him. We did all the negotiating via email. When I made the trip out to Albany to pick up the car it was painless and fast. They didn't try to upsell me on the warranty/paint protection/prepaid maintenance (a simple "no" was all it took).

Super friendly guy, great family run no-frills dealership, and unmatched price.

[jcwhatup]

CA - San Jose - Capitol - Sales

Sales: Michael Holm
Service: N/A
Story: He gave a reasonable invoice price as a walk in. A week later told me that car was sold and managed to "find" one with +$100 price. Typical dealer stuff, but compared to other experience I had, Michael was not pushy, very engaging and responsive through email and over the phone.