Okay, what should I do?

On January 31st I bought a new 07 Legacy GT. I ordered every option for it in November of 2006. (Late edit: The reason I had to order it was there were 0 MT LGTs within 100 miles of where I live - MT is very necessary for me, so when I ordered it I ordered it with everything).

 

My salesman told me that out of all the options being installed, the bumper corner molding, the front license plate bracket, and the performance gauges absolutely could not be installed at the factory, and only at the dealership.

 

Of course, installing these items at the dealership costs me money. About $700 total in labor charges.

 

Initially I didn't care because the overall price was less than what I expected to pay.

 

However, after a month since I bought the car I still did not have those dealership installed items. I emailed my sales guy and he said he needed to check with his sales department.

 

No response after that.

 

About three weeks later I brought the car in for an oil change. My sales guy wasn't there at the time, but another one there said that the parts were never ordered in the first place. However the molding and the bracket were in stock.

 

Okay. They got installed, but I'm still missing my $600+ performance gauges (plus ~$300 installation).

 

It was a Thursday, he said he ordered them and they should be in by Tuesday, and that my salesman would call me as soon as they were in.

 

Well, Friday I still didn't have any emails/voicemails so I emailed my sales guy asking for a full refund on the gauges. An hour later I emailed SOA about the entire issue.

 

Subaru resonds Monday saying they will call me today (which they didn't).

 

Now yesterday I got an email from my sales guy about the performance gauges. He asked me when the best time to come in to get them installed would be.

 

I want the gauges. I ordered them because I want them. However two+ months I think is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for them to arrive.

 

In addition, I have a 20% off coupon for all accessories including the gauges that my salesman said could not be applied because they were already paid for. Which really p's me off because at this point, there's no difference in me ordering the gauges with the car, and ordering them a month after I buy it when I get the coupon.

 

Basically, what I want to know is your advice - if I should pursue SOA for some sort of customer happiness compensation, or if I should pursue the refund (and use the coupon somewhere else), or if I should just simply get the gauges installed (which I already paid for) and not dealing with the stress of trying making things right between customer/Subaru. The bad thing about the last option is that I already have nearly 5,000 miles on my car now. If they were installed today they still would only be covered in the bumper to bumper warranty to 36,000 miles. From what the 2nd helpful sales guy told me, it would only be covered for the mileage of the car - not the mileage of the gauges.

 

PS: Regardless this is the last new Subaru I ever buy. This has been a very poor experience thus far. Since SOA told me they will call me on Wednesday and they didn't - it's over. It's one thing for the sales guy to screw up, but if SOA does the same thing then it gives me a bad impression about the entire operation.

Wow man, sorry to hear about your luck.

 

If it were me, I wouldn't give another damn dime to that dealership. I would return everything and look for aftermarket stuff. I believe the guage pack reads in BAR anyway and IMHO, that sucks. You can get aftermarket guages and put them on your A-pillar which looks way cooler anyway - any you get to keep your cubby.

 

$700 in labor for stick on bumper guard, a couple holes drilled for the license plate bracket, and guage installs is high. Go aftermarket. You'll get better quality stuff and professional installation for less money. Good luck in whatever you decide...but stay away from THAT DEALER!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that you shouldn't take it out on the car because your dealership sucks. These cars really are awesome and you can't beat them for the price/value.

 

I would pursue compensation through SOA also as long as it doesn't take up too much of your time. A couple emails and you might get something accomplished. BTW, don't count SOA out yet because of one blown phone call. There may have been extenuating circumstances on their end or it may have been your fault somehow...like a dead phone battery, etc.

it may have been your fault somehow...like a dead phone battery, etc.

Haha I made sure that my battery was charged and that the cell phone was on where I could hear it. They never called.

 

 

Sidestory: After reading what I wrote to SOA through their form I saw some missing sentences. I called the number they said to call to change/add things and I did just that. When the guy corrected my email for me, he confirmed my phone number - and had it wrong. He said a 6 when there should have been a 0. So I'll call them tomorrow morning because it's very possible the original person assigned my case called the wrong number.

Haha I made sure that my battery was charged and that the cell phone was on where I could hear it. They never called.

 

 

Sidestory: After reading what I wrote to SOA through their form I saw some missing sentences. I called the number they said to call to change/add things and I did just that. When the guy corrected my email for me, he confirmed my phone number - and had it wrong. He said a 6 when there should have been a 0. So I'll call them tomorrow morning because it's very possible the original person assigned my case called the wrong number.

 

Good, I'm glad that they didn't just blow you off then.

 

What do you think about going aftermarket?

I think aftermarket is a perfectly feasible idea. I like the cubby. When I put my sunglasses in upside down they stay there - and are easy to put on.

 

And it doesn't help that there's almost zero storage room throughout the rest of the car. There's so many places where I've thought about mounting small cups for change because quarters for car washes just don't fit in that thing below the stereo (not to mention when you press it it takes for ever to open on its own).

 

And as far as SOA not blowing me off - well it's still possible they didn't call me. I did correct my phone number with that guy - and he said he updated it. Obviously it's still possible my "case dealer" didn't get the update but I'm keeping both possibilities in my head.

I think aftermarket is a perfectly feasible idea. I like the cubby. When I put my sunglasses in upside down they stay there - and are easy to put on.

 

And it doesn't help that there's almost zero storage room throughout the rest of the car. There's so many places where I've thought about mounting small cups for change because quarters for car washes just don't fit in that thing below the stereo (not to mention when you press it it takes for ever to open on its own).

 

And as far as SOA not blowing me off - well it's still possible they didn't call me. I did correct my phone number with that guy - and he said he updated it. Obviously it's still possible my "case dealer" didn't get the update but I'm keeping both possibilities in my head.

 

LOL, I put my sunglasses in there too! I am going to build a CarPC at some point so I will lose my cubby when I install the monitor :-(

 

I have a sure fire way to get around the "no quarter storage" issue. USE CASH IN THE COIN CHANGER MACHINE WHEN YOU GET TO THE CAR WASH!!

after closing the sale, you'll find most salesman will forget your name pretty quickly......

 

during the close of the sale, the salesman will promise you the moon and the stars, just to get the deal done---that's called a "soft close", but when push comes to shove, you've already taken delivery, the guy got paid for the deal and now you're on the back burner.......

 

this happens all the time, as crappy as that sounds.....

 

if it were me, i would demand my money back, buy the parts you want else-where, perhaps using LGT forum disounts/group buys ect, and have some fine folks from this site help you get them installed.......

 

that's the best part about this place, you're never alone when it comes to your ride; i'm positive that there is someone on here who has installed performance gauges and can help you do the same......

.....and put them on your A-pillar.....

The problem is, you made the first mistake. Never take delivery on a car unless everything is installed. In many situations, this has always caused more problems.

 

Unfortunately SOA can only do so much over a dealer problem.

I would continue to email SOA directly. They can and will help you out. I had a problem that required my car to be in the shop for like 2 months, and the SOA guys gave me a free extended warranty to 100,000 miles as compensation for my inconvenience. Not bad.

 

Also, the prices for the optional equipment include installation. If they are charging you additional install fees, they're screwing you. Make sure you emphasize that they are charging additional install fees when you talk to SOA. That'll get the dealership in a ton of trouble.

Stay with SOA if the dealership keeps giving you the run around,,they can compensate you.Believe me, I know.

What dealership is this, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Thanks!

Unfortunately SOA can only do so much over a dealer problem.

Which is pretty much what I found out today. Going to have to go through the dealership to get a refund.

 

My "I don't want to be a pain in the ass, but" argument: The gauges are only covered to 36,000 miles on the car. My car currently has 4800 miles on it. If they can extend the warranty on the gauges to 40,800 miles then I will get them installed. If they can't I want a refund.

What dealership is this, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Thanks!

 

I must say that this isn't a dealership problem - but instead a salesman problem.

 

The one thing he did right was order my car back in November - I can give him credit for that.

I must say that this isn't a dealership problem - but instead a salesman problem.

 

The one thing he did right was order my car back in November - I can give him credit for that.

 

It is a dealership problem. If it was a bad sales guy, he would be long gone. Looks like you need to go over his head and talk to the manager.

It is a dealership problem. If it was a bad sales guy, he would be long gone. Looks like you need to go over his head and talk to the manager.

Yeah, things definitely need to be discussed. I'm a little nervous about it though.

 

IAlso, the prices for the optional equipment include installation. If they are charging you additional install fees, they're screwing you. Make sure you emphasize that they are charging additional install fees when you talk to SOA. That'll get the dealership in a ton of trouble.

 

Well, when I asked SOA about this she kept saying "Well I don't know how they included it into the overall price of the car." And I'd say "Yes, they included the price of the labor for the three accesories that could only be installed at the dealership in the overall price of the car." and she would say "Yeah that's.... how they did it." so basically SOA gives dealerships leeway in how they milk customers for the extra money that they "save" them on the initial quote.

 

To anyone buying a new Subaru, if the salesman starts charging you labor charges for the accessories TELL HIM/HER NO, you don't want the accessories. When you get the car, you'll get a 20% off coupon about a month later. Get your accessories installed then.

My car didn't have the subwoofer or the autodimming mirrors - and the dealer installed them for free, just charging me for the parts.

 

As for the dealership, at this point, go strait to the manager.

 

 

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To anyone buying a new Subaru, if the salesman starts charging you labor charges for the accessories TELL HIM/HER NO, you don't want the accessories. When you get the car, you'll get a 20% off coupon about a month later. Get your accessories installed then.

 

Optional equipment that is factory installed and is listed on the mfg window sticker don't have labor charges. Anything not on that list can inccur labor charges. If the car didn't have a guage pod and you want one, they install it at the dealer and you will get charged for it. But you can negotiate accessory and labor charges when you buy the car. You can get a better deal than the 20% coupon. Things like the guage pod has about 3 hours of labor, you can get them to do the install for free but you pay retail on the guage pod. If you do it later, while you might get 20% off the guage pod, now you have to eat that labor charge, 3 hours is about $300.

 

The problem you are dealing with is because you took delivery of an incomplete car. You should never have driven off with the car without having everything installed first. If you told them you are not taking delivery and pay for the car until everything is installed, that guage pod would have been there the next day.

The problem you are dealing with is because you took delivery of an incomplete car.

 

When I initially ordered the car I was told then and there (in November) that the gauges (and molding and bracket) would need to be installed at the dealership and I was quoted the total price of the car at that time too. It included the labor charges - and I agreed to it. It was also established that those accessories would be installed after the car arrived and I bought it - the only way to avoid it was if I bought the car before I test drove it and it could be installed upon delivery (they would have ordered the parts before the car arrived - as they would have already had my money). Another option would have been for me to pay for the car, and then leave it on their lot for a week while the parts arrived so they could install them (well, 3 business days). And my reasoning was: Why? If they did their job that wouldn't be necessary. So don't try to put the blame on me.

 

The parts weren't ordered like they were supposed to be - and after that the salesman didn't do his job of checking up on them. That's the problem. I did what I needed to do as a customer with 10x the patience of anyone else I know.

 

 

EDIT: Also regarding the labor charges - my reasoning was since they quoted me below invoice they had to make up their money somehow. Everyone needs to make a living and I respect that need. Had the parts come in a reasonable amount of time, I would not have an issue with the labor charges (I respect you making a living - when you do your job). And again, after talking with SOA my reasoning was right and there's nothing against policy with what they did.

You don't know car salesman. Your situation happens all the time. Once money and car change hands, the sales guy doesn't give a sh!t about you, which you are finding out now. Once you paid for the car and drive it off the lot, the sales guy already got his commission. Any further work he does won't earn him more money. That's just the nature of the business.

Goodluck with this Crawdaddy. I hope it works out for you.

Goodluck with this Crawdaddy. I hope it works out for you.

Yeah me too.

 

I'm trying to schedule a meeting with the sales manager through my salesman. Sent him an email today. If I haven't heard from him by noon tomorrow I think I'll drive up there.

Did you pay with a credit card cause you can get a credit through you card vs the dealership on basis Product(s) not recieve and there must be another sub dealer around you to deal with or certified sub repair shop. Shit happens move on learn from it- unless your efforts are base on the principal of it all then goodluck.

What a joke...I hope you get your money back then you can get what you wnat for less$$.

 

That is bad business....