Van Bortel Subaru of Victor | Page 23

Walked into Van Bortel Subaru several weeks ago looking to lease a Legacy. I laid out the desired terms, advised them of my (favorable) credit stats and so on, and asked the salesman (Shawn) if we could ne to lease a Legacy. I laid out the desired terms, advised them of my (favorable) credit stats and so on, and asked the salesman (Shawn) if we could negotiate a deal. Absolutely, he assured me after discussion of model/trim. I also let him know that I was not in dire straits and had several offers from the competition on similar vehicles at competitive terms. I gave Van Bortel first crack at the deal since I preferred to drive a Subaru and had read good things about the dealership. Again, no problem. Let's make a deal! About a week later I went in for the credit check and the business office meetup. I brought to the table exactly as I had originally advised salesman Shawn... better stats even. Oh, but now the terms have changed from the original offer. Of course they have. Naturally, Shawn and the manager (Peter) were apologetic and assured me that they never meant to mislead, there was confusion on their end, et al. I needn't worry though... I could still drive that terrific car away once I had agreed to the terrible new terms provided by Kevin in the business office! Yeah right. All in all, several hours of family time and a bunch of gas wasted. I can only recommend this dealership if you are not at all concerned with the terms involved with purchasing or leasing your vehicle, or if you simply enjoy being taken advantage of. For a dealership that touts themselves as different from the rest they seem par for the course as far as the Rochester area goes. Looks like some national competition is coming to the area soon which is terrific. I won't ever buy a car in this area again unless it's a firesale... deals abound from motivated sellers in PA or the southeast. Thanks for reading. More

The staff are friendly but their mission is to try to sell you as many parts as they can. Example: The support arm on the hatchback failed on one side. They came back with a recommendation that I fix bot sell you as many parts as they can. Example: The support arm on the hatchback failed on one side. They came back with a recommendation that I fix both sides as the one may be weakened (but is still working perfectly). Why? Why would you fix this before it has broken? The main issue was that my head gasket was leaking. This is a known Subaru issue and affects Subaru's all over the country. The fix is expensive. The sales manager blamed me and NY weather. Apparently, I missed the 60k maintenance with them - although I have this carried out at another garage. The worst was when I asked how much they would give me for a trade in value as the repairs are so costly. Well, this is a 2003 Outback with 83,000 miles with a full service record but had the big repair work (head gasket) yet to do... Edmunds gives a value of about $4,000 for rough condition. Van bortel value: $800. That was just insulting. The manager also was very upsetting by saying that my car wasn't safe to drive so I was in a panic and not thinking clearly. I had them stop work (thankfully) and they kept the car overnight. The next day when I had done some research (called my usual mechanic) and talked to the manager again, it turns out that my car isn't really unsafe but could, sometime in the unforeseeable future, break down. van Bortel puts my safety first, apparently. Really? Note: The car was driving GREAT. I only took it in because the sensors had gone and the check engine light was on (another Subaru problem). van Bortel wanted to do about $4k worth of work to make my car "safe" and in reality I spent about $500 and everything is great according to my other, very honest and reliable mechanic who we have worked with four years. I will have to have the head gasket replaced sometime but can wait a while and keep an eye on it until it is time to replace the timing belts. More

I went to VanBortel ready to buy a car. I arrived at 2 pm and looked around a bit. I went inside to see if I could talk to someone. I sat there in the waiting room while others were helped for over 20 m pm and looked around a bit. I went inside to see if I could talk to someone. I sat there in the waiting room while others were helped for over 20 minutes. When I asked again to speak to someone, the receptionist told me to just grab someone. As I went outside again, Shawn came out. Although he was looking at two of us, I asked Shawn if I could test drive a car. He said the keys are in each car and to grab the one I wanted to drive and he would meet me in the front with plates. I did as he asked. I waited there for over twenty more minutes. I put the car back and went and bought a Nissan. I understand no pressure, but no customer service? I travelled farther to this dealership because of their reputation. Boy was I wrong! More