Subaru of Little Rock

Honest, no-pressure, "straight-shooting" sales staff We bought our first Subaru Forester in June 2018 from a dealer in Albuquerque, NM. Within one month the advanced safety features on that car literall We bought our first Subaru Forester in June 2018 from a dealer in Albuquerque, NM. Within one month the advanced safety features on that car literally saved my wife's life! (long story, but the car automatically avoided an impending fatal collision caused by an idiot in front of my wife. The car automatically brought the speed from 77 to 0 smooth as glass, with inches to spare -- no collision at all, no air bags deployed!) We were so amazed by that technology that we decided to sell our other cars and drive nothing but Subaru Foresters from now on. Well I searched the entire nation looking for someone who would make me a decent deal on a 2019 Subaru Forester, with no B.S., no high-pressure sales pitches, and easy on the "up sell" pitches. (I tried reaching the same Albuquerque dealer where we bought our 2018 model, but I could not even get through their voice mail system. I left several Internet messages on their website, but no one ever replied to those messages!) So I continued my search for a more responsive dealer over the Internet from coast-to-coast. We are picky about what color we wanted (either Blue or White) and we were only interested in the "Premium" trim line -- no other models. I started shopping seriously in July 2019 and it took weeks of Internet comparisons to winnow the dealer list down to a handful of "maybe" honest, reliable dealers. But Subaru was just starting to release the 2019 models, and none of these dealers had much stock to test drive. Then one day I got a call from Subaru of Little Rock, they were willing to discount $1,000 off the MSRP for Internet Buyers from out of state. Now that was interesting! And they just happened to have a blue 2019 "Premium" model on the lot. I was assigned to Mark Whittle as my primary salesmen. Mark and I communicated by text messages and a few phone calls before I flew out to LIT for the test drive on 10/01/2018. Mark was always very responsive to my text questions and consistently proved to be a very honest, "straight shooter". I took an Uber ride straight from the airport to the dealership, and when I stepped inside the showroom, I phoned Mark Whittle to let him know I had arrived. On the phone he said, "Glad you made it! Look over to your right on that table and you will find the keys to your vehicle. Go take it for a spin and come tell me what you think." Wow! Talk about efficiency and trust! I loved that! I grabbed the keys, walked out to the only blue Subaru on the lot, walked around it admiring the beautiful design, snapped a few photos for my wife back in New Mexico, then started it up and let Google Maps navigate me to the nearest freeway. I tested the seats for comfort, the dashboard controls for ease of use, the engine for power in passing big rigs on the right, the "EyeSight" adaptive cruise control, and the turning radius after I got off the freeway. Since we already owned a 2018 Forester, all I had to do was compare the two. What is better? What is worse? Will this car work for us? Would both my wife and myself be comfortable driving this new, re-designed model? My test drive did not take long. I returned the car to the lot with only 6 miles on the odometer -- all put there by me. Our decision? Yes!, if Subaru of Little Rock will give us the $1,000 Internet Buyer discount, and if Mark Whittle continues to be the low-pressure, straight shooter I believe him to be: I will buy this car today. I went back inside, and everything went perfectly. i can't say enough good things about Mark Whittle. They even let me leave the care on their lot for three weeks at no cost so I could arrange for my wife to travel out to Little Rock with me where we shared the driving back to Las Cruces (much cheaper than having it trailered 991 miles). I did buy the Simoniz GlassCoat with lifetime upholstery warranty upgrade because 1) I hate waxing cars by hand, and 2) we have a new puppy, and I wanted the peace of mind knowing that I could repair any damage that puppy might do to the new car at minimal expense. I also bough the STARLINK Safety and Security upgrade that helps keep you and your Subaru safe whether you're in your vehicle, at your computer, or on your mobile device. Safety and Security services include Automatic Collision Notification, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, Stolen Vehicle Recovery, and the added convenience of Remote Service. (I use that "Remote Service" when I'm downstairs in bed, and don't remember whether I locked the Subaru or not. Instead of getting out of bed and going upstairs to check -- I just grab my mobile phone from the side of my bed and lock the Subaru remotely!) Throughout the entire process I felt ZERO sales pressure from Mark Whittle, nothing but total honesty. He is banking major "good karma" points for his next life. :-) I highly recommend Subaru of Little Rock in General and Mark Whittle in particular! More

Terrible Experience! BEWARE!!! BEWARE!!!! I called this dealership the see if they had a new Ascent Touring in stock. They told me that they had just what I was looking for. That a BEWARE!!!! I called this dealership the see if they had a new Ascent Touring in stock. They told me that they had just what I was looking for. That a customer ordered one but backed out when it came in. We went over all the numbers and I had my bank approve the money. When we were down to the last part of the deal, they told me that they was not going to sell the car because the person that backed out was going to purchase the car. The person that backed out initially should have been told that there was a deal working on it currently because they gave up their first to purchase rights. Instead they tossed me to the side like I didn’t matter. Even after I did all the work to arrange everything to buy it. BUY FROM A DEALER THAT CARES ABOUT YOU! This is not that dealer! More

Excellent experience at Subaru of Little rock This was the second car in two years I bought from Justin at Subaru. Both my Outback and Legacy purchases were handled in an efficient, friendly and p This was the second car in two years I bought from Justin at Subaru. Both my Outback and Legacy purchases were handled in an efficient, friendly and professional manner. Staff support was great. We love both our new Subarus. More

Worst buying experience I was so excited to use a dealership in LR. After much research I chose SUBARU. While I “liked” my salesperson, it was an overall HORRIBLE buying expe I was so excited to use a dealership in LR. After much research I chose SUBARU. While I “liked” my salesperson, it was an overall HORRIBLE buying experience, and I have purchased many vehicles in my 44 years. I will drive all the way to Fayetteville next time. Each employee I had to work with were like children. I had to remind them of every detail over and over and I’ve since discovered my vehicle gets FAR below the mpg (23 hwy on Forester). I’m at a loss and very frustrated to the point of tears. Signed...(Retired police officer) More

Top Notch We are new 'Village People' (Hot Springs Village) and so glad to have SLR close by. The dealership lives up to the claim, "feel the love". Owning a Su We are new 'Village People' (Hot Springs Village) and so glad to have SLR close by. The dealership lives up to the claim, "feel the love". Owning a Subaru has been a pleasant experience and SLR continues the tradition. More

Used car damaged I was on there lot looking at the used car and the pictures and information did not say the car was damaged, the front end was smashed I was on there lot looking at the used car and the pictures and information did not say the car was damaged, the front end was smashed More

Justin Salazar saved the day Justin Salazar and Cecil were absolutely wonderful to work with. We would love to do business with them again. Colin on the other hand was very pushy Justin Salazar and Cecil were absolutely wonderful to work with. We would love to do business with them again. Colin on the other hand was very pushy and even went so far as to get aggressive by slapping a bottle of water off his desk and yelling when things weren’t going his way regarding our deal. It was extremely uncomfortable. Justin and Cecil were the only reason we continued the deal. They were outstanding. More

The good and the bad The good: I appreciate the experience I received. I haven't purchased a vehicle in a long time, so I was already a little frustrated and still undec The good: I appreciate the experience I received. I haven't purchased a vehicle in a long time, so I was already a little frustrated and still undecided on whether or not it would be a good time to purchase. I decided to inquire about a vehicle online and D.J. was the one who assisted me. I even got a better rate than what I tried to get on my own. I drove there and once I arrived, everything went smoothly. The finance person, Michael, was also very nice. I chose an extended warranty, and was shocked when he told me that the bank would give me an even lower rate!! Total time there was about 2 hours. The not so good: Be aware that Arkansas DOES NOT add sales tax to your vehicle if you are coming from another state to purchase. Supposedly this is a state law, but if you are coming from out of state, how would you know. You will have to pay the sales tax on your vehicle when you register it. I was not fully aware of this and now have to come up with about $4000, for tax, title an registration fees, within the next 30 days. This partly my fault for not reading everything line by line, but once you see that larger final total, you figure that the taxes are included in that price. If I had known this, I would have just purchased my car in my home state. I'm sure I'm not the first to find this out after a purchase was made. Please disclose this to your out of state customers!! More

Worst New Vehicle Experience I negotiated my new Crosstrek purchase through USAA and TrueCar. The process was awesome. Extremely smooth, every question and concern was dealt with I negotiated my new Crosstrek purchase through USAA and TrueCar. The process was awesome. Extremely smooth, every question and concern was dealt with quickly and thoroughly and I was very happy with the agreed upon price. I went to the dealership to test drive the vehicle and Justin was great. I arrived a day or two later to finish the purchase. Justin showed up with a purchase order and said "these aren't the right numbers and we'll fix them later... sign here". I asked that the form I was being asked to sign be corrected to reflect the actual price. That's when things started going downhill. I thought that was reasonable thing that the form I am going to SIGN be correct and after five minutes of discussion he went off to get the form corrected and made a point of expressing his annoyance. I wanted to purchase the rear seat protector and received a very annoyed response "well, you'll have to pay for it". Well yeah.... And finally had the purchase added. I mistakenly thought the car had door guards installed along the side of the car. 100% my fault. That was a pretty important option to me and I brought that up. Again a very annoyed response "well it's really expensive" "that would be $360 to have that installed". Okay??? I wanted it on the new car I was BUYING. I was very willing to pay, but asked if they could discount the part or the labor at all. I guess that was completely unreasonable and outrageous. I just kept getting told "it's too expensive". I kind of thought that was my call. I still do not have the guards installed on my car and will find another Subaru dealership to purchase them from. The finance process was quick and easy but very brusque and uninformative. I again questioned purchasing the accessories that I wanted to BUY and was told "you're already getting a good deal on the car". That's fine. I appreciate that, BUT I WANT TO BUY MORE STUFF FROM YOU!!!!! CASH!! I ended up with more inquiries on my credit report than I wanted or authorized. I had made a point of bringing that up prior to going in and still got stuck with them on my credit for the next 2 years. After the paperwork was completed they stuffed the papers in an envelope handed me my keys and said "you probably already know how to use all of the features. Give us a call if you need anything else". I NEED THE STUFF I WANTED TO "BUY" and feel like you give a xxxx that I'm handing over 30 grand of my hard earned money to you!!!!! I did get a great deal on the car, but that is it! I will not even be going back for the free oil changes. Some friends went and bought a new Cadillac after my purchase and hearing the difference in the process makes it even worse! More

Pleasant experience The salesman Justin and Finance Mike where very pleasant and did not put any high pressure which made for a pleasant experience with Subaru of LR. I The salesman Justin and Finance Mike where very pleasant and did not put any high pressure which made for a pleasant experience with Subaru of LR. I will use them again and recommend to any of my family or friends in the future. More