Avoid dealing with Joel (I think he is the sales manager). He will lie to you if given the chance. I asked to have the factory body side molding to be installed. It took a week for them to come in because, according to Joel, they had to be painted and shipping problems because it was the first of the year. They were installed by a shop they contract with (I took it there). When I got home I noticed that they were not the factory ones (my girl friend has a 2009). I called Joel and asked if they had changed in 2010 and he said yes. I have since checked and found that they had not and I'm stuck with a JC Whitney knock-off. I have sent numerous emails to the dealer with no response.
Port Motors, NY
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Well, I actually got the sales manager. But, after explaining how I was lied too, he just said, "Well, there is nothing we can do now, They are already on the car." I can't believe I paid $395.00 for just stock body side molding that cost about $100.00 at JC Whitney. I could have order factory ones from SubaruPartForYou for $188.00 and had them installed for $50.00 if I had known I was going to have this happen to me. I will not recommend this dealer to anyone. Funny. You go to their web site and they talk about one of their best points is their honesty,
Find out who the dealer principle/owner is and send them the details of your experience in this situation and copy Subaru Customer Relations, letting the principle know you are doing so.
The owner may take more interest in this matter than the sales department did when they made a few more bucks on the deal rather than giving the customer what they wanted. The dealerships claim at honesty probably did not originate at the sales level but at the dealer principles goal to do well in business.
There aren't many dealerships that I know of that have had the same sales force for many years, sounds like it may be time for a change and if you act maturely in your contacts with the dealer principle and Subaru I'll think you will get some satisfaction in the matter.
I've read here in the past that when contacting Subaru you can open a customer file registering complaints. Maybe someone can comment on this matter.
Good luck and let us know how things work out.
The owner may take more interest in this matter than the sales department did when they made a few more bucks on the deal rather than giving the customer what they wanted. The dealerships claim at honesty probably did not originate at the sales level but at the dealer principles goal to do well in business.
There aren't many dealerships that I know of that have had the same sales force for many years, sounds like it may be time for a change and if you act maturely in your contacts with the dealer principle and Subaru I'll think you will get some satisfaction in the matter.
I've read here in the past that when contacting Subaru you can open a customer file registering complaints. Maybe someone can comment on this matter.
Good luck and let us know how things work out.
I contacted Subaru Customer Service. They contacted the dealer who denied any wrong doing saying that I didn't make it clear what I wanted. I told customer service that both times I talked with Joel about the body side molding, someone was with me who could verify what I said. Anyway, I talked with customer service again last week and informed them that I had purchased the factory molding and had it installed (the original had to be removed). It cost me a total of $275.00. They called back a couple of days later and informed my that they (Subaru) would be refunding my original purchase price of $395.00.
Ok, I won the battle but not the war. It was Subaru that refunded the money, not the dealer. I feel the dealer should have to stand up and be honest with it's customers but they are not.
Ok, I won the battle but not the war. It was Subaru that refunded the money, not the dealer. I feel the dealer should have to stand up and be honest with it's customers but they are not.
Sales people are a dime a dozen, some stay a short time and others longer, they are still an employee of the dealer principal who may or may not know anything about this still. It's still likely Subaru dealt with the sales manager and not the owner.
Did you ever contact the owner of the dealership other than the sales department to make them aware of the situation and see what their response was or were all your dealings and correspondence with just the sales department and Subaru?
I see by their other poorly designed websites that there is no indication or information as to who owns them. Too bad that Subaru had to step up with some help. Hopefully they put this dealer under closer scrutiny in the future.
Do enjoy your Forester though, maybe post in the regional forum and see if someone can make any recomendations for someone else that you can go to if you need servicing or warranty.
Hope this helps:
David Baron-President
Morris Baron-Founder
Dennis Baqurian-Sales Manager
Daniel O'sullivan-Comptroller
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