Lithia Reno Subaru

I'm sorry to see the bad ratings for the service department at Lithia Subaru. We have a 1998 Outback, and we've had it serviced there from day one. We have always been treated the absolute best, and department at Lithia Subaru. We have a 1998 Outback, and we've had it serviced there from day one. We have always been treated the absolute best, and Marvin is the best service person ever! He always takes good care of us, and they have even assigned us our own mechanic to our car, who always works on it, and has become an expert we trust. I would always say to work with Marvin, not the other service people. He has been there for years, and he knows and values his customers. He will get to know you and your car, and he's trustworthy and honest. I would highly recommend Marvin and Bill as people you can trust to take care of your car. More

Salesman lied about interest rates available and maintenance plan. I was an inexperienced car buyer. He said with the oil change plan I could drop in anytime for service and oil changes would take maintenance plan. I was an inexperienced car buyer. He said with the oil change plan I could drop in anytime for service and oil changes would take 30 minutes. I've "dropped in" twice and was told it would take all day, I've called 10 times before finally getting through to a person and was told it was two weeks out, I've emailed twice with no response. I still cannot get in for an oil change. My salesman "moved" and wasn't working there anymore when I asked for him two months after buying my new car there and no one else wanted to help me since I already had a new car. I would definitely not recommend Lithia Subaru nor will I ever buy another car from them again. More

We bought an '85 GL Wagon that had been stored for 5 yrs. My husband replaced the basic things: water & fuel pumps, thermostat, fuel filter, choke & duty solenoids, plugs & wires, rotor & cap, air & oil filt My husband replaced the basic things: water & fuel pumps, thermostat, fuel filter, choke & duty solenoids, plugs & wires, rotor & cap, air & oil filters, and flushed the water & fuel systems. The car always started before this and ran ok but stalled out on test runs. After the work was done, it idled fine but still had a hesitation upon excelleration. We decided to have a dealership do a diagnostic and trailered it to Lithia. We were quoted $168 for a diagnostic but ended up with a "safety" check instead. They sold us on new brakes. When we asked about the warning lights and hesitation, they were baffled. After 3 days, they had not done any testing because they said the plates were expired...we told them that we were wanting the diagnostic done before getting it smogged in CA, so that was not a new issue. They said they couldn't test drive it because of the plates! Can't they just plug it in to the computer and tell us about the carbs, etc for what was quoted on the phone? That's all we ever wanted done - not that much of a mystery! So tomorrow we're going to trailer it to an independent. And, we owe them over $750!!! How stupid are they? We were planning on driving it this winter and trading it in this summer...they lost new Loyal Customers and a Sale! Dummies! More

Bought my 06' Impreza in September 06. The car works great, but I have had problems with the service dept. Initially everything seemed fine getting routine oil changes through the dealership. This year great, but I have had problems with the service dept. Initially everything seemed fine getting routine oil changes through the dealership. This year I had an engine light come on, and I took it in to Lithia to get it checked. They said it was a bad charcoal filter and that it would need to be replaced. I was unfortunately out of my manufacturer's warranty be 2 months, but I did have an extended warranty from when I purchased the car. It seems that this extended warranty has a $200 deductible to even use. I know that no one ever explained this to me when I purchased the vehicle. The extended warranty was $800 when I bought it. I opted for a smaller one for 6 years 80k miles. I am sure that it is in the fine print somewhere and I failed to read it. Their words, "If anything ever goes wrong, all you have to do it bring it in and it's covered." Now I have come up on my 30k miles maintenance to remain in warranty. I made an appointment to have this and my alignment checked. The 30k maintenance and alignment came up at $1290. I almost thought the service rep was joking. Looking around online, I see that anything over $500 is highway robbery. The list of services they were giving me was about 8 items. Off the top of my head...3 filters, 3 fluid changes, and some inspections. Their price is an embarrassment. Needless to say, I will be having my maintenance done elsewhere. The unfortunate part is that their service center is always busy. It took very little research on my part to see that they are a terrible shop. Hopefully others will do the same and go elsewhere. The BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU gave them an F! More

Just bought the car from them 3 weeks ago. Took it in because the engine has a slight stumble to it. Instead of actually coming to look at the car in the parking lot the mechanic refused to leave his des because the engine has a slight stumble to it. Instead of actually coming to look at the car in the parking lot the mechanic refused to leave his desk and instead just gave me a list of excuses for why the engine might be running a bit rough such as the A/C kicking on (in winter!?!) or maybe I bought bad gas (I am careful not to). Generally he was very dismissive, completely UNHELPFUL and did not even take the time to look at the car! More

A few months ago, I replaced the thermostat and coolant on a 2000 Subaru Outback. There is a long-term factory bulletin for leaking head gaskets. The factory fix is a few ounces of "conditioner" aka stop on a 2000 Subaru Outback. There is a long-term factory bulletin for leaking head gaskets. The factory fix is a few ounces of "conditioner" aka stop-leak. I ignored the factory recommendation to replace the conditioner, and after a few months the head gasket began leaking. I brought the car in to Lithia Subaru in Reno. They asked me if I had replaced the coolant. They suggested I purchase a bottle of conditioner and put it in the radiator. They checked the car for leaks and found the drain plug on the radiator was not tight. They found no other leaks. A few days later, I checked again and found a drop of coolant coming off near the cylinder head. I brought the car back in the next day and was adamant they replace the head gasket. They put the car on the rack twice that day and after letting it run for quite a while, kept checking it every few minutes. They saw no leaks. The next morning when I got the car, they asked me if I would show them where it was leaking. They put it back on the rack and I watched them remove the splash pan. It had, indeed, stopped leaking. The bottom line is they went beyond what they really needed to appease me, and in spite of how hard I was on them, they kept a professional attitude. I also saw how competant they are. I recommend their service department. More

My mother took her subaru in to have fog lights installed. She asked them to check it out while they were working on it. They told her the car was unsafe to drive. They charged her $1,400 for bra installed. She asked them to check it out while they were working on it. They told her the car was unsafe to drive. They charged her $1,400 for brake work and routine maintanence. The worst part is I helped her buy the car just before this and all the fluids were changed and the brakes checked out fine. A complete safety check was performed and the car was %100. They did work that did not need to be done, or had just been done. I called the service manager and he insisted all the work needed to be done. They took advantage of an older woman by scaring her into the work. I also had a good friend that was told his timing belt needed to be changed. It had been done the month before elsewhere. This is a dishonest repair facility. I have bought parts and the parts department is friendly and knowledgeable, but don't let them work on your car! More

Car came from CA with scratches. We get it after dark, don't see the problem until the next day. No DMV sticker. Milage is 215, trip is only 130 miles. Just got the Temp DMV sticker. Assistant manager don't see the problem until the next day. No DMV sticker. Milage is 215, trip is only 130 miles. Just got the Temp DMV sticker. Assistant manager said he would get someone to bring it up when I left at 1:00 PM. 5:00 PM I call (twice) and was promised a return call by the woman I spoke on the phone to. 6:00 PM I call again, guy puts me on hold, comes back, says the sticker is there but nobody is available to send it up. 7:00 PM, my third trip to the dealer, guys are sittting reading the newspaper, in the office. That's too busy? No call? Buy your car off the lot, don't buy sight unseen, and bring a camera. THe guys are polite, but really don't care. look at potzagilla.net for my horror story More

Everything Seemed fine at the time of the repair. I was on the road and went in for a warranted fix (Blown Head Gasket). 40K later (yea that is a lot of miles, but a head gasket should rarely blow...ever) on the road and went in for a warranted fix (Blown Head Gasket). 40K later (yea that is a lot of miles, but a head gasket should rarely blow...ever) my current Mechanic said it's bad again. after taking my engine apart, he could tell that the 1st job was done so poorly, he was amazed I eve got back home. Tolerance for a head gasket is .001 - .003, the "divot" Lithia machined into my block was .008. It was obvious that it was Lithia's doing as there were rotor marks all around the divot where a sloppy machine job was performed. I confronted Lithia (and then Subaru of America) and just got the brush off. not willingness what so ever to at least look at the problem (my mechanic took some good close-up shots of the damage). I wouldn't recommend this dealership to anyone, I cannot believe that Subaru lets them put there name out the sign. Not to mention when I was dropping my car off at the dealer, I got confronted by a sleazy salesman, who was more interested it putting me into a new car than telling me where the after hours drop box was. More