Charles River Saab

Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of Charles River Saab:
Wonderful experience. I was there on a very busy day, but the sales staff is very engaging and calm. They actually brought a bunch of customers together and did sort of a group overview of a bunch of cars. We did have some one-on-one time, but the gourp method gave us all the chance to not feel as pressured and we could hear the questions and concerns of other customers. Some of the sales people are no longer there, but this dealership has a very low turnover rate as the overall sales manager, Oscar, is very easygoing and apparently fun to work for. They are also great about showing you exactly how much they are making on the car, so you know you are not getting ripped off. The sales team makes the same amount no matter how much they sell the car to you for, which makes negotiating so much easier. If they have the car you want, they will make sure you get it to a price within your budget. My car of choice used to be Audi, but I had too many transmission issues with my A4 Turbo that I finally gave up and went to Saab after my pickly grandfather made the recommendation.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of Charles River Saab:
I serviced my 1991 Saab 900T at this dealer for 4 years, after purchasing it used in 1996. I only had one issue (they installed new tires without re-aligning/setting toe), but they fixed the problem by eating half of the total cost, and performing the alignment. Aside from that, they always provided high-quality servicing. Their service representative/team model is exceptional, and Stephen Lopes and Pierre B are a pleasure to work with. Since then, I have not had as good a dealership experience anywhere else, for Saabs or Volvos.

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Reason for Visit: Service

I recommend this dealer: No

My Review of Charles River Saab:
From Sales to Service, this dealership is terrible. Tried to screw us with free 30k service coupon (oil changes, etc) at time of sale and then would not honor said coupon when time for service. Had to threaten to sue in order to make things right.<br>Service is terrible. I had to go back several times to fix problems, that were never really fixed right. To this day the car is not running right. They always try to add more repairs on as well, e.g. alignment, brakes etc. even when not needed.<br>Don't go here, not worth the time nor money. Charged me $47 to look at the brakes.

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Reason for Visit: Sales

I recommend this dealer: Yes

My Review of Charles River Saab:
The dealership is big, bright, and clean, especially in the service bay, and even more so after their new remodelling. They do only Saabs, and they care about Saabs. For example, they co-sponsor the annual Swedish Car Day in Boston.<br><br>I bought my car used, and I found the prices a bit high, and I was a little surprised at their unwillingness to negotiate. On the other hand, maybe I'm just not so good at it, and I had no counter-offers on a similar car that I wanted. They had the car I wanted, so I bought it.<br><br>The service department is great. Stephen Lopes knows me by name, and I haven't been there very many times (fortunately). I can talk to him about technical aspects of the car, as well as what service I have them do and what I can do as DIY work. Loaner cars are hard to come by unless you make an appointment weeks in advance, but they have a shuttle bus to nearby public transportation. If I call them up, I can usually drop my car off the next day, get dropped off at work, get picked up at the end of the day, and have my car ready.<br><br>The car is always in good condition when I pick it up, with the work done neatly. The only complaint I've had was that they forgot to tighten the lid on the coolant reservoir during a scheduled maintenance visit. When I saw the coolant starting to boil on my drive home, I stopped the car and they drove out to meet me with new coolant, looked at the car, and sent me on my way. That one mistake is the only negative thing I can say about an otherwise excellent service department. Prices for service are high, but that is to be expected from a dealer in an area where even independent mechanics charge over $75/hour.

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