almondcookie Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Hello all. I'm about |--| (this) close on buying a LGT wagon. My mazda is getting too expensive to fix and I would rather turn my repair $ into something more useful. I was shopping around edmunds and subaru and obviously they show you the nearest dealerships for you to visit. I looked around the forums and couldn't find a "preferred" or "opinionated" thread about which dealers to go to and which dealers to stay away from, especially in the M-A area, so this will help me out and future buyers: Subaru on Baltimore Annapolis Pike (Route40) * snotty, semi-knowledgable but you know more then they do * a guy I know used to work there. the managers are anti-mod while the techs are mod-friendly only if you're honest about it Herb Gordan Subaru (Automotive Blvd - Silver Spring) * internet sales consultants are morons * if you're not interested in an STi then they give you a cold shoulder. i asked about an sti and a legacy. My STi response email was 2 pages long with price, availability, incentives, etc. and when I was available for a test drive. My legacy response was 3 sentences. * I emailed them a 2nd time asking for a white legacy and the first paragraph was "thanks for your interest, i have a BLUE legacy if you're interested in buying" Subaru in Annapolis, MD * Subaru on York Rd, Timonium MD * Subaru on Ritchie Hwy (Glen Burnie) * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanoswrx Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 For Northern VA some good dealerships are Don Beyer and Dulles Subaru. I got my legacy from Dulles Subaru, had to negotiate the price down to 200 over invoice, but I got a good deal on my trade in. Don Beyer is also a very reputable dealership here. Also if Riche is still at Stohlman he is who I got my WRX from, nice guy, but I don't like their service department so much (their managers that is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandwood Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 I had an excellent experience (internet and in person) with Peter at Don Beyer in Alexandria. Also got excellent pricing from Fitzmall, which is a no-brainer, though in person they are not as good. I really recommend getting internet pricing from 3-6 dealerships before dealing with them in person. In our area, you should be able to get a car at invoice or below (mine was about $200 below)..... Good luck! getting out of the legacy game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seayar Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 I had a really good experience at Stohlman Subaru in Tyson's Corner. I got a good deal and the service was great. We also look at Dulles Subaru (Leesburg, VA), they just didn't have the exact car I wanted at the time. Good luck with the car search! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFar Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Paul Brothers in Herndon. I work in town and stop by occasionally. Ive bought two subarus from there and they always give me a pretty good deal on trades, and excellent deals on my new cars. Small dealership, good deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondcookie Posted February 13, 2005 Author Share Posted February 13, 2005 Fitzgerald Subaru (aka Fitzmall.com) / Rockville Pike, in front of White Flint Mall I'd say overall a "decent" experience. Not a "great" experience though. I'm basing my rating on my previous car buying experience. The last new car I bought was a 1999 Honda Prelude. I did my homework and brought my cheatsheet to all the dealers. I bought my honda in downtown baltimore in 15 minutes after shaking the guy's hand. The guy was honest and even caught some of my shady math I "accidentally" put in. Here's my story: After visiting 5 other dealerships, fitzmall had the 2nd lowest price on the car that I wanted. All 5 dealerships could not meet, beat or were willing to transfer the car to their dealership. The main issue that made it so difficult was that I wanted Satin White, which apparently in the state of maryland is extremely hard to find. So I stopped by. The sales rep I had was Larry Bowman. Not too pushy but just a little bit. A little shady and needs to work on his attitude or concealment of his attitude. Being in rockville I guess people make some serious coin down there. Most of the options you are asking for will be MSRP + installation fee. 50$ for floor mats installed? 33$ invoice + 17$ to install them? No thanks. 299$ for the sub installed? 178$ invoice. We started off at their internet price and did the math. tags, processing fee, tax, final numbers. I also had him do the prices for the delivered price. He told me that fitzmall shares the same inventory as gaithersburg subaru so having a car transferred to fitz will be no problem and will not cost me anything. After he gave me all the numbers I asked him why a same model found in gaitherburg was 300$ less compared to their internet price. Stale car. It was 3 months old. Unknown miles. Buying a car is a funny thing because you need 2 people. One person to drive the new car and if you don't trade anything, another person to drive the old one back. I didn't have a person available so I had to get come lunch and then call around. So I'm leaving for lunch and I get the classic "if you come back in ,we'll drop it another 150$" pitch. I have no 2nd person to drive my old car back. So I passed. And he gives me that "150$ lunch basically" guilt trip. He said that he'll get someone to drive my old car back for me. I thought that was a little too good to be true so I didn't go that route. I've been through a lot of car buying with friends and family and that has never been offered. So I came back a couple hours later with another driver. The price was about 1000$ less then anyone elses internet price. So i started to push harder. Can i get the sub at invoice, no. Can i get it installed for free at least?, no. That's the final number. I really started to not feel good about it. The gaithersburg car was still 150$ less. And i gave up my chance for lunch. Is me driving to that dealer and going through all this again worth my time, gas and 150$? And fitz won't even price match it. They would give me the full 300$ off but the car i would be buying is the one in gaitherburg. That means they they would have to drive the car here which could be tomorrow or during the week. I told them I was here to buy a car and that assumes me driving it home today. He said that if I wanted that "i should have told him in the beginning" so now he has to fill out all new forms. Didn't look like a happy camper at all. I was thinking as he was filling out new forms, you know what, gaitherburg isn't that far away and I can drive home from there. So I got up and he was like "ok, let me see what I can do". I could hear the sales manager "just price match it". So I got the 300$ off on a car on fitz's lot. And now I have a new car sitting in my driveway. Did i win? probably not because dealers buy in bulk so they get a discount which is probably way under the stated invoice price. You're just trying to lessen the blow to the checkbook. I do know that it was the cheapest of all my quotes only because no one else was willing to transfer a car from one dealership to another. I probably could have done better. Review: * Somewhat tedious * Stick to your guns You're getting a car in the color and with the options that you want. don't settle for anything else. if you have to wait or go somewhere else to get it, then so be it. you'll be happier in the long run. * Negotiating with them or tryig to "cut a deal" is pointless. It's their business to not budge. * Actions speak louder than words. Leave (or threaten to leave) to prove your point. another -150$ in 15minutes isn't bad. * They will seem to care less if you're trying harder They wanted to sell me a car with the rear bumper scratched. I was like "ummm how about .. no". Why would you even ask that question? * Information is on a need to know basis The car in gaitherburg was 3 months old. Only until the finance manager was doing the final papers, I found out they car I was getting was 6 months old. But I didn't ask so he didn't tell me. I also found out that in the storage lot, a wheel was stolen off my car. Damage? don't know. But if I have an alignment or any wheel problems, you bet they'll hear from me. * As stated before, "decent" but not "great" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSattler Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 Bought my GT at Russel Subaru in Catonsville, MD, where we live. I bought an IMBA membership a year ago, so I got VIP price (invoice). Sales guy said I could get any accessories they didn't yet have (bought in June) later at cost, which I did. He even took care of making my first couple of service appointments for me. Dealership offers free carwashes for life, and a $150 oil changes for eight years deal. Easy and painless. That salesperson, who was their Internet salesperson, left to go to another dealership a couple of months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminetanyahoo Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I'm in the market to buy a Legacy Limited soon so I'm curious to which dealership has the best prices with the least amount of hassle. Personally I can't stand dealerships, it makes me feel sick when I go there and get approached by a salesman because immediate bullcrap starts sphewing out. I live in Crystal City right now and willing to drive two hours in any direction to get the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondcookie Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 best prices and least amount of hassle are 2 phrases that shouldn't be in the same sentence because to get the the best price you will get a lot of hassle. fitzmall in rockville was where i got mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05 Outback 2.5i Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Wilkins Subaru in Glen Burnie MD... We paid $1835 below invoice (If you believe Edmunds Invoice Prices) for our 2.5i wagon, and it was as pleasurable an experience as car buying can be... http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5608 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 My bro and I both went in to Fitzmall, after being ignored on email (had to get the sales mgr involved). They low-balled trade-in value on my Jeep and didn't bother to disclose the GTP was ending Nov.1 after ordering the car I wanted. We both ended up buying at Dulles Subaru in Leesburg. I got them to match Fitzmall, but had to go with an alternate color choice as I couldn't get the SWP LGT-L wagon (which was why I ordered from FM). My bro got VIP price on the OB-LLBean. Both of us had issues at Dulles with both the sales mgr. and the service department. In all my years of buying cars, I haven't had one good experience. Par for the course, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringFellow Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Bought my GT at Russel Subaru in Catonsville, MD, where we live. I bought an IMBA membership a year ago, so I got VIP price (invoice). Sales guy said I could get any accessories they didn't yet have (bought in June) later at cost, which I did. He even took care of making my first couple of service appointments for me. Dealership offers free carwashes for life, and a $150 oil changes for eight years deal. Easy and painless. That salesperson, who was their Internet salesperson, left to go to another dealership a couple of months ago. Just beware if you visit this dealership, parking is horrible. They expanded their showrooms and the service lanes last year I believe, but they didn't do anything for the horrible parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringFellow Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Does anyone have any information regarding Frederick Motor Company in Frederick MD? I bought my Subbie from there, but I haven't heard anything regarding their service department. Got my car for about $500 under invoice and a decent price for my trade-in. Sales guy wasn't too knowledgable about Subbies in general, but I had already done my research. Sales Dept: C+ Service Dept: Unknown -S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondcookie Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 The one thing I don't like about the Russel dealership on Route 40 is that they have 2 dealerships in one building and apparently mazdas sell more than subarus (in that location). So if you're a quiet person like myself, you could essentially walk into the side entrance to the subaru half of the building and it'll take them probably an hour or more to figure out that someone is over on the subaru side. you can hear them chit-chat all day long on the mazda side. It's really a shame. It's a nice dealership. I would agree. parking does suck. I end up parking in the computer store's parking lot to the left of the dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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