Due to a positive experience in the past i've decided to give Stiver's Subaru my business again. Curtis Ralls was my sales person and from start to finish he was absolutely incredible. We ordered a CBS STI with some extra goodies (homelink mirror, sts, etc). He took care of everything briskly and it came in within a month! Very straightforward, honest, and knowledgeable. During my first few emails with Curtis I did try to give Classic, Kennesaw, Gwinnett, Montgomery, and Macon Subaru a chance but all fell short in communication and pricing. Finance was excellent. I have owned a lot of cars and have dealt with all sorts of characters but not once did this finance guy try to sucker me in into anything that I didn't want. Zero pressure. It's unfortunate Subaru of Gwinnett can't offer the same prices or level of sales service (Crystal Hill & Alyssa were a absolute headache to deal with at SOG) as they are much closer to me but I will say that SOG has a bigger upper hand in service. I'll continue to buy from Stivers as they're always easier to negotiate with and always give above average trade-in values but I won't get it serviced there. I can't even get anyone to pick up the phone in service. The car also came with some light scratches and all but one buffed out. I didn't press for the detailer to keep trying because I'm well aware of their limitations and didn't want the guy to continuously apply random compound on black paint. All in all still a positive experience. I'm in my office 7 days a week and very few dealers will do everything via e-mail. Curtis was very patient and understood my situation. After just a few emails and a online credit app we were good to go. My wife is a die hard fan of Subarus and what's left of the boxer rumble. Her dream car was always the STI and I figured with the 2.0 DIT upon us in future STIs this would be the time. I tried to sway her into buying a GT 5.0 with the performance package or a 235iM but no luck. She's a Subie girl! So if you see a tiny Asian girl scooted all the way up and waving at you in a black 2015 STI you'll know who it is! [/URL][/IMG]
2015 STI is still powered by the 2.5L EJ257 from 11 years ago with a few tweaks, 2015 WRX on the other hand has the DIT 2.0L.
Right, right. I thought it'd be a good idea if we held off until the 2.0 made it's way to the STI but I guess to her the UEL header noises are worth it and she should grab it while it's still in production (shrugs).
Mainly service nightmares I thought. We bought my wife's 2011 forester from there new and had no issues with the trade-in and purchase. Honestly, I won't let any stealership work on any of our Subarus anymore because ALLPRO!! Also, a friend forwarded an article from (igotasti I think) that stated the 2016 STi will still have the old EJ motor in it. I also thought the 16 would have the new FA motor. Beautiful car!
Updates. Side skirt has flaking paint and after 48 hours I still can't get anyone in service to pick up or return my voice mail. Lady at front desk is lifeless. Gwinnett Subaru took pictures and sent it to SOA. smdh. Service department there is awful.
1 week later. Neither Stivers or SOG respond to the issues regarding the chipping paint and SOA tells me to consult my local dealer. What in the hell is up?
I would either take it up and talk to them in person, or call and make an appt and then bring it up when you're there. Never wait for them to get back to you on that..
Stealerships smh. Really sorry to hear you are dealing with this on a brand new car. Can you post some pics? From the sounds of it there was damage and they had it painted before selling it. Should this be covered under the basic warranty? Maybe try escalating through SOA stating the local dealerships will not work with you. If I were in your shoes i would not be too far off from making this very public if they do not step up. Amazing how many companies won't do the right thing until you post your complaint on their social media pages. Not that I think you will get anything from it, and it's a pita, but contacting the BBB and the Public Service Commission might be worthwhile if they waste enough of your time. GL, I really hope this works out for you with not much more effort on your part.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Went to Stivers and there wasn't anyone in service (probably explains why no one picks up). SOG took pictures last Thursday and said they'd get back to me Monday (5/4). No call so I followed up with SOG and was transferred to the service manager's voicemail. I'll give them a little bit of time and see what's going on. Also haven't been pushing the issue as hard yet because i'm trying to break her in nicely before "responsible" employees get their hands on this virgin STI.
I always take a picture of the odometer at drop off and pick up. Write down names and dates of everybody you speak to, do that now while it's still fresh. Write SOA directly and politely tell the entire story if they don't get back to you very soon.
Jesus.. all these terrible Stivers service warnings. I live all the way up in Athens, and bought my WRX from them, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to Gwinnett for my 6k service!
I wrote back to SOA stating that that no one has called me back. SOA emailed me today and literally 3 minutes later SOG calls. SOA will take care of the bill and SOG will provide a loaner. It's going to be going to be done at Classic Collision in Duluth. We have 870 miles on it now. We figured we'd get it up to 1k+ before we leave it with these folks.
If for whatever reason you aren't satisfied with SOG/Classic Collision, I recommend Troncalli Subaru of Cumming. They have their own collision center, and the service was above and beyond anything that I expected. I have a review of the work they did when someone bashed in the front of my brand new STi; check it out if you want. As far as their service department is concerned, I can't really say since I haven't dealt with that part of Troncalli yet. I imagine it's on par with their collision team but you never know.