Carter Subaru Ballard
The deposit hasn't been refunded
Well I don’t usually leave reviews, but I think it is important to warn potential Carter Subaru buyers about car finance irregularities. Everyone was very nice but at the dealership? We decided to purchase an Outback (great car but could use a better sound system) and left a $500 deposit on our credit card to hold our car.
For some reason the car we were holding wasn’t available, but they said they had another one just like it. We bought it and ask about our deposit and they said it would be refunded to our CC account.
4 emails, phone calls and personal contacts and still the deposit hasn’t been refunded it has been over 5 weeks. I had to dispute the charge on my credit card. If I did not challenge this charge on my credit chard within 60 day I would lose the $500 deposit.
Never Again
Since I posted about my service experience at Carter Subaru last week, the good folks at the Ballard Subaru dealership have reached out to address my concerns over the practice of billing for service based on the average amount of time it takes a mechanic anywhere in the US to complete a particular service rather than billing based on the actual number of hours the mechanic who worked on my car took to do the job.
The same service manager I spoke with last week about how my bill was calculated called and the message he left last week informed me that Carter Subaru in Ballard is simply keeping in line with the common industry practice of billing for an average number of hours of service rather than the actual number of hours the mechanic takes to actually work on my car.
Bad Stay clear of Carter Subaru in Ballard.
My daughter and I were shopping for new car. We went to Ballard Subaru on Saturday. Shelly M was nice on the phone but was not there when we got there. We were put with a new? person that did not know how to operate the company’s web site.
Also a Old man asked to park my car. He did not come back for a while even though he was moving it only a few feet. When I went looking for my keys he was entering the building telling another sales man that my car was the dirtiest he had ever seen. When he saw me standing there he just went ‘ooo’.
Then the man helping us could not figure out if he had both cars we wanted to look at. Finally he went to get one. 40 minutes later he still had not returned. (during this time we ask twice if he was coming back)
Went for service there a couple times. Not impressed, took my business elsewhere.
Now months later I just got a long robocall message from them trying to sell me something. If you decide to do business with them DO NOT give them your phone number.
I will never go there again.
I just had the most obnoxious parts person on the phone who didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, then got mad at me when I pointed that out. I was trying to see if they had a simple part for the roof rack.
Somehow this person was looking up parts for the steering rack, then when I pointed out that I was looking for a part for the roof rack, he put me on hold and another person came on the line.
I was trying to describe the part and during that process mentioned that I had it in my hand. He said I can’t see your hand over the phone. Why make those kind of comments to a customer?
Then of course they didn’t have the part. Even though it is the closest Subaru dealer to me, I will never go there again.
I then called Jennifer. No answer, been three days
I then called Jennifer. No answer, been three days, still no answer. I texted my new sales lady Laura in Shoreline. No answer. Been three days still no response.
I have never been treated so poorly nor have I ever been so disappointed in any customer service experience in my life. I am now convinced that they fully tried their hardest to NOT sell me a car.
As to why this is, I’m not sure. A good friend of mine just had a wonderful experience with Shoreline. His outback is wonderful, he got it this week and he loved his sales guy, Guy who worked really had to make my friends experience a good one.
Why does Carter hate me so much? Not sure. Not sure I care anymore, but I want this story out there as it’s absurd and completely unacceptable. Save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else. Anywhere else.
I was informed that "they are not a rental company" No shit.
This was an utter lie. In writing. His boss later told me that the email had been taken out of context. I’m not sure how you take an email out of context. It’s literally in writing.
I was put in touch with Jennifer who runs both the Shoreline and Ballard locations. She was extremely apologetic, said all the right things and assured me that she would personally get me in a car no later than the 18th of November. She also agreed to give me a loaner car until mine arrived. I trusted her and finally felt like this experience would end well.
The catch was that I needed full coverage on the rental. I don’t have a car. I don’t have an insurance policy on a car. I can’t get insurance on a car that’s not mine.
After calling five insurance companies and being turned away (and told by three that since Carter was providing a loaner they should have some sort of insurance that I can pay for through them) I called Carter. I was informed that “they are not a rental company” No shit.
I had been planning on buying my first (new) car this fall.
I had been planning on buying my first (new) car this fall. Me and my husband were so excited, nervous as this is a large investment but excited that we are at the means in our careers to be able to reward ourselves with our dream car. I met with John in Ballard for a test drive on an Impreza, I wasn’t ready to buy yet and wanted to look around and see if I could find a better deal.
Man, I must have really made a bad impression with the entire company. Either this or they are incapable of taking a young professional with good tattoos seriously. After weeks of back an forth every car we were about to buy sold minutes before we could purchase. After the Northwest allegedly ran out of Subarus, we decided to wait until November for the ski package and buy a.
We ordered the car in September, and were told it would arrive in the last week of October or early November. John and I kept in contact in the meantime and he assured me it would be there any day.
On the 21st I sold my car. On the 21st John emailed to tell me that because of the government shutdown my car could be delayed as far as January.
NOT HAPPY about breaking down in traffic, waiting for a tow truck
We took our Outback to Carter Subaru Ballard for a year or so before going elsewhere for a variety of reasons. Recently my car broke down and it turned out to be a piece that Carter replaced 18 months ago,
that should not have failed. But they had cheaped out and only replaced one valve of a 3-part system, and so the other 2 parts failed, leaving me to replace the whole thing all over again…
NOT HAPPY about breaking down in traffic, waiting for a tow truck, and then finding out from my GOOD mechanic that the part should never have failed. A call to Carter told us that it was “out of warranty” and they wouldn’t make good on it. Steer clear of them.
Never again. The trust is lost.
I bought my $20,000 Legacy at Carter and have had them do one or two minor maintenance jobs. Recently, my son hit a curb and knocked off the 6-foot plastic skirt piece running along the base of the passenger-side doors. Carter told me to throw away the old piece, buy a new one ($300+/-) and pay ($150+/-) for installation charges.
I said, “sure,” ordered the new piece and scheduled an appointment 3 weeks out. (I cannot get to Ballard during the week and Carter had no weekend availability for 3 weeks.) When I returned early on a Saturday morning, the service rep told me the part had unexpectedly arrived “primed” but not painted.
The paint shop guy does not work Saturdays, so I was told to expect a call on Monday (two days later) to get the paint estimate. I wasted two hours of a beautiful Saturday morning for no good reason. Sure enough, Carter called on Monday to give me the paint estimate: $300 (?!) for the paint work. Total estimate (w/o tax): $750.
Service King West Seattle just did the same job–using the “old” plastic skirt–for $98. The work took 45 minutes and looks EXACTLY like the opposite side.
Poor customer service, over-priced, and questionable billing practices.
Poor customer service, over-priced, and questionable billing practices. I would not recommend having your car serviced here ever. I had forgotten why I never take my car to dealerships, but fortunately Carter Subaru Ballard did a great job of reminding me.
I took my car in to have the air bags replaced (for free since it was a recall) and asked for them to also change my oil while it was there. A few hours after dropping my car off I receive a call from them stating that it will cost me $1300 to get my car in tip-top shape again.
I just had it serviced at another trust-worthy shop a couple months ago and they saw no major repairs that needed to be done… So of course, I turn down the repairs and tell them to just do the oil change and replace a couple of bulbs that had gone out.
I was then given a quote of ~$180 for all of the work. This seemed like a lot to me for a $50 oil change and a few light bulbs, but I did not have time to run to autozone to get the bulbs myself, so I told them to go ahead with the work. They tell me the car will be done in 1-2 days.
Oooops. But here is another higher priced vehicle.
I made an offer on the car, wrote it on the screenprint, and the salesperson took it to the manager. After a few minutes, … came back with a higher number than I offered but on a different piece of paper???
I asked to look at my original offer so I could compare all the options side by side and there was a HUGE hesitancy to do so, and he asked if I REALLY needed that piece of paper. I said yes. When he brought the paper work back down the VIN number was not on the paper work. A photocopy had been made of the original but this time excluding identifying numbers.
After a VERY long time, remember the salesperson was just getting my piece of paper, the salesperson came back. The manager came down also and stayed behind me. The salesperson explained that the car I was interested in had just sold… Oooops. But here is another higher priced vehicle.
I bought a used car this week from Carter Subaru and the whole experience was great.
I bought a used car this week from Carter Subaru and the whole experience was great. Even the negotiation process was so simple and transparent. I would highly recommend to visit the dealer before going to other places.
And the sales executive Bill Stutzman is really awesome. He will get everything done efficiently. They seem to have redefined the buying experience. Great work guys !!!
Tried buying new car here
Tried buying new car here — Quotes were high, sales person was rude with hints of dishonesty. Not buying my car from Carter Subaru Ballard.
Carter Subaru Ballard Bad Service Provide.
Poor customer service, over-priced, and questionable billing practices. I would not recommend having your car serviced here ever. I had forgotten why I never take my car to dealerships, but fortunately Carter Subaru Ballard did a great job of reminding me.
Carter Subaru Ballard Bad Service
Just got off the phone with the parts guy at Carter Subaru Ballard. He talked so fast I had to ask him to repeat his last sentence. The anger in his voice when repeating was enough to make me want to go down there and correct him. Rude and unfriendly.
What is wrong with these people? They are successful in spite of themselves. They have the part I want but they can keep it. Please shop elsewhere.