Tennessee/N. AL Subaru Dealers

[xlr8]

Does anyone have either new Subaru purchasing or service department experience for any of the following dealers that are within a reasonable drive from my location:

Kelly Subaru - Chattanooga
Earl Duff Subaru - Harriman
Grayson Subaru - Knoxville
Jim Reed Subaru - Nashville
Darrell Waltrip Subaru -Franklin or
Landers McClarty Subaru - Huntsville, AL?

Would you care to share your experiences with these dealers? If you have purchase experience with these dealers, did you visit the dealer and negotiate in person or did you use the internet sales department at the dealership?

Thanks in advance for sharing!

[linkbelt1]

Grayson Subaru:

I got a 2011 Outback by using Seth Hart, internet manager.
I asked for an "out the door price" for the car I wanted.
I had done my homework, so I knew about what I would pay.
It took about 2 or 3 emails and the car was sold. I made a very small payment with my credit card to close the deal.
When I got to Grayson, the car was ready for a test drive and my approval.
All the paperwork was already made out to the penny, as per our agreement.
No attempt was made get me to buy anything extra. Everyone was very professional and knowledgeable.
I wrote them a check for the balance and drove away a very happy customer.

Earl Duff:

I only hear good things about them.

[amillion3]

Originally Posted by xlr8

Darrell Waltrip Subaru -Franklin

I know you are asking about purchasing a vehicle, but I'll throw in my $0.02.

I brought my car here (1.5 hour round trip) and the service I needed could not be performed. I left very unhappy and contacted the service manager the next week. After some apologies, they made the effort to send a porter to pick up my car for service and returned it the same day. In the end, I was pleased with their service department, despite their mistake.

[xlr8]

Originally Posted by amillion3

I know you are asking about purchasing a vehicle, but I'll throw in my $0.02.

Actually, I'm asking about both new vehicle purchases and also service experiences about these dealers, so any information that any are willing to share is much appreciated!

Thanks

[amillion3]

I can only comment on the two dealers here in middle TN, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

I also visited Jim Reed in Nashville to have the trans/coolant changed in my wife's Impreza. Service was fine, prices were okay (not great), and the time I waited seemed appropriate. They seemed to have a good selection of new/used cars as well (IIRC, better than Franklin Subaru). Service prices in Franklin were also cheaper, at least as far as I could tell (specifically, differential service cost).

My gripe was that the Nashville service department is only open M-F. Traffic can be a real nightmare heading into Nashville in the morning. I suppose you can circumvent this by going in the day/afternoon, but that does not work with my schedule. The dealer in Franklin has service open on Saturdays (a big plus in my book).

In the end, I would choose Darrel Waltrip in Franklin over Nashville.

[xlr8]

Thanks for the replies so far, anyone have experience with either the Chattanooga or Huntsville Subaru dealerships for sales or service?

[lashlee]

I purchased a 2012 2.5i Limited from Wallace Imports in Bristol. Great experience. My wife spoke with TC Baker over the phone and via email and got all of the details worked out. Once we made the trek (2.25 hours each way) the car was ready for our arrival. Our daughter needed to be fed and got fussy during the paperwork phase and the finance guy was very understanding and hurried the process as much as possible, thanks Charlie! We weren't pushed into any extra's that we didn't want or already discuss and we were in an out in about 2 hours. I will buy from them again if we get another Subie.

[xlr8]

Thanks for the info, glad that you had a positive experience. Any reason(s) why you choose Wallace over Grayson since you're from the Knoxville area? Just curious if you had a previous negative experience with this dealer.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

[lashlee]

I tried to deal with Greyson, with Seth Hart but he offered a car with fewer options and $1200 more expensive. I went to the lot multiple times and never got anyone who was willing to work with me. I also have a very good friend with a Legacy GT, and an older OB that also had a bad experience dealing with Greyson. I pleaded with Seth multiple times that I would rather stay local and he never gave me any reason to.

[frogholler]

We bought two new cars from Earl Duff in Harriman and have been very pleased with their service. One is a 2002 Forrester and the other is a 2009 Outback. We have always got a nice thank you card also after taking them in for servicing.