Buyer Beware!\r
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Be sure to do a search on ""car salesman tricks"" before visiting Puente Hills Subaru. \r
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I saw a used Outback that they were selling and stopped by to check it out. I told the salesperson, Katrin, that I had my own financing and that I wouldn't want any ""extras"" that dealerships like to throw in.\r
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After the test drive, the used car sales manager, Fred, was in her office. I told him what I could afford at an out the door price, and it was a fairly low offer, I wasn't expecting them to take it but figured I would ask. He asked if I would be interested in financing it through them if they could get me a better rate. The red flag went up here because this is where paperwork gets tricky and the price of the car would magically go up. I took him up on the offer, I was just more cautious should anything out of the ordinary come about...and it did. Fred left taking my blank check from my bank (Watch out for this, common trick with dealers)\r
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Another floor manager (Wally from what I was told later) came in with the finance offer. I spotted ""Gap"" and ""Warranty"" at the bottom of the paperwork right away and also so a payment $100 high than what my bank was offering and my bank had a shorter term, and the interest rate was no better. They were trying to ""sneak in"" extras that I not only didn't ask for, but also told Katrin ahead of time that I was not interested in.\r
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I told Wally what I had to spend that I had no interest in their financing and if they couldn't accept my offer than just to tell me that they couldn't accept my offer. Had they just done this to begin with I probably would have checked out another car on their lot. I hate haggling and Wally kept trying to get me to go higher on the price. I got tired of it and asked my check back so I could leave...he still kept trying to haggle. I asked several times to get my check back (I lost count) and he finally left.\r
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Katrin came back with my check, I left and as I was leaving she was insistent that I come back inside and Fred could get me the price I was offering. I told her to have him call me...it was getting late and I had to leave. \r
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Fred called me while I was driving back and through out a price that was still $1000 more than what I offered and I told him no and that all they have to do is tell me they can't take my offer rather than doing this haggling. He told me I was a difficult customer. I'm not sure how he meant that, but I certainly didn't take it as a compliment and I wrote the General Manager, Rafeh, a lengthy email about my experience and how I was treated. I told him I would give him 7 days to respond along with written apologies from Wally and Fred prior to giving any negative reviews (people should have a chance to right their wrongs). Other than getting a call from Aaron trying to sell me the car at still a higher price than what I was offering, I have heard nothing from the Manager...so here's my negative review.\r
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They lost points for taking my check and not returning it right away when asked, messing around with the financing, calling me ""difficult"", pressuring me into trying to buy the car and for the manager never responding to me.\r
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Maybe this was an off day for them, but I have a feeling a lot of people get scammed into their sneaky ways but don't realize it or just figure it is expected of a car dealership. If you're doing things their way with financing, warranties, etc. I'm sure you won't have any problems at all with them. Just make sure you do your research and walk out if you start to feel uncomfortable.
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