Austin Subaru

Came into Austin Subaru in mid-January 2022 to look at a Certified Pre-Owned Outback. It was just traded in and still needed to be reconditioned and made ready. It was black and needed a lot of help on the Certified Pre-Owned Outback. It was just traded in and still needed to be reconditioned and made ready. It was black and needed a lot of help on the paint despite being only a 2018 model. There we lots of spots, likely from birds, oxidation, dull, etc. Everything else on the car was great. The sales guy told me those paint imperfections would be fixed, not to look like new, but much better, which I thought was fair. It was late on a Friday and we struck a deal. They low balled me on my trade, but nevertheless, I decided to purchase their car and sell mine elsewhere (for twice as much). We had the paperwork drawn up and I was told the car would be ready the following week. I waited a week, and as promised received a call stating the car was ready. When I arrived, the car looked horrible. A few scratches were removed along the driver's side, but the rest of the paint was awful, especially for the money ($33k) on a nearly five-year-old Outback with 34k on the odometer. The sales guy didn't even seem phased by the way it looked or my reaction. When I asked, he said they tried the best they could. I said I wasn't happy with the way it turned out and asked if they were willing to have four body panels repainted (hood, two front panels, and one rear panel). He went inside and came back outside, and he said they could paint three of the body panels (hood and two front panels). I politely told him that wasn't good enough and I would like to speak with his manager. The manager came out and I shared with him my disappointment. I restated the body panels that I suggested to be painted (hood and three panels), and he said they were only willing to paint the hood. When I told the manager his sales guy (who was standing right there) said three body panels would be painted, the manager told me that his sales guy never said that. When I pressed the sales guy and stated he told me three body panels, he wouldn't even answer me and/or confirm we he said or did not say. He just stared at me and didn't say anything, which in my opinion is a straight up lie (lie #1). The manager said they had too much into it and couldn't repaint the whole car. I reiterated that it was 4 panels, not all the other ten or so. I asked where it would be painted, and the manager said Maaco. When I asked why not Continental Collision (which they own), they said they were too backed up. I told them I was not happy with their decision or their lies. The manager stated that they already had people interested in the Outback (with bad paint) and they sell other vehicles that look like this all the time. I presume he was referring to the bad paint. I asked if people came in here and spent $35k on car that looked like this, and without hesitation, he said yes. Fast forward nearly five weeks, that same car is still on the lot (I checked this morning). I was subsequently presented a second option, another Certified Subaru Outback, one-year newer, fewer miles, and a 6cly engine, and they told me they would drop the price from $39k to $36k. I said I would look at it. Fast forward a couple hours, I purchased this Subaru Outback that they presented as a second option, and after signing the paperwork, I realized it was never $39k like they said, it was listed on their website as $37k. So they dropped it a $1k, not the $3k they said (lie #2). Financing was good as they obtained a good rate for me. I listened to the extended warranty song and dance. Within seconds, the extended warranty dropped from $3k to $1,600. See a trend here? Fast forward a week, and the tint on the passenger side window began peeling from the bottom. I called and left a message and also followed up with an email to their "Design Team" after the service department said they didn't handle window tint issues. No response for two weeks. I called again, left a message, and within a couple hours received a call back from a service advisor. They got me in to repair the tint for later in the week. The day of my appointment, I received a text message from the service advisor saying that they understood I wanted to cancel my appointment and when could I come in. I replied back that I never wanted to cancel the appointment and that I was still coming in at the specified time. The Service advisor was adamant that I cancelled. We agreed that I would still be come in that day. I dropped of the car on time was told it would take three hours to repair the tint. At hour two I received a call from the Service Advisor saying that the previous owner of my car wanted their tires back, so they were giving me "new" tires and taking off the existing tires to put on their new Subaru. Apparently, they were snow tires (in Austin, TX???). The Service Advisor went on to say they would need to hang onto my car for a while so that the previous owner could come in and have the tires on my car placed onto their car. I wasn't sure what to say, as I had stepped away from a business call to take the Service Advisor's call, but it was re-confirmed I was getting "new" tires and I would be put into a rental while they tried and scheduled the new owners to come in. I arrived two hours later and I notice they have my car up on the lift and are taking the tires off. Shortly thereafter, the Service Advisor tells me that it's a swap, the previous owners are getting the tires on my car placed onto their car, and I'm receiving their tires. I told the Service Advisor that she had told me that I was getting "new" tires, but that I am not now. She said, "well, they're almost new". When I asked if any warranty would come with it, she said she would check. Come to find out, no warranty, and the drive is not nearly as nice as the previous tires. These tires that were swapped and placed on my car grab every divot, crack, and line in the road and yanks the steering wheel when driving, making my wife and I feel very unsafe and uneasy, especially at highway speeds with kids in the car. Bottom line is I was lied to throughout the purchase of the two cars, I was lowballed on my trade-in and got double the price a few miles up the road, they tried to over-sell me an extended warranty, and when I took my car in for a simple fix on window tint, my appointment was almost cancelled unnecessarily, and my tires were taken off, given to the previous owners, and I was given used tires when I was told that they would be "new". And now I am stuck with tires that drive horribly. Bottom line is that this has been the worst buying experience I have had here in Austin in nearly 30 years of buying dozens of vehicles. This dealership clearly has no problem lying to you, xxxxxxx as much money as they can out of you, and when you bring it in for service, they end up stealing your tires. If I were you, I would stay away! I rarely write online reviews; usually only with something stellar or when I am totally screwed. Obviously, I have been screwed (3x over) on this vehicle buying experience. And I won't name names, as I believe this is likely the culture by the dealership, and the managers and executives should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to occur, or possibly encouraging it. Please consider yourself warned and look elsewhere in your next vehicle search. More

Super easy purchase with VIP certificate. John Martinez and Dean Royal are great to work with! and Dean Royal are great to work with! More