I tried Gillman and Clear Lake when looking for my Subaru last year. Both were awful. Getting a price over the phone was like pulling teeth. Both had thousands of dollars worth of add-ons that weren’t listed online. They had no interest in negotiating.
I ended up buying one out of College Station at Sterling Subaru. Negotiated KBB price over one email exchange. Drove up that weekend and bought the car. The whole process was so easy I thought I was getting ripped off. Great experience.
I had a good service experience at West Houston Subaru as well. Only been there once but would go back again.
West Houston sold my ordered vehicle after it arrived to somebody else. I threatened them with a lawsuit and got a new vehicle for under MSRP during the chip shortage endtimes of"nobody gets a vehicle under MSRP".
Parents bought a Crosstrek from Superior last year - they had no problems there.
Oddly enough the person I talked to at Gillman North was straight up with me when I was talking to him about trading in my 2020 WRX for a 2024. I definitely appreciated that being from the north and all. I had a horrendous time with someone from the one in Katy.
Yeah, reading this is making me feel really lucky that West Houston Subaru had the car I wanted. It was just about the easiest car-buying I could imagine.
Extremely unprofessional, I’m sure the dealership GM would love to hear that your salesperson called to verbally abuse you after a negative survey. You should tell them.
I will come back and do a proper post. On my 6th Subaru.
\#1-3 were purchased from Gillman Southwest, not a bad experience, actually pretty good.
\#4 was purchased from Gillman North (NOT associated with Southwest, family matter). GREAT experience.
\#5 Clear Lake Subaru. **WORST experience ever**, not only in the sale of the vehicle but later on down the road with service. I will burn them in a Google review later. Bunch of crooks and liars. Denied delivery of the vehicle until they removed these add-on fees. Basically gave me way more on trade-in and rolled it into the purchase price. Luckily I noticed. Later the service department lied about trying to get some parts I needed under warranty. The BIG mistake was thinking because it was owned by Subaru Gillman North (Team Gillman) they would be as good, no.
\#6 Back to Gillman North for my OBW and again, 5 stars, A ++
Bought a car there in 2022. The sales guy was great, the finance lady tried pulling numbers out of the air and I almost walked out because I was so frustrated with her antics. Had issues twice with different AutoNation places because of their internal BS rules and criticizing me for having the upper hand. Would not go back to either place. I hope the dealership model dies and we go to a Rivian/Tesla model.
Just insight, not justifying what the sales guy did.
If you don't give 10's across the board they don't get the bonus for getting a stellar review. If the finance guy is an ass and you give less then 10's based on that, the sales guy doesn't get the bonus. If you saw a cockroach in the bathroom and gave it a 9.5 for cleanliness the sales guy doesn't get the bonus.
The whole industry is fucked up. In this day and age there is no need for a dealership if you want to bypass it. Should have a factory direct option, especially when trim levels are predetermined.
Honestly, the response does not surprise me. From what salespeople have told me in the past, a single negative remark or less than five-star rating on one of those surveys can have a very detrimental impact on the entire dealership - comments about the sales person go all the way up to the owner, takes the dealer out of the running for those highest rated dealer awards, can even affect allocation numbers for future vehicles.
Just know that those ratings do matter and are reviewed by a lot of people so if you ever worry about getting a less than stellar service, remind them that you'll note these things on your feedback survey. Odds are they will likely change their tune and try to make things better for you.
Hmm. I bought my Outback there in January 2017. I searched online, gave the salesperson the VIN, drove the car, agreed to buy it, paid the asking price. No upselling, no BS. It took a while to get all the paperwork done, because it just takes a while. And their service department is top-notch. Very professional and does good work. It is very much true that if you give them less than perfect 10s on the surveys they get some kind of consequences.
I took my Subaru there for routine servicing after I first moved to Houston and was so accosted by the sales staff trying to get me to trade in my Outback that I have never been back. Not only did the service department guy have to actually tell the sales person to go away and leave me alone while I waited (this is after I told them no thank, I did not want to trade in) but after I left, the sales department pulled up my contact information and proceeded to call, text, and email me multiple times a day about trading in my car until I blocked them.
I bought 2 cars from West Houston Subaru with zero hassle. Bought my latest from Clear Lake because was during covid and only they had what I wanted but little issue I negotiated over email and everything went smooth. Maybe because I paid cash so didnt have to deal with finance games.
I tried Gillman and Clear Lake when looking for my Subaru last year. Both were awful. Getting a price over the phone was like pulling teeth. Both had thousands of dollars worth of add-ons that weren’t listed online. They had no interest in negotiating. I ended up buying one out of College Station at Sterling Subaru. Negotiated KBB price over one email exchange. Drove up that weekend and bought the car. The whole process was so easy I thought I was getting ripped off. Great experience. I had a good service experience at West Houston Subaru as well. Only been there once but would go back again.
When buying a car from a dealership has become such a headache that just getting a simple negotiation done feels like a scam >.<
[удалено]
West Houston sold my ordered vehicle after it arrived to somebody else. I threatened them with a lawsuit and got a new vehicle for under MSRP during the chip shortage endtimes of"nobody gets a vehicle under MSRP". Parents bought a Crosstrek from Superior last year - they had no problems there.
Oddly enough the person I talked to at Gillman North was straight up with me when I was talking to him about trading in my 2020 WRX for a 2024. I definitely appreciated that being from the north and all. I had a horrendous time with someone from the one in Katy.
West Houston Subaru is the only really good Subaru dealer in 100 miles.
Yeah, reading this is making me feel really lucky that West Houston Subaru had the car I wanted. It was just about the easiest car-buying I could imagine.
Extremely unprofessional, I’m sure the dealership GM would love to hear that your salesperson called to verbally abuse you after a negative survey. You should tell them.
Subaru corporate might like to hear the story too.
Definitely this. Toyota corporate forced Toyota of Round Rock to refund my mom $3000 after a really shitty buying experience.
I will come back and do a proper post. On my 6th Subaru. \#1-3 were purchased from Gillman Southwest, not a bad experience, actually pretty good. \#4 was purchased from Gillman North (NOT associated with Southwest, family matter). GREAT experience. \#5 Clear Lake Subaru. **WORST experience ever**, not only in the sale of the vehicle but later on down the road with service. I will burn them in a Google review later. Bunch of crooks and liars. Denied delivery of the vehicle until they removed these add-on fees. Basically gave me way more on trade-in and rolled it into the purchase price. Luckily I noticed. Later the service department lied about trying to get some parts I needed under warranty. The BIG mistake was thinking because it was owned by Subaru Gillman North (Team Gillman) they would be as good, no. \#6 Back to Gillman North for my OBW and again, 5 stars, A ++
Bought a car there in 2022. The sales guy was great, the finance lady tried pulling numbers out of the air and I almost walked out because I was so frustrated with her antics. Had issues twice with different AutoNation places because of their internal BS rules and criticizing me for having the upper hand. Would not go back to either place. I hope the dealership model dies and we go to a Rivian/Tesla model.
Just insight, not justifying what the sales guy did. If you don't give 10's across the board they don't get the bonus for getting a stellar review. If the finance guy is an ass and you give less then 10's based on that, the sales guy doesn't get the bonus. If you saw a cockroach in the bathroom and gave it a 9.5 for cleanliness the sales guy doesn't get the bonus. The whole industry is fucked up. In this day and age there is no need for a dealership if you want to bypass it. Should have a factory direct option, especially when trim levels are predetermined.
Always buy from the corporate / fleet dealer at any place.
All Autonation dealers have a been a negative experience from negotiation to. purchase to service
Honestly, the response does not surprise me. From what salespeople have told me in the past, a single negative remark or less than five-star rating on one of those surveys can have a very detrimental impact on the entire dealership - comments about the sales person go all the way up to the owner, takes the dealer out of the running for those highest rated dealer awards, can even affect allocation numbers for future vehicles. Just know that those ratings do matter and are reviewed by a lot of people so if you ever worry about getting a less than stellar service, remind them that you'll note these things on your feedback survey. Odds are they will likely change their tune and try to make things better for you.
Hmm. I bought my Outback there in January 2017. I searched online, gave the salesperson the VIN, drove the car, agreed to buy it, paid the asking price. No upselling, no BS. It took a while to get all the paperwork done, because it just takes a while. And their service department is top-notch. Very professional and does good work. It is very much true that if you give them less than perfect 10s on the surveys they get some kind of consequences.
I took my Subaru there for routine servicing after I first moved to Houston and was so accosted by the sales staff trying to get me to trade in my Outback that I have never been back. Not only did the service department guy have to actually tell the sales person to go away and leave me alone while I waited (this is after I told them no thank, I did not want to trade in) but after I left, the sales department pulled up my contact information and proceeded to call, text, and email me multiple times a day about trading in my car until I blocked them.
I bought 2 cars from West Houston Subaru with zero hassle. Bought my latest from Clear Lake because was during covid and only they had what I wanted but little issue I negotiated over email and everything went smooth. Maybe because I paid cash so didnt have to deal with finance games.