Wow...just...Wow

OK, just when you think its all done.
Its been about 6 months since I removed that cursed Subaru from my life- or rather, the cursed Suburban Subaru of Vernon, CT. (after all its not the poor Baja's fault it sucked so much).
Anyway....
Last week I got an automated call from....yes.... you guessed it..... Suburban Subaru.
They were letting me know how I'm now due for my scheduled maintenance.
Yeah.
If there was one thing I would never do, had I still had the Baja, is go there of all places to have my Subaru serviced. They are the type of place that would charge you for all kinds of stuff and not do it. Like $40 for rotating the tires or my favorite one...inspect the undercarriage. Lets fact it, most of us do not have car lifts at home and would never know if it was inspected or not.
But be sure one of two things would happen:
1- Nothing. They would charge you for the hour to inspect it but not look at anything.
2- Nothing. They would not look at anything and then tell you you had a bunch of work to be done like Muffler Bearings or a bad Framistan.

Either way, you'd be taken for a ride... but not by your car.

But I'm not still bitter or anything.....

It must come from the top

Well, I got a quick reply from the Pres. And although I hoped for something else, what I got was no shocker. I guess when you get terrible service somewhere and nothing is done about it, you have to think that it comes from somewhere.

Here is the last replay, unedited and in its entirety:

________

Mr. Hartley,

Over a month has past since we last communicated.

If you wish to contact the Attorney General, like trading the Baja at another dealership, the decision is yours.

___________

I didn't know there was a time limit for validation. Somehow I don't think his response would have been any different had I replied right away. And then giving me some attitude because I traded in my Baja somewhere else.... like they were helping me out at all or offering me a better deal?

Its been bugging me....

Its been a month or so now.... and I was hoping that this would all be over and I could get on with my life. But its been wearing on my nerved and weighing on my brain. I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life that cost me money, but this time I made a decent decision and lost a lot of money. That makes me angry. And it makes me angrier that these guys got away with this. What irritates me even MORE is that he started his email saying how good they are and ended with soliciting my business again. Thats just obscene.

So I had to write him back:

Mr. Krause,

Thank you for your reply. I know its been a month or so since this last correspondence; I was hoping I could move on and forget this whole ugly situation. However, I remain upset about the whole chain of events and a bit remiss about your message. I didn’t contact you prior to trading in my Subaru because I truly thought that this situation I was in would have warranted Lane to contact you himself about the possible resolution. I guess he didn’t feel this was an important enough situation or that I deserved special consideration. I feel that I’ve been completely scammed by Suburban Subaru. The two issues I had that you were contractually obligated to fix were never fixed by you, instead, I was told that there was nothing wrong with my car despite the documented 3rd party diagnostic to the contrary. Your service department told me there was nothing wrong with my car. So consider this: I felt so hopeless and unsafe in the vehicle that I felt I had to trade it in at a giant financial loss. Counseling your staff doesn’t give me my money or time back. I put my trust and money in you when I purchased my car, and for all that was worth I might as well have parked my trade-in vehicle in your lot with a bag of $4,000- because that was the end of day result from buying a car from you. I lost my whole summer since I didn’t want to drive the car any more miles than I had to because of the safety issues with it and that it made me so angry to be in it because it wasn’t fixed yet.
Although I appreciate your reply, I do feel that it was inappropriate to solicit my business again considering how much money, time, and headache this transaction has cost me and that none of the issues I’ve had with you had been resolved.
I’ve traded in the vehicle because I didn’t feel safe transporting my family in it and couldn’t wait for your repairs or resolutions any longer. However, I feel, despite not owning the car anymore, I have been wronged enough in this transaction to continue to pursue my case with the CT attorney general. That is, unless you can provide me a reason why I shouldn’t.

Sucky Suburban Subaru Saga: Aftermath pt2

And now..... a word from the owner......

Mr. Hartley,

I apologize for the horrible experience you have had at Suburban Subaru. It is certainly not our modus operandi to perform as we have in your case. I have been in the automobile business for over 38 years now, and would not have been able to survive if we treated customers as we have in your case.

However, in spite of our deployable performance, I thank you for taking the time to inform me of this situation. Rest assured, the appropriate members of our staff will be counseled to insure an event like this never happens again.

It is apparent you have moved on with your vehicle, and I trust you are now comfortable with your new dealership. Good luck, but if we can every be of assistance to you, we will be here at 24 Hartford Turnpike, and solicit the opportunity to serve you again.

-------------------------

Somehow, I feel its completely inappropriate at this point for him to plug how long he's been in business and how he must be doing something right. I think its even more improper to end with a statement suggesting that I ever do business with them again.

Sucky Suburban Subaru; The Aftermath

Well, the nice letter I wrote to the Owner of Krause Cars has made its way down the chain. I got a response from the GM (whom I didn't sent the letter to), notice he didn't remove the original email form his boss at the bottom...

-------------------------------

Adam,

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter…..I hope the experience of being parents is as enjoyable to you as it has been for myself and my wife.

Peter has forwarded to me your comments…..

I am sorry that I have failed in rectifying our transportation issues in a timelier fashion. I understand how you feel and don’t blame you for either your comments or your defection from Suburban.

As much as we try, we don’t always succeed in making everyone a happy customer despite our best efforts… I will take your comments to heart so this doesn’t happen again.

I wish you and your family the best of luck.


[GM Name]



Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 2:39 PM
To: GM
Subject: FW: Worst Car Buying Experience Ever


[Name],

What happened with Mr. Hartley.

Pete
Almost five months ago, I bought my Subaru Baja fromSuburban Subaru
and have had the worst possible buying and owning experience ever. I
have been failed by your staff in every possible way, ranging from the
Sales Manager who accused me of being a thief, to the Service Staff
that put unbalanced tires on my car to prove that my tires were not
the problem.

It started off as a simple purchase: I agreed to buy
the car provided that the tailgate latch would be fixed and
the vibration in the drivetrain would be eliminated.

Thetransaction proved to be anything but simple. After the title for my trade-in
was lost, an error was found on my bank check I used to pay for the
vehicle. My bank made a mistake in drafting the check, but your
finance department accepted the amount. When I was contacted weeks
later about this, your Sales Manager accused me of trying to "get away without paying
for the car." I'm an honest and reasonable person, and I don't appreciate being called a thief or con-man. This
was annoying and insulting, but the real problems started from day one when I drove
it home.

Suburban Subaru agreed to fix two problems with this car prior to delivery, but when I took delivery, I quicklyfound out that you did not do the repairs as promised. The tailgate latch that stuck in the openposition was still inoperable after two attempts by the service
department to fix it. This is not an ambiguous repair as it will
either stick, or it will not stick. It can't have been fixed when it left the shop. I repaired it myself rather than take it in again.
The vibration persisted past three visits before finding
warped brake rotors. After taking it to a third party tire
center, I had a report that there was a defect in the tires. Following this, your
service department rotated and balanced them again, and I was offered new
tires of my choosing to remedy the problem. Suburban Subaru never
delivered on this promise. To further troubleshoot the problem, tires from another
Baja were mounted on mine to show that it was not my tires that were
the problem. However, the tires used for the test were also not
balanced, rendering the test invalid. The test was never redone with
good tires. Each time after being in for service, the car was returned to me as 'fixed'; not as needing more work; as actually being fixed.I was was then told that this is just the way Subarus
drive. That being the case, I would have never bought the car in the
first place, but this was impossible to tell during a test drive when the
rotors are already warped.

After hearing of my plight, I was contacted by your General Manager
with an offer to trade me out of my Baja at a value close to what I
paid for the car. After some searching for an acceptable car to trade
me into, I found out that the 'close to what I paid' value was in fact
the wholesale value. In doing this trade, I stood to lose over
$4,000.00. As a person of principal and integrity, this
solution was unacceptable to me. I should not lose that much money while you make money by selling my car twice.

I have given Suburban Subaru every chance to do the right and ethical thing. I have
been very patient and reasonable, but I have reached my limit now that
my daughter has been born. My wife and I don't feel comfortable or
safe in this car and, with the level of service I've gotten so far, we
don't feel confident in the service history at Suburban. Having been
through this nightmare and wasted my summer, I've decided to trade
this Baja in elsewhere. I'm taking a giant financial hit but I will
sleep better knowing that your dealership is not making money off it's
unethical practices and my headaches. This trade-in process through you
has been almost 2 months in the making, however, I found another
dealership that has given me the same trade-in deal as you and was
successful in finding me a new vehicle in less than a week. This has
reaffirmed my stance of your trade-in deal was more about making money
off me than making me happy, since the other dealership gave me the
same deal as Suburban, but didn't owe me anything.

If your dealership was successful in resolving these issues, I was all set to
retract all the bad reviews I submitted to numerous websites. Instead I will be adding to them.
I have also beenwriting a running blog of my experiences that, until now, I kept
private. I was also prepared to scrap that blog if Suburban Subaru camethrough for me.

You didn't, so here is what your potential customers will be reading:

http://suckysuburbansubarusaga.blogspot.com/

I wanted to send you my story so that you would know what is happening at one of your dealerships and in hopes that these problems can be rectified so that nobody else has to endure the headache and frustration that I have.

So Long Suburban Subaru, and Thanks for all the Nothing

Dear Mr. Krause;

Almost five months ago, I bought my Subaru Baja fromSuburban Subaru
and have had the worst possible buying and owning experience ever. I
have been failed by your staff in every possible way, ranging from the
Sales Manager who accused me of being a thief, to the Service Staff
that put unbalanced tires on my car to prove that my tires were not
the problem.

It started off as a simple purchase: I agreed to buy
the car provided that the tailgate latch would be fixed and
the vibration in the drivetrain would be eliminated.

Thetransaction proved to be anything but simple. After the title for my trade-in
was lost, an error was found on my bank check I used to pay for the
vehicle. My bank made a mistake in drafting the check, but your
finance department accepted the amount. When I was contacted weeks
later about this, your Sales Manager accused me of trying to "get away without paying
for the car." I'm an honest and reasonable person, and I don't appreciate being called a thief or con-man. This
was annoying and insulting, but the real problems started from day one when I drove
it home.

Suburban Subaru agreed to fix two problems with this car prior to delivery, but when I took delivery, I quicklyfound out that you did not do the repairs as promised. The tailgate latch that stuck in the openposition was still inoperable after two attempts by the service
department to fix it. This is not an ambiguous repair as it will
either stick, or it will not stick. It can't have been fixed when it left the shop. I repaired it myself rather than take it in again.
The vibration persisted past three visits before finding
warped brake rotors. After taking it to a third party tire
center, I had a report that there was a defect in the tires. Following this, your
service department rotated and balanced them again, and I was offered new
tires of my choosing to remedy the problem. Suburban Subaru never
delivered on this promise. To further troubleshoot the problem, tires from another
Baja were mounted on mine to show that it was not my tires that were
the problem. However, the tires used for the test were also not
balanced, rendering the test invalid. The test was never redone with
good tires. Each time after being in for service, the car was returned to me as 'fixed'; not as needing more work; as actually being fixed.I was was then told that this is just the way Subarus
drive. That being the case, I would have never bought the car in the
first place, but this was impossible to tell during a test drive when the
rotors are already warped.

After hearing of my plight, I was contacted by your General Manager
with an offer to trade me out of my Baja at a value close to what I
paid for the car. After some searching for an acceptable car to trade
me into, I found out that the 'close to what I paid' value was in fact
the wholesale value. In doing this trade, I stood to lose over
$4,000.00. As a person of principal and integrity, this
solution was unacceptable to me. I should not lose that much money while you make money by selling my car twice.

I have given Suburban Subaru every chance to do the right and ethical thing. I have
been very patient and reasonable, but I have reached my limit now that
my daughter has been born. My wife and I don't feel comfortable or
safe in this car and, with the level of service I've gotten so far, we
don't feel confident in the service history at Suburban. Having been
through this nightmare and wasted my summer, I've decided to trade
this Baja in elsewhere. I'm taking a giant financial hit but I will
sleep better knowing that your dealership is not making money off it's
unethical practices and my headaches. This trade-in process through you
has been almost 2 months in the making, however, I found another
dealership that has given me the same trade-in deal as you and was
successful in finding me a new vehicle in less than a week. This has
reaffirmed my stance of your trade-in deal was more about making money
off me than making me happy, since the other dealership gave me the
same deal as Suburban, but didn't owe me anything.

If your dealership was successful in resolving these issues, I was all set to
retract all the bad reviews I submitted to numerous websites. Instead I will be adding to them.
I have also beenwriting a running blog of my experiences that, until now, I kept
private. I was also prepared to scrap that blog if Suburban Subaru camethrough for me.

You didn't, so here is what your potential customers will be reading:

http://suckysuburbansubarusaga.blogspot.com/

I wanted to send you my story so that you would know what is happening at one of your dealerships and in hopes that these problems can be rectified so that nobody else has to endure the headache and frustration that I have.

Bye Bye Baja!

OK, I've finally done it.
The Baja is no more. Well, not mine anymore. I'm sure it will find a good home somewhere else and not sold through Suburban Subaru. Can't hate the care; Its not the car's fault it was sold through the worst dealership ever. I just couldn't stand being in it anymore without feeling like I should drive it off a bridge or into a large pole.

I came across Bolles Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Stafford Springs. I saw an ad for a used Jeep there and thought maybe I should at least go and drive one before saying "yeah, I wont one of those".

Well, the one I saw an ad for was at a different location, but since the 2008-2010 models are pretty much the same I went for a test drive anyway. Went on a short jaunt through the backroads on a nice fall day. It fit. It would be a good replacement. Let's see what we can do....

They gave me a couple options: I could give them a rough idea of what I wanted and if they got one in, they'd call me and let me know. The second and more attractive option was the 2nd- I give them a small deposit, tell them exactly what I'm looking for, and they go to auctions to look for what I want. (sounds a little familiar, no?) Now because they have a deposit, they know I'm serious and that its pretty much a guaranteed sale if they find it. This way its a lower risk and quick sale for them, so I can get a better price because of it. oddly enough, this is pretty much exactly (minus the deposit) the same deal that Suburban Subaru was offering me: give me wholesale for my car and go to auctions to find me what I want.
The big difference here......
Suburban has been trying for 2 months.
Bolles had one in less than a week.

Done and done.

I'm now happily driving my 2008 Jeep Liberty. And no vibration or shaking. I'm sleeping better and blood pressure is lower.

I guess I did end up driving a Jeep out of the hole Suburban Subaru has put me in.

You haven't made an irate customer happy, what are you going to do now?

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

Not me, The GM of Suburban Subaru. He's going on vacation... again....

Where am I going? I don't know, but it's 2 more weeks in the Subaru of Ill Repute.

Stick a fork in me.

I'm done.

Time for plan B- which is what I should have done a while ago: Frak Him!

I've decided my pride and integrity is worth more.

If this was a quick and fair deal he was offering, I would swallow some hostility and anger. I would have removed my reviews of his dealership. I'm an honest and reasonable person. if he made good, I'd make good. Simple as that.

Easy, yes?

Apparently not.

I will sleep easier knowing that he screwed me over only once instead of twice.

He's not making a second round of profit off my misery and suffering.

I'll cut my losses and do a regular trade-in somewhere else.

Somewhere that maybe I'll get a fair shake and deserve my money.

Since I've had very little luck finding a reasonably priced FJ, I'v embraced my second choice of a 2008 Jeep Liberty. I was part of Club Jeep before, and I like Jeeps. So what the hell.

Apparently we live in the doldrums of Jeep dealers here, so I trekked out to Stafford Springs and found Bolles Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge. Met some fun people and made a deal. They didn't have what I wanted, but as a cash buyer they would go to auctions for me as a personal buyer. I give them a small deposit to show I'm serious, they give me a good deal because it will be a quick and dirty sale (less cost and risk to them since its pretty much a guaranteed sale), a fair trade value on The Subaru and I'm rid of this story forever. (After I make this Blog public that is- everyone should know about this story).

That was Monday. On Saturday, I got an e-mail saying that bought one that they think I'll like and fits my criterion. Nice

Less than a week and they got something at auction for me.... its been three months for my Suburban Subaru guy and still nothing.....

Granted, I haven't seen it yet.... but they seem to be pretty straight up..... stay tuned for the possible conclusion.........

Waiting...and waiting....and searching...and waiting...

OK, its officially be a long-ass time here.

And I'm officially pissed off.

Not only is Suburban Subaru willing to "make me happy" by giving me a strictly wholesale trade value for the car they royally raked me over the coals on, but because of their "generosity" they are not able to get me a wholesale car to trade me into.

For Example:

I got my car for about $16,000

I also put about $1000 of accessories into it.

So, if they took back the car for $16,000, not only would I actually be happy that they did the right thing, but they would be making out with more value-added to the car.

They get me a wholesale vehicle (or even a RETAIL vehicle) and forego profit on it just to get rid of me, then its all over: I don't lose money because of their absolute and total failure to me as a 'valued customer', and they don't lose money while not gaining thousands of dollars of the bad publicity I would be gladly sharing with everyone. Everyone would be happy.

But, its not going that way. Because of their greed and only concern for their bottom line, they are not able to find something to trade me into. Therefore, I do not go away.

And the story continues......

Over the past couple weeks, this shake or vibration that has been the topic of my rantings has become the bane of my existence and in fact, has been getting worse.

After the whole unbelievable 3-Stooges routine where they put unbalanced tires on my car to prove that there was nothing wrong with my car, I have been teeth-grittingly awaiting my removal from this car. Lets face it, every time I've gotten into this car I'v wanted to drive it straight off a cliff... but I digress....

If you remember, I brought this car into Tires International, the local (and quite honest and reliable) tire specialty shop to have my sanity checked; since Suburban Subaru was now telling me that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the car and that I mustjust not like the way Subarus drive.....

OK

Whatever

Even if that were the case, then I should get my money back for sure since I wouldn't have bought the car in the first place if it had initially driven like that and they said there was nothing wrong with it.

So now, weeks later, no trade-out and the vibration still grating on my nerves.

Before I would almost buy that this was normal. Maybe the tire place was wrong... even though they are a tire place.... tires is what they do. Maybe I'm just a crank. But NOW, no way. Not even a little bit. there's something wrong here.

So i bring it back to the tire place, tell them my story, and they do another check, of my head.... and my car. This time I got a written sheet saying what was the matter.

Sure enough, they found the same thing, there are flat spots on my rear (previously my front) tires. Only a couple things could cause this: Being dragged as if by a tow truck, or a defective/drifting belt. They think the latter.

So... defective tires.

Not surprising.

I think this bit of info needs to be sent to the attorney general's office.

(who has yet to contact me about anything yet- 4 moths later)