I purchased a 2005 Impreza Sport wagon in Sept 2004. The sales went smooth.
All service so far has been at their garage, and I must say the service has been good.
When I received the car along with the paperwork, I also received a VIP preferred customer card. There is a web address on the back of the card, to check the 'card balance'. When I fill in the customer id and access code I get an error stating the id and access code are not in the database.
I've been to the dealer 3 times to get this corrected, there seems to be an unwillingness on their part to do anything. On 1/29/05 they took a copy of the card, on 4/9/05 they took my work/phone numbers I requested them to either fix or issue a new card. Whenever I bring the card to the dealer, the same person comes forward to handle it. There's a long high desk to the right end of the showroom where I take forgranted the 'business' people sit. I went back on 5/6/05 and again the same person comes forward, and he tells me very seriously, he remembers this. This time I'm told, he will personally handle it. Again the phone number is taken. And to this day, still nothing is done. The card is still not working.

Either issuing a new card, or activating the original card should be a simple task.
My main concern here, is if the people within the dealership are unwilling or uninterested to do something this simple, what is going to be their reaction, if there is really a problem with the car??
This dealership is supposed to be a 'Stellar performer'. Is their definition of 'Stellar performer', once the customer signs on the line, the dealership then shifts their attention to the next customer coming in the door??
What I'm asking them to do is simple, fix the card or replace it. It should not take 5+ months and so far 3 trips to the dealer, to still have nothing done. Are they sending the message, they're only interested it there is a dollar amount attached to it??

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103585&highlight=kolb

There is more out there, but this was the longest thread... I'd say hunker down and wait. Customer service seems to be pretty far down on their list of priorities, as far as I can see. And good luck!

IMHO, these guys are complete scumbags. Avoid at all costs. Head down the palisades to Town Motors in Englewood.

That dealership SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! worst evar.

I'm sorry I ever dealt with them. I'm sure there are good dealers out there, but the 3 Subaru dealers I dealt with in the past 3 years have been horrible. In fact, I've only ever had one positive new car dealer experience. Kolb is the worst though.

Never had a problem with them. Bought my car there and am running a stage 4 now and ther've never given me any reason to despair. I had the common washer problem on the steering pump and they fixed it pronto... also ran codes when I got them for no charge. They wont do major moddifications to your car but they will do the here and again minor ones.


-K

Ahh!

It seems to be a common story with this Dealership. Once you buy the car you are forgotten. They have their money, or yours, and to them it's the end of the relationship. and you are...? and this is regarding...? Extremely poor customer relations, broken promises, and lies. To me that does NOT equate to a Stellar Performer.

Peace,
Oquipah

IMHO, these guys are complete scumbags. Avoid at all costs. Head down the palisades to Town Motors in Englewood.

I bought my 04 WRX from Town Motors and they were great! They were very professional. Other dealers in the area wouldn't even give me the time of day when I bought my WRX.

To me is sounds like a typical dealer not caring about you because you might not drive a 50,000 vehicle.

It happens every day all day around the world, average people (speaking for myself) get treated like dog pooh no matter what and where.

If you pulled up in the most expensive vehicle they sell, watch the difference, it's true simple as pie!

try contacting SOA, they have been very helpful with questions I have. I think they are willing to help more than the dealer because the dealer thinks you will forget about it, and let it pass. Once you talk to SOA they know you care enough about the problem and are more willing to help.


I had a problem with a Chevy dealer recently, I contacted chevy, about 2 days later I got an apology call from the dealer. I'll still never buy another GM, but it was nice of them.

Good luck,
Steve

Bill Kolb Jr. Friend or Foe? Who knows.

I'm sorry I ever dealt with them. I'm sure there are good dealers out there, but the 3 Subaru dealers I dealt with in the past 3 years have been horrible. In fact, I've only ever had one positive new car dealer experience. Kolb is the worst though.

HA HA, I agree totally. IDK why but most subaru dealers are horrible. That Stellar award is total BS,the dealer probably pays SOA to put them on the stellar list. I'd say Wayne subaru is the best subaru dealer I've been to, but even there, you have to be on your toes.

I'd say Wayne subaru is the best subaru dealer I've been to, but even there, you have to be on your toes.

Yea that!!!!!!

I called about a Subaru Tribeca with just under 17,000 miles that was listed on the web at $22,886. When I called, I was put through to Sam Texler. First he told me that the car was an executive car and came directly from Subaru of America. I asked if the price was negotiable and he said "We have never had a customer walk away unhappy." I first asked it $21,000 was a possibility and he said no, that $22,500 was more reasonable. I told him I needed to think about it and talk to my husband before I accepted. When I called back later that day I asked if for the $22,500 they would throw in the interior and exterior protection that we had spoken about previously and was quoted at $495. He said he would have to check and get back to me. When he returned the call he told me that he spoke with the manager and that the car was an advertised car for the upcoming Labor Day weekend and that they were sure it would sell at the asking price and therefore it was not available for $22,500. I asked a number of questions because I could not believe what I thought I heard, was he rescinding the previous offer? He said he was. I was very upset and told him how unprofessional it was to rescind an offer to a customer and that I had never heard of anyone doing that before. He then began to say that he never really agreed to that price and that at Bill Kolb Subaru they are a no haggle dealership and they don't negotiate. I thought that was interesting since we had a number of phone calls back and forth where we certainly were negotiating and at no point did he say anything about being a "no haggle" dealership. I asked to speak to the manager and was put through to Bruce Wollman. After relaying the story to Bruce, he said he would check into what happened and get back to me. When he returned the call he told me that he listened to the tapes of the calls and never heard what I said Sam said. I was dumbfounded because I was not making any of it up. He then acknowledged that they only have tapes of incoming calls to the 800 number. Much of the conversation between Sam and I took place when he called me. I must wonder if that was on purpose.

I ended up going through with the deal anyway because it allowed me to have an '06 Subaru Tribeca without the higher price tag even though my local dealership offered me a rock bottom price on a new base model. Because Bill Kolb Jr. lost power the day we were to pick it up and because we were almost to the dealership from an hour and a half away, they agreed to deliver the car to my house later in the week which I appreciated very much. When the salesman arrived and I went out to view the vehicle, I noticed one scratch, then another, then another, and another. When I voiced surprise and concern Sam told me that it was used after all. I said first of all I have had many cars go years without such deep and noticeable scratches and you represented the car as basically a demo car, which are usually in great shape. When I then looked inside I saw a dried leaf and leaf crumble in the seat pocket, a dried coffee ring in the cup holder and a pull in one of the seat covers. I could not believe they had this car at their dealership and didn't take care of these things. I was further upset that i was not told about them ahead of time and now that I paid extra to have the exterior and the interior protected, if I wanted to fix any of these things, it would have to be resprayed at my inconvenience. I was exasperated.
Although, i did follow through on the sale, I truly thought once I talked to the owner; MaryAnn Kolb, that she would certainly be outraged by the conduct of these employees. I emailed her and explained all of this. She emailed back right away and said she was out of town until the following week and would have her manager get in touch in the mean time. 2 weeks went by and i had only received a call from the manager she spoke about, but he didn't seem to have a resolution for me. I then emailed Maryann again reminding her of my email. She apologized for not getting back to me and then went on to say that she was told that Bruce had authorized paying for the 15,000 mile service that was never done on the vehicle and the replacement of the rear wiper that I subsequently noticed was completely missing. I was again disappointed that the car had not even been serviced properly and that no one even went to the trouble of replacing the rear wiper. She acted as if taking care of 2 things that should have been done before even trying to sell the vehicle, as any car owner would do before selling their own car, should be enough for me to get over it. How about all the time it took to go out to the dealer closest to me, which is 30 minutes away, to get it serviced the first time, to go have the wiper replaced once it came in the second trip, and to go pick up a new seat cover on the third trip, take the seat cover to the post office to send back to Kolb to have the seat treated, now i have it back and have to make yet one more appointment to have it installed. Maryann finally called me tonight and the first thing she told me was that Sam just left her office and that she never could have sold the Tribeca at the price I felt it was offered or she would have lost money on the sale. I said that you must be implying that I am lying and so I was not going to waste any more of my time on this business. I told her how deeply disappointed I was every step of the way. As I was getting off the phone she blurted out that she wanted to make things right with me, but if I wanted to get off the phone......... Why would she wait until now to say that? They had so many opportunities to make it right and dropped the ball at each communication. Now I am going to put this in the rear view mirror.

If you are looking for a great Subaru dealership, go to Mitchell Subaru in Canton, CT. The saleman i worked with is Jason Ford, nice guy, not pushy, knowledgeable about their vehicles, accommodating and will work with you every step of the way. The manager, Frank, was wonderful as well. I did not end up purchasing my car there, but regret that decision. I have had first hand experience with their service department which is the best I have ever encountered. they are amazing!! If I purchase another Subaru it will definitely be at Mitchell and I am grateful that I am able to use their service department.

Bill and Mary Ann will never learn.

Kolbs a **** brick. My car was traded to another dealership and when i got the car the front bumper must have been hit on the lot at kolbs dealership. Kolbs dealership must have tried to do a quick fix on it and hide it from my dealership. When the GM from my dealership called Kolbs dealership he said he had no idea about it even though it happened on his lot.

I would have been more than happy to get involved with this if you brought it to my attention at the time. Is there anything we can do for you now??

Maryann Kolb
President

I would have been more than happy to get involved with this if you brought it to my attention at the time. Is there anything we can do for you now??

Maryann Kolb
President


Why does a customer have to get you, the President of the dealership, involved? Why are your sales managers taping phone calls, and boy I hope you idiots are letting callers know that their calls to your office is being recorded or you are breaking a boat load of laws! You people are a bunch of scumbags!

Why does a customer have to get you, the President of the dealership, involved? Why are your sales managers taping phone calls, and boy I hope you idiots are letting callers know that their calls to your office is being recorded or you are breaking a boat load of laws! You people are a bunch of scumbags!

Yeah.. that's the part that got me too. "Someone is actually recording calls with customers?"

Wow. I've been around the block more than a few times... never seen that one.

--kC

I called about a Subaru Tribeca with just under 17,000 miles that was listed on the web at $22,886. When I called, I was put through to Sam Texler. First he told me that the car was an executive car and came directly from Subaru of America. I asked if the price was negotiable and he said "We have never had a customer walk away unhappy." I first asked it $21,000 was a possibility and he said no, that $22,500 was more reasonable. I told him I needed to think about it and talk to my husband before I accepted. When I called back later that day I asked if for the $22,500 they would throw in the interior and exterior protection that we had spoken about previously and was quoted at $495. He said he would have to check and get back to me. When he returned the call he told me that he spoke with the manager and that the car was an advertised car for the upcoming Labor Day weekend and that they were sure it would sell at the asking price and therefore it was not available for $22,500. I asked a number of questions because I could not believe what I thought I heard, was he rescinding the previous offer? He said he was. I was very upset and told him how unprofessional it was to rescind an offer to a customer and that I had never heard of anyone doing that before. He then began to say that he never really agreed to that price and that at Bill Kolb Subaru they are a no haggle dealership and they don't negotiate. I thought that was interesting since we had a number of phone calls back and forth where we certainly were negotiating and at no point did he say anything about being a "no haggle" dealership. I asked to speak to the manager and was put through to Bruce Wollman. After relaying the story to Bruce, he said he would check into what happened and get back to me. When he returned the call he told me that he listened to the tapes of the calls and never heard what I said Sam said. I was dumbfounded because I was not making any of it up. He then acknowledged that they only have tapes of incoming calls to the 800 number. Much of the conversation between Sam and I took place when he called me. I must wonder if that was on purpose.

I ended up going through with the deal anyway because it allowed me to have an '06 Subaru Tribeca without the higher price tag even though my local dealership offered me a rock bottom price on a new base model. Because Bill Kolb Jr. lost power the day we were to pick it up and because we were almost to the dealership from an hour and a half away, they agreed to deliver the car to my house later in the week which I appreciated very much. When the salesman arrived and I went out to view the vehicle, I noticed one scratch, then another, then another, and another. When I voiced surprise and concern Sam told me that it was used after all. I said first of all I have had many cars go years without such deep and noticeable scratches and you represented the car as basically a demo car, which are usually in great shape. When I then looked inside I saw a dried leaf and leaf crumble in the seat pocket, a dried coffee ring in the cup holder and a pull in one of the seat covers. I could not believe they had this car at their dealership and didn't take care of these things. I was further upset that i was not told about them ahead of time and now that I paid extra to have the exterior and the interior protected, if I wanted to fix any of these things, it would have to be resprayed at my inconvenience. I was exasperated.
Although, i did follow through on the sale, I truly thought once I talked to the owner; MaryAnn Kolb, that she would certainly be outraged by the conduct of these employees. I emailed her and explained all of this. She emailed back right away and said she was out of town until the following week and would have her manager get in touch in the mean time. 2 weeks went by and i had only received a call from the manager she spoke about, but he didn't seem to have a resolution for me. I then emailed Maryann again reminding her of my email. She apologized for not getting back to me and then went on to say that she was told that Bruce had authorized paying for the 15,000 mile service that was never done on the vehicle and the replacement of the rear wiper that I subsequently noticed was completely missing. I was again disappointed that the car had not even been serviced properly and that no one even went to the trouble of replacing the rear wiper. She acted as if taking care of 2 things that should have been done before even trying to sell the vehicle, as any car owner would do before selling their own car, should be enough for me to get over it. How about all the time it took to go out to the dealer closest to me, which is 30 minutes away, to get it serviced the first time, to go have the wiper replaced once it came in the second trip, and to go pick up a new seat cover on the third trip, take the seat cover to the post office to send back to Kolb to have the seat treated, now i have it back and have to make yet one more appointment to have it installed. Maryann finally called me tonight and the first thing she told me was that Sam just left her office and that she never could have sold the Tribeca at the price I felt it was offered or she would have lost money on the sale. I said that you must be implying that I am lying and so I was not going to waste any more of my time on this business. I told her how deeply disappointed I was every step of the way. As I was getting off the phone she blurted out that she wanted to make things right with me, but if I wanted to get off the phone......... Why would she wait until now to say that? They had so many opportunities to make it right and dropped the ball at each communication. Now I am going to put this in the rear view mirror.


I read every word of this post and I can't believe after all of that you still bought the car from these a$$hats! WOW?!?!?!?!:huh: :eek: :(