Beware Of Santa Monica Subaru

worst dealer experience ive ever had. period. when i called, they said if i brought it in wednesday (instead of the monday i wanted to drop it off on) it would be very slow, and would only take an hour to replace my wiper and a gas tank sensor. I got there, they said they'd finish it by the end of the day, not an hour. so i rearranged my life to accomodate, and get back to my office in west hollywood...called to check up, no answer. called at5:30 before they were closing, no answer. I called 4 times the next day...no answer, even with leaving messages to call me. I finally get a call at 4pm on the second day and they say they havent even touched it, and itll take another day. I drove over, picked up my car, called the guy a piece of shit, and drove away. I didnt want to be away from my baby for 2 hours, let alone 3 days. I was scared they totaled her or something... sorry to vent online.... please dont go there. the guys at long beach subaru seem nicer anyways... guess ill take the drive one day and get this damn check engine light off. that customer questionere should turn out quite interesting! lol

 

ps. they dont even have the facilities to wash the cars when they're done servicing them. wtf is that about.

Thanks for the heads-up. Are you a wagon or sedan? I saw a white or silver wagon going east on Redondo Beach Blvd towards the 110 fwy this morning. I was northbound on Vermont.

Give Reza a call, he's the internet sales manager at SMS and tell him what happened. He's a member of this board and he goes to the SFV meets, his SN is RezaLaleh. That is a very unacceptable customer service.

Heck, I've spoken to Reza at the SFV meet and even he said to steer clear of the service department at his dealership.

Speak to anyone in sales @ Santa Monica and they'll all tell you the same thing, which is a bit of a tough sell, IMO.

 

When it comes time for service, I'll load up the surfboard, head down to Irvine for my free lifetime oil change and surf while they take care of the car. This was Desiree's suggestion. She even said that she would give me her car to get to the beach!

 

-w-

dude, sm subaru has been mentioned many times on NASIOC. i even had a bad sales experience there. the kind that makes me wanna go back and say, "hey, look what i DIDNT buy from you!" LOL. but i think reza must be alright.

dude, sm subaru has been mentioned many times on NASIOC. i even had a bad sales experience there. the kind that makes me wanna go back and say, "hey, look what i DIDNT buy from you!" LOL. but i think reza must be alright.

 

OT - Where were you last Wednesday? You missed the action.

I had a similar experience with the SM Subaru service department. I literally stood in front of my car for 20 minutes waiting for a service manager to help me. A technician finally came over to assist me in finding someone for me. Right in front of me, and I swear that this is true, the technician tells a service guy that I'd been waiting for help, and upon hearing this the service manager looks over at me and tells the technician that he's still on lunch; that it wasn't his problem. What a frickin a-hole!! I will never go back there for service again which is too bad since I had a great experience with Reza and the Internet Sales Department.

OT - Where were you last Wednesday? You missed the action.

 

i know bro. i had been working from 10-9 and felt like crap after. i wouldnt have been good company anyways im there tomorrow tho.

im a silver sedan...wasnt me

hmmm...interesting....that is pretty bad rap when you got a thread started (with a few supporters already) claiming the service dept is bad...I mean..buying the car is one thing, I'd like to buy from someone that I can take the car back to (that'll smile back at me).....

I'm not supporting SMS but every dealership that has their own problems with the service reps. it's hard enough to negotiate a good deal when buying a car then you have to deal with service departments of any dealership. For mr the only reason for me to go to any dealer is for recall or warranty issues. I change my own oil and filter, and take my car to Suby Specialties in Monrovia for any works that need to be done in my car.

I'm not supporting SMS but every dealership that has their own problems with the service reps. it's hard enough to negotiate a good deal when buying a car then you have to deal with service departments of any dealership. For mr the only reason for me to go to any dealer is for recall or warranty issues. I change my own oil and filter, and take my car to Suby Specialties in Monrovia for any works that need to be done in my car.

 

Reza is great to talk to and he's pretty quick with replying to your questions and stuff...

 

 

Those guys at Suby Specialities are super busy!!!...gotta book an appointment like weeks ahead...how are their fees and length of time for services??

I never had any problems setting appoinments with them, as for fees they are cheaper than dealers and I just usually wait for my car.

I never had any problems setting appoinments with them, as for fees they are cheaper than dealers and I just usually wait for my car.

 

Sounds good...I've spoken to them before...nice guys...

So, I decided to roll the dice and take my LGT in to SMS for an oil change today. I've got the coupon book for service for the first 3 years, so I figured I'd give them a shot. I brought my own synthetic, so I was getting the oil change, oil filter, fluid check and tire rotation for free.

 

Set up the appointment yesterday, with the understanding that I was going to wait and wanted to be out ASAP. The guy I spoke with (didn't get his name), said if I showed up by 7:45 am, he'd have me out before 9:00 a.m. That sounded good to me, so I booked it.

 

Showed up this morning at 7:40 a.m. They did the work, no car wash (I don't know if they never do car washes, or they didn't do one because I wanted to be out so fast, but that was fine with me. Dealership car washes are always subpar anyways), and gave me my keys by 9:00 a.m. The only (minor) drawbacks were greasy fingerprints on the car (although some were already there from my kids) and I had to ask for my 6th quart of oil back (they didn't leave it in the car. I just considered that an oversight.)

 

So, even though it was only an oil change, I'll give them a thumbs up, and I'd be willing to go back for more minor service.

 

On a side note, taped up on the wall of every service rep's "office" was a memo from SoA stating how aftermarket performance products are bad, that Subaru service reps were not to install non-SoA-approved aftermarket parts, and if they did, pursuant to their contract with SoA, they would indemnify and hold SoA harmless if anything went wrong with the car or the install. SoA really is full of a bunch of tight-asses.

sleepingt,

 

really sorry about your bummer deal at SMS. Subaru drivers deserve better service and customer appreciation. too bad you're way too far for the dealership in Temecula. I've had nothing but the best treatment and service there. I hope things go (went) better at Irvine. Their service dept is even mod-friendly selling lots of aftermarket parts from brands other than STi