Carter Subaru in Shoreline

Not so black and white Update: After writing this review, Carter Subaru was able to credit us $1500 towards the cost of repair and found a refurbished transmission. Most of Update: After writing this review, Carter Subaru was able to credit us $1500 towards the cost of repair and found a refurbished transmission. Most of this was thanks to our customer service agent Randy. To be clear, He and Debbie were very kind. Our final bill was close to $7,500. Today I received a phone call from a woman from the dealership whose name I did not catch. She told me that Subaru has since decided to extend the warranty on all CVT transmissions to 100,000. She then expressed her extreme exasperation at my earlier review. She seemed very angry that I didn't state that Carter Subaru gave us the $1500 in service credit. Our conversation was awkward and ended ubruptly when she hung up. The credit was not mentioned because it had not yet happened. The woman who called me today was incredibly rude and unreasonable. She could have politely asked me about my review or even if would be willing to change it. I don't know how to go about getting our money back since she made it quite clear I should never go there again. Here is how the rest of the service went: Once I was notified they had the part and could begin work; I asked Randy to please let me know if they find any other problems with the car. We went to pick it up and the 60,000mile check list showed the at needed a new battery and a new brake light. I asked Randy about it. He said the service center did not notify him of these problems. He immediately offered to cover the expense of a new battery and light. I just had to come back the next day. It went fine. My car sounds great. As for my earlier review: No one is happy about having to drop thousands on a new transmission. It was very difficult to get a clear answer on why they didn't find a problem with the transmission when they replaced the head gaskets. My previous review: Noticed my Subaru Impreza had an oil leak a few months back. Took it in, turns out it needed new head gaskets. Luckily it was covered under warranty. Took my Subaru in for its 60,000 mile check up and they now tell me the transmission needs to be replaced. It will cost $8,000 plus the $800 for the 60,000 mile tune up. There was no check engine light on. The transmission just failed somewhere between 58,000 miles and 62,000. Of coarse right outside the warranty. The various b.s. answers from customer service only made it worse. They have ruined my finances. Will never go to Carter Subaru again or own another Subaru. If cars were designed to fail right when the warrany expired they wouldnt cost so much. More

How a New Car Purchase Should Be We narrowed our car search down to a couple Subaru models, and then used www.cars101.com to research all the tradeoffs and options. When it came time We narrowed our car search down to a couple Subaru models, and then used www.cars101.com to research all the tradeoffs and options. When it came time to secure a specific car, we got quite a range of quotes from Western Washington dealers. Joe Spitz, at Carter Subaru Shoreline, offered a discounted price that was far less than the next lowest quote for the same car. His proposal wasn’t even in the same league as the much higher fixed prices used at some Subaru stores. We were happy to get the exact package we were seeking, for a model that is in very high demand, while paying a deeply discounted price that made a joke of the “true” car values listed by the various car buying websites. Our sales consultant, Joe Spitz, impressed me as the kind of guy who eats, sleeps, and loves the Subaru brand. I have pretty high expectations when I’m about to be parting with a lot of money. Joe not only exceeded all my expectations, but he also significantly lessened the amount of money I had to part with :)! His candid and thorough response to my questions, and his use of just the right amount of humor, made the buying process downright enjoyable. He has really earned my respect. I see other glowing online comments about the guy. This would normally be a disincentive for me to post yet another accolade for his virtual refrigerator door. But, fair is fair, When someone really gets it right, he or she deserves at least as much notoriety as a looser who's earned every flaming arrow he or she has ever received on the web. I'd much rather write a positive review - when that rare, praiseworthy instance occurs. Without reservation or prompting, I’d suggest that anyone in the market for a Subaru “Goe see Joe.” Joe Spitz, at Carter Subaru in Shoreline. More

The Worst Experience we've ever had! Went to Carter today to look and maybe buy an Outback. First salesman, Zach, was nice. Went out and picked a car to drive. He goes to get the key and Went to Carter today to look and maybe buy an Outback. First salesman, Zach, was nice. Went out and picked a car to drive. He goes to get the key and another guy comes out says Zach is busy. Proceeds to rush us with looking at the new Outback then tells us we don't want a Crosstrak. We ask to look at one. He takes us to one and asks if we done. We tell him we want to test drive one, ask what happened to Zach and he tells us Zach has a customer that is buying a car. WOW! I guess we didn't rank as worth their time. The guy was a complete xxx! Went to Eastlake Subaru and are proud owners of a Subaru Outback. More

Purchase my 2016 STi from Joe Spitz Joe is about as professional as any person I've meet. He helped me order my 2016 WRX STi and I am very impressed by his knowledge of Subaru cars as w Joe is about as professional as any person I've meet. He helped me order my 2016 WRX STi and I am very impressed by his knowledge of Subaru cars as well as how he treats his customers with honesty and respect. I will continue to send Joe Spitz my business. More

great service department I have purchased 2 Outbacks from Carter since 1999. We service our cars there because of the great customer service we get from Bennie C. In the serv I have purchased 2 Outbacks from Carter since 1999. We service our cars there because of the great customer service we get from Bennie C. In the service department. We have already referred a handful of friends to Carter because of this. More

Second Carter Forester, happy camper I've owned dozens of cars in my 78 years, and back in the day the experience of a car purchase was neither fun nor easy. I came in for an oil change, I've owned dozens of cars in my 78 years, and back in the day the experience of a car purchase was neither fun nor easy. I came in for an oil change, and drove out in a new car. Fun. Easy. Thanks. More

I have been going to Carter Subaru for over a decade. Unfortunately, their focus on quality and customer has taken a wrong turn. I recently decided to purchase a new Subaru from Carter, but was concer Unfortunately, their focus on quality and customer has taken a wrong turn. I recently decided to purchase a new Subaru from Carter, but was concerned about the amount of cement dust from the nearby construction and wanted to make sure cars were not brushed or put through an auto car wash. The salesperson told me it was not a problem because they only did light power washing. It was cloudy on initial inspection of the car, so I did not see it right away, but once I pulled the car in the garage, I quickly realized the car was badly scratched over every inch, including headlight, taillights, paint, etc. After seeing pictures of the car, Carter had us go to a detailer and we also took it to a painter - both indicated the car had possibly been brushed with a contaminated brush and not enough water. I asked the salesperson about this and she e-mailed that car had not been washed with a brush or gone through a car wash. Carter was good about offering to take the car back, and I planned to order another car from them. After getting the check back, and before starting the process to order a new car, my wife and I wanted to better understand how the scratches happened, so we went to the lot to compare a few cars that had just come in (and still had some of the protective covering) to cars that had been in the lot for a while. Without exception – cars that still had the protective covering were in great shape, and cars without it were badly scratched. We then realized that we were walking past the wash bay. We watched as they drove a brand new car drove into the wash bay, applied a very small amount of water, and then scrubbed the entire car with a brush that was never rinsed or even returned to the bucket. In an instant, I went from feeling good about the fact that Carter Subaru would give me my money back for a damaged car, to absolute disbelief. I could not believe this was how the cars were washed. I could not believe that, even after I told them the professional detailer they recommended told me the car probably had been brushed, they denied it and would only say the damage must have occurred at the factory or in port. I certainly could not believe that I was explicitly told my car had not been washed with a brush, when it had been. We went back and asked for the Sales Manager and explained what we had seen in the wash bay. He asked us to go into a room so that we would not “sour other customers.” I then told him what we had seen by comparing cars before and after detailing. He responded “we’re not going to change our process.” I would hope that, even if some or most people did not notice the damage, he would still have wanted to avoid unnecessarily damaging the cars, especially as it could be remedied with simple improvements to the process. We asked one more question, but only received another harsh response. My wife and I got up and left. If at any point in the process someone had simply apologized and been honest about how the car had been washed, I would have been fine. I don’t understand why we were treated as we were, especially after we had been told one thing about the car washing process, and then saw for ourselves it wasn’t true. It also doesn’t make sense to us how, knowing the cars are being damaged, Carter Subaru won’t even consider making improvements to its detailing process. I tried bringing my experience to the attention of the owners of Carter Subaru, but my letter remains unanswered. After all these years, I am not so much angry or upset by this experience as I am sad to end a long relationship with Carter Subaru. I am actually writing this because I hope it makes a difference to future car buyers and saves others from going to Carter Subaru and experiencing the same thing. I would strongly recommend checking cars when sunny or with a light if buying from this dealership. We went to a number of other dealerships and were amazed at how much better cars looked elsewhere. More

I just bought a 2013 Subaru Outback from Carter Subaru (just north of Seattle) and the positive experience was something to share (and I rarely share my opinions publicly). I spent the last 2 months revie (just north of Seattle) and the positive experience was something to share (and I rarely share my opinions publicly). I spent the last 2 months reviewing, researching, and test driving 10 makes of compact SUV’s and interacting with many sales personnel. There have been nice sales people, lazy sales people, impatient sales people, poorly informed sales people, condescending sales people, and then there was Guy at Carter Subaru who was exemplary in patience, knowledge of the vehicle, trying to get the best deal for the client (and he really delivered here), and trying to figure out what is the best fit for the client. For example, this was my second test drive (the first one, just to get a feel for the car, was about a month ago) and this time Guy took me on a real test to show how the car handles under various conditions; up a long hill, down a long hill, accelerating on a curved freeway onramp, etc., and the 2013 Outback (4 cylinder) handled very well – clearly on par with more expensive makes. More importantly here, with respect to the sales experience, Guy wanted to know what my expectations and concerns were and tailored the test drive to address each of them; I was very impressed - of the 13, only one other sales rep at the other dealerships showed this level of attention to my concerns and expectations. The business side of my experience, I had to pay for the car, was also very nice and very professional. If you are in the market for a compact SUV, in the greater Seattle area, I strongly recommend checking out Carter Subaru. If you run into Guy, tell him Dave sent you. More

Carter Subaru Shoreline is a caring, responsive, and fun dealership to work with. No pressure from the sales folks and they are knowledgable and responsive to all questions. This dealership works hard to dealership to work with. No pressure from the sales folks and they are knowledgable and responsive to all questions. This dealership works hard to make customer experience as seamless and easy as possible in every aspect from purchase to finance to maintenance and repair. The new eyesight system (pre-collision breaking) is a wonderful new feature and Subaru once again offers a quality product at a fair and reasonable price. I highly recommend this dealership and thoroughly enjoy the employees and the Subaru vehicles! More

I love my deal. my time their was meaningful and quick. i was constantly made sure i was comfortable thanks to Jason Bennet. i have given this ratings for those reasons using true car to find a great pric was constantly made sure i was comfortable thanks to Jason Bennet. i have given this ratings for those reasons using true car to find a great price. i bought a 2012 outback. More