Nathan Thompson

I had been taking my car here for routine oil changes, and it was always a frustrating experience. Even when they said my car was ready, I’d end up waiting another 30+ minutes for them to bring it around. and it was always a frustrating experience. Even when they said my car was ready, I’d end up waiting another 30+ minutes for them to bring it around. Then came the real issue. Subaru sent me an extended warranty for my brakes due to known problems with some Ascents. My car had this exact issue. The dealership said they’d take care of it, but the parts were on backorder. I followed up five times over the next five months before they finally got the part in. I dropped my car off on a Monday. By Friday, the brake assembly had popped out and scraped my rim. I called and spoke to Joella, the Service Manager, who immediately dismissed the issue, claiming it wasn’t possible because “their system” would’ve caught it. We sent her a photo and explained it sounded like a jackhammer. She later claimed it was the exhaust manifold—which isn’t even near the brakes or tire. It was clear she lacked a basic understanding of car mechanics. I then took my vehicle to Orange Coast Subaru, and they were amazing. They told me to bring it in immediately, gave me a loaner, and handled everything with care and professionalism. I escalated the issue to Subaru of America, and after investigating, they confirmed it was a workmanship issue caused by this dealership. Subaru requested both dealerships work together to resolve it. Meanwhile, Nathan—the General Manager—never returned a single phone call from us or Orange Coast Subaru. Subaru of America couldn't even reach him. After two weeks of silence, we physically went to the dealership—twice—just to get him to talk to us. When we finally met with him, he tried to gaslight my husband by blaming the other dealership and claiming there was “a miscommunication.” Luckily, my husband is knowledgeable about cars and called him out. Only then did Nathan finally admit fault and agreed to pay the other dealership to fix our car. Bottom line: Be very careful with this place. I should’ve trusted my gut and stopped going, but it was the closest dealership. Don’t make the same mistake. More

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I came into the dealership on August 4th to look at a car posted on their website. They originally said the car was on the lot but after an hour of looking, they couldn’t find it. Things happen, I understand posted on their website. They originally said the car was on the lot but after an hour of looking, they couldn’t find it. Things happen, I understand and they were generally accommodating during this visit. They let me know that they’d reach out to me when they found it and hold it for me to come look at it. A week or so later, I got a “price change” notification from their automated website. I emailed the salesperson to ask if it was now available and was told that it was not yet but he would be in contact when it was. I heard nothing more until I received an automated email from AutoNation asking for feedback over a month later. I provided feedback that they never got back to me and immediately was bombarded by their sales team. I asked them if the car was available to which they responded “Yes” and asked me to come in to see it. I asked for a photo of the car on their lot to prove that it was there to which they confided that the car had actually sold but I could come look at others. Needless to say, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere and I recommend you do the same. More

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BUYER BEWARE/ BAIT AND SWITCH Dear AutoNation Team, The purpose of this e-mail is to inform you of deceptive business practices at your Subaru franchise in Carlsbad California. We recently lease Team, The purpose of this e-mail is to inform you of deceptive business practices at your Subaru franchise in Carlsbad California. We recently leased a Forester from your shop and subsequently received a letter from them informing us that there was a discrepancy in our contract. This led me to review our contract terms and conditions. The contract terms were not the same as the terms offered by our salesman Jason Field. We had previously purchased a Forester from him and Bob Baker in 2016. My wife kept his information, and she was delighted that he was still with the dealership. My wife and I were shown various lease terms and selected a 36 month 12 thousand mile term with a $2,000.00 down payment. Furthermore, we elected to put and additional $1,000.00 down to reduce our monthly payment. We were also offered $10,000.00 for our 2017 Forester and for convenience we sold it to your shop. We used $3,000.00 from the sale of our old Forester as our down payment. Having discovered the discrepancy in the lease terms, we went back to the dealership’s finance office to address the issue. We met briefly with the finance supervisor and explained the issue to her. She told us that the finance person we delt with had been transferred to another shop that was less busy for additional training. She then got the sales manager Seth Sonstein to talk to us. He informed us that he was the manager that structured the lease and wanted to know what he could do for us. I told him that the lease contract did not reflect the deal points that were originally offered. We requested that the contract be modified to reflect the original deal terms. That my wife who leased the vehicle was never verbally informed of the new terms and trusted that the contract was consistent with the original terms. I was in and out of the finance office and was not present when the lease papers were executed. When I talked to Mr. Sonstein and pointed out the terms at the bottom of the proposed deal sheet, that reflected that a $2,000.00 down payment for a 36/12 lease was $361.00 and we put $3,000.00 down so the lease payment should have been $332.00 plus tax and the cost of the warranty options we selected (approximately $2,000.00) amortized over 36 months. He said that we did not make any cash down payment and were charged $425.00 plus tax and the cost of the additional prepaid services. I asked him what about the $3,000.00 we put down from the sale of our old vehicle. I was taken back when he pointed to the zero down term and with a straight face said that was the option we selected since there was “no out of pocket money”. He said he would not change the contract terms even though I pointed out that technically the contracted was void as there was no meeting of the minds. At that point I told him that I would share our experience on all the social media platforms as well as bringing these bait-and-switch business practices to the attention of Subaru of North America. I also told him that AutoNation will lose a customer for life. He then again with a straight face offered us an accessory for the vehicle as compensation. I bring this to your attention so hopefully you and your employees can do better in the future. We take ownership for not reading the final terms before signing the contract. Shame on us for being trusting. Reputation and credibility are the bottom line, taking advantage of customers as a business practice is a zero-sum game. We will inform people of our experience and encourage them to scrutinize their dealings with your shop with a fine-tooth comb. More

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The service was warm and courteous. I’m so sorry the dealership is changing ownership. I’m so sorry the dealership is changing ownership. More

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All around great experience. Great deal compared to other Subaru dealers. Easy and quick from start to finish, 10/10 Great deal compared to other Subaru dealers. Easy and quick from start to finish, 10/10 More

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Manny was amazing from the start. He made the entire experience fun and enjoyable. Christy was very informative and honest which I appreciated. Yuri was rude and unfortunately, the fi He made the entire experience fun and enjoyable. Christy was very informative and honest which I appreciated. Yuri was rude and unfortunately, the first person I met at Bob Baker Subaru. Luckily, I spoke with Nathan and Manny who made up for him. More

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Very pleasant to interact with and very informative about services done to my vehicle. Also timeframe given at time of services was very accurate. services done to my vehicle. Also timeframe given at time of services was very accurate. More

by BUDDABELLA0310 Verified Customer Verified Customer

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One of the best dealer experiences ever, period. George was extremely capable, personable, and had great product knowledge. George was extremely capable, personable, and had great product knowledge. More

by GMANGIAMELE Verified Customer Verified Customer

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John loss was my service advisor and went above and beyond to getvnmy car fixed as fast as possible. beyond to getvnmy car fixed as fast as possible. More

by SMILINGNDIEGO Verified Customer Verified Customer

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Excellent service from John Loss. John immediately stepped in to help resolve a scheduling issue. Thanks to his efforts, my car was repaired on time. His professionalism and effective John immediately stepped in to help resolve a scheduling issue. Thanks to his efforts, my car was repaired on time. His professionalism and effectiveness at problem solving are appreciated. More

by DAVIDA101 Verified Customer Verified Customer

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