I just wanted to say how wonderful Eric in the Service Dept. is-as well as the staff!! I am a body shop owner and I really appreciate how quickly he has answered my calls and quickly took my customers' cars in for problems that are beyond our expertise. Eric really put my mind at ease knowing that my customers would be taken care of in a quality-assured way and with a very fast turn-a-round! He's a keeper, Carter VW! Adrienne at Carstar Hammer Auto Rebuild read more

Carter VW is an incredible dealer and a great place to service your car. This past summer we were driving up to the Seattle area from the southwest. Somewhere in northern Nevada one of the engine lights came on. We checked the glove box for the owner's manual to see if we could figure out what the Jetta was telling us. Turns out, it had something to do with the emission system and we noticed that the warranty was about to run out. Great! Zach Clemens is the sales person who has sold me several VWs over the years. When we had cell reception, I called him asking what we should do? There was no nearby VW dealership. Heck, there was no nearby anything in northern Nevada! He went over to the service department and asked one his technicians a few questions, we went back and forth for a while and it was decided we should continue driving the car and stop in when we got to Seattle. He told us not to worry, and we didn't. We arrived the next day after spending a night in Boise, ID. The car was service under warranted. We thanked both the Tech and Zach for everything. I don't know it many people get the same service we do but Carter is always been great to us. And, it's nice to know you can call someone to walk you through something difficult. Even of they're 650 miles away! They got my business! read more

I'll save you a trip to this place. Poor customer service. Uninformed staff who just say whatever they need to in order to close the sale. Many comments from staff were clearly self serving when they should be focused on customers' needs. I'm taking my business elsewhere, to a business that actually knows how to treat customers. read more

This is a service department that you can trust to do the job right at competitive pricing. I drive an hour to get to this location because of the people there. read more

I have been coming to Carter VW for years now and as usual had a great experience in my last 60K service. Lawrence was great and kept communicating with me the entire day to provide me with updates. I've also worked with Bart in the past and he was also great. While I know a dealership can be pricey, the reliability of their technicians and the good customer service experience makes it worth it. Unfortunately a couple of years ago I decided to go the cheaper route and take my VW to a mom & pop shop...my VW had a wrong part installed as part of regular maintenance service and it severely damaged my engine to the point that I had to get a new one. I took it to Carter VW to get it checked out and they walked me through the entire process from diagnosis to working with the insurance companies and ordering an engine all the way from Germany. It took a whole month almost but they provided me with a loaner car and kept me updated throughout this whole mess. Ever since then, I've been consistently bringing my VW to Carter. I even recently moved away from Seattle to the North Kitsap area and so the travel is much farther for me and requires a ferry, but I still go to Carter because of the exceptional service and I trust that my VW is in good hands. I always recommend my fellow VW friends to bring their vehicle to Carter and will continue to do so. read more

I purchased a used Volkswagen Golf here. They were very helpful and nice but in the end they sold me a car that needed a new transmission IMMEDIATELY, like it broke before I even got to my first oil change. I paid more than the KBB value, they would not come down on the price, only to have to shell out thousands in repair costs. I thought since they're a Volkswagen dealer they would make sure the used cars they sell are in good condition but nope, they don't give 2 shakes about customers, just profit. Maybe it's because I'm a female first time car buyer with limited car knowledge so they thought "bullseye! here's a real sucker. sell her the piece of junk we don't want to bother repairing" so yeah...would not recommend to anyone! especially not first time buyers or those who don't know a lot about cars. Bring your mechanic or someone who knows VW's if you dare buy from them read more

We purchased our 2011 VW Routan certified used from Carter in March 2015. These cars don't seem to last long at lots and when I found this car with under 36k and for under $20k we took the first ferry over from Kitsap to buy it. The car buying experience went very smoothly with our sales rep Donnielle. However, what hits it out of the park for me is the follow up service. We had to get the 40k services and decided to go with the local VW dealership to avoid the ferry and higher King County tax. I was then made aware that they couldn't find the key to remove my lug nuts and that they key wasn't given to us at time of purchase. Since we leave for a long road trip next week, this was absolutely necessary. So I called Carter to find out how to rectify this and spoke with Dan. He generously offered to take care of this for me for free if I could get the car over. When I found out the cost I called Dan back and told him I would come today - and he said he would take care of it to avoid any more hassle for me to take the ferry over. He spoke with the service advisor here at Paar and told them he would cover the cost. This by far is the best follow up service we have ever received from any dealership EVER. We have purchased new and used cars a dozen times in the last 15 years - and the service Dan has provided is second to none. My jaw literally dropped to the floor that he would try to make it less inconvenient for me. Like who does that. If you are in the market for a new or used car- please look no further. This is a great dealership to buy from; a true testament to why they have been around for so long. Their follow up service and taking care of their customers is worth any extra cost over another dealership. Although we aren't going to be in the market for another car for another 4-5 years- you can bet when we are we will be buying from this dealership ONLY. Thank you Dan for renewing my faith in good customer service. read more

Carter Volkswagen - My new mom mobile :) a VW Routan minivan :) - Car Dealers Near Me - Seattle, Washington

When the time came for a new vehicle, the clear winner was the 2008 VW Eos. I contacted the Costco Auto Programme and started the process of finding the car I wanted. Carter was able to get the car that I wanted with the features I sought and for roughly what I wanted to pay. I've dutifully taken in my car for regular maintenance and for a couple of service issues that were both covered under warranty. The service department has always been friendly and informative. On the occasions that I've waited for my vehicle, I take a quick walk down the road for some Mexican food and return when they call. If the repairs take more than a day, I've always been lucky to receive a loaner for the duration of my repairs. Recently there was an issue with my battery that involved two separate visits. Both times the problem was resolved and because I was so patient with them, I was given free oil changes for future visits along with apologies. read more

Carter Volkswagen - Service driveway. - Car Dealers Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Wow, what an amazing car buying experience from here, seriously! I came in because I saw they had one '16 Golf GTI in the color, trim, and package I wanted, and immediately contacted them because I was interested. I received a friendly call from Scott and was set up with an appointment for the next day. When test-driving, Scott was extremely thorough and kind. Not to mention he also owns a GTI, so there was a lot of familiarity from his end when describing what certain instruments do, certain quirks about the car... so on and so forth. He was not pushy at all and it was quite refreshing. After paperwork was all said and done, the last step is the financial manager, which I've learned to loathe in the past with other dealerships... However, he was witty, didn't feed us any bullshit, and was quite smart. Overall, it was pleasant working with him--something you don't expect on that end! read more

Carter Volkswagen - '16 Golf GTI Autobahn w/ Performance Pkg - Car Dealers Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Nice looking place. Stood there for 15 minutes and no one would help me. Guess I'll take my purchase elsewhere!

Buddy! Best price, rock hard price on Atlas. Best deal for Microsoft. Best deal I found at all dealership. I also gave my work colleague the info and he bought at Jetta as well. Very many thank you! read more

Michael and Chris were two of the best you could ask for. Delivered what I had wanted without any hassle. The easiest car buying experience I have ever had! Ps Covid protocols were in place and adhered to by all the staff I saw! Just a great experience! Thanks guys!! read more

I recently purchased a 2018 VW Passat from Carter and the experience was the most painful I have ever experienced. My gut told me several times to walk away, but I didn't. I now "own" a car with several electrical issues including the infosystem, the driver's door and the keyless entry (neither FOB opens the car, it remains unlocked). I have messaged the salesperson on various platforms and she has not responded at all to me. The Service department is stating it would be over a week before they can get me in; so my new car sits in my driveway. Another complaint is that when I spoke with the sales manager about the issues with this car; he stated "will you have a better car than your last with better gas mileage". When I informed him that my Nissan Rogue got 36 to 38 on the highway, his response was "No, you didn't". In my opinion, he was stating that I was giving him misinformation (fancy way of calling me a liar). This is the second car I have purchased from Carter (one new, one used) and believe me, it will be my last! There are too many VW dealers in the area; I highly recommend you go to one of them. read more

This is specifically for the vw service department. I've been coming here for years since I bought my 2016 gti on the east side and don't want to drive there from Seattle to get service. My contact has been Bart and I like working with him on repair and maintenance decisions. Being in a mechanical field myself I know enough to know he's shooting me straight and I don't worry about being pressured into unnecessary work. Also, the location makes it easy to wait for the car...many coffee shops to wait at. Or a beer? Many places to walk to on Ballard ave when you have an hour or two to kill. read more

Update 10/26 - The Fixed Operations Director reached out to me to professionally and attentively address my complaints and offered a just remedy. _________________________________________________________________ Completely unacceptable customer service! Note: please see all the poor ratings and poor customer experiences with Carter Volkswagen below-this is NOT an isolated incident! Problem #1) On September 22nd, I took in my GTI for some work. In an attempt to lower my bill total, I very explicitly told the "service advisor" via email (on 9/21 at 3:44pm) to NOT perform $362.33 worth of parts and labor (four ignition coils-parts and labor) I would do that work myself; I was ignored and that work was performed anyway, and I was charged for that amount. I have a speech and anxiety disorder, so I wasn't able to communicate this to the "service advisor" at the time of paying, and I begrudgingly paid anyway. Problem #2) At initial contact with the "service advisor" I communicated that there was a "clicking noise" emanating from the passenger side of the vehicle that I was concerned about; the "service advisor" acknowledged this and wrote it as part of his report. About two weeks and a half later, the same "clicking noise" emanates from the passenger side of the vehicle. On October 11th, I make contact with the "service advisor" and communicate my concerned about the clicking noise, and asked if my vehicle could be seen again since this was misdiagnosed or overlooked the first time. The "service advisor" tells me that they can do an "inspection & diagnosis," but that I will still have to pay the $180 fee. I mentioned that I had brought up the problem during my first visit and that it was not fixed or it was overlooked; the "service advisor" does not change his mind and insists on me paying the $180 fee "in case the concern you are experiencing is not related to the previous work and is a new issue he/she is diagnosing." Why does the "service advisor" not believe me when I say that IT IS exactly the same noise from before I took the vehicle in for service??? Completely unacceptable and unprofessional customer service! If the "service advisor" had integrity, the least he could have done was waive the "inspection & diagnosis" fee (and also acknowledge the mistake on his end for charging me $362.33 in parts and labor when I explicitly said via email not perform this portion of the service request). Unless my grievances are addressed in a just manner, I will not accepted a standard "we're sorry to hear that this visit to our service department was disappointing..." response. read more

Unresolved electrical problem spanning twelve months on a Sportwagon with 30k miles. I've asked twice to have the Service Director contact me. No reply. read more

I didn't buy my VW from them, yet when I lost my keys and needed replacement/reprogramming, they were absolutely amazing in customer service. They were responsive, campassionate, timely, and outright great during each step of the way (this coming from someone who's always pessimistic about auto care centers taking advantage of customers). read more

We flew from San Diego, CA to buy our second Volkswagen this year from Carter VW. We love our new 2018 Tiguan that we just drove home to CA. Zachary Clements, the sales manager was awesome and did a great job helping us, he was so accommodating and even recommended a great restaurant for us to try while we visited Seattle. Our sales person, Donielle was very knowledgeable and helpful, explained all of the features. Donielle was super friendly and we appreciated her help so much! This is a great family business. We highly recommend Carter VW! read more

Carter Volkswagen - New Tiguan! Love it, and Carter VW! - Car Dealers Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I'm not a big crier. In fact, a good friend recently mentioned that she had never seen me cry in spite of the fact that we have been friends for nearly a decade. That said, these guys made me cry. I won't go into the whole terrible story, but in a record amount of time I was basically called a liar, grossly misquoted a price over the phone, went from having a car that started to a car that wouldn't start, blamed for said problem, yelled at, run over and kicked in the groin. The last two accusations didn't actually happen but I left feeling like they had. And ultimately, yes there were tears. Terrible service. I was here to get a new remote key. That's it. read more

Awful awful awful. Don't go here. While most of these reviews are about the car service center here, I came to Carter to buy a car. Still, it was awful. First, let me state that I am an informed car buyer, armed with tons of research and information with me. So, I was working with a guy named Ron all day long. Seemed like a nice enough guy, helped me all day, took me on a few test drives, the normal stuff. I had finally decided that I was interested in a Passat Sedan, but neither the black or white gold that he currently had on his lot. He didn't like that very much. When I told him my financial situation and that I needed my monthly lease payments to be within this certain range, he said fine. He made me an offer, I said sure, and told him I would come back after dinner (as I had already been there for 4 hours and my puppy was surely suffering.) I came back at 7p looking to sign paperwork. First, I waited a FULL HOUR before I even saw the guy, although about 6 employees at the dealership asked me if i had been helped and obviously hadn't bothered once to say "oh, your customer from earlier is here ready to sign...". THEN, he gave me the typical dirty-car-salesman run around. He took this "offer" to his manager (which was initially at the low end of my range) and took 30 mins. He said he found ONE car in the "zone" of his that would match my criteria (yeah, right) and that with that, he would have to up my payments $40 HIGHER than my RANGE, per month! Ooooh, BUT, he COULD offer me within my range on one of the cars that he had on his lot (although, I had made it very clear that I wasn't interested in either of those). After all of this, it was 9p. They had closed at 8, and I was planning on a movie at 9:50. I point blank then asked "I told you i have to be in that range, and if you can't do that, what was the whole point of all this stuff all day long??" What was the final straw was when he tried to blame ME for not understanding what was going on and that it was MY fault. No way. Screw you too Ron. I went the next day to University VW and bought a really great Passat, with exactly what I wanted in it, for the low end of my price range. Ron called me today asking if i was still interested in this "deal". I didn't call him back, and would never recommend them to anyone. read more

Got all the way into the final negotiation for a car I loved. Then they tried to upsell me on expensive 800? warranty and special body waxing and more. I walked. MAD read more

I'd been taking my VW over to University VW for warranty repairs, but finally the lazy side of my personality took over and the next time it broke down, I had it towed in to Carter. Busted radiator. Bummer. Still under warranty, though, so I was feeling okay. Everything was normal, they gave me a ride to work and I picked up my fixed car at the end of the day. They tried to sell me an extended warranty for $2000, which I politely declined because I was an idiot and had NO idea how much money I'd be shelling out for my sweet little P.O.S. of a Passat. But that's a totally different review. A week later, the warranty expires. Two days later, the car starts dying. Suddenly, mysterious, in the middle of driving, and it starts dying. And by the way, it's the day before Thanksgiving. Awesome! Of course Carter didn't have any loaners, but they wouldn't even look at the car for at least five days. Cause, you know, they were really busy. And then they quoted nearly $800 for the repair (even though they weren't sure what it was because they wouldn't even look at it.) I had a moment of panic. I had three houses of dogs to take care of, a job to work, and those required a ton of driving. That's cool though. I've got no pride. I flat out begged them to look at the car - think of the hungry animals! The dogs crossing their legs while I sat waiting for slow ass Metro on holiday schedule! No luck. I called up University VW, they fit me in, replaced a busted engine coil in two hours and for less than half of Carter's ridiculous pretense of an estimate. Now, guess how many times I've gone back to Carter! That's right. A big, fat zero. read more

Very disappointing. Of course, I paid them $520 to do close to nothing (oil change, top off filters, run diagnostics, visual inspection)--this is the standard rate for the periodical check ups. Kind of annoying, but really, it's all stuff I could do if I had the time and a garage, but that's the dealers bread and butter, What I found most annoying about Carter was the lack of customer service. Sure, the service writers are very kind when they schedule an appointment and check in the car; however, nobody spoke to me when I picked up my car: no explanation of charges, no "thank you," no conversation. I waited for five minutes to talk with a service writer about the repairs and charges, but had no luck. Even the shag boy was curt--not even a "thanks." They really need to practice some courtesy there, maybe bring in a consultant on how to treat customers, as they seemed clueless. I dropped a ton of cash for virtually nothing, and hardly was thanked at all. That's just plain rude. Can't really judge their work--since basically I could have done the same thing at Jiffy Lube for $120, but face-to-face, they weren't communicative after they had done the work on my car. Update! I just discovered this morning that they didn't take the core out of my car, as I requested, so now I am taking another trip back to the dealership. Would have been nice if they had completed all the work on the service order. read more

My wife and I bought a car from these guys. No weird pressure from the salespeople, straightforward information. Price was about right to begin with - they're obviously not making much (if anything) off of commission or markup. They do repairs and my guess is that's the main thrust of their business model. Really painless experience with a great staff. Update: six months later, we discovered deep structural rust in the frame. The rest of the car looked great, but the places where the unibody was connected to the frame are rusting through. Three auto body shops (including Honda of Bellevue) all independently told me that the car is totaled and had been unsafe to drive for quite some time. I brought the car back and asked what they would do to make it right. They immediately offered to buy it back, took the title and the keys, and said that they would mail a check to us. It's been three weeks and they have our car and we still haven't been paid. The worst thing is that I suspect that they are just going to try to sell the car to someone else, despite the fact that it is a death trap. Stay away. Update: After four weeks without receiving my money back (after they took my car), I spoke with a lawyer about legal action against Carter VW for the money they still hadn't returned. He recommended suing them immediately, but I decided to contact the manager one last time and express my interest in resolving it outside of a court. He sent me the check immediately via FedEx. read more

My fiancé and I came here today looking to buy a pre owned car preferably a Volkswagen jetta tdi. The salesmen who helped us, ted reich, was awful. We told him what we wanted and our price range. My fiancé also was loosely looking for a new car for himself and was very interested in the Volkswagen cc. Ted begrudgingly took us to look at one but quickly reminded us it was out of price range and hurried us over to the jetta. We liked the black jetta as it was the color I wanted but ted continued to push the grey. Finally we were able to test drive the black one. This guy sat in the back (and was the worst back seat driver) he huffed and puffed if I missed his last minute turns and had a prescribed route. We get back we tell him we only have a few more minutes and will fill out credit report and all that lengthy paper work online since we'd like to compare prices and check out a few other car lots. We ask him wat approximately would be the monthly price for 5 year plan "is that an offer?" No... "We'll my manager in there is not gonna be happy if this isn't an offer" but can you just tell us a guess? He takes us inside and puts the paperwork for the credit report in front of us. My fiancé tells him this is exactly what we don't want to do right now and Ted Reich exasperated throws his pen on the ground and shuffles his papers around "okay okay have a good day". We leave. And we bought a car at chaplains in bellevue that same day for my fiancé. You lost a sale Ted... read more

My neighbor bought a 2011 Outback 3.6R Limited from Tony in June. He did a quote request through Carter Subaru Ballard's website, Tony responded with a great price, and the deal was quick and efficient. I loved his car and hit Tony up the next day. He gave me the same price; the car was on its way, would be in the following week and was reserved for me. Over the next few days I got cold feet: I was just starting a new job, wasn't sure when my first paycheck would arrive, etc etc. I told Tony I was backing out, but that I'd be interested in rekindling in August after I'd settled in at the new digs. He was totally cool, no pressure or pushback. Fast-forward to August 1. Tony sends a feeler e-mail to see if I'm still interested. I am. Still looking for the same thing: 2011 Outback 3.6R Limited, Silver. He's got one coming in. It has the bumper cover, mud flaps, all-weather floor mats and body side moldings. Perfect. He gives me a better price than a few months previous, and I'm a happy camper. Here are the two big, important things that stand out about working with Tony: 1) The train/delivery truck was delayed and the car arrived a few days later than expected. I had sold my previous car based on the expected arrival date and the two day delay left me without transportation. Tony quickly hooked me up with a free (and quite nice) loaner car to fill in the gap. Absolutely fantastic customer service. 2) The transaction was quick and effortless. Some people enjoy the search and process of buying new things, especially cars. Not me. I know what I want and I don't like to haggle, barter or waste time. The total time for the transaction was a few e-mails with Tony and about 90 minutes at the dealership doing paperwork. Fantastic. If you're looking for a Subaru in Seattle, I can't recommend Tony Robertson at Carter Subaru in Ballard highly enough. Also, I freakin' love my new Outback. Also, the dealership sold me the Heavy Duty Cargo Rack for $199, and SoA offered the $150 rebate. $50 for a sweet accessory? Yes, please. read more

Picture yourself with fists of rage yelling "Saaaaaaaaab!" like Kirk yelling "Kaaaaahhn" in Star Trek and you'll be on the same page as me. Maybe it's my fault for buying what is essentially a GM car, but still, Carter failed, failed, failed to stand behind the product they sell, so they get a bum rating from me. I will say I had a great initial purchase experience here, but Saab and Carter Saab's unwillingness to cover what were clearly manufacturing defects really turned me off. I should have known that my Saab (2002 9-5 wagon) was going to be trouble when it had all sorts of little defects (light bulbs going out, leaks in coolant system) during the warranty period. But I figured, the car drives nicely, and these things are covered, so what's the big deal. I'll tell you what the big deal is - The first year out of warranty I ended up having to pay almost $2,000 to repair persistent leaks in the cooling system. This was when the car had under 25k in miles and all its recommended services. Carter Saab said, "Tough luck, but try calling Saab (GM) directly." No dice there. So I pleaded and begged Carter to stand behind their products, as this was clearly a case where it was in their best interest, but they wouldn't. In contrast, my experience at other dealerships (including Lexus of Seattle and Toyota of Seattle) has been much more positive. Next time around not only will I not be buying another Saab, I think I'll avoid buying any of the other shops in the Carter family (VW, Subaru). read more

Came here to get my car serviced because the engine light was on. Took me 2 weeks to get an appointment. They were not sympathetic to an emergency.. Bart the service guy was very nice but not very clear on the pricing when discussing over the phone. Also wasn't very confident when explaining to me the problem. Told me the price and I asked, can we just do the required maintenance right now see if that's the problem because that's out of my price range, said sure sure it'll be probably $800ish. Okay that's fine. Calls me the next day with my car ready to be picked up saying it's going to be what he quoted me at $1500! Obviously it was too late for me to disagree because they already did ALL of the work, not just the required part of it... Disappointed that they weren't very transparent upfront but the experience was overall fine. read more

I bought a used 2000 Passat from Carter in June of '09. Donielle was my salesperson. She was very helpful, professional and spent a good deal of time with me to complete the sale. Good price, fair deal, good customer service. About three days after I bought the car, I noticed the check engine light came on. I called Donielle and she told me to bring it in to be checked. Turns out it needed a new secondary air pump, which would have run me several hundred dollars, but because I had just bought the car, Donielle arranged for the repair to be done at no charge. This was great, even though I bought the car "As Is" without any warranty. They didn't have to do this for me. So far, so good! I was also given a loaner car without a problem, which is very convenient. I've had to have the car serviced on one other occasion for a new coolant sensor and connector, have the throttle body cleaned and to have some codes reset in the car's computer Again, I arranged to have a loaner car while the car was being worked on - no problem. The repair took a couple of days longer than expected because it was over a weekend, but Eric told me not to worry about it and to keep the loaner car over the weekend, no problem. The repairs weren't cheap, but the problems were solved and the car has performed great ever since. Problem solved. I realize that there are independent European car specialty mechanic shops that are less expensive, but I keep going back to Carter VW because the level of customer service I've received is first rate (Eric and Paul in Service department are outstanding and very patient), loaner cars are happily provided when arranged ahead of time and I've had repairs explained to me so I understood what was done. I felt like I was treated fairly. Carter has provided me with very good customer service. Service issues and repairs have been done promptly and professionally... Express oil change was painless and completed in less than an hour while I waited in the customer lounge. They have not given me a reason to go anywhere else for service and until they do, I will continue to use Carter VW when I need to have my Passat serviced. Overall, I have been very satisfied. If price is your only consideration, than you'd probably do better at one of the independent non-dealer shops, but if you're like me and value good levels of service and customer satisfaction, Carter VW is highly recommended. read more

I never go off about service but these guys are slime balls! My wife sends her VW in for a recall on her sunroof and decides to get an oil change as well. They notice that she has a couple of burnt out tail lights and replaces them for $60!!! $60!!!!!! Stay away from Carter. read more

I'm shocked to read all of the poor reviews for Carter Volkswagen. I have now owned two Volkswagens from Carter (spanning 4 years) and have NEVER had a problem with either the Sales or Service departments. I bought my first Volkswagen, a 2006 Jetta that was previously a demo vehicle, from Zach Clements in June of 2006. We had a wonderful experience with Zach, no pressure, answered all of our questions, and found the EXACT color/feature combo that I wanted within a matter of hours. Zach even called me during the holidays of 2006 and 2007 to wish me a happy holiday season and see if there was anything I needed with regards to my vehicle. I serviced this vehicle at Carter for 4 years before I got into an accident with it a few weeks ago. I was always able to get a loaner car - even the two times that I forgot about appointments, the schedulers were happy to reschedule me. I was never overcharged, always had a tech (which is what I think they call them there) call me and explain in laborious detail the costs associated with any service. They also gave me the option to turn down extraneous items, which I always did. I had zero problems with my Jetta while I was driving it except for one coil recall, which was taken care of in 24 hours. It was this high level of service that lead me to call Zach as soon as I was buying another car to replace my Jetta. He gave me an amazing deal on a 2010 Jetta - with three years of free maintenance. I had a great experience with the Finance Manager and didn't feel pressure to buy an extended warranty - even though I did. I added on 3 years and 24K miles to my 3 year/36K bumper-to-bumper warranty for only $1,200. This was worth it to me for my peace of mind, but I see some other users on this site complaining that they were even ASKED about buying a warranty. This was not offensive to me at all. They stayed late on a Saturday to get me all set up, detailed my car overnight, and had it ready for me on Sunday morning. I recognize about 75% of the employees from reception to sales to service to the butlers/valets when I go to Carter - many have been there 4 years or more, which to me is a great sign. All in all a great experience! read more

If you plan to bring your trade-in car, good luck. Not the best experience ever with a guy from sales (his first name starts with T). He kept asking information about my trade-in car when I was not ready to share it. Car buyers, know something: only share information when the person also gives up some information. That is how it works. But he basically wanted to know "everything upfront". I was literally walking in and he asked: "Hi, how can I help you?" "Are you trading in a car? Oh yeah? Which one?". He didn't even ask my name before about the trading in thing. And that kept like this on and on until the time I went home. He kept asking kinds of question I was not comfortable to share to a stranger. "Where do you work? What car do you own?" Man, I'm sure you had the best intentions of knowing about me, but the way you asked these questions made me really uncomfortable. I'm also sure that Carter has been in Seattle for 40+ years for a reason. It's a great (and fair) company. I wanted to talk to someone I could rely. I'm happy to give more constructive feedback upon request. read more

I bought my Jetta from here in 1995 and take it in occasionally for items I think the dealer might be best able to fix. This time, the lock on my drivers door broke so I stopped by when it happened to make an appointment for the following week. I spoke with Paul and he set up my appointment. I brought the car in today and Fred wrote up my work order. Told me the complimentary shuttle would be calling for me on the loud speaker shortly. I waited outside, looking at the nice new cars on the lot. A gal approaches me and starts chatting me up, I asked her if she is the shuttle driver and I think she was a little annoyed by that remark. Would have been nice just to wait in peace rather than get sized up by this sales chick, but people gotta make a living I suppose. Fortunately the loud speaker announced the shuttle was going to leave, so I got on my way. Shuttle driver was nice and not much talking on the ride home. She did indicate that they could pick me up when the car was ready, which I thought was a nice offer. Fred called in the afternoon and said they did a 10 point inspection and found that my brake lights were out, so I said go ahead and change them. While I like knowing that all my lights work, it did make my tab go up quite a few dollars. $40 for labor and 12 for the bulbs. Ouch!! Paid my bill and the guy who brought the car around was cordial enough and told me to enjoy the sunshine. In the past, the car has always been washed when I picked it up, now they give a coupon to Brown Bear in the name of environmental friendliness. Everyone I dealt with was mostly courteous and reasonably professional. This is Seattle after all, an outstanding experience is truly rare and what others have said about Carter here is usually the norm (shoddy, I'm doing you a favor by even acknowledging your presence, let alone thank you for spending money at my establishment, etc) around town. My visit scores a solid 2.5 stars for being perfectly average, yet getting fixed what I needed. read more

Short version: Traded my 2014 GTI lease from a previous dealership in for a new 2017 GTI S lease, and this was a way better dealership than my last. Haven't tried/need service yet, will update my review if necessary. The place is supposed to be remodeled soon, but honestly the atmosphere felt a little more comfortable than the shiny dealerships I usually see. I had leased before, knew a little of what to expect, and had a good idea (though unverified) of what I wanted in a new lease. The previous dealership was very nice but really tried to talk me into a GTI Autobahn, and I knew I didn't want it. At Carter, Michael (my rep) was very nice but when I told him the configuration I really wanted, he told me that it was impossible. Crazy, but I'm glad because the last dealership didn't even tell me that and just started up-selling. I still wanted to handle my lease that same day, and we found a good deal I liked and made it happen. I didn't really haggle, just told him my price points and was offered a price very close to my original (ideal) plan so I took it. Then it was off to Johnathan (sp?), who was LIGHTNING fast with the paperwork and I loved every minute of it. He explained each form to me in clear language, even stopped when I asked a few specifics. He was very fun to chat with, but was mostly focused on handling paperwork with me quickly (sometimes a few at a time) which was great because I was in the same mood. The only reason for the 4-star review was because they screwed up a small detail in the paperwork and I had to go in and handle it just before I left (10 minutes). That, and I had to wait for them to drive my specific car over so I had to wait about an hour before I could drive it off the lot. Neither were real problems for me, just not "ideal". After much thought, I bought the lease insurance and I'm happy with it. I rarely trust extra "insurance" but not having to worry about damages (to some extent) is one of the big "fears" of leasing off my shoulders. It was a straight-forward offer, feel free to choose for yourself. Truthfully when I think about it I *might* have been able to settle for a 2017 GTI (not S) instead, but I'm not bothered. Maybe it was just a good upgrade season, but I'm thrilled with my car. I'm paying in the high end of my "happy zone", way less than options was told at my old dealership, and I'm way too enamored with features like Apple CarPlay and a rear-view camera to look back. =D Also: I see the same 1-2 star reviews you do and they scare me too, but I've had no problem yet. I'll be sure to update this review about service requests for any inspections/repairs. - Keith read more

These people are the absolute best!! They really care about their customers and will do their best to help you out and explain everything. I'm very unknowledgeable when it comes to cars and they explain in a way I get it but they go above and beyond! Just bought a car from them and they did many services on the car to make sure it was perfect and running in great condition. They even did extra services for me beyond what was expected to make me happy and make my car amazing and what I want/need. I am a client for a lifetime guaranteed. They are a little more expensive than others for services, but every penny is well spent with them. Best customer service I have ever received and a friendly, loving team! Ted Reich is who you want to work with! read more

I recently had a major issue with my ten year old Jetta and Carter really went above and beyond to make sure that it got fixed. My car had some issues with starting so I had it towed to Carter. They weren't able to find anything even after an hour of testing each individual component. So I took the car back. Two days later it happened again. Now before you think that Carter just wrote the problem off, once we discovered exactly what was wrong with my car it only happened in a very specific set of circumstances, so it was unsurprising that they couldn't find it their first time out. Carter kept at it until they found the problem and didn't pad the diagnostic time. They were very great at keeping in touch with me and letting me know what was going on and explaining the problem in lay terms to me. I've been bringing my car here for years because I feel like they do good work and are honest. Only 4/5 stars because I've never dealt with their sales department so I can't attest to that. read more

5-28-2016, this is the 2nd Passat I've gotten from Carter, and both experiences have been worthy of 6 stars if Yelp would allow it. My salesperson this time was Michael Cappuccilli, and he was great. Very knowledgeable, very patient, answered every question, and zero sales pressure, which I always appreciate very much. Super good guy. Since this is my 2nd Passat, I can say that every service I've had done there has been perfect, done in a totally acceptable time-frame, and everything explained in detail. Just a memory here -- at one of my regular service checkups on my 1st Passat the service rep said I had a screw in one of my tires, and said they'd have to charge me to fix it, but that Les Schwab just a mile away would do it for free. Then he put the driving directions to Les Schwab into my phone. You gonna get that anywhere else? I've bought and leased about a dozen cars over the years, and when I was younger (I'm now 60) I've been mistreated at other dealerships in the past and would never go back again, of course, but Carter VW has always made me feel like I'm their most important customer and I'll continue to go there for everything automotive. read more

We bought a Jetta here back in 2010 and have been bringing the car in for service ever since. Today I dropped the car off for service and was told that they didn't have any loaner cars to drive, despite being promised one on the phone. Inconvenient but not the end of the world-- I was told it would be under an hour for service so I decided to wait. It's been an hour and a half so far, with no one offering a place to sit, water/coffee, etc. Poor service all around. read more

I went in their twice with the goal of leaving with a new car. One time, after parking 3 blocks away, and walking in the driving rain, I get in the show room and it just seems like nobody wanted to be in the business of selling cars. Second visit, yep, had to park three blocks away again, I finally found a salesman, But he must of just won the lottery as rounding up a car for a test drive was not something he seemed to want to do, I bought my car from Chaplins. They will get my service work too as your location is not user friendly and the shop is a mess. Sorry. read more

This weekend I leased another Golf at Carter VW. Four years ago, Rose was my salesperson and she was awesome. I was a little concerned about going with a different salesperson this time around (Rose is no longer there), but I liked Bill Stutzman right away. No pressure, just very helpful. He made the process very easy and I'm so glad have him as my new salesperson. I might even like him more than Rose. If you go to Carter VW, see Bill and let him know that I sent you! As for the service department, I've only had an attitude from one person who is no longer there. I've been able to get a loaner car every time my cars have needed service, but I also don't schedule service until they have a car available and it's been saved for me. read more