Fitzgerald Subaru Gaithersburg

I recently purchased a new 2011 Subaru Legacy Limited (6 cyl.) from Fitzgerald Subaru of Gaithersburg. My whole purchasing experience was *extremely* positive. From the moment I walked in the door, I had cyl.) from Fitzgerald Subaru of Gaithersburg. My whole purchasing experience was *extremely* positive. From the moment I walked in the door, I had a good feeling about this dealership. My Sales Consultant was Bill Sherrill. His service was simply exceptional, and I can't praise him highly enough. He spent *many* hours with me as I carefully homed in on exactly what features I wanted to get with my car. (I originally planned to order it from the factory, but see below.) I consider myself a very particular consumer--the details of what I buy are important to me (I'm also a longtime subscriber to Consumer Reports and Checkbook)--and Bill was infinitely patient in helping me finalize my choices and in all other aspects of the purchase. He was uniformly cordial, knowledgeable, and straightforward. He made it clear that he was there to serve my needs, and there wasn't a single moment, over weeks of interaction, when he tried to "sell" me something. Bill's work ethic was absolutely a pleasure to see. He continually bent over backwards to help me. As just one example--and there are many others--when my car was ready to be delivered to me, he *personally* cleaned every microscopic spot on the car so that it would be perfect when I took possession of it. And when my shoe must have introduced a new spot near the driver's seat just as I was about to drive off, he saw it, grabbed his bottle of cleaner, and insisted on cleaning it too! Bill also provided me with lots of helpful advice such as how to care for the kind of water-based paint that cars have nowadays. Also, when his dealership chose not to accept my own car (damaged in an accident) as a trade-in, he candidly explained how the economics works differently between a dealer trade-in versus selling my car to an outside party. In this example as in all others, I always sensed Bill's fairness and integrity. During this purchase, I also had very positive interactions with Kevin Engle, the Sales Manager. For example, it may seem trivial, but early on I had happened to mention to Kevin the Legacy Limited's CD player, which I noted could hold six CD's. Kevin "corrected" me, saying that it could hold only one CD. But then, a few minutes later, after he had obviously taken the trouble to check his "specs," he quite vigorously announced that he had been absolutely wrong, that he had incorrectly extrapolated from some other Subaru models, and that the Legacy Limited *did* allow six CD's. Now, again, this may seem minor, but you sometimes pick up aspects of a person's character from small episodes. What impressed me was the really forthright way in which Kevin had announced that he had been wrong. I told myself that "this person cares about truth." And that meant something to me. I see Kevin as a "straight shooter"--there are no games. Now, one Saturday afternoon, I called Bill, told him that I now knew exactly how I wanted to configure the Subaru Legacy I planned to order, and we agreed that I would come to the dealership to order the car. But when I got there, I got a big surprise: Bill told me that Subaru had just e-mailed its dealers with the announcement that they had stopped building my model for 2011! (The e-mail had actually arrived on Friday, Bill's day off, and he hadn't seen it yet when I called on Saturday.) Bill and Kevin arranged for a search and located at another dealer a Legacy Limited that could be configured to include all the features I had wanted. However, doing so would cost more than if the features were simply built in at the factory. Moreover, there were two features that I *hadn't* wanted (although I could tolerate them). The bad news was that this car would cost almost $400 more than I had expected to pay for my "factory ordered" car two hours ago! I was really steamed--not at the dealership--it wasn't their fault--but just at the overall situation. Now, Fitzgerald does not negotiate--they have fixed, known prices. And I was half-tempted to just drop this purchase and wait for the 2012 models. However, I had made a rough computation that the "found" car would cost me $386 more than I had planned, and I proposed to Kevin that, if he would agree to drop the price to $299--just to make it psychologically easier for me to swallow the situation--then I would purchase the "found" car now. Kevin graciously agreed to do so. (I believe that he also said that he would have the two items that Fitzgerald would be adding to the car for me done "at cost" rather than for the usual profit.) Again, Fitzgerald does not normally "negotiate." But I believe that Kevin understood that I had been placed in an unusual situation, and I appreciated his willingness to work with me. Let me say a bit about the Fitzgerald "no haggle" method of selling cars. I like it. Though I don't have hard data, I suspect that their price is not that far above what one could achieve by aggressively "haggling" elsewhere. This is the fourth new car I have ever bought (I keep my cars a *long* time. :) ) In all earlier cases, I paid a rock-bottom price; this has been a lifelong, very conscious matter of pride to me. Now, in the present case, I perhaps could have paid a *bit* less elsewhere. But it is a measure of the enormous personal respect that I developed for Bill Sherrill and for all the time and conscientious care he gave me that I was unwilling to let his effort go unrewarded. I respect Fitzgerald's approach and did not want to play games with it. By an order of magnitude, this has been the most enjoyable experience buying a car that I have ever had. I trust that Fitzgerald Subaru of Gaithersburg recognizes what an asset they have in Bill Sherrill. I will certainly be recommending Bill, and this dealership, whenever the opportunity arises. They've earned it. :) More

When I have visited this dealership first time they even did not greet or asked do I need help with anything and I was not just looking outside I was inside and came to the customer service desk but later s did not greet or asked do I need help with anything and I was not just looking outside I was inside and came to the customer service desk but later someone finally asked me after I was in front of that desk for about 10 minutes so anyway they had this cash for clinkers ad and when they put information into their computer it gave $2000 trade in value so salesman said ok lets take look the car which I wanted and he searched for the keys and it urns out somebody sold that car like 3 hours before so I said it is OK even though I had an appointment so we have looked for another car anyway in the end Sales Manager came along and says he is going to give me $350 for my car trade in I asked to check on their clinker system and it gave $2000 again but he said there is some catch I said OK what is it and he showed me first this Cash 4 Clinkers program requires the following criteria be met To Qualify, your Trade in Vehicle MUST: Have a Clear Title. (excludes any vehicle with a "branded" title, i.e. flood, salvage etc.) Be in safe and drivable condition. Have been continuously registered or titled in the purchaser's name for at least the past 6 months. Be a 1989 Model Year or newer. And: The purchased vehicle must be titled in same name - or immediate family member. Only one "clinker" Trade-In credit per transaction. which met all the requirements so he started to telling me we have to change this that without knowing anything then I told that I changed all this with in the 6 months but still it was clear that this cash for clinker was a some sort of scam to bring people to the dealership. Anyway I walked out as I did not want to deal with this kind of sales manager. More

We bought a Subaru Forester from Gary this summer. I had the COnsumer Reports price sheet so I knew what the cost to the dealer was. The Fitzgerald markup was on the low end of what Consumer Reports said t the COnsumer Reports price sheet so I knew what the cost to the dealer was. The Fitzgerald markup was on the low end of what Consumer Reports said to expect, so it seemed fair. Gary was honest and not high pressure about the vehicle or the price. He gave us time to compare with other vehicles and feel comfortable that this was really the car we wanted. Also, it's great having a Subaru the year when Washington, DC sets a record for most snow. More

I have been a Fitgerald customer for over 17 years. I continue to purchase vehicles from this dealership because the staff is very knowledgeable about the vehicles they sell and they answer any questions continue to purchase vehicles from this dealership because the staff is very knowledgeable about the vehicles they sell and they answer any questions you may have. They are also extremely courteous. I highly recommend this dealership to everyone. More