My longtime friend decided she wanted to get a new Subaru Outback Limited after test-driving a variety of cars. She was shopping locally, across the Bay, before she let me know of her intended purchase. The deal she was working on was anything but impressive and the salesman was reluctant to deal let alone put any deal in writing. Let me explain my involvement. I am the guy that all my friends and family come to when they are planning to buy a car. I will advise them as to the most reliable brands and prohibitive maintenance costs that they should shy away from. Once they decide, the only deals I will help them with need three components. They need to know the exact car they want, no trade-ins to confuse negotiations, and an all-cash deal. Not everyone can do that but that is what my family has always done. My Father was a very successful businessman with a title but always called himself a salesman, and boy was he. As a child, he let me pick out his cars and I would watch him negotiate deals that any dealership would say were impossible. They almost would pay him to buy the car. He could do it and I learned from the best. While I have an established relationship with a dealership group representing multiple car brands, including Subaru, my connection did not have the exact car my friend wanted. I did an internet search and found four cars that met her criteria and the dealership was the closest and most convenient to me. The dealer was Serramonte Subaru. I reached out to them via email and my first contact was sales associate, Jenna. After explaining the no-nonsense way I buy cars, she referred me to Internet Sales Manager, Antonio Mariscal. I told him what I was doing in the interest of my good friend and how I am no nonsense, and lucky for us, he's no nonsense too. His initial offer easily bested the other dealer's quote but he and I know there is always more on the table. There are many rebates and incentives by different names that you might not think you qualify for but they all are money the manufacturer puts on the table to close a deal. I asked Antonio to sharpen his pencil because I know there was more on the table. Sure, the dealer has to make some profit to keep the doors open but how much profit they need is what makes or breaks the deal. After revealing my aggressive negotiating style, I didn't hear from Antonio for about a day. I thought I might have worn out my welcome and couldn't really blame him. I was wrong. He contacted me again, not with the deal I asked for but a better deal. He must have worn his pencil out of existence. Not only that, he put the entire deal in writing with the all important "Out the Door" price. No add-ons. I was quite pleased, knew my friend would be pleased, and assured Antonio that while I knew the other dealer would try to meet or beat his deal, we wouldn't be playing the offers against each other after Antonio worked so hard to do more than I even asked for. I told him he had the sale and we would be coming over to buy the car after my friend completed the impending sale of her present car that was delayed by a mandatory recall. This took about a week and Antonio remained patient and didn't have to call as I kept him updated on the situation. When we finally came to purchase the car, we met Antonio and other Subaru sales associates and found everyone to be delightful, friendly, and absent any of that high pressure stuff we all hate. Antonio did not disappoint as this young man is friendly, well-versed on his craft, and, as I said, no-nonsense. As the negotiations were done on my end, I let my friend fill out the paperwork with Antonio while I visited with sales associate Ricky as we talked about our love of cars and I shared with him cars I've had in my stable. While I am twice his age, he is quite bright and gives me hope for the future of our confused world. Once my friend was done with the paperwork with Antonio, she went to the office of Arsalan, the Finance Director, to exchange cash and arrange for title to her new car. I accompanied her there as, has been my experience, this is where many "add-ons" are offered to the buyer. Extended warranties and maintenance programs can be nice but can also be expensive and eat into the discount negotiated on the car. This can be an unpleasant experience but that wasn't the case with Arsalan. He presented detailed information about the program offerings and respected the fact that I knew what we were dealing with. In this case, my friend opted for a maintenance program through Subaru, not a warranty, and Arsalan discounted it and informed her there was a bonus at the end that could extend the program. She got what she wanted and, unlike a warranty that may not be exercised, the maintenance program will be. All in all, a wonderful day with great people and my friend is driving a great car. Serramonte Subaru put the fun back in buying a car. You need to check them out! read more

Serramonte Subaru Thank You for Your Purchase Maisee Lor Mon, Jul 15, 4:08 PM to me Dear James, I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincerest thanks for allowing us to assist you with your recent purchase. I know that there are many Dealerships that you could have chosen to work with, so I would like to say thank you for your confidence and trust in us. Your opinion of your purchase process is extremely important to me; do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, concerns or suggestions that you might have. Hope to hear from you soon. Best, James Tue, Jul 16, 2:12 PM to Maisee Hi- Hopefully you will take this info seriously. I did not have a good experience. I first contacted Victor from an internet ad and when I told him I would be coming in he said that when I knew what day to call so they could bring the car forward and have it ready for me. I called on Saturday informing them that I was coming from Paso Robles and I would be in when they opened on Sunday. When I arrived, the car was not brought forward and it took 15 minutes just to find the keys and then longer to get the car rinsed off and brought forward. After reviewing the car and deciding to move forward with checking the details ie carfax and service notes, another employee by the name of JT (?) decided he needed to get involved in the conversation. JT was drunk and slurring and not making any sense about anything and I eventually asked Victor to have JT not come to our conversation anymore. When I asked Victor pointed questions about the information on the service paperwork (specifically about the leak in the exhaust), the answers were extremely insufficient however, Victor did eventually call someone from the service department to see if they could recall any info. The person he spoke with did the work and remembers the leak as no big deal but that the used car manager did not want to pay to have it repaired. When I asked how much it would cost to have it repaired, all of a sudden the service guy could not remember that part? I decided to move forward with the purchase and then submitted my offer and then Victor decided to leave and put Ron in charge of me. Although both Ron and Victor were nice people, I did not appreciate being told something would take 5 or 10 minutes and then having it take an hour. These guys would disappear and I would wonder around looking for them. When the deal was complete and the paper work needed to go to the finance guy, it took 45 minutes just to get my paperwork in line with the finance guy and only because I was staying on them to get this taken care of. Remember, this whole time these guys know I have driven from Paso Robles and have to drive back but they continue to drag their feet. When all was said and done and I finally was able to leave, Ron presents me with one key and says thats all there is and I said no, the service paperwork says there are 2 keys. So, there became another wild goose chase for a key which they never found. Ron said that if they find it they will mail it to me and I said no, we need to redo the paperwork that says that a programmable key is due. Guess what? The finance guy was now nowhere to be found and everyone had to go on a search for him to redo the paperwork for the key. Finally I get to leave and about 20 minutes down the road I get a call that went to voicemail that states that they forgot to put the bill of sale info in the windshield and that I should come back. I heard the message about 10 minutes after that and I called back but neither of those guys were available by phone so I left a message with the receptionist that I will not be coming back and that they could mail it to me. Although this car had the 152 point inspection I realize shortly into my drive home that the front passenger window does not operate. Shortly before my arrival home, the left rear tire blew out and the following day I had to purchase a brand new tire. So, you ask how my experience was? How do you think? Thanks, James read more

This is my 3rd time there for servicing my 2013 WRX. The first two times went smooth and I have no complaints due to the old service adviser manager. But now there's a new manager and this time was unacceptable. I went there for my 11,250 mile service. I purchased a 30,000 mile service package when I purchased the car in June 2013. My car had only 10,600 miles before taking it in. I spoke to the receptionist and mentioned that the last time I had an oil change was in April 2014, so I really wanted some new oil in my car. She said that's fine, take the car in and I will not be charged as I have a 30,000 mile service plan that I purchased. But the 11,250 service will be used, which I agreed on as I am taking it in before reaching the suggested miles. I took it in and the service adviser that helped me was Arliegh Amante. I mentioned that I only wanted an oil change and nothing else because I was on a time crunch and could not wait too long. He suggested I do everything listed on the service plan which I kindly mentioned that I didn't need as I only cared for an oil change. Went back and forth about the same subject until he agreed to change my oil for $127 dollars. I asked why was I being charged as I had a service plan and he mentioned because I didn't reach 11,250 miles yet. After explaining to him that the receptionist said mentioned that it was fine that I would not be charged he agreed to use my paid service plan for the oil change. Upon receiving my receipt it stated my 15,000 service was used so I questioned him why wasn't my 11,250 service used instead. He said it doesn't exist anymore and that it's an old plan. So I was wondering in my head if that's the case why do I own paperwork stating that my car has 3750 mile intervals. I didn't care as I just wanted an oil change and didn't want to go through with his bull shit. I got my car back 3 hours later and noticed that the receipt he gave me stated that he used 6 quarts of 0w-20 oil. I questioned him about it and he strongly suggested that it was the oil my car use. I mentioned to him that my 2013 WRX uses 5W-30 oil and he strongly said no it doesn't. I said yes that' what it says on the oil cap so he told me to pop my hood. After he saw my oil cap saying 5w-30 he said he'll ask the tech about it. He came back saying the tech used 5w-30 oil on my car and that it's just a billing error. Okay fine, I can't really prove what weight it was on the spot anyways. So about the 6 quarts of oil. My 2013 WRX uses 4.4 quarts of oil. Most of the time people put 5 quarts in it and that's okay, being slightly overfilled. But 6 is way too much. I checked my dipstick before I left and it was hard to tell if it was too full or not since the car was hot and I had nothing to wipe off the oil on the dipstick. I went home and checked the oil after my car being cold the next morning and it was still indeed way above the notch on the dipstick meaning it was way overfilled. After that I was pissed off. I didn't even bother calling them as I know they'll just have me come back and redo my oil change. I'm done with these people touching my car, as they don't know jack about their cars. The 0w-20 oil and 6 quarts are for the 2015 WRX's. Yes it might have been a mistake but I gave them a chance to fix that it when I questioned them about it before leaving. If you think I'm over reacting about a simple oil overfill please google WRX/STI ringland failure. Yes my car can be covered under warranty, but I don't have time and I don't want to deal with all that nonsense. Before leaving the dealership that day Arliegh said the difference between 20 and 30 weight oil is no difference anyway. Want to come service your car here? Think again. Come at your own risk. He knows nothing about oil or his cars. Mistake or not. read more

So my story starts a lot like the others on here expect I'm a member with usaa and for those of hog who are unfamiliar with them, they have a car buying part of their site for the financing and for finding the car you want. Well I ended up getting a call from Serramonte and they told me they didn't have the exactly color I wanted but they had another and since they didn't have the one I wanted they would discount it a pretty good amount. So I accepted and told them when I would be there to go through the purchase paper work. I finally get there after my 2.5 hour drive there and had an appointment with Wayne but because of heavy traffic I was 20 mins later then I said I would be. Once I walked in everything was going like a normal dealership would, I was greeted and I told them I was looking for wayne. I was then told okay and that they would get him but they thought he was with another customer at that time. I was fine with this but this is where the good experience ended. I sat in their lobby waiting on Wayne for a little over half an hour. Finally he came over and greeted my brother and I immediately recognized the "this guy can't afford a car" attitude due to me only being 22 buy he still had me fill out an application for financing which struck me as odd for I already had a loan set up through usaa and when I asked him about it he said it was just a back up. For what?? Why would usaa back out of a loan?? Anyway I relunctly filled out the application all while Wayne decided that the other couple he was with was more important than his appointment that drove over 2 hours to see him..... Finally Wayne comes back to get the paper work so I had him everything including the paperwork from usaa and I proceed to tell him twice to NOT run my credit before I test drive the car and what's stupid is that he agreed but I made the mistake of trusting him and signing the paper that gave him permission to run it anyway. Wayne then leaves me for over half an hour to go deal with the other couple who once again wasn't his appointment. I understand he wants his commission but I mean come on.... have someone come help you!! He finally comes back to me only to tell me that NO BANK WANTED TO ACCEPT MY LOAN. After I told him NOT to run my credit!!!! Seriously??? Does he really care that little that people can't trust him??? So this is the point that I got extremely upset. I ended up calling my dad(who is the veteran that usaa works through to get to me) and he wanted to talk to Wayne as well. Wayne ended up being incredibly rude to my father all wile he was treating my brother and I like crap... So I ended up walking out and called usaa the following day only for them to tell him that the sales person was WRONG about every aspect of how the loan works through them. He told me he couldn't get ahold of them (even after I told him I could get them to fax or email the information to him). Usaa said that he was full of it cause that's not even how the loan works.... so I filed a complaint with usaa and they're investigating the dealership as to why they disrespected 2 of their members even when the dealership has to PAY to be apart of the service..... buyers beware of this place... they are not as good as they claim to be.. I mean seriously. Just look at all the other 1 star reviews... read more

Negotiation of price of a new Subaru Crosstrek 2021 was unfair, especially when I'm an elderly: Only one price quote, they offered me discount if I disclose personal information which is illegal, and still we overpaid $3000 compared to website price (our car has no additional features that costs extra). On the first day we test drove the car and it was okay. I told them I was coming back tomorrow and the salesman asked me to sign on the first day for a "good price" but they didn't give me key or paper. On the next day I went back to the dealer but I couldn't buy the same car because I had some financial issues. I had to choose a different cheaper car and asked him for a quote on a cheaper car. They gave me one quote and then they stopped negotiating. Afterwards they gave me two choices. First choice was to pay the overpriced quote or second was to pay the penalty contract fee and leave. I asked the supervisor to explain why I wasn't offered any negotiation and why I had to pay a penalty fee. He said it was "my car". I told him that it wasn't true because I only test drove the car and they didn't give me any paper of ownership, financing plan, or even the keys to the car. So they got the ball/leverage and that's why they didn't give me a good discount. This is intimidation, cheating, and illegal. So I tried to call the police but my wife stopped me. So I took this car without any discount which is not normal or good business practice for a car purchase. They completely cheated me. This new 2021 Crosstrek Premium had a lot of technical problems mainly because the "premium" car is built very cheap and low quality. The engine shakes a lot and is very loud like a motorcycle, smoke was coming out from the front, the car jerks forward very hard even when breaking softly, the suspension is so low quality that you feel every bump and rocking after riding through a bumpy or unbalanced road, the car has an annoying feature that stops the engine automatically when at a complete stop even while the engine is still on (even after disabling this "feature', it turns back on automatically when you start the car again so it gets very annoying to turn this off habitually), the license plate screw holders are plastic which makes the license plate keep falling off (feels like a toy), and the car has bad mileage for a light and cheap car (30 mpg highway, 28 mpg city). Overall, I don't want to recommend this car or this car company to anybody because of bad quality customer service and how unsafe it is to drive the cheap quality car. I wish to return this car for a full refund so I could buy one from a different brand. I already complained multiple times to the manufacturer, customer service, and the general manager thru email and phone call and they still don't care and didn't do anything to help me. read more

Ernesto and Jimmy are truly to class acts. These guys have absolutely blown me away in two totally separate and unrelated situations. Instead of getting into the specific details, I'd like to comment on the problem-solving implemented by these two gentlemen, and the resulting way I felt as a customer. Initially my vehicle came in for some recall work, which led to an unexpected situation in the dash. Both gentlemen went above and beyond to quench the thirst I had surrounding better understanding what had taken place. They actually went to the extent of disassembling part of a different vehicle to show me what was happening. In all my years of working with car dealerships, I've never met any who are willing to go so far above and beyond. The real magic was the way they dealt with a secondary issue that was totally unrelated to the recall. The dealership originally quoted one hour to solve the secondary issue, and called us back later in the day to let us know that it was actually going to be a multiple hour job and they would charge us 50% of the new amount considering they had previously quoted only one hour. We were totally okay with this. They called us back the following day to let us know the actual part they needed to order was unavailable, and ask us how we wanted to proceed. To put it bluntly, they were basically telling me they could not solve my problem. Instead of flying off the handle and trying to say it was the dealership's fault, I took the rational standpoint of understanding the dealership is not the parts manufacturer, nor are they in charge of the production schedule for the parts manufacturer. I offered a couple of other solutions, which were certainly out of the norm. The dealership said they would call me back after discussing the different options I was bringing to the table. The following day Ernesto called me back, letting me know that he was circling back with me on behalf of Jimmy, who had become inundated that day. Ernesto and Jimmy had been able to work together behind the scenes to come up with a solution that FAR exceeded even my wildest dreams. It was 10 times better than anything I had thought would ever happen. What is the moral to this story? Be nice. Be patient. Be understanding. Treat these folks the way you would want to be treated if the tables were turned. I promise these guys are not like normal car dealers. They don't want to take advantage of you. They DO want to create long term customers, and frankly, they have. We own two late model Subaru's and I could not imagine taking them anywhere else. PS, I am a professional auto transporter and can genuinely tell you I typically don't like dealerships. Serramonte Subaru changed that for the better! read more

Disappointing and Disheartening Experience at Serramonte Subaru I recently visited Serramonte Subaru for a pre-scheduled 11am appointment with my fiance, and I must say, the experience left us feeling frustrated and disrespected. As a person of color, it is crucial for me to find businesses that treat all customers fairly and equitably, and unfortunately, our experience at this dealership did not meet this standard. Upon our arrival, we were left unattended for an extended period of time, despite our appointment. It was not the busy, bustling atmosphere one might expect to justify such neglect; it was a normal business day. The lack of attention we received right from the start was disheartening. Our salesman, Andrew Conti, whom we had specifically set the appointment with, was nowhere in sight until after an unnecessary waiting period. When he did finally emerge, he bypassed us entirely and instead walked straight up to a white couple who had arrived after us. This blatant disregard for our appointment and presence was not only highly unprofessional but also indicative of a bias that has no place in today's customer service. Adding to our disappointment was the behavior of another attendant at the dealership. My fiance, growing understandably upset with the situation, attempted to voice our concerns to him. Rather than addressing our issues professionally, he chose to respond rudely, further exacerbating our discontent. As a person of color, I have experienced my share of implicit and explicit bias, but I still hold out hope that businesses, especially those with the reputation and reach of Subaru, can do better. This encounter, however, was a glaring reminder that discrimination still persists, even in places where it has no business existing. We eventually left the dealership, feeling unwelcome and disrespected, and took our business to another dealership that treated us with the courtesy and respect we deserved. In conclusion, I cannot recommend Serramonte Subaru. The lack of professionalism, the prolonged waiting time, the disrespectful behavior of the staff, and what appeared to be a clear racial bias created an environment that was not conducive to a positive car buying experience. I hope that this review serves as a reminder to all businesses, including Serramonte Subaru, that every customer deserves fair and equal treatment, regardless of their skin color. read more

If you're thinking to go to Serramonte Subaru, make an appointment with Will Ng. I started leasing from Serramonte Subaru in July 2015. Now five months later, I'd like to leave this review for Will Ng, The five stars are for him and not necessarily the rest of the dealership. I was recently asked to give an example of a positive customer service experience I've had--it was very easy to recall an instance thanks to Will. He is knowledgeable, professional, courteous and personally dedicated to the quality of work he performs. My husband and I had an initially negative experience walking into the dealership. We were passed off between two other representatives before having the pleasure to speak with Will. The second representative, in particular, was young, awkward and would not stop speaking during the test drive. I'm happy that person had a desire to compose music for video games, I hope he finds a way to pursue that dream because my goodness, a salesman he is not. If it were not for Will taking over we would have undoubtedly walked out without a car. Will started at a deficit, and by that I mean I was making my dissatisfaction be known! My husband and I were at the dealership a total of maybe five hours. It was a long day, as I'm sure it was for Will, but it did not show. Will is the reason we decided to move forward with the car. He took us through the owner's manual in a thoughtful, detailed manner that was remarkable. We moved away from the Bay Area and were able to speak with him over the phone regarding features of the car while on the road. I needed proof of a recent credit score and he got that to me, helping secure a new home. He sent me a birthday card in the mail. To this day he is still in contact with us, making sure we're doing well and that we know he is available to answer any questions we may have. Serramonte Subaru should thank their lucky stars to have someone under their employ of this caliber. As I mentioned before, it is his personal dedication to his work that is wholly uncommon in the work place. Give the man a raise and hope he doesn't go anywhere else, you'd be losing a huge asset. read more

This review is for the service dept only as I have not dealt with anyone in the sales dept. I brought in my 2002 WRX in for service, without an appointment, and Matt the Service Manager said it wouldn't be a problem to take me right in and have my baby checked out fast. I had a strange noise coming from the suspension that wasn't consistent and have had the car looked at by another shop for the same problem (obviously unsuccessfully as I wouldn't be there otherwise). He said I could wait while my car was diagnosed and even offered me free coffee and doughnuts while i waited SWEET! After about 15 minutes Matt had come to me asking if I had wanted to go for a test drive with Brad the master tech to try and help verify the noise. I thought this was cool, it really seemed like they wanted to find and fix my problem. I obliged and test drove and helped Brad hear the noise after just a few minutes of driving. After showing Brad the noise he knew exactly what the problem was. He dropped me off with Matt and drove the car into the shop to ensure that what he thought was actually the problem. Another cool thing to not just assume. Turned out to be a simple wheel bearing. The quote was a bit high that I was given, or so I thought. I called a few close dealerships and Matt and his team were A LOT cheaper (can't believe how expensive those are) but Matt said he could have it done in two hours and he could have me dropped off and picked up anywhere I wanted. So off to the mall I went....two hours later, almost on the dot, Matt called with news my car was done. Shuttle pick up went flawlessly as well and Napoleon the driver is great. I normally stay away from dealer service due to their higher prices but truthfully I might be changing my mind. The whole process, start to finish, was FLAWLESS. Matt has everything running very smoothly and I couldn't be happier. When I asked who his manager was and if I could tip him he wouldn't accept the money and just asked if I could tell anyone who asked about their service. So here I am singing the praise of Serramonte Subaru's service dept. Grade A service. read more

My experience with Serramonte Subaru, and with Internet Sales Manager Rod Farzad in particular, was excellent on every count. Here's what happened. In late September, after much shopping around for a 2013 XV Crosstrek, I contacted Mr. Farzad through the Serramonte Subaru website. Mr. Farzad responded with a very competitive price, and after speaking with him by phone, we agreed on the purchase of the particular car. As it turned out (and as I know to be true, as I had searched the subaru.com website) it was the last vehicle in that model and color in the entire state. Unfortunately, between the time we verbally agreed and the time the paperwork was produced to bind the agreement, another customer came into the dealership, put money down, and purchased the vehicle. Mr. Farzad was very apologetic about the situation, and after we discussed the possibilities for a "win-win" solution, he agreed to search for another car with the same specifications. He located one in Nevada and explained the situation to his management. In light of the circumstances, the dealership agreed to bring the vehicle in from Nevada and sell it to me at the same price, absorbing the additional cost of bringing in the vehicle. From there, everything proceeded smoothly: no surprises; no additional charges; no pressure to purchase additional options, warranties or services; and the paperwork for the sale was processed promptly. (I can not speak to financing, as we paid cash.) Everyone at the dealership was friendly, competent and knew their jobs. In summary: there are some things that we all expect but do not necessarily receive when we make a purchase (the things I noted in the paragraph immediately above). Serramonte Subaru met all expectations for those things. But beyond that, what made this purchase truly outstanding were Mr. Farzad's commitment to making things right, and the integrity of Serramonte Subaru's management in standing behind that commitment. read more