I bought 2 Subarus from this dealership at the end of 2019. Both had issues immediately. Owner was difficult to get in touch with as he is a one man operation and states that it is his business practice to not communicate by phone and only use text message. Please see other reviews that confirm this. When I bought the cars, I cranked one up and said this vehicle sounds very loud. The owner of the dealership said it was because the engine was starting from cold. He said if there were any problems to take it to a repair center called Suby Docs. Well I took it to Suby Docs and they said it has a cracked exhaust manifold which is causing the noise. They asked me "have you ever noticed this car is very loud when it starts". I said yes. I have been texting the owner of the dealership for over a week now with my car sitting idle at Suby Docs. The owner claims that the cars are sold "as is" and refuses to pay. This is not the way I treat customers at my business. I hope this is not the way that the owner of Charleston Auto Sales treats all customers. Please do not support this business. I am confident you will get better after-sales service from a dealership that cares more about their customers. read more

This sweet find, is my new go to place for Subaru's and other second hand cars in the Charleston area. I am so lucky to have found this place. The owner Jim Gerow is fantastic to work with. Not pushy at all. He has a workshop with Matt who will work on any issues you have with your car. Initially my plan after been told about this guy was to come and select a Subaru for my daughter. He had several, to select from with different prices, ages, and states of condition. He let us browse at our will, take test drives and then come ask questions. I loved the fact that he wasn't your typical pushy dealer. Both for buying cars and services on your own car, he is half the price of the big dealers. A family run, small shop and second hand dealer that I would trust with my car and that of my daughter's. Charleston Auto Sales is a true hidden secret in this town. Go visit, you will not be sorry. read more

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After much research I came across Jim, owner/operator of Charleston Auto Sales. He specializes in used Subarus. We could not have been happier with the relationship. Jim is very matter of fact. He only sources clean Carfacts cars then has his mechanic go through each car to make sure all the standard maintenance has been done. He prices his cars on the low end of the blue book range and the price is nonnegotiable. We were looking for an inexpensive Suby that would suffice for errands when we were in town. Jim put us in a 2005 Forester. The price was fair. The car is clean and drives great. I would have no problem recommending Charleston Auto Sales to any of my friends/family. read more

First things first, if you are expecting to try and haggle prices, don't bother making the drive. But if you want a quality used Subaru, you have found the right place. I made the drive from Fort Bragg NC to see a 2004 Subaru Forester. I found the car off of autotrader.com. The car had the carfax already attached to it. It had 1 owner in the 10 years of carfax history on the vehicle. The pictures that were posted with the vehicle were just like seeing it in person. When I got to the dealership, I was a little taken back by the size of the warehouse. Jim (The Owner) has two small warehouses with at least a combined total of 20 different subaru models. But the look of his establishment is truly a diamond in the rough because of the quality of vehicles. After a test drive of the vehicle that I wanted I was completely sold. The price was just right at the quality of used vehicle that I was getting. Very long story short, if you don't buy a Subaru from Jim, your wrong! read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. First, it took a month and a half to get an owners manual for my car and even longer to receive my license plate and title. I had to go get a temporary plate two different times. Even after calling and showing up to the office multiple times they couldn't get the ball rolling on the necessary paperwork. Second, one month after I got my 2010 Subaru Outback the brake rotors needed to be replaced ($780) and two weekends ago it overheated and I needed to repair the head gaskets ($1,900). Now, today, I'm back in the shop spending another $250 because a few emergency lights came on. Granted, it could all be a horrible coincidence because the car isn't young, but, you want slow service for mediocre quality cars this is the place for you! read more

DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM THIS PLACE! Jim will try his hardest to scam you. I took one of his cars for a drive and he lied about everything: told me the auto was in good conditions but the battery was broken, and the radio couldn't be turned off! Plus the car would drift left if the steering wheel wasn't held. After exposing him and telling him that the car was obviously not in good conditions he was very rude and told me to leave immediately, even shouting at me. What a terrible person. Never do business here, follow my advice. read more

Jim was our first stop when we were looking for a used car. He was friendly and welcoming. He wasn't a pushy salesperson. He was very responsive via text/email (less so by phone as he was usually with customers, which was clear from the times we were there). He let us test drive many vehicles, and he listed to what we were looking for. We also tried a larger dealership. They were extremely pushy, wanted us to test drive a car that smelled like something had died in it, and kept talking about cars we weren't interested in. After several weeks of looking and test driving, we ended up buying a car that we really like from Jim. About a week after purchase of the car, the radiator went. Jim quickly resolved the issue and replaced the radiator for cost of the part, no labor charge. If you are buying a used car from anyone, I would recommend getting a pre-purchase inspection. Jim was happy to let us take the car to do that. We had it inspected by two separate garages, both noted the same things about the car. read more

Would not but from them ever again! After less than a week of driving our 2012 Subaru Forester it broke down. We towed it to a Subaru specialist and he informed us that the engine needed to be entirely replaced due to the fact it had been oil starved. So after about $4,000 later and no help from the owner we are pretty disgusted. We informed the owner what had happened when the car broke down and he did nothing to even try and help us! He basically told us we should have bought the warranty. Not a great way to do business! read more

This is not a trustworthy business. They lie and sell busted cars!! Take your hard earned money elsewhere . I paid for my car in cash and all I got was a load of BS and a lemon! I should not have trusted Charleston Auto Sales. read more

My wife and I test drove a 2008 Subaru Tribeca from Charleston Auto Sales recently and I want to share our experience with you all. The ad on the web site stated that the Kelly Blue Book value was $11,361, but they were only asking $9,750 and that it had a "clean" CarFax. Great deal, right? We looked at the vehicle and noticed that the bumper had been painted and that it also had damage under the rear right taillight. Upon producing the CarFax, it wasn't clean. It had an accident in 2009. Okay, still not a huge deal. It was just cosmetic and had been patched. Not professionally, but it wouldn't stop me from buying it. Test drive went well and I called the bank. I was approved for the loan. We signed some paperwork and I told Jim, the owner, that I wanted to have the vehicle inspected by Stokes Honda before finalizing the purchase. Honda completed the inspection and found that the seatbelt in the rear center didn't work, there was some mild dry rot on what appeared to be new tires, mostly minor stuff. They also discovered an oil leak. While this could be valve cover gaskets, it could also be a head gasket. Valve cover gaskets would only run a few hundred bucks, but a head gasket would run significantly more (around $2,000). I returned the vehicle to Jim and gave him a copy of the report. He said he wouldn't sell the vehicle to me with a leak and would send it to Suby Doctors on Monday (this was on Saturday, November 28, 2015) and he would let me know what they found the actual issue was by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. I hadn't heard from him by Thursday, so I sent him a text. He had no clue who I was and didn't remember which vehicle I had looked at. I reminded him that it was the Tribeca, and he said it had been sold but he was looking for another one. I only advised that I had been expecting to hear back from him about the oil leak and he advised nothing further. I told my wife about it. All we can figure is that he didn't want to sink more money into it and simply sold it to somebody else who didn't know better. Why else would you not contact somebody who was ready to make a purchase? That's shady. My wife posted about it on Facebook, to which he responded that he "sold it to somebody with a job," referring to the fact that my wife is a stay at home mother. He later deleted that post, but that screenshot is on Facebook as well. He then posted that she was just upset that we "missed out on another great deal." Really? We had a check ready to go, so we didn't miss out on anything. To put the nail in the coffin, Jim had the audacity to send me a text and ask, "Is all the Facebook trashing really necessary?" No apology was ever offered or any further explanation beyond his technician supposedly fixing it and then him selling it to another buyer. No idea what the leak even was, not that it matters at this point. I would encourage anybody looking for a used Subaru to exercise caution with this business. Jim is clearly not in this for the best interest of his customers with shady business practices like selling a vehicle to somebody else instead of letting a buyer know that it's been fixed and slamming somebody on Facebook for leaving a negative review on his business. Either take the criticism and learn from it or you won't be in business very long. My Facebook has the screenshots of his original listing with all of the claims of value versus the actual KBB listed values (he didn't put the mileage in correctly to KBB when he pulled that report) and clean CarFaxes along with the original inflammatory remarks on my wife's original posting followed by him changing his remarks. Clearly, we dodged a bullet. My opinion is that he realized I'm not a plain buyer and will have a vehicle inspected out of my own pocket to make sure everything is in order like we did with this one. That also leads me to believe he wouldn't be able to sell us anything if everything he has for sale has issues. Any further contact by Jim, the owner, or any other affiliates of this company to myself or any member of my family will not be tolerated. Summary: 1) Claimed KBB value was $11,361, but fair market KBB was actually only $10,108 (that's in Good Condition per KBB, which doesn't account for damage from a wreck nor engine troubles). 2) Claimed clean CarFax, which actually showed the vehicle had been in an accident. 3) Was suppose to have the vehicle fixed by Suby Doctors and call us back, but instead just sold it to somebody else and claims that his technician fixed it. 4) Had no idea who I was when I texted him back. You would think somebody who wanted to make a sale would keep the number stored in his phone. 5) Flamed on my wife's post that he "sold it to somebody who had a job," when she left a poor review, then realized that won't gain him any business and changed the post to her being upset that she "missed out on another great deal." 6) Proceeded to harass me on my cell phone about a negative review on FB. read more

Please be cautious. Unfortunately, I had legitimate high hopes for this dealer/dealership. Its a one guy with several "mechanics" show. Since he only sells Subarus and is known as a "subaru doctor" I felt pretty inclined to trust the products for sale. I was wrong. the car i test drove looked like a deep cleaned, previously mold/mildew auto auction car. He confirmed my suspicion. I then asked about the engine and trans, his exact reply, "the place i buy these from makes sure the engine and trans are good, I just make sure the brakes and oil/basic stuff is done right." Long in a short the car i drove three hours for had at minimum a blown head gasket and even when i offered a lower price to take it home and fix it, "Oh no, i dont negotiate" was his reply. His ambivalence towards the whole situation was off putting and I therefore turned down the vehicle and could not bring myself to continue business with him. read more

DON'T BUY FROM THIS PLACE!! After only 3 weeks, the LEMON car we bought has had the clutch replaced (which Jim Gerow had told us it was NEW), the transmission has been replaced, and now the catalytic convertor has to be replaced! The owner (Jim Gerow) will not talk to me at all, he has hung up on me twice! We will be pursuing this legally if he doesn't step up to the plate and be a decent business!! read more

We purchased a Subaru for our daughter, because it is one of the best cars on the market... They all have head gasket and timing belt issues that are common, which Jim replaces, with new, on a most of the cars he sells, which is great! He has specialized in Subaru's for years and knows the ins and outs. We were able to test drive the vehicles we were interested in and all our questions were answered. It was very nice to deal with a small business man that at no time made us feel pressured. read more

Wow!! what great service! I am very thankful that I found Charleston Auto Sales! I am always anxious about buying a used car but Jim really takes care of his cars and his customers! There are some things that are unknown when buying a car, and I now stand here and vouch for Jim Gerow and his business! thank you Jim for providing a good product and excellent service! read more

Jim was very friendly, understanding, and not pushy! He worked with my budget and when I found a great 2010 Suby with 85K, I was sold. I took it to AAA & Suby Docs to make sure everything checked out. They did confirm my worry about internal engine noise once I took the car home. Subs have louder engines, but I needed to get this noise looked at. I was very worried when the told me about engine noise, but Jim worked with me to correct this issue in a very timely manner. I feel I got a good deal on a Suby and if you hate the pushy big dealerships that try and wheel & deal you, then I encourage you to see Jim at Charleston Auto Sales. He never missed any calls or texts when I tried to contact him and was really understanding. He will work with you and is laid back!! I think more people need to understand that when you are buying a USED vehicle (especially one with higher mileage) you will have to take some repairs into consideration. Overall, my worries have subsided and I feel good. Thanks! read more

Jim runs the place himself and does a very nice job. Honest and very knowledgeable. Cars are priced well. Goes above and beyond the norm. Thank you Jim! read more