Performance Subaru, Chapel Hill, NC

[CarBuyer]

Subaru Dealership in Chapel Hill,NC was recommended by an associate. The dealership owner is very reputable but apparently he's not aware of how his employees lack of "Integrity & Accountability At All Levels" as stated in their Corporate Core Values have been compromised.

Initial contact with dealership sales rep was cordial as you would normally experience. After the test drive and follow-up negotiations, an agreed purchase price was met and order process was initiated. Promise of VIN number would be provided in a couple of weeks from order entry. Never heard back from the sales rep. so as a buyer, initiated the contact to find out the delay of providing a VIN number. Rep responded that one had not yet been provided and is checking into it "regularly." Twenty-eight (28) days had passed and no type of update or contact from the dealer rep. So once again I sent an email requesting update. Rep stated within the body of the email that as soon as the vehicle was built, a VIN would show up and estimated arrival date would be forwarded to me. Thirteen weeks had passed from order placement without ANY correspondence update from the rep and was not at all pleased with his lack of communication. So I initiated contact once again and another email was sent clearly stating the timelines and displeasure of how this rep was representing the dealership (mind you this person is supposedly their Senior Sales Rep). All of a sudden, I get a call the same day I sent my last email stating that the vehicle I ordered arrived. So after 13-weeks, the vehicle arrives without warning.

If the uncertainty of not knowing when a specifically ordered vehicle would arrive was not enough - here is the kicker: The sales rep calls back and informs me that the vehicle I ordered that had finally arrived is NOT as I specifically ordered. It has several more options installed which amounted to almost $2000.00 additional cost. Obviously they wanted me to pay for the additional options (classic bait and switch imo). Waited thirteen weeks for an incorrectly configured car. Their apologies (Manager/Rep) failed miserably at being sincere. Instead the manager begins to inform me of her years of experience in this business blah,blah, blah. There was never a question from me about their CV, this whole issue boiled down to how these EXPERIENCED folks screwed the deal. There is allot more to this "cluster ____" but I'll just leave it at that. Got my deposit back and have thus given my business to a deserving dealership.

Buyer Beware - you have been advised.

[bandit350]

interesting. i was looking at a vehicle at one of the charlotte dealerships (south blvd / concord) but they wouldn't move on the price. originally $22k and i offered above the tmv of $19k. wouldn't budge / couldn't budge. a week later down a grand, the next week $18.9k. i called back to see why they didn't call me and was told the vehicle had been purchased......

just saw it on performance's website for $24k (verified vin)! the car buying process sucks!

[2ohno]

Strange , I have nothing but good to say about these guys - The wife and I bought our 2010 Outback using the IMBA program . We found the car we wanted , but , it was sold so our salesman found a replacment and had it transfered in . The car they found , as it turns out , had some add on type stuff ,so , the threw that in ! We picked our car up 2 days after test driving one. Their service guys have been great also -

[xvimbi]

Forums like these tend to highlight negative experiences and thus will likely paint a skewed picture.

Having said that, my experience with performance Subaru is mixed. Generally, I have had very good service, prompt attention, good communication, and the occasional courtesy action free of charge.

However, I have also experienced the restrictions put on these guys. Specifically, when it came time to have my head gaskets replaced, I didn't get the support I was expecting when dealing with SoA.

Also, initially, I was told that they could easily pull the engine, which I wanted them to do for this job. When it came time to get the job started I ran into a wall though. My hunch is, because it was a partial warranty issue, they needed to follow SoA procedures, which specify that head gasket changes are done with the engine in the car. Pulling the engine is more work (but it makes the job easier), and so it's more costly for the dealer to carry out, because they are paid by job not by time. Also it turned out that there was only one mechanic who was willing to do the repairs with the engine pulled, but I was specifically discouraged to go that route.

So I declined to have this particular job done at that dealership (or any other dealership in the area for that matter, because their reactions were similar), but I will certainly consider them for other things that might show up in the future.