Subaru repair shops in atlanta?

[SubieDriver]

Scott's office is the last windowed office on the right as you're heading towards the service department. He's only there daytimes, and not on weekends unless there's some special event going on. He has no mustache, and he's young and clean-cut.

 

I think the dearth of LGTs might be due to the fact that they sell well. They've had a whole bunch of Bajas that haven't been going anywhere - you could probably get a good deal on one.

 

Regarding the roads: the backroads seem to be always clogged. The main highways are pretty good outside rush hour. Inside rush hour (7-9am, 3-7pm) it can turn into a six-or seven-lane parking lot in a hurry.

 

The flashing lights? Yeah, I think that is the equivalent of the middle finger. It's as if people can't be inconvenienced to let anyone by, so they get ticked off if they have to change lanes for you. There seems to be a very selfish attitude among a large percentage of the drivers here - no courtesy, no thought for anyone but themselves. They think they own the road, and that you have no business trying to get them to move out of their lane. I dislike discourteous drivers. Maybe it's because I grew up in a small town where most people were courteous, so the rude ones really stand out.

 

which one is scott? I dont know if he was there when I was.. but I saw lots of people, one older dude with a moustache that was at a computer in a very wrx/sti/imprezza decorated service room, and then some guys that came and went from the back. If they introduced themselves I missed it (I'm not good with names anyway) I was supirsed at SoG at the fact that they only had like 3 new LGTs, infact like 3 new legacies period. almost 90% of their new stuff is wrxs and foresters, yet I almost never see any of those on the road, only a few 2.5i legacies, a few outbacks, and every blue moon a forrester.

 

I always hear people talk about how bad the roads are here, I cant understand how 7 lanes in 1 direction isn't enough heh, maybe I come from a small town where 3 is the most you get for a few hundred feet and then its back to 2, how is atl different than any other city when it comes to highways? I've never lived anywhere else. I do find the almost total lack of "back roads" to be suprising.. to get from thornton to highway 5 w/o taking bankhead or 20 is like a 2 hour drive.

 

you dont see me on the road because I'm always in douglasville and generally, I dont leave except for special trips. You'd be most likley to find me on 20 over any other highway, although I'm on 285 from time to time, and 85. I did see a nice black LGT at the best buy down here in douglasville within a week of moving here, it was mostly stock but tinted up and had a radar detector on the windsheild. (I moved in november) other than that "spotted" around here has been an older woman in a blue 2.5i that was poking along on 285 one night.

 

oh yea, and what does it mean here if you pass someone they flash their lights at you? is that like a night time middle finger? and if so. why be angry you were in the way?

[brett s]

I've had good service experiences with Troncalli in Cumming - I used to live in Dawsonville so they were convenient too.

 

I'm also in Roswell now - bought my OBXT from Classic but have never tried them for service based on posts from others, sounds like that hasn't changed unfortunately.

 

And yes, Atlanta traffic sucks! My commute used to be 40 miles each way, almost all of it on GA400 - was averaging about 80 minutes, with the last 8-10 miles taking over half of that. I now live 3 miles from the office

[Jerboa113]

one of the guys at work refers to 400 as "the georgia autobahn" I've never been on it so I cant say..

 

well, on the whole headlight thing, I was coming home one night on 20, and I come up on a dude going slower in the fast lane than the middle lane, slow lane is open for a few, so I change 2 lanes, pass the guy in the middle lane then get back in the fast lane, and as I do the guy in the middle lane flashes his brights at me... I gave LOTS of signal, I only make casual 1 flash or quick lane changes when traffic is light, and its not light at 7:30pm... so he had no right to take a "I was considering perhaps the idea of contemplating getting into that lane in about 100 miles" crap..

 

yea the dude I worked with was the front service office, he drives an 05 LGT that is "crystal" ? he says its a factory color but i've never seen it.. he also has the chrome option LGT 17s.. One thing I also saw at SoG that looked cool was a mounted gunmetal prodrive rim on display in parts, I was tempted to ask how much but my wallet kicked me in the butt and reminded me it was starving for cash heh

[Subysan]

For that Strut go to America's Best Automotive in Alpharetta. 770-442-8883, talk with Dean Hendrikse. They are top notch. I have all my suspension, alignment, etc. done there. They do porsche, maserati, ferrari, fast subys. Top Speed and Subaru of Gwinnet are OK but expensive. Troncolli is good but not for performance work. They're not interested.

[dingo]

Hi - I'm in Atlanta for a few months and looking for a non-dealer place for regular service. Are there any non-dealer repair shops in the area that anyone would recommend for a stock Outback?

[Jerboa113]

I'd like to know that too, I'm sitting here on a saturday morning arguing with myself about making the 1 hour treck to SoG to have an oil change tire rotation and fluids inspection. The car needs it but ya gotta figure thats $50 for gas and probablly $100 for the service, thats $150 and all day spent in gwinnett which has no use to me other than the dealer. I have to put up with traffic and waste my time to spend money to drive all the way to gwinnett just for stupid service... I need another car..

[SubieDriver]

Darkfox, I generally go to SoG, but it's just a 15-minute drive for me. If you end up going there, call first, as I've had a couple times where I just showed up and they claimed they couldn't fit me in that day, so I had to come back the next week. I'd hate to have you drive all that way and get told they can't fit you in.

 

I called America's Best to see if they'd do the head gasket replacement on my '98, and they referred me elsewhere, so I ended up getting that done at SoG too, for slightly cheaper than Top Speed.

 

I'd say, for just oil change, rotation, and fluids, you could go just about anywhere. It's a low-risk operation.

[starla79]

Found out something awesome yesterday -- there's a new Subaru dealer opening off Barrett Parkway. It'll be a branch of the subaru dealer way up in cumming (can't remember the name off the top of my head right now). Apparently Subaru wants it in by April, but they just tore down the old building and the service manager thinks that it'll most likely be open in July, which was the original date for opening. I'm super stoked because that's a lot closer to where I work, and hopefully they'll have a good service department. Our lease on the LGT is up in October and distance to service was one of the things holding us back from considering another subaru, but now that we know there's going to be one close by, i can start hunting for an 06 Spec.B.

 

Edit: Found the name -- Troncalli. **happy dance**

[Jerboa113]

that may help a little. Its still gonna be a hell of a drive though. I tried looking at cars yesterday but no one has anything in stock and they're not discounting the corvette at all, and I refuse to buy a car at sticker..

[csaari]

Found out something awesome yesterday -- there's a new Subaru dealer opening off Barrett Parkway.

 

Wow, that will be cool. I'm near Woodstock, so both Classic and SoG are around an hour's drive. And after my experiences at both of them, I have pretty much vowed never to go back to either. I do all my own maintenance stuff myself, but I do have a couple of minor issues I'd like a dealer to check out.

[dingo]

Next week I am headed to Classic Subaru in Sandy Springs for the first time (brakes, alignment). I'll let you know how it goes. Very much enjoying my 05 LGT which I just purchased. So much more fun than my old car.

 

Anyone in Atlanta know of a good, independent Subaru mechanic?

I saved over $200 on a brake job by going to Firestone near Perimeter Mall. They did a great job and I will go there again. My advice (not that you asked) is to stick with the dealers for warranty stuff, but once you're out, go elsewhere. If you go to the Firestone behind Perimeter Mall, ask for Tony - he is the manager. He'll take good care of you.

[dpendrick2]

My problem is this: Recently while driving my 97 outback I noticed cold air blowing from the vents and the engine started to steam. I immediately turned the car off and waited for the engine to cool down. Assuming it was the radiator, I took it to have the radiator repaired. My mechanic calls me up and informs me that I may have a cracked head or head gasket. The car has about 130,000 miles on it, and no other major problems that I am aware of. Is it worth putting the $1000-$2000 into the car to have it fixed? If so, where in atlanta is a good place to take it? Please note I am a college student and probably cannot afford the dealer-inflated prices. Any help would be great! Thanks!

[SubieDriver]

The '96-'99 models tend to have head gasket problems. My '98 lasted to 150K, but the gaskets were starting to go for some time before that. It's a common problem.

 

I checked around to several places to replace them, and the dealer was either equal to or cheaper than all the other places I checked, so I just had it done at Subaru of Gwinnett. SoG pulls the engine and replaces all gaskets and seals. While they had it apart, I had them replace the water pump and timing belt (which I had replaced at 90K, so it was good for another 30K but I figured I might as well get it done again so I wouldn't have to worry about it for another 90K).

 

I also had them replace the rubber boots on the front half-shafts. All that ended up running about $2600, but if you don't need the half-shaft boots , water pump, or timing belt, you can get by cheaper.

 

One of the techs there said he had an Impreza that needed head gaskets at 150K, and he had no other problems until needing the gaskets replaced again at 300K. He then drove it 'til about 330K, then sold it.

 

So, since the rest of the vehicle seems to be pretty bullet-proof, it's definitely worth it to invest the money in head gaskets if you plan to keep the car. It's cheaper than getting a different car, and should be good for 150K.