McGrath Evanston Subaru

Unhappy with service. Even though my mechanic & Evanston Subaru repair spoke regarding my 2010 Legacy, a differential transfer case problem, Subaru repair saw it as entire Even though my mechanic & Evanston Subaru repair spoke regarding my 2010 Legacy, a differential transfer case problem, Subaru repair saw it as entire breakdown of the transmission. Somewhere, somehow, someone, mysteriously removed all the fluid from the transmission, w/o my knowledge therefore the vehicle is completely inoperable & nearly wouldn't allow the vehicle out of their hands. The cost to repair a transmission - a mere $6,300 on a vehicle that had been driven w/o transmission fluid for many weeks prior to reporting to Subaru repair. Contacted Subaru Corporation and they came to the intelligent conclusion after three weeks holding my car hostage that someone removed the transmission fluid; therefore, it is not under warranty. Spoke with owner of Evanston Subaru & was told because I didn't bother to follow the letter of the law on my extended warranty, no service history at their repair shop, the warranty is entirely voided. Oh how wrong Mr. Bill is. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, a vehicle owner may choose to have their vehicle serviced wherever they darn well please & IT WILL NOT VOID any warranty the owner has purchased for the vehicle. Neither Evanston Subaru nor corporation will allow the vehicle to be inspected by an authorized dealer for a second opinion. It will most certainly void the warranty, if I so chose to go that intelligent route. Oh yeah, Evanston Subaru will happily take the vehicle off my hands for a mere $1,000, & I was asked several times, "you would like a new Legacy to replace the inoperable vehicle?" Right. More

4,000 miles on a new car? The dealer had the exact car we wanted, but we were told that it was a take home demo for one of their staff and had around 4,000 miles on it. The sa The dealer had the exact car we wanted, but we were told that it was a take home demo for one of their staff and had around 4,000 miles on it. The salesman said that since the car had never been titled it was considered new. He refused to budge on the price for the "new" car and he refused to extend the warranty. We stood up and walked out at that point. More

SERVICE DEPARTMENT The team in The Service Department has always been very professional and just plain nice in the 4 years I have been dealing with Subaru Evanston. The team in The Service Department has always been very professional and just plain nice in the 4 years I have been dealing with Subaru Evanston. More

Dorsey to the rescue...again! There is no problem too big or too small for Dorsey to give her full attention and concern. She is always thorough and conscientious, explaining every There is no problem too big or too small for Dorsey to give her full attention and concern. She is always thorough and conscientious, explaining everything and making sure every one of my concerns are addressed before bringing out the final tally. Should we expect any less? Of course not. But the way she goes about her job is stellar. I happen to have a number of physical challenges which sometimes get in the way of taking care of my car in as timely a manner as I would like to. Dorsey is always as accomodating as she possibly can be, always leaving me feeling like I am one of her most important customers...even though I know she treats everyone that way. :) That is just the way it should be. More

Mr. Paddor, The "great" checked in the Mr. Paddor, The "great" checked in the customer service category above is for Dorsey (along with her partners, Scott and Mark). But my overall expe Mr. Paddor, The "great" checked in the customer service category above is for Dorsey (along with her partners, Scott and Mark). But my overall experience is very bad. And continues to be EVERY time I come to your dealership. Before I get into the specifics, I want to make sure you know that your service advisors are the "face" of your operation. The very operation you run and for which you are responsible. I have interacted with Scott, Mark and Dorsey. They are ALL very good at what they do, especially Dorsey. It seems it's luck of the draw when a customer brings in their vehicle which adviser assists them. I am always happiest when I see Dorsey walk my way as I get out of my car. She's knowledgeable, kind, patient and quite forthright with telling me the steps needed to correctly resolve the issues with my car. When a customer has to take time from their day - maybe their work day - and bring their car in because something mechanically went wrong (I understand it's not your fault, it's mechanical) that's a kick in the crotch to them. They are unhappy. Period. The last thing they want to encounter is poor service. The VERY last thing they want to do is WAIT. But the first thing they encounter is a smile from Dorsey, Mark or Scott. But what happens after they do their jobs is what prompted me to take time from my day and write this review. Because it's important for you to read a customer's perspective. I can only hope you hear it. I'm going to assume your margin on service is greater than sales. Isn't that where your money is? I'm in business....have been for many years. I understand margins. So why would any prudent owner of a car dealership NOT place service as their number one priority? And I don't mean having one of your mechanics suggest I need work done when I don't (which happened last August and for which I was furious when I leaned from a reputable mechanic that no such work was necessary). When I leave my car in the capable hands of your advisors, I am happy......for a very brief moment. Because it is where my car goes next that worries me. I know that I can always add 50% onto the estimated time told to me because of whatever is happening behind the curtain. And unlike in the movie, you can't tell me to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain of your Oz. As a customer, it is my right to pay attention. Do you know why? Because it's my money. And my time. And I have spent WAY TOO MUCH of that time in your customer service area waiting for the simple (and what should be relatively quick) task of changing my oil. Your service advisors, by the way, are the ones carrying the brunt of the complaints because they are working with two variables in those work bays: slow and slower. Why should anybody ever have to wait one hour and 41 minutes for an oil change, as I did last week? Why did I bother to make an appointment for that kind of wait time? Why? Have you bothered to be a "secret shopper" in your own business and put a clock on those involved in such a simple and frequent task? Would it hurt you to spend more time on efficiency than decorating your office? Why are my mirrors moved when no test drive is required for an oil change? EVERY single one of my mirrors is moved EVERY single time I get my oil changed. Despite my requests, somebody behind your 'curtain of disregard' always moves them. Thankfully, I'm used to it by now and only once have I almost gotten into an accident on my way home because one of your guys in back cannot pay attention to detail. The whole car washing thing.....I will only say I am happy to see you finally figured out that when a customer says, "Please do not wash my car after it's serviced" means DO NOT WASH IT. It only took you four times with my car. I feel this is going in a direction I don't want it to, so I will finish my letter. I don't know that I was tactful enough (I certainly do not want this to come across as a "bashing" letter), and if my words sound harsh to your ears, I apologize for that. But those words are the truth and we all know what the truth does. By the way, I bought my car from you. But regretfully, Mr. Paddor, it will be the last Subaru I purchase with your name on it. I cannot, with good conscience, allow myself to spend anymore of my time and certainly not more of my money at a dealership whose leader seems to put more effort into how he looks inside his glass house (office) than how quickly and efficiently the work is being done on his customer's vehicles. I am not signing my name. It is not in an attempt to hide behind my words, but rather, to avoid any followup conversation with whomever chooses to contact me in a feeble effort to hold on to my business. I have received a few of those from Mr. Eichenlaub over the years and he cannot sound any less sincere. Obligatory is the only sound he makes. I just want to move on. Sincerely, Former Customer More

Evanston Subaru Experience I recently purchased a 2014 Outback from Evanston Subaru. The whole experience was excellent. Our experience began with inquiring online and receivin I recently purchased a 2014 Outback from Evanston Subaru. The whole experience was excellent. Our experience began with inquiring online and receiving quick, informative responses through email. I visited and was introduced to Joe Halpin who is excellent. He was kind, very knowledgable, and patient with a talkative 7 year old who thought she was buying the car. He answered all of my questions and he made the process of buying the Outback simple and fun. He is excellent at what he does. I highly recommend working with him. Having said that, I was also extremely impressed by everyone I met at Evanston Subaru. After returning home with the car, I had a question about the financing I'd agreed to. I left a message and was called back within minutes. Excellent service. More

Dorsey has always been friendly and competent in writing-up my service requirements. She goes out of her way to see that I am completely satisfied with the service my car gets from Evanston Subaru. writing-up my service requirements. She goes out of her way to see that I am completely satisfied with the service my car gets from Evanston Subaru. Gasparre is the service tech who always works on my car. My Subaru has been trouble-free during its seven year lifetime. I attribute its health to Gasparre who looks beyond routine service and spots potential problems that will be more expensive and inconvenient to fix if left to become serious. More

I had hit a pothole and popped my tire. I also just wanted the car checked out. Dorsey made what could be a frustrating experience, easy breezy! Thank you dorsey! wanted the car checked out. Dorsey made what could be a frustrating experience, easy breezy! Thank you dorsey! More

I came in for a warranty replacement for my rearview mirror. I had had a few neutral to bad experiences with this dealership in the past, but they are close to where I live and decided to give them ano mirror. I had had a few neutral to bad experiences with this dealership in the past, but they are close to where I live and decided to give them another shot. I was told that I would have to wait two weeks to make an appointment to come in in the middle of a weekday. This wasn't that bad as I figured service members weren't available due to the holidays. Once I got there, they told me that the wait would be about an hour. I've changed a rearview mirror before myself and I know it's a ten minute process of unscrewing the broken one and replacing it with the working one. But I figured with paperwork and stuff, maybe it would take an hour or maybe they are running behind. 90 minutes later, Dorsey Colby comes up to me and tells me that my brake pads need to be replaced, that I missed my 30,000 mile checkup and that the total price to get those things taken care of was going to be north of $800 at least. My brakes aren't squeeling, so I know that the pads don't need to be replaced yet. And my car is only at 27,000 miles. So I didn't miss my 30k checkup because I'm not at 30k miles yet. When I asked her how she knew my brakes needed work, she said that she had the tech put the car up on the lift, took off the wheels, and did a brake inspection. I told her that all I requested was my mirror replaced under warranty. She said sarcastically that she didn't charge me for the brake inspection. She didn't seem to care at all that she inconvenienced me or did something to my car that I didn't ask for. I asked to talk to the Service Manager and Dorsey said she would see if she could find him. Then she just disappeared. I started to leave but I asked another employee if he could direct me to the service manager. He looked over at the guy sitting in the Service Manager's office, paused, and said, "Let me see if I can find him." Then he walked off toward the sales floor. So I walked over to the guy in the Service Manager's office and asked if he was the service manager. It was Ray Elchenlaub and he said he was. The other guy isn't listed on this form, but he basically tried to trick me into thinking that Ray wasn't the service director. Ray apologized for taking up my time with a frivolous brake inspection and apologized for wasting my time with something that should have only taken a few minutes. He said the brake inspection was just them being careful, but I don't buy that for a minute. Basically, they weren't making any money off of me that day because all I needed was a new rearview mirror. So they tried to trick me into buying services I didn't need nor want. I don't know if this is policy or the bad decision-making process of Dorsey Colby. When I got out to my car, they had also given me a car wash, but a terrible one. The whole right side of the car was still covered in salt and dirt like they just gave up after washing the left side. This is also something that took up time and something I didn't want nor ask for. If it's a matter of them "going above and beyond", then why did they do such a bad job with the car wash? I could have thrown a bucket of water over my car too. Overall, it's been a terrible experience every time I go to Evanston Subaru. I took my sister there back in 2012 to look at the Impreza. She was a long time Subaru owner and was looking to replace her 2003 Impreza wagon. But the sales person we were working with just didn't care at all. Maybe he was going through some personal hardship in his home life, but at one point he said something sarcastic and just gave up and stopped talking to us. So we left and went to Honda and they were awesome. My sister bought a Honda Fit which isn't really in the same class as the Impreza, but the experience was just so much better that she had to go for it. Now, she wants to replace her Honda Fit as it's too cheap on the inside, but she said the other day that she's never going to go to Evanston Subaru even if she decides to return to Subaru. I will never go back to Evanston Subaru for anything. More