Be Careful with Stevens Creek Subaru - Warning

[soldierguy]

And I just noticed....Carlsen Subaru has an Outback Basic on special for $255 less than Stevens Creek...lol!

[RippinRoo]

if anyone lives in the sacramento area, its worth the drive to go to Shingle springs subaru... second to that is maita. regardless, stevens creeks rep is legendary. even my mom knows about stevens creek subaru (she does her research apperently) from when she bought her forester back in 00'

 

+1 for Shingle Springs Subaru ... I was armed for a Stevens Creek experience when going to get my 5MT LGT Wagon, ready to battle it out with the slimy sales people, all worked up ... and Shingle Springs totally deflated me by being exceptionally nice and easy to work with... "You want that price...? sure, no problem, we can start on the paperwork right now..." I was dumbstruck ... took me a little while to recover...

[leggtnut]

This is a VERY interesting thread to me. I don't have a Subaru, but have pretty much decided that I will get one this summer when I get back to the US (I'm military stationed in Korea right now). I'm leaning very heavily towards an Outback 2.5i wagon or an Outback Basic wagon in silver or white, most likely with a manual, but I'd have to drive both the manual and automatic to see which one I like better.

 

This is very interesting to me because I'll be in CA for about 10 days before heading off for my next assignment, and would be looking primarily in the south bay area...I'll be in Monterey, but the selection of cars in Monterey is pretty thin, and Santa Cruz only has automatics...I want to be able to drive both back to back before deciding.

 

I was planning on heading to Stevens Creek...they seemed to have the best selection, although after reading this thread, I checked Carlsen's website, and they have some that fit what I'm looking for. I have already been in contact with Mike (the internet guy) at Stevens Creek, and he seemed to be very helpful...very quick replies to e-mails, not pushy at all, and has offered what seems to be a good price on an Outback Basic manual ($19,250...$3370 off MSRP). Granted, I'd need to add a few accessories that come standard on the regular outback but cost extra on the Basic, but that still doesn't add up to $3370 off MSRP.

 

I guess I'm in a different situation than most...I appreciate good customer service and I hate pushy salespeople (I've walked out of dealerships because of pushy/obnoxious/misinformed salespeople), but because I'm only doing a purchase, it really does come down to price for me. I've been doing my research, and I'm almost armed well enough to deal with pretty much any dealership....I know what my trade is worth, I know pretty much what I want (just gotta see the Basic and Outback side by side and drive both a manual and auto before I make up my mind), and I'm gathering info on what a fair price should be on it.

 

I'm willing to deal with Mike at Stevens Creek...in the e-mails, he seems like a decent guy and my impression is backed up here by others that have dealt with him. But I think I'll drop a note to Carlsen and see what comes back.

 

Oh and my response to salesmen that give me lines like "what can we do to get you in a car today?" I walk towards my car and tell them that they did just get me in a car...my own. That line alone would make me walk away from any dealership, no matter the deal.

 

My advice, go to Santa Cruz and talk to either Bruce or Charlie. They will get you what you want. If there is one in the bay area, they will do a dealer trade for it and you can take it home before you go out again. You can email them at sales@santacruzsubaru.com. They will take care of you.

 

Ben

[Rytoe]

I went to stevens creek and bought my 05 lgt.

 

1. They gave me a good price but could care less that i have financing thru my bank. They basically led us to believe we were using our bank and then told us who actually was carrying the loan. by then it was too late to change. But, the rate was good. Not quite as good as our bank but close.

 

2. A certified pre owned comes with 2 keys and 2 remotes. they gave us an extra key but couldnt cut it cause their machine is down. So we didnt want to come back in a week because we dont live in san jose and its a 2 1/2 hour drive. So we went to get the key programmed at the local dealer. Turns out the key is a non chipped key, so it wont work. So far after 4 phone calls to 3 different guys and a month and a half later i still dont have my freakin key.

 

3. The gas tank was at about 1/4 of a tank when they handed us the key. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Arent you supposed to gas up the cars and sell em with a full tank. I never thought to buy a new car and go immediately to the gas station.

 

they get a 5 out of 10. They are not that great for being the "#1 game in town", But I dont think I would buy from them again unless they had a deal that was too good to pass up.

[RabidWombat]

I went to stevens creek and bought my 05 lgt.

 

1. They gave me a good price but could care less that i have financing thru my bank. They basically led us to believe we were using our bank and then told us who actually was carrying the loan. by then it was too late to change. But, the rate was good. Not quite as good as our bank but close.

 

2. A certified pre owned comes with 2 keys and 2 remotes. they gave us an extra key but couldnt cut it cause their machine is down. So we didnt want to come back in a week because we dont live in san jose and its a 2 1/2 hour drive. So we went to get the key programmed at the local dealer. Turns out the key is a non chipped key, so it wont work. So far after 4 phone calls to 3 different guys and a month and a half later i still dont have my freakin key.

 

3. The gas tank was at about 1/4 of a tank when they handed us the key. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Arent you supposed to gas up the cars and sell em with a full tank. I never thought to buy a new car and go immediately to the gas station.

 

they get a 5 out of 10. They are not that great for being the "#1 game in town", But I dont think I would buy from them again unless they had a deal that was too good to pass up.

 

Just out of curiosity what color is your new LGT? I went there to look at an 05 LGT that had been sitting on the lot for ~4 months, but they wanted way too much for it. I wound up buying a new one at Captiol.

[Irrational Exuberance]

holy epic thread bump

[papa g]

The prices seemed higher at Stevens Creek when I was looking. I was going to get mine in Santa Cruz but I missed it by hours and I ended up with my baby from Livermore. They were pretty good except the guy kept sending me emails to see if I was still interested in buying a car after I bought one from them. DUH!

[Rytoe]

Just out of curiosity what color is your new LGT? I went there to look at an 05 LGT that had been sitting on the lot for ~4 months, but they wanted way too much for it. I wound up buying a new one at Captiol.

silver w/black leather int. It had 56,000 miles on it. got it for 16,999. Not a bad price, considering the condition, mileage and blue book value.