ej20boost

iTrader: (5)

is subaru of hawaii ......shuman or did they get bought out??? i am just curious, i was thinking of applying there. if any you guys know anything let me know. i have been there a couple of times to check it out. and is there money in working on subaru's...... since i work on them alot(side job). your input would be very much appreciated. thanks.

gdogg

iTrader: (38)

subaru of hawaii is basically the distributor of subarus here. since SOA would(theoretically) charge more to ship cars here(they land in New Jersey then ship out) so subaru of hawaii (schuman) is the official distributor here. it's a political thing also......

is there money in subarus? depends what you do. in sales- i'd say the average suby saleman here makes about 36-45,000 a year (average). if you are in service- the service writers are on commision also. since there is not a huge vloume of subarus here... there really is not a crazy amount of service customers like toyota or honda service departments.

a "veteran" mechanic at a subaru store can expect around 15/hr. for his labor.(maybe more) some dealers will negotiate your pay with you if you are good at what you do.

i worked for subaru kaneohe for 1.5 years. let's just say that i was able to buy 2 subarus and we just bought our 2nd home a couple of months ago(some of the money was from subaru) -

if i were you i'd check on the stocks and you can pretty much see that subaru is here to stay... and as long as we get corporate support from our dist.(like matching mainland specials) then we should be fine.

good luck on your search for a suby related profession. *on another note* keep in mind that schuman also has a retail outlet in kaimuki- called waialae subaru (under management of chris morley)




aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*

ej20boost

iTrader: (5)

well i got my electrical ASE and i am REALLY considering to be a tech(mechanic) for subaru, since i have been in the game for like 3.5 years. what i have heard from my friends in the mainland.......working on these cars are piece of cake comparing to what i am working on now(german cars). i know i might have to take a pay cut but i have not made any money and things at the shop has been really crazy(hard to explain). so i am looking into another dealer. thanks gdogg for the info..... i know being a salesman is money but i rather wrench. but there may be a possible chance that i may try it out. laters

p.s. are they still union? and also thought subaru of hawaii(kakaako) is just a part/service dealer?

gdogg

iTrader: (38)

i believe at one time, schumans workers were in a union... after the dissolve of their retail stores(caddy, buick, gmc)and their respective svc. dept. i'm not sure if pfleuger is required to hire these workers.

subaru of hawaii(which is distributor) also runs the parts brought into hawaii(that supplies our dealerships) - the service is a good question- i imagine it's a part of waialae -

it's a weird situation... you have a distributor(schuman or SOH) that also runs a retail outlet. not really an issue- but i'm sure the retail and wholesale are clearly separated.

at one time there was no such thing as an "open market" for subaru.(kinda like servco and it's hold of Toyota dealerships in hawaii) for those that are truly old school there was an old dealership called Al Takahata Subaru....
how do i know? that guy works with me at Honda Windward- he's semi-retired making easy money with us.

i'm sure joey(ditchhanger) may have more insightful info on the matter- since he has closer ties to chris morley(waialae subaru) who has been with schuman for many many years- the info i have may not be entirely accurate- but i think i covered most of the bases.




aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*

Ditchhanger

iTrader: (16)

Greg's pretty close to the mark. I beleive that some of the employees that did work for Schuman Carriage on Beretania are still there (George for example) and I think they are still union over there. As far as the service department and parts departments in Kakaako, they are not directly affiliated with Waialae Subaru, although I believe they are still owned by Schuman (I'll check in on that). When I asked Chris about getting parts from there, he mentioned he had no real "pull". The guy who was parts mgr. for Schuman Carriage that was George's boss is still the parts mgr or Subaru.

Retail and wholesale are separated, but Schuman still does have the distributorship as well as the retail outlet.

ej20boost

iTrader: (5)

thanks for your guys detailed info...... i probably go talk to the svc manager there and see where it goes.

shrieden

iTrader: (-1)

I also believe Subaru lands cars on the west coast. I believe at the port in Vancouver, WA. I remember when the first WRX's arrived I drove down and you could see them all parked up....it was great. So anyway, I think It might be a hair cheaper to get them here to Hawaii, you know, as they are on the way from Japan.

odzilla

iTrader: (2)

As of a couple of months ago Greg Henry(591-3076 or mainl line 591-3075) was head of parts at subaru of Hawaii in kakaako. Prices for stuff like filters were really reasonable ,about the same or a little better than when George was at schuman. When I spoke to him about items like spt suspension stuff he stated they were very competitive with mainland companies.

ej20boost

iTrader: (5)

ya i know..... he's da bomb! ahha actually both were really good on hookin up on parts. much props to both of them.

ej20boost

iTrader: (5)

i got my car in WA....... RENTON subaru. gave me a great deal. i know people in CARTER subaru are cool.<they hooked me up with a new trans(shipping was cheap to hawaii) lots of props to them!

shrieden

iTrader: (-1)

I bought my WRX from Joe Spitz at Carter Subaru in shoreline. That place is a step above anywhere I have ever dealt with. And I got several free meals at an expensive swanky on the SOund seafood resturant for referring guys to Joe .