[kst8er]

St. Louis, MO
- Webster Groves Subaru--bought '96 OBW 5-speed, just wanted a sale, didn't follow through with "promises"....have only purchased parts from them recently, would rate @ C- (even the parts guy(s) has a chip on his shoulder)

- Lou Fusz--took the '96 OBW for service(s), would rate service @ B+....also took my '02 OBS H6 there for service(s) as well, again would rate @ B+

Springfield, MO
- Reliable Subaru--boy, don't really want to get started here...you guys would probably delete most of what i have to say about Reliable sales, finally had to send letter to owner & contact Subaru to get dealer to react...as they say, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything"....sales would get rating of ZERO (again won't go into detail unless someone contacts me outside of this forum)....did have service done on '96 OBW, would rate service @ C, mainly because they seem to be rather slow

My $0.02 worth

 

[Kevin]

Although I've not purchased a vehicle from any of the four St. Louis dealerships as of yet, I'm still in the process and would like to comment on my dealings so far with the sales staff and management of said dealerships.

Dean Team Subaru - Ballwin, MO: HIGH pressure sales staff, a place I will NEVER go back to let alone consider doing business with. From having been in auto sales and dealership management I saw though all of their negative and unprofessional ways in trying to force a sale. Very transparent to me but I do think many average consumers who try to deal with them may be lulled into a false sense of security. Too many things went wrong when I was there, I left and thought it was a total waste of time to even have considered dealing with the Dean Team.

Webster Groves Subaru - Webster Groves, MO: Very reasonable to deal with and offer many perks if you buy from them (ie free oil for life with purchased vehicle,etc). I have dealt with Raymond Johnson who is an incredibly good salesman, he knows his stuff and has never put any pressure on me to close a deal. Raymond is perhaps the most persistent salesman I've ever known of, he likes to know all your details so to best accomodate you.

Lou Fusz Subaru St. Louis - Creve Coeur, MO: A solid dealership, I've dealt with Sean Kernan who has as much knowledge of Subaru as ANYONE I've ever known of. A very nice gentleman who is very honest and respectful. The only fault I've found with this dealership is that they have to run all their paperwork though their Mazda dealership, which normally is not a bad thing as they are a large dealership network. The only issue is that if the management is tied up with Mazda dealership business the Subaru business has to wait.

Lou Fusz Subaru - St. Peters, MO: Much like the other Lou Fusz dealer only that they have a finance manager on site. I've been working with Rich Stull who is a great salesman and very knowledgeable. If I can credit him with one thing moreso than the other aforementioned salesmen I've mentioned is that he works quickly and does everything to accomodate you. Thats not to say that they others have not done so in dealing with me, I just like the way Rich has dealt with me more than the others. He does business much I like did when I was in auto sales so it makes it easy for me to relate to him.

Overall at this point I'd be more than happy to work a deal with any of the salesmen I've mentioned. I'll post an update when I actually do end up closing a deal on the 2010 Outback I want. The best advice I can give to anyone looking into buying a vehicle from a St. Louis area Subaru dealer is to STAY AWAY FROM DEAN TEAM SUBARU. This is just my personal opinion after having spent 4 straight hours with them attempting to work a deal.

 

[subaruwest]

I completely agree with your reviews for Webster Groves and Dean Team, Mylläri. I went to both to test drive potential Subarus, and Dean Team was unbelievably pressuring. They would not let me walk out the door! I won't go back there either. On the other hand, Webster Groves was fabulous. Incredibly nice people that let you mind your own business but more than happy to help should you want it. I'll be going to Webster Groves tomorrow to test drive a 2010 just for kicks.

 

[Kevin]

For the record, I just purchased a new 2010 Outback from Webster Groves Subaru yesterday (11/30/09). What a great experience! I can't complain about anything, I did have to wait to get the deal done but that was only due to the fact that they were incredibly busy yesterday. Can't blame them for going so much good business suppose

I purchased my OB from Raymond Johnson and let me tell you that after about a year of him dealing with me, he is among the best salespersons I've ever dealt with. A true professional with such an immense knowledge of the vehicles he sells that he was able to tell me, the Outback Overlord, stuff I had no prior knowledge of whatsoever. And I thought I had this thing all figured out!

So WGS was able to get me the exact Outback I wanted and accomodate all my needs as far as pricing goes. I highly recommend the dealership to anyone interested in buying a vehicle in the St. Louis area.

 

[vfrav8r]

The nightmare Dean Dream team on Manchester road needs improvement. The service manager is a coward or perhaps lazy- and avoids customers with reoccurring problems. I'm not interested in survey's, what I'm into is a Subaru that isn't a rolling Toyota/GM problem. Plus, the coffee is lousy and the service drive up is confusing, well it's missing. Oh, and the service advisors like to play dumb and have no knowledge of how a Subaru operates. Bottom line, the simplest repair could send you down the street to the Lexus dealer for an improved experience.

 

[reddplanet]

Anyone have any more recent input on this? I know not to go anywhere near Dean, for any make. But I've had good experiences with Fusz for other makes.

 

[BadAV]

I shopped Lou Fusz St. Peters about a year and a half ago when I was making the purchase of my '13. They would not deal with me; it was the Sales Manager, not the Salesman. I really wanted to buy my vehicle there. I have purchased multiple vehicles from various Lou Fusz dealerships in the past and have had good experiences with them. That said, I am not too happy with Lou Fusz Dodge in O'Fallon. We ordered the wife's 2014 Charger there; when we had a warranty problem with it that we knew up front was going to require an overnight stay they said they don't give loaners. BIG mistake with me, as I will never buy another new vehicle from any Lou Fusz dealership.

I also looked at Webster Groves, with Raymond, and as indicated he was extremely professional and persistent with followups. They simply would not deal on my trade-in.

I ended up purchasing at Dean Team and had no issues with high pressure sales. It may have something to do with my father being in sales all of his life and I simply will not put up with high pressure sales tactics.

I do my own service so I wasn't too concerned about their service department and intended to use Lou Fusz St. Peters for any warranty work that may need performed. 27k miles later I've been to Lou Fusz twice - once for a recall and once to have a non-functioning auto-dimming rear view mirror replaced. They are a small dealership, with a small service department. All of the people I have dealt with have been extremely helpful and friendly.

I received a phone call from the Lou Fusz salesman a few weeks after I purchased at Dean Team; he indicated they had a new Sales Manager who was willing to deal. I told all of the dealerships when I first walked in the door that I had already done my homework, knew where I needed to be on a bottom-dollar number in order to be willing to make a trade, that I wasn't in a hurry to trade, and that I would simply keep driving my current vehicle (a 3LT 2007 Corvette coupe) if they couldn't meet my number. I left $500 on the table at Dean Team that I really didn't want to give; the other 2 dealerships wouldn't come within $3000.

 

[BadAV]

St. Louis, MO
Springfield, MO
- Reliable Subaru--boy, don't really want to get started here...you guys would probably delete most of what i have to say about Reliable sales, finally had to send letter to owner & contact Subaru to get dealer to react...as they say, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything"....sales would get rating of ZERO (again won't go into detail unless someone contacts me outside of this forum)....did have service done on '96 OBW, would rate service @ C, mainly because they seem to be rather slow

I've read many recent highly negative reviews about all of the Reliable Springfield dealerships.

 

[MikeB_30]

I've read many recent highly negative reviews about all of the Reliable Springfield dealerships.

I stopped at the Subaru dealer in Springfield to grab a part when we were visiting my folks when we were down from Iowa. Was not super impressed with the people or the dealership. Felt like I was walking into somebody's back alley garage and interrupting their BS session...

 

[mlsstl]

I recently purchased a 2015 Outback from Webster Groves Subaru. Like several others in this thread, Raymond Johnson was my salesman and I was impressed with his combination of knowledge and low-pressure sales style. He did keep in regular contact over the six months I took to decide which of several cars I wanted but was never pushy.

I had to order my car to get what I wanted but I felt the price was quite fair considering the number of test drives and the time I took before buying. WGS was very accurate regarding how long it would take my car to arrive. When it came in and I picked it up, the paperwork end of things went smoothly and quickly (I had no trade). They did let me know about the extended warranty options but, again, there was no pressure to buy.

Overall, a very good car buying experience.

 

[gettinlm]

Ironically, I have found Dean Team in St. Louis/Ballwin to be one of the best dealerships we've visited. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Granted, we have not made our purchase yet. Also, I see they are rated the highest in the area on dealerrator.com. Maybe they've changed up their staff recently?

 

[szap]

Dean Team - Never again ! !

Several years ago I had a negative experience with A Dean Team hyundai dealership where they used every used car saleman tactic in the book. It is the most convenient dealership for us to go to so when we're in the new car market, we thought we would give them another chance . The salesman that we dealt, John, was very low pressure and made the buying experience very pleasant. They accepted the Edmunds.com price that I had no problem. We made the deal and purchased a 2016 outback. Thought that maybe I needed to change my mind about Dean Team. But then we met with the finance person , Justin, who took advantage of our lack of knowledge to sell us an extended warranty for $2100. Learned later that most other dealers were selling the same warranty plan $1100. We just purchased a new vehicle from them and they had no qualms about selling us the warranty for $1000 more than dealers we didn't even know. We did cancel the warranty and now remember why we had stayed away from Dean Team. Any dealership that would treat paying customers like this is one to stay away from.

 

[JNR]

I have dealt with the Dean's in Ballwin and kirkwood since the early 90's and have purchased 13 cars from them. They can be sharky if you don't build a relationship and in the early 90's I think that was easier to do. I never had any issues with their service group, but I did a lot of my own maintenance and traded vehicles a lot so never really relied on them so to speak.

Three of my five Subarus were purchased new from Deans but my last new Subaru (a gutless 2013 crosstrek)was purchased from Lou Fusz subaru in St.Peters. I have to say they are a great group of folks. As someone else noted earlier, Rich Stull is a great sales guy to work with. I shopped Deans against Fusz and Rich won me over with his genuine easy going personality and full disclosure approach. Lou Fusz in St.Peters also has great service and parts departments so for me in the near term anyway my loyalties have shifted to them.