Johnny Fernandez

Called to ask how long to put a hitch on. Told 90 minutes. Arrive for appointment and told 3 hours. 4 hours later. Still waiting. minutes. Arrive for appointment and told 3 hours. 4 hours later. Still waiting. More

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This review is to put Berman Subaru on blast and warn women about how the service department will treat you differently. We bought a Crosstrek in 2013. Car was great, price was right, sale was smooth women about how the service department will treat you differently. We bought a Crosstrek in 2013. Car was great, price was right, sale was smooth, we did not have issues for years, and planned on buying a new car from them this fall. In early December we got new tires at Firestone. In late December we took the car to Berman for maintenance, and they had to replace a ball joint and realign the wheels. A few weeks later Chicago was hit with a heavy snow and we discovered our AWD was out when trying to get out of our garage. While inspecting the car we noticed a tiny plastic piece was missing on the front (some sort of access panel piece for maintenance) as well as a couple nuts from the tires. My wife took the car to Berman, told them we thought the mechanics messed up and did not connect a wire or something related to the AWD. After waiting for several hours, the mechanics tried to gaslight my wife, told her she was wrong, they were not responsible for the missing parts, and the AWD was working. The AWD part was funny because they had to push the car up the drive to get it to the maintenance area. My wife came back and told me what happened. A couple weeks later the AWD went out again (I suspect it was a wire or connection that was pulled / loose from their work). I called Berman and spoke to a manager and they said they had previously fixed it (so they were lying to my wife). I eventually spoke to a high-level manager in their office, explained what happened, and how they were not honest with my wife. The manager was incredibly apologetic and offered to make us whole by fixing the AWD and replacing the missing parts on the car; he also said he was going to make a note in our file. My wife took the car in this week to get an oil change and have them fix the AWD, and Berman told her there was no note in our file. The estimate they gave us included replacing things they replaced last year (breaks and rotors) as well as issues that stem from their messy work on the suspension in December (a loose control arm); it also included $150 for realignment (I am sure its related to suspension work) and we paid $150 for realignment in late December. I called the manager while my wife was there, and they changed their tone and agreed to at least replace the missing parts. Despite that, they still wanted to charge us around $1,300 for work that stemmed from their negligence / poor workmanship in December. Ultimately, there has been a clear difference in how Berman has treated / spoke to me vs my wife. They talked to her like she was an idiot and brushed off her complaints. They only took complaints seriously when I intervened. Even then, they messed up our car which caused other problems and they want us to pay for their mistakes – it has a fraud’y feel to it. We purchased a car from Berman because we live close, and the purchase was fine. But if you plan on having Berman work on your car after purchase, we’d recommend you look elsewhere, especially if you’re a woman. More

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I had an excellent experience with Berman Subaru's Service Department! It started with a wonderful front line experience with Lori, who was patient, knowledgeable, and despite the amount of work that Service Department! It started with a wonderful front line experience with Lori, who was patient, knowledgeable, and despite the amount of work that needed to be done on my vehicle (3 recalls and a Major Maintenance), was able to get me in quickly with a loaner. Seriously, when you call, ask for Lori/Loredana. I fully expected to have to get brakes as well, but I appreciated their honesty when they said that my brakes actually looked fine. This is an honest Service Department. I took them up on the other suggested services, which included various fluids (I have a Turbo) and a drive belt replacement. I'm really glad that I did, because my car now drives better than I ever remembered it- so smooth and I'm in love with my car again. Major xxxxxxto the team here at Berman Subaru. I will be back (and send my friends...). More

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