So when I first bought my car I noticed a few things that were amiss with it:

1. CD Player ate CDs and didn't eject.

2. Heard a 'KLUNK' sound every time I went over a dip/speed bump from the passenger side wheel well (turned out to be the front strut bar was not mounted at all and just hanging freely).

3. Missing low beam on the drivers side and high beam on the passengers side.

4. Upon inspection found the lower control arm on the passenger side was completely blown and the ball joint was mis-aligned (I suspected it was in a collision in that area from damage to the sub frame).

So I take it to Carlsen Subaru (they are close to my work), grabbed a rental and waited for them to call me back on what was going on.

The 'customer service' I received was little more than lip service - I was told by the tech that since after market struts were installed they wouldn't fix either of the suspension problems. Which sucked, but I understand.

When I picked up the car he told me that they would order a CD Player and get back to me, as for the lights - he said they were out and said 'go buy some and put them in'.

That took me a little aback; I understood not being able to fix the CD player or the suspension right there - but to not put in new bulbs and make me buy them and do it when the car is still under 30/36?

Well I waited 2 weeks for a call on the player, never got it and decided to go to Capitol Subaru in San Jose (not near my work but they are open on Saturdays to work on cars which allows me schedule appointments).

Justin helped me the whole way through - took my car in last week and said that yes, although the struts are after market he would fight to get the control arm replaced under warranty - he fixed the strut bar the same day no charge; he also ordered my new CD player. This was last Saturday.

I just got a call from him today saying that my CD player was already there and he got approval to fix my control arm (with labor = $760) under warranty.

So I just want to share my experience with two different dealerships in the Bay Area and advise that if you are looking for customer service for parts/labor - check out Capitol Subaru; Justin is a great guy and will help you out with whatever you need.

 

Hell yeah!! Cap Subaru effin rocks!

 

Props for Justin. I am still waiting for him to figure out what the niose from my tranny is. Teds car was there for the same issue for a few weeks and Justin was about to kill himself cause he could not figure it out.

 

Was that the WRB one, sitting in front of service?

got my oil changed there today. They've treated me fairly so far, but then again, I haven't had problems like you mentioned, and I bought it from there. Sorry to hear you had that experience. Good to know my alternatives and g/l with yours!

 

Are any of the dealerships in the east bay as decent as Capitol?

 

Capitol amd Justin FTW!

 

I love Carlsen Subaru, the always treat me with great respect, everyone is nice and the parts department is great.

 

That is awesome to hear. I had a great time a while back at Capitol Subaru when they had their first meet after the dealership opened up. Glad to hear they are still doing a great job down there because I still have friends down at the Wheel Works around the corner (Pearl Ave) and still like to take my car down there to get work done. Props to the people down at Capitol Subaru for running an Excellent Business.

 

+1 for capitol

when i crashed my previous suby, i knew i wanted to go to capitol, i bought my sti from them a little over a month ago and found a few things wrong so i took it in and Justin took care of me from day one.

if anyone would ask me which dealer to direct them to, it'd be capitol hands down

keep up the good work guys

 

always mad props to Justin. i just made an appt to see him tomorrow too. =)

 

For maintenance right?
you didn't blow up your car again did you?
j/k

 

i'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with carlsen. i have had good experience with service, but poor with sales.

 

+11

went to cap. subaru to buy some coolant and had cc out and everything. justin stops me from purchasing and does a full compression test along with topping off my coolant no charge under warranty. great guy and great service!

oh and he knew i had some mods too :x

 

From what I have gleaned just from observing and idle chit chat is that Capitol Subaru is about as mod friendly a dealership as they come by.

Yeah I am sorry I had a bad experience at Carlsen as well, but I take it with a grain of salt, I'm not posting this to bash them; more so just a customer publicly sharing his experiences with two different dealerships.

I'm sure a lot of Subaru owners have had great times at Carlsen, but from the looks of it - many more have had better experiences at Capitol.

 

I also have to say justin at Capitol is a great guy and will take care of his customers. I stopped going to Stevens creek and go to Capitol now. My car is actually there right now.