Michaels Bellevue Subaru

My experience with the Internet department was excellent. They talked to me like a normal person, not a mark with a lot of salesman hype. They were honest and upfront about the vehicle (which was exactly as they described it -- perfect) and gave me a good price for the car. It was business is usually conducted in the world outside car dealerships. I would go again and recommend them to others. They changed the way I think about car salesmen. more

I brought my WRX in for a "Check Engine" light. The car was repaired and returned to me the same day for no charge (factory warranty) and Chaplin's gave me a ride back to work. Having something fail is no fun but the service was excellent. more

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I found a good deal as I thought on Subaru Impreza at Eastside Subaru. I called the dealership and they told they have the car. I came the next day. They said the car was sold last night and tried to sell other unreasonably priced options. CarFax shows the car has been staying on the lot for 4 months. What are the chances it stayed that long and was sold exactly before I came? - zero. These guys play dirty games. more

Carter VW in Ballard is better. The two negative experiences that I had were trying to buy a car - the salesperson practically threw the keys at me to test drive one of the hundred silver cars on the lot (hmm... which silver car does this key belong to??) and the other negative was I am on my third trip to the service department for a bad glow coil. first it went out, then they installed it wrong, and this time, i'm not sure why the check engine light is coming on, but it could be because the technician used his coffee mug instead of a new glow coil. But, then again, maybe this is just a reflection of the electrical problems that VW cars have. I did have one positive experience where they washed my car for me once, that was nice. But, it doesn't make up for the fact that they had my car all day long to fix the glow coil issue and only got around to changing the oil. more

I brought my car in for service at Chaplin's. When I went to pick it up in the afternoon, I had to wait about 25 minutes for them to bring my car out to me. Granted, the service was complete - I was just waiting for their service person to bring the car out to the parking lot. Absolutely ridiculous. Here's the best part. I received a survey from Subaru regarding my service at Chaplin's. I filled out the survey online, relating my experience. A few weeks later I got a postcard in the mail saying that my survey results identified some "room for improvement" for Chaplin's. Subaru, the company, wanted to know if Chaplin's had contacted me regarding my survey. Apparently, they are supposed to do so. Naturally, they hadn't so I checked the "NO" box on the postcard and mailed it back. I hope they get scolded by the manufacturer for not contacting me because my understanding is that the auto manufacturers take these surveys seriously. more

My wife and I just purchased a new Legacy through Chaplin Subaru in Bellevue. Last week we had a tire blow-out, due to driver error, and I needed to replace one of the 1,500-mile tires. Yokohama isn't selling these on the open market yet (very new tire design) and I had a terrible time tracking one down. The service people at Chaplin Subaru in Bellevue were completely UNHELPFULL and simply brushed me off when I went to their service desk looking to buy the tire. They handed me a DEX and told me to call tire places, which I'd already been doing all morning. When I asked questions about warantee, they told me "Call Yokohama". Six people standing around in the Service and Parts Department chatting with each other and nobody had the time to explain to me how the warantee worked or even how it wasn't covered by Subaru. The manager of Les Schwab Tires in Renton took the initiative and called Yokohama directly, on my behalf, and persuaded them to release a single tire for retail sale. IF I'd recieved that sort of service from Chaplin Subaru, I'd probably be a customer for life. Instead, I don't believe I'll be giving them a second opportunity to piss me off. more

I just moved to Seattle and did a lot of research on dealerships in the area so I didn't get screwed as a single female looking for a new car. This place kept showing up as the place to go to, so I decided to check it out. Absolutely no pressure sales--it's incredible. I left the dealership and came back three times, and each time I got no pressure. Then, as I started to shop around, I was sending Tim in Sales (my contact) the other offers I was getting from other dealerships, which were better offers than his. That's when he got an attitude. He started pulling the "I'm a poor salesman" thing, trying to play on my guilt, etc. So I made him an offer, knowing that he had the choice to turn it down. Of course, he accepted it (because all car salesman want to make a deal) and then acted like he was soooo sad/ disappointed while he was showing me all the features the car had, after I had purchased the car. He's a poor actor--I know he's still the top producing salesman there, so his little act didn't fool me. But it's great because they let you test drive the car by yourself--which is wonderful--no pressure sales! However, the Service department is terrible. Terrible structure, terrible systems, they overcharge for everything, terrible service! I hate their service department--so if you want a dealership that will treat you well from beginning to end, don't go here! But if you're interested in a no-pressure sales experience, this is the place! more

Having made an appointment early last week for a Monday 9 AM drop off to have a simple diagnostic run, I was called at 3:50 PM by the service department to say that after nearly 7 hours, they had not touched my car and needed to keep it until the following day. They had no idea when, or for certain *if*, they'd get it looked at the next day. No loaner car, no diagnostic, no clue at what customer service means. If it is important that your car dealership does what they should *when* they say they will and do a good job of it, call Campbell Nelson VW at (425) 778-1131. It's worth the time and gas money to drive to Edmonds for real customer service. more

I have to agree with the previous folks. I went there to get a trailer hitch for my WRX and they totally scratched up my bumper. It looked like the mechanic took a brillo pad to my bumper for 1/2 an hour. Then they put me on their mailing list without asking me. Now I get RUDE mails every week saying that I need to take my car in for it's 30000 mile service or the 31000 mile service or the 32000 mile service. They are so frackin clueless it is scary. more

We bought a Subaru Outback at Chaplin's in December 2005. They were very low-key and no pressure. They let you take the car out as long as you want (okay, within reason) for a test drive. And you get to take it out by yourself. I drove it home to try it out on my driveway and make sure the car didn't bottom out going over my curb (it didn't). We took a couple of days to make the offer. My husband accidentally wrote down a price $200 above what he meant to write down and gave it to the salesperson. When the salesperson came back and said the offer was accepted, my husband said, oops, I meant to say $200 less. The salesperson didn't even get mad, bless his heart. They accepted the new offer. There hasn't been quite as much follow-up as I would have liked in checking to see if we like our new car but I guess I am spoiled that way. All in all, a very good experience (although their parking lot is VERY cramped!!!). more

Around the sound, Subaru's are more common than in other regions. Our mountain weather and sports see to that at. Eastside Subaru is a competent dealer. After going through financial troubles, they are now owned by a more stable ownership group. But everything about Eastside feels small and you'll see it in the shop. Other dealers will give you faster service and will wash your car. Eastside is slower and doesn't always do that. Other dealers will offer loaners. Eastside tends to be a little more restrictive. With time, this dealership may improve. But you might shop around for service. more

I was looking to buy a VW Jetta and visited this dealership because it was conveniently located in Bellevue. When I walked into the dealership, I perused the cars for several minutes, without ever being asked if I wanted any help. When I was finally helped, and later inquired about price, there was very little flexibility in the brief discussion, to the point that the sales manager bid me farewell once he realized I wanted it for a couple of hundred dollars less than the initially proposed price. more

This is based solely on my experience, but it ensures I'll never buy a car from Chaplin's. We had decided to buy a Subaru Outback, no doubt to stand out from all the other 30 somethings in our neighborhood. We knew what a fair price was and didn't need a million bells and whistles to add accessories costs, just a basic Outback. I emailed several dealers in the area. Chaplin's salesman sent me a very unusual email in reply. He told me that he didn't need customers like me who wanted to go on the cheap (!). He added that this was a fine product, and he wasn't willing to "whore out a car" with no package involved. I couldn't believe it, but it sure made the dealership stand out. Needless to say, we bought our car at another dealer instead (Carter Subaru). We have also steered several friends to Carter since then. I find the incident particularly amusing when Chaplin's runs ads touting their customer service. more