CHESTON

iTrader: (19)

I purchased my STI from them some weeks back. After already avoiding the Subaru dealership closest to me (thanks to negative reviews online), I decided to contact Carlsen Subaru which was the next closest but had positive reviews.

I dealt with Wayne Herron in the Internet department. Going in, I wasn't sure if I was ready to purchase the vehicle or not--it all depended if they were going to give me a good price on my trade and also for selling the car. After taking time to look at the car and doing a walk-around, we sat down to begin negotiating. They started off at $1K over invoice, but we eventually got down to $500 over, which I consider to be a fair deal. I admit they made money on my trade-in, but I did not feel like advertising and waiting around for a buyer. All in all, the negotiation itself took only like 30 minutes! Wayne was pleasant, no pressure, and took his time to explain things and answer my questions.

Driving the car home, as with most new car owners, I was ecstatic. However, in the next day, my good feelings turned quite sour as my "I/C spray" light in the dash lit up. I filled it back up before a drive and came home...only to find that after I parked, that WATER WAS DUMPING OUT OF THE DRIVER'S FRONT AREA. I was like, "WTF?!?!?" After checking that it wasn't coolant, I soon found out that the I/C spray tank in the trunk was already empty. I popped the hood and traced some of the water lines and I found a hole in one. The next day I promptly called my Wayne and then scheduled an appt. with service.

10 days after bringing the car home, I bring the car into the service department. After an inspection, the service adviser (SA) asks me to go to the service bay to look at the car.
SA: "Your I/C spray hose has holes in it"
Me: "I know, I showed you where I taped it up."
SA:"No, I mean that the entire line is pretty much chewed up. It appears that a mouse or rat has been in your engine bay chewing up the hose. It's not covered under warranty."
Me: (thinking 'oh HELL no, you ain't sticking this charge on me') "Well, I just bought the car. I told my salesman right after I found it and made an appt. with you. Besides, it was a dealer trade."
SA: "If you can wait a little longer, I'll speak to Wayne. Because this is animal damage and not a defect, this is not considered warrantiable work. Since it's not a warranty issue, someone needs to pay for it. If Wayne says that the sales department will cover it, then it will be taken care of. Otherwise, you will need to pay for it."
Me: "Fair enough. But if I end up paying for this, I will raise hell..."

A little later, I get the news. Wayne pulls me aside and tells me that they WILL cover it. He remembers the fact it was a dealer trade and it came from a dealership in the countryside. That's what I call CUSTOMER SERVICE. They could have tried denying me, but I'm glad they did the right thing. If I did something to my car that was my fault, I have no problem owning up to it. But for something that wasn't under my control, and it was GIVEN to me that way--No Way.

+1 for Carlsen Subaru, and +1 for Wayne Herron, Internet Sales.

knight

Wayne was definatly awesome i got my sti from him very straight forward an good deal.

BlingBlingBlue

I bought my WRX from Wayne Herron in March of 2001 and had a fantastic experience. He let me drive a 2.5RS for about an hour in December of 2000. I was ready to write a check for it that day, and he had the decency to tell me that the 2002 WRX would be available in the states by mid to late March, so I put a deposit down instead of buying a car. A huge thumbs up to Wayne at Carlsen!

Irishdude

iTrader: (3)

Another +1 for Carslen. I travelled down from Santa Rosa to buy my car there and very pleased with the dealings with them.. Fair Play Carlsen

WRX409

This is the only place I would purchase a Subaru in CA from.
www.timmonssubaru.com