New Legacy buying experiences? (rant included)

So far mine is abysmal.

 

Rant-story follows

 

 

It started two years ago when I read that famous Road & Track article that compared it with the TSX. I wanted it.

 

What really helped also is that my current car was developing mechanical issues.

 

I scheduled an informal test drive with the closest dealership in my area and made my way down there. I came in and the guy was on the phone on what appeared to be a gloomy personal call. He offered me a bottle of water which I declined and I sat in the waiting area while he was on the phone. 20 minutes later I look over and he's still on the phone with no signs of getting off soon. I walk towards another sales guy and he all but ignores me because he doesn't want to steal the other guy's sale I guess.

 

10 minutes later I leave without saying a word.

 

I get my car fixed up over the next week or so and it runs just like new ($1200 goes a long way let me tell you).

 

About a month after that I did end up going to another dealership with a very friendly sales staff and was actually able to go on a test drive, but unfortunately ended up deciding to wait a little longer before getting the car.

 

Fast forward two years to about a week ago. Thanks to my fiancee's encouragement (namely her new job that actually pays cashews instead of peanuts) I am now in the market for a Legacy GT again.

 

I get two quotes online from the very two dealerships that I dealt with before.

 

The first one is the one I decide to go with. (different sales guy) He says that he needs to bring the car in from another dealership (there apparently aren't very many -if any- Legacy GTs with manual transmissions on the lots around here) and for that I need to put down a $300 deposit. I said okay and wrote the check. He said "Have a good day" which was very disappointing.. I really was expecting a "Hey come look at what we do have - let me show you some of the features, etc.." but that didn't happen. My fiancee had to ask what color the car coming in would be - and if he could show us and that's the only thing that got him out of his chair.

 

He says the car will arrive Monday or Tuesday.

 

Those days go by. No call.

 

Wednesday I get an email asking me to call - I do and he says the car he was trying to get in was sold. What he doesn't explain is why he didn't relay this information to me earlier when he knew about it - or when he just was too lazy to check up on it. He offers to bring another car in from Pennsylvania if I didn't mind the extra mileage (let the lowest paid guy from a Pennsylvanian dealership drive my new car 100+ miles? WTF is this guy thinking?). I decline and ask for my $300 back - now deciding to go with the second dealership.

 

I kept emails going back and forth from the guy the whole time and he's happy to hear that I will be stopping by to lay down a $300 deposit on a factory ordered car. We piece it together and he says all the stuff I posted about in another thread about certain things not getting installed at the factory but instead at the dealership once the car is bought... Okay fine... whatever.

 

He says he'll call me first thing Monday morning to confirm everything before he orders.

 

I'm looking at my watch now and it's 12:30. This guy isn't taking me seriously at all and it's pissing me off. If I don't get a call -or even an email- by 7 tonight I'm going over there to talk to the manager.

 

I live in the Northern Virginia area.

 

Has anyone else had similar experiences with the places around here?

Yes, I have lost count of how many times I have had the same thing happen to me!! This is why dealerships get such a bad reputation. I also know it is hard if you live in a certain area that doesn't have a lot of Subaru dealerships and you have to drive far(and make an appointment) only to be ignored by a dumb ass sales person. Customer services is so simple. Just acknowledge the customer exist!!. "Hi, I will be right with you." That's it, then you go back to your personal call. At least the customer will not feel like your waisting their time. Buying/Leasing a car is a big step and the last thing you need is the salesperson jurking you around.

 

Be patient, not all of the Subaru Dealerships are run by jerks!! The LGT is a great car.

 

Good Luck.

Drive down to Harrisonburg. We got a decent dealship there.

The one in Harrisonburg might be ok now, but wasn't when I lived there some ten years ago (same place).

 

As for NoVa dealerships, good luck. Has to be one of the weakest regions IMHO. Check out fitzmall.com to keep the jerkies honest on pricing (no 5MT there either - my guess is the early '07 production is all auto's).

Although I didn't buy my OBXT at Bob Wade Subaru in Harrisonburg, I wish I had. Got it at Staunton Subaru and after the initial purchase was ignored when a few minor problems came up. Drove up to Harrisonburg and was treated like I had just bought the place. Friendly service and no run a round. When they had to keep mine for two days for warranty work/parts ordered, offered me a new Forrester loaner without my even having to ask for one. Had my wifes 2003 OB 30000 mile done there and no problems or overcharges. They get my business now even for minor purchases like filters.

Grumpy

The guy called me at ~3:30 and I had him order the car with little hesitation.

 

Hopefully he wont sit on it for days and forget about it.

 

I'll have to keep on him to make sure he's doing good things for me.

 

I definitely would have tried out the Harrisonburg dealership first had I known about their reputation (recent reputation at least ).

 

And I definitely will make a bee line down there if this guy disappoints me.

The Subaru dealership in Staunton is ok i have never had any problems there and i was there the other day and looked to have an ok selection of LGT's

We bought a 2000 legacy wagon in 2000 from the local dealer. In Dec 2004 we bought a 2005 legacy wagon from the local dealer, same salesman. At that time I considered keeping the 2000 or getting a sedan instead. Salesman didn't seem interested, he wanted to sell me an OB. Spring came early, I was riding the bike in Feb but I checked back with the dealership three more times. I wanted a GT Ltd sedan with no spoiler. "Sorry, they all come that way. Wouldn't you rather look at the Tribeca?" No, dude, I want a car, not another wagon.

 

The last time I asked, I had given up the no spoiler thing, but I wanted to spec my car. He was willing to order me a 2005 and luckily I procrastinated, because a week later I learned they were placing the dealership orders for the 2006MY so my new car would have already been old at that point. He didn't even offer to order me a 2006.

 

I went to Post Falls, ID, three hours away. They had what I wanted in a 2005 and were willing to order it in a 2006. It's nice to find someone willing to take your money AND get you what you want to pay for.

Initially I was ready to fly out to chicago to pick up my car because nobody had what I wanted around here. I eventually found one at sheehy.

 

The sales staff there was pretty nice, but very clueless. I walked in with a 15000 down payment and they refused to budge on the price. I think I ended up walking out twice with them calling me on the phone begging me to come back only to have them argue about the price some more. It wasnt until I told them I was booking my plane ticket did they finally come down.

 

Honestly I dont think it matters who the dealer is, I really havent had a good experience yet from any.

Use the Subaru website to check local inventories. Great tool for finding the car you want. When the dealer inventory shows one has arrived then call and start negotiating.

 

I have learned over the years to NEVER work with a dealer unless the car is on their lot. When the car is sitting on their lot they are much more responsive and you stand a better chance of getting a decent deal. Manuals are much harder to find. I found mine by checking the inventories of about 20 dealers (I was willing to drive to another state if I had to) and only two had LGT mt's on their lots. One of them was offering a decent price and trade on my old car and thats where I bought mine.

I did. They didnt show correct inventory. I always had to email or call directly to check. Even then though I didnt really believe it until i went there and touched it.

Use the Subaru website to check local inventories. Great tool for finding the car you want. When the dealer inventory shows one has arrived then call and start negotiating.

 

Every dealer inventory I looked at did not have a Legacy GT with a Manual transmission.

 

I looked at a LOT of inventories.

Every dealer inventory I looked at did not have a Legacy GT with a Manual transmission.

 

I looked at a LOT of inventories.

 

Well, I can tell you that the one I bought only sat on the dealer lot for a little over a week and the other dealers LGT I didn't buy was gone by the end of the 2nd week after they received it. I also started looking for an LGT mt5 about a year ago. At that time there was nothing available and so I backed off and just would check the dealer inventories every now and then. I was lucky in that I did not have any pressure to replace my then current car. When I went through the motions the first week in October I noticed the 2 dealers showing inventory and called to confirm and then visited the 2 dealers the next day.

 

On a side note - I was also interested in getting a Habanero Red Civic SI with Navigation. Now those cars are crazy crazy hard to get. When they show up with Nav the dealers go over MSRP - sometimes even $3k over MSRP - and yes - they have been getting it. That car makes getting the LGT mt5 seem real easy:icon_bigg

Jeeze youd have to pay me to buy a civic.

Rafferty Subaru in Newtown Square PA is a nice size dealership. They usually carry a decent amount of MT Legacys. Its a bit of a drive but you can get the car you want. Not an awesome dealership but they were easy to deal with when I bought. Bonus you get to break the car in on the way home... get used to it on some nice highway.

Every dealer inventory I looked at did not have a Legacy GT with a Manual transmission.

 

I looked at a LOT of inventories.

 

We have a NBP w/ taupe interior in stock. We've had it since 11/9...so just about a week now. PM me for a price