McGrath Evanston Subaru

Service was good but expensive. Technician tote driver side seat fabric. Waiting for new seat covering to come to the dealership. Service Manager has been responsive to date side seat fabric. Waiting for new seat covering to come to the dealership. Service Manager has been responsive to date More

This is the worst service department I’ve dealt with, including third party shops. I had a check engine on so I dropped my car off there. Within 30min I get a text from the service tech (Jon Tan) and he including third party shops. I had a check engine on so I dropped my car off there. Within 30min I get a text from the service tech (Jon Tan) and he tells me that I need a new transmission and it’s going to cost $7900+. My Subaru is a 2014 with almost 120,000 miles on it. He tells me the transmission fluid is burnt to the point they won’t swap it for fear that it would “shock the system” and fry the transmission right away. I ask what my options are, he tells me that’s my only option. I told him I had a lifetime power train warranty that’s supposed to be good at any Subaru dealership nations wide. He tells me they don’t accept there (100% lie confirmed by his service manager). He tells me I have to go back to the dealership I purchased the vehicle from (another lie confirmed by his boss and another dealership). I said ok and drove my car (with absolutely no problems) 1.5 hrs north to Subaru city in Milwaukee, after paying the absurdly overpriced diagnostic fee of $160 (the highest diagnostic fee around, the dealership I took it too later was $90 diagnostic). When I arrive, their service techs ask me why I drove all the way up here from Chicago and told them what the other dealership said and they told me they’re not allowed to refuse my warranty. After they spend almost 2 days inspecting my car, they tell me that the transmission isn’t blown and that is was a valve body on the transmission that’s $1,300 (not a new transmission for $7900+). They also covered it under my warranty so it cost me $100 of a deductible, not $7900+ with no alternatives. I asked them to change my transmission fluid and they did with no problem. I asked them if the transmission fluid was “really burnt”, they said it was a little dark but “really burnt” or black. At this point I call McGrath Subaru and tell them their diagnostic was wrong and I would like my $160 back after providing them the other dealership’s repair Bill contrasted against their quote of $7900+. They agree and tell me to bring in the documents. I bring the documents in and when I do I ask to speak with the service manager. I’m told he’s no there because it was Saturday but that he would be in Monday and that he would contact me about my refund. Monday comes, no contact from them. I wait a few more days and call them. They send me to their service manager’s voicemail (Adam I think?). I leave a message and wait a few days. This turns into 3 weeks of me calling them every other day to talk to a service manager. I start asking for any manager and got sent to all of their voicemails with no response. I finally force a tech into grabbing their manager and getting them on the phone with me. He goes through this entire speech of how “he had 2 techs working on it and that’s why they could diagnose it in 30min”. He then tells me that they knew they could have replaced the valve body for $1300 but didn’t tell me because it might have only given me “a couple thousand miles before the transmission would go”. He shoots down every question I have after that with “my service tech doesn’t have access to all the information I have.” He then denies my refund. I ask him why wasn’t I even told about the $1300 option and he says “we went with the best solution which would be a new transmission.” He then blames the “tech not having access to info” again and again. I asked why it took him 3 weeks to get back to me to deny my refund and why he ignored close to 10 voicemails and messages from me over 3 weeks. He kind of apologized and then says “if you come back to us, let me know and I’ll try and hook you up next time.” I tried to talk to a general manager over the 3 weeks they ignored me and was told several times that they were on vacation til may! (It was February). This store is so poorly managed I would never go back. I don’t care about the money at this point. They wasted 3 weeks of my time while telling me they were going to give me a refund, stringing me along. They’re probably okay at oil changes but I would never let them repair. More