KingPrat
New member
This is a very long post, and I apologize for the length. There's just no better way to tell it. This is my story, still ongoing, of buying my 2004 T4R at a local dealer near Hartford.
I have been living in one of the levels of hell since I stepped foot into Suburban Subaru on 9/5. I was driving by on my way to get some photos made up, and caught sight of my truck. On my way home, I stopped in and walked over to check it out. It was very clean, V8, Sport Edition. Everything I wanted, but there were no window stickers up on it anywhere.
I ventured inside to ask for some information on it. I was directed to Ted, who seemed skittish and incredibly energetic. I pegged him for 50, maybe a bit younger. He brought up the information, and it was an incredible price, and had very low miles, 49k. He pulled it up, I looked it over close, and took it for a test drive. I was very happy with it, and left him with my business card so he knew I was a bit serious about the car. While I was there, he told me about his experience and claimed he was diligent about customer service and phone calls and said all of the right things. Little did I know...
That day at work, I kept going over reasons why not to buy it, and I struggled coming up with them. I realized that after almost a year of looking and working on saving, I had to pull the trigger.
I went back to the dealer, and Ted has the keys on the desk. I asked him if I could take it out again, he obliged, and we went out on the highway. Satisfied, I left him with a $200 deposit. After getting the funds in order, I called him back 2 days later, told him we were a go, and gave him a list of things I wanted sorted out before I picked it up. He told me he was with a customer, but he'd run it by the service manager and he'd call me back later that afternoon. He never did. That was Friday.
I called him Saturday afternoon and left a voice mail, just requesting him to follow up with me. Again, Ted never called me back. I was annoyed, but not too badly.
On Monday I called my insurance company for a quote, and worked through the numbers. My agent told me that she needed the lender information for my loan, and she could start the policy at any point. I hung up and dialed Suburban, and left a VM for Ted. Again, I received no response. Now I was annoyed, especially because it would be a 30 second phone call and easily taken care of. One piece of information!
Tuesday goes by, and hear nothing from the dealership. I made no calls that day. On Wednesday, one week after I left the initial deposit, I received a text message that read: "Ted Voisine Suburban Subaru. Your 4Runner is ready, when would you like to pick up?" I was floored that his first contact with my is by text, but I decided to respond minutes later. I asked him to call me, that I needed lender information for insurance so that I could take delivery. I then called and left a VM with the same information. Again. No call back. Now I'm pissed.
So, Thursday hits, and I leave work early that day to go to the dealer. I figure if I can't get the info I need by traditional methods, I need to take the bull by the horn. It was Ted's day off (which I knew) but I had my answers within 5 minutes of walking in the door. Not too difficult. I had sold my Jeep and was delivering it on Saturday, so I left a note for Ted that I wanted to set up delivery for the same day. I called my insurance agent with the lender info and had the active date set for 9/15.
Friday, Ted finally calls! We set an appointment for 3pm on Saturday and all looks good. I had all of the funds ready and just needed to sign the paperwork and I would be the happy owner of the lowest mileage vehicle I had ever owned, let alone the first time having a car in my name. I was happy. It was short-lived.
Saturday rolls around, I have a few meetings in the morning, and head out with a buddy to deliver my Jeep. The guy who bought it lived 10 minutes from the dealer, so I offered to drop it off. Transaction went smooth, I deposited money in my account and got to the dealer. We went through the paperwork, I signed up for a 3/36000 mile service plan, and I was on my way. During the meeting, we discussed registration, and I explained that it was a new reg, not a transfer, and that it was impossible to transfer the old regi to new. I also explained that I needed the plates by Thursday, so that I could have photos taken of the truck for insurance purposes. They took note, took my money, and sent me on my way.
Was very excited to be driving away, and about 20 miles away from the dealer, I looked down at the gauges. My eyes fell onto the gas gauge, and to my surprise, it was almost on E. After an $84 fill up, I made sure to save my receipt. Smart.
So - Fast forward through the weekend. I'm very excited about my purchase, went home to show off to my family, etc. I get to Tuesday, and started to get a bit worried about the plates, hadn't heard anything. So I called, and got Ted on the phone. I explained the situation, and puts me on hold. He came back and explained that there had been an issue with the paperwork, and submitted the request as a transfer, not a new registration. I became a bit annoyed, especially since that was a specific conversation when I picked the car up. He said that I would have my plates by Saturday, or Monday at the latest. So, I made a call to the insurance company to have the deadline extended to accommodate. The woman I spoke to said she couldn't help me, and my agent had to call underwriting directly. Then proceeded to explain that if the pictures weren't in on time, they would drop coverage and I was subsequently lose my car.
Needless to say, I freaked out a bit. I called my agent and explained the gaffe, but at that point it was 4pm and underwriting was closed. She said she would follow up the next day. I was fuming. Not sure why a registration was such a big issue for the dealership. It's a pretty big place, and must sell dozens of cars a week. Why is my deal so screwed up? My agent called me the next day and told me she had it extended to 9/26 (tomorrow).
So, on Friday, I was talking to a buddy and explaining the situation. He works for AutoTrader, and the dealer happens to be an account of his, so he sent me the link to contact the GM and owner. I fill out the form, explaining the situation, and said how I was insulted that the gas tank was empty, etc.
This is where things got interesting.
Isaac, my boy, the sales manager. He calls me up about 10 minutes later. Expecting a phone call that was exploratory in nature, I was calm and relaxed, but quickly came to find that he had no intention of being civil. He proceeded to berate me over the phone, claiming that he didn't believe a word I said, that Ted was his best guy, etc. He also claimed that I had missed an appointment to pick the 4Runner up, that it had been ready for a week, and it had been sitting out front "forever."
After I regained myself from a state of shock, I proceeded to put him in his place. I strongly dislike being called a liar and my integrity questioned. I poked holes in every one of his claims, and told him that you cannot have an appointment if someone never calls you back. I also reminded him that I was a paying customer, and not some schmuck off the street. He reeled back, and listened to me after my rant, and we proceeded to have a decent conversation for 3 minutes. Before ending the conversation, he attempted to turn it back on me and once again was confrontational. I once again reminded him how I felt about his position, and left it at that.
I followed up with an email, in which I attached the receipt for the fillup on the day I picked it up, and CC'd the GM on the email. Lane called me later that morning, in what sounded like a state of shock. He had read my initial email, and then saw the follow up with Isaac. Not sure he left a single sentence without apologizing. He seemed like the first person I spoke to there who was halfway competent. He told me that he would follow up and do some ground work, and get back to me. We spoke again in the afternoon, and he offered me free oil changes, service, etc to try to ease the tension.
I spent the weekend with the lady friend, and kind of forgot about the whole thing, which was nice. Monday came through, and about 2pm I realized I hadn't heard anything about my plates. At 4:30 yesterday, I made a call to Ted asking for an update, and left a VM. He didn't call me back.
So today I called and spoke to Lane, and explained that I was told my plates would be in yesterday. He said he would figure out what was going on, and get back to me. 10 minutes later, he calls, and opens with "Well, I have bad news. We had a paperwork snafu." Turns out it was the same paperwork "Snafu" that they had 5 days ago, and it hadn't been rectified with the agency getting my plates. I flipped my lid. I told him he had 2 options - either I had my plates tomorrow, or I had the registration and tax money, and all the paperwork needed and I'd do it myself. Told him to call me back when he had it figured out.
Early afternoon, I received a phone call that the process had been expedited and would have either my plates or all the paperwork necessary. I told him that this whole process has been a **** show, and that it was disappointing that my first experience buying a car was so negative. I requested that instead of hooking me up with accessories or services, to just refund my dealer fees. I said that I believed that they hadn't earned my money, and I didn't feel that I should be paying them for this nightmare.
In my last conversation with them today, I got a bit of hope that I would be refunded the $400. Will that earn them any glowing reviews? Nope. Will I ever buy another car from them? Nope. But I'll be damned if they ruin this 4Runner for me.
Thank god the product was such high quality.
That's my story about Suburban Subaru. I apologize for the novel, but like I said, there's no other way to tell it.
I have been living in one of the levels of hell since I stepped foot into Suburban Subaru on 9/5. I was driving by on my way to get some photos made up, and caught sight of my truck. On my way home, I stopped in and walked over to check it out. It was very clean, V8, Sport Edition. Everything I wanted, but there were no window stickers up on it anywhere.
I ventured inside to ask for some information on it. I was directed to Ted, who seemed skittish and incredibly energetic. I pegged him for 50, maybe a bit younger. He brought up the information, and it was an incredible price, and had very low miles, 49k. He pulled it up, I looked it over close, and took it for a test drive. I was very happy with it, and left him with my business card so he knew I was a bit serious about the car. While I was there, he told me about his experience and claimed he was diligent about customer service and phone calls and said all of the right things. Little did I know...
That day at work, I kept going over reasons why not to buy it, and I struggled coming up with them. I realized that after almost a year of looking and working on saving, I had to pull the trigger.
I went back to the dealer, and Ted has the keys on the desk. I asked him if I could take it out again, he obliged, and we went out on the highway. Satisfied, I left him with a $200 deposit. After getting the funds in order, I called him back 2 days later, told him we were a go, and gave him a list of things I wanted sorted out before I picked it up. He told me he was with a customer, but he'd run it by the service manager and he'd call me back later that afternoon. He never did. That was Friday.
I called him Saturday afternoon and left a voice mail, just requesting him to follow up with me. Again, Ted never called me back. I was annoyed, but not too badly.
On Monday I called my insurance company for a quote, and worked through the numbers. My agent told me that she needed the lender information for my loan, and she could start the policy at any point. I hung up and dialed Suburban, and left a VM for Ted. Again, I received no response. Now I was annoyed, especially because it would be a 30 second phone call and easily taken care of. One piece of information!
Tuesday goes by, and hear nothing from the dealership. I made no calls that day. On Wednesday, one week after I left the initial deposit, I received a text message that read: "Ted Voisine Suburban Subaru. Your 4Runner is ready, when would you like to pick up?" I was floored that his first contact with my is by text, but I decided to respond minutes later. I asked him to call me, that I needed lender information for insurance so that I could take delivery. I then called and left a VM with the same information. Again. No call back. Now I'm pissed.
So, Thursday hits, and I leave work early that day to go to the dealer. I figure if I can't get the info I need by traditional methods, I need to take the bull by the horn. It was Ted's day off (which I knew) but I had my answers within 5 minutes of walking in the door. Not too difficult. I had sold my Jeep and was delivering it on Saturday, so I left a note for Ted that I wanted to set up delivery for the same day. I called my insurance agent with the lender info and had the active date set for 9/15.
Friday, Ted finally calls! We set an appointment for 3pm on Saturday and all looks good. I had all of the funds ready and just needed to sign the paperwork and I would be the happy owner of the lowest mileage vehicle I had ever owned, let alone the first time having a car in my name. I was happy. It was short-lived.
Saturday rolls around, I have a few meetings in the morning, and head out with a buddy to deliver my Jeep. The guy who bought it lived 10 minutes from the dealer, so I offered to drop it off. Transaction went smooth, I deposited money in my account and got to the dealer. We went through the paperwork, I signed up for a 3/36000 mile service plan, and I was on my way. During the meeting, we discussed registration, and I explained that it was a new reg, not a transfer, and that it was impossible to transfer the old regi to new. I also explained that I needed the plates by Thursday, so that I could have photos taken of the truck for insurance purposes. They took note, took my money, and sent me on my way.
Was very excited to be driving away, and about 20 miles away from the dealer, I looked down at the gauges. My eyes fell onto the gas gauge, and to my surprise, it was almost on E. After an $84 fill up, I made sure to save my receipt. Smart.
So - Fast forward through the weekend. I'm very excited about my purchase, went home to show off to my family, etc. I get to Tuesday, and started to get a bit worried about the plates, hadn't heard anything. So I called, and got Ted on the phone. I explained the situation, and puts me on hold. He came back and explained that there had been an issue with the paperwork, and submitted the request as a transfer, not a new registration. I became a bit annoyed, especially since that was a specific conversation when I picked the car up. He said that I would have my plates by Saturday, or Monday at the latest. So, I made a call to the insurance company to have the deadline extended to accommodate. The woman I spoke to said she couldn't help me, and my agent had to call underwriting directly. Then proceeded to explain that if the pictures weren't in on time, they would drop coverage and I was subsequently lose my car.
Needless to say, I freaked out a bit. I called my agent and explained the gaffe, but at that point it was 4pm and underwriting was closed. She said she would follow up the next day. I was fuming. Not sure why a registration was such a big issue for the dealership. It's a pretty big place, and must sell dozens of cars a week. Why is my deal so screwed up? My agent called me the next day and told me she had it extended to 9/26 (tomorrow).
So, on Friday, I was talking to a buddy and explaining the situation. He works for AutoTrader, and the dealer happens to be an account of his, so he sent me the link to contact the GM and owner. I fill out the form, explaining the situation, and said how I was insulted that the gas tank was empty, etc.
This is where things got interesting.
Isaac, my boy, the sales manager. He calls me up about 10 minutes later. Expecting a phone call that was exploratory in nature, I was calm and relaxed, but quickly came to find that he had no intention of being civil. He proceeded to berate me over the phone, claiming that he didn't believe a word I said, that Ted was his best guy, etc. He also claimed that I had missed an appointment to pick the 4Runner up, that it had been ready for a week, and it had been sitting out front "forever."
After I regained myself from a state of shock, I proceeded to put him in his place. I strongly dislike being called a liar and my integrity questioned. I poked holes in every one of his claims, and told him that you cannot have an appointment if someone never calls you back. I also reminded him that I was a paying customer, and not some schmuck off the street. He reeled back, and listened to me after my rant, and we proceeded to have a decent conversation for 3 minutes. Before ending the conversation, he attempted to turn it back on me and once again was confrontational. I once again reminded him how I felt about his position, and left it at that.
I followed up with an email, in which I attached the receipt for the fillup on the day I picked it up, and CC'd the GM on the email. Lane called me later that morning, in what sounded like a state of shock. He had read my initial email, and then saw the follow up with Isaac. Not sure he left a single sentence without apologizing. He seemed like the first person I spoke to there who was halfway competent. He told me that he would follow up and do some ground work, and get back to me. We spoke again in the afternoon, and he offered me free oil changes, service, etc to try to ease the tension.
I spent the weekend with the lady friend, and kind of forgot about the whole thing, which was nice. Monday came through, and about 2pm I realized I hadn't heard anything about my plates. At 4:30 yesterday, I made a call to Ted asking for an update, and left a VM. He didn't call me back.
So today I called and spoke to Lane, and explained that I was told my plates would be in yesterday. He said he would figure out what was going on, and get back to me. 10 minutes later, he calls, and opens with "Well, I have bad news. We had a paperwork snafu." Turns out it was the same paperwork "Snafu" that they had 5 days ago, and it hadn't been rectified with the agency getting my plates. I flipped my lid. I told him he had 2 options - either I had my plates tomorrow, or I had the registration and tax money, and all the paperwork needed and I'd do it myself. Told him to call me back when he had it figured out.
Early afternoon, I received a phone call that the process had been expedited and would have either my plates or all the paperwork necessary. I told him that this whole process has been a **** show, and that it was disappointing that my first experience buying a car was so negative. I requested that instead of hooking me up with accessories or services, to just refund my dealer fees. I said that I believed that they hadn't earned my money, and I didn't feel that I should be paying them for this nightmare.
In my last conversation with them today, I got a bit of hope that I would be refunded the $400. Will that earn them any glowing reviews? Nope. Will I ever buy another car from them? Nope. But I'll be damned if they ruin this 4Runner for me.
Thank god the product was such high quality.
That's my story about Suburban Subaru. I apologize for the novel, but like I said, there's no other way to tell it.
