Brought Subaru Outback in under warranty because it had been making a 2-second groaning sound and slight vibration under VERY specific conditions that I typed out on a piece of paper. It ONLY happened with the A/C on, outside air above 75 degrees, and when the car was accelerating moderately under load (ie: uphill).

Waited half hour to 'check-in', then was told to wait, then a mechanic came out, got in the passenger side, crossed his arms, and said "show me sound".
I said, it won't make the sound now because it is only 60 degrees out, and I went over the symptoms and the typed sheet again with him. He kept his arms folded the whole time and said, "can't fix it if I can't hear the noise".
I said, "Is there ANYTHING you can do to diagnose or find the problem based on what I've told you?"

Long story short, I couldn't GET them to even test the refrigerant pressure or even open the hood.
The so-called service manager even said "making us fix a car that doesn't have a proven problem would be fraud (on my part?) to Subaru of America" to which I said "I'm only asking you to DIAGNOSE and find the source of the problem, I'm not telling you to replace the A/C, so how is that FRAUD?!"
It was pure evil.

 

So after having a decent experience buying my Outback (for my wife) at SCS from a nice, older, caucasian fleet manager (who left a month later), I went back to buy a WRX. I very specifically asked (on the phone) if they had a BLACK WRX with MANUAL TRANSMISSION, a spoiler, and no other options (couldn't afford it). The said YES, 'course, when i got there they didn't have one.
Then they started in:
You don't want black, it gets dirty too easily.
You don't want a manual transmission, all that shifting is bad for you / bad for the car / bad for mileage (?) / not as good acceleration (?!)
You don't want a WRX, get an STi (they had a black one w/manual).

My intelligence was insulted. Buncha morons tag teamed me.

Drove up to Carlsen Subaru, pointed at the WRX I wanted, was out of there in 35 minutes (including lighthearted attempts at selling the extended warranty) with a decent price and a happy grin.

 

okay, I don't remember if I posted this or not... But I figure instead telling you how bad you are, I'll tell you what would make you a good dealership.

Case 1:
I called Santa Cruz Subaru and told them exactly what I wanted, how much, and when over the phone. Because at that time I only had one car so I had to sell and buy the same day. I sold my car, buyer dropped me off and I walked into the sales office. The person agreed on the price over phone with me was gone for the day, but the lady handled my sales honored the agreement without a second of hesitation. You know what was the longest process throughout the entire deal? First was me reading EVERYTHING, second was her typing into the computer before print. Then was the typical add-on warranty stuff. But that literarlly took 15 seconds and no pressure (I said no ONCE and she moved on). The whole thing took about 15 minutes with me spending most of the time reading (yeah, I know I am a slow reader). Soonest I walked out of the sales office, there parked my car.
Now here is to top it off. I didn't know how to drive a manual transmission so I couldn't really drive it home (yeah what was I thinking!). The service manager at the time Johnny came out and taught me how to drive for the next 45 minutes. Oh, did I mention that was AFTER HOUR!?

Case 2:
This actually happened MANY times. After I graduated from UCSC I moved to Fremont and was still going down to Santa Cruz for service. But because I would never really know when I would be down there, I would call Bruce or Mark at service while I was driving down there. NOT ONCE have they turned me down and said come back next time.

Case 3:
My car was in for oil change and came back with front bumper cratched. I informed Mark at service and he immediately starting to apologzing like there was no tomorrow. He told me to return the following week to get it done, I did, and the bumper was repaired at NO COST to me.

Case 4:
My car was in for some kind of service that was taking the whole day (don't remember what for). I was going to take the bus or walk to downtown with my girlfriend. But Charlie, saleperson at the time, just gave me the key to HIS OWN CAR and said "just come back when we call you when you car is done!".

Case 5:
I went to autox and my front brakes were making REALLY loud noises. At the time I had no idea what it was so I brought it in. Mark at service said if they find nothing wrong, they would have to charge me because it can't go under warranty for the diagnostic if nothing is wrong. Which I understood and fine with it. Then they found that there was a piece of rock in between the pad and the roter and no need to fix anything. So they didn't have to fix anything because nothing was wrong. But Mark was like, eh, what the heck, don't worry about the diagnostic charge.

Case 6:
Always a free car wash even on free services

That's all I can think of for now....

 

Here is one case, not bashing, just facts...

I actually did buy my first Subaru from Stevens Creek (never heard of www.impreza-rs.com at that time) at the time. But thank God for the internet I got an okay deal with Mike Sunder (sp?) with a 4EAT 01RS GM6, cargo net, center armrest, alarm, and wheel locks. My friend saw my car and really liked it and went to your dealership and got one as well. He got the same car except for manual transmission, four-door, and zero options and came out about 6k over what I paid for with CASH!

you be the judge...

 

Hello again, I-Club!
I want to apologise for any derogatory comments written by me on this forum. Statements made by me do not reflect the opinion of the dealership or management. We, the sales staff at Stevens Creek Subaru, are actively working on providing a more positive shopping experience for our customers. I am pleased to say that the information gathered on this forum has been noted and expressed to the members of the sales staff. Thank you for your honesty.

 

::shakes head:: wow...

 

I think you need to stop talking right about now.

 

That has marketing and legal dept written all over it. :rotfl: Nice try.

 

wow...just wow...
on one hand i feel bad for you because you can't just come here and express your honest opinion like everyone else...

on the other hand...i'm at a loss for words. i suppose what it comes down to is...i'd want to keep my job too

 

stevens creek, like if you are into cars and you worked there you have to keep it a secret so nobody ****s you up

 

duly noted

 

+1 this is about the least sincere "apology" I've ever seen.


Die in a missle attack kplzthx.

 

If I was managing them, subysalesguy would have been gone after that comment.
Not that I want to see anyone lose their job but business is business and he is bad for it.

 

U R kidding right? See my post above....... Actually let me reiterate. "You sir are a genuine *****"

 

not that this fire needs more fuel, but since they did ask for feedback. I bought my car from Steven's Creek in MY02, it was not a great experience. If I weren't so enamored by the car, i would have (should have) driven north. They made promises to me which they did not fulfill.


1) They had marked up all the cars by $5k, at the time. So when after some hassling, and posturing he told me he would do me a favor by dropping the markup. So I paid full MSRP, and they had tons of cars on the lot.
2) they told me I could get the titanium STI shiftknob exchanged for the standard one. I never heard back after calling them 3 times and leaving messages i gave up.
3) They tried very hard to sell me the paint protection for $1k, and i got into a big argument over it with the finance guy. He was a major *****. Too bad i had to have the car THAT MINUTE, or i would have left before i signed on the damn line. They did gouge me on the alarm though, so atleast they got somethin off me (i was a dip****)
4) I expressed interest in buying all sorts of add-on, including wheels, body kit, gauge pack, diff cover, etc. They basically told me it was too difficult to install most of that ****, and they would get back to me on what they could do. Never did.
5) I brought it in for it's first servicing. That didn't go well at all, so after all this i decided to just drive north from that point on.

And i never looked back again.