3 Long Island, NY Reviews (Hassett, Northcoast, Grand Prix)

[BladeZ]

Just though I would share my experience purchasing my new wrx. Not that many long islanders reviewing car dealerships, so I hope this helps! (there was a review for Metric, but I went there and they were closed on Sundays, I never made it back, since I bought the car elsewhere!)

Hassett (Wantagh) - Not much I can say about this place except that they are rude and don't really want to sell cars. I went there twice. Once when I was looking for an automatic. The guy, they don't make any, and didn't even bother checking the stock. The second time, (this time i wanted MT) they didn't have the color I wanted and wouldn't discuss transferring from another dealer. I have read similiar bad reviews of this place, and add mine to the list. They are a multi-dealer dealership (Lincoln/Mercury), so I guess they make their money that way. Avoid these guys... next!

Grand Prix (Hicksville) - I wanted to like these guys, I really did. They are owned in part by the same people that own Westbury Jeep, which is where I just bought my wife a JGC and was very happy. They have all these free bonuses, like oil changes for a year, and loaner cars, yadda yadda. So, I told the salesman flat out "I want to buy this car from you". I just needed him to get the one i wanted. So, what ends up happening is he says he can get the car. No doubt about it, he found at least 3 dealers with the car, the way i want it and he would have it within a week. I go there, negotiate a price, put a down payment and sign all the papers. I give them 2 days. No car. Then he says, "Actually, I found the car, but it's configured differently, and I have to pay the mechanic to add thee options you want, so th price is going to be more". OK, whatever, I see what he is trying to do to me, and maybe the price was a little too low, closer to 2% over invoice. I put them on hold, while I went to visit...

North Coast Subaru (Glen Cove) - I spoke to Charles Bruno on the phone and asked id they had the color and options I wanted. They did. I went there right after work. The guy was very cool and even though I didn't know the area, he threw me the keys and let me take a 5-spd out for a spin, alone. I didn't even know how to drive stick, well, I KNOW how, but i was very inexperienced at the time. So, I jumped at the oppurtunity , and I stalled like 5 times! I went back to the dealersship, car still intact, thank god. I felt very relaxed, we negotiated a price ( a little higher than I originally wanted to pay, but still less than edmunds TMV) and I bought the car on the spot. They threw in tinted windows and I picked up the car on a Sunday only 4 days later. So, overall, these guys rock. They were very nice all steps on the way and I didn't feel like they were trying to take advantage of me. If you live anywhere near them, you owe it to yourself to go see them. And yes, they are a Subie ONLY dealer!

There ya have it. If anyone has any questions about my buying experience, feel free to email me or reply here. Lata...

Oh, I did go back to GrandPrix and got my $500 back!

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[YaZahX]

i got mine from browns, they are not good at the PDI!!! my trunk and a few interior components were loose(not too bad, but if i was a average joe that couldnt fix it it would have been bad)
the sales guy i had was good, i gotgot his name(maybe kevin?) and he had my car on the lot, eberything i wanted (excpt spoiler) so we went for a drive(i had him drive, i never drove manual at the time) it was fun(speeded more than i do)

when it came to price i was happy, i got it at sticker with tints, plus 500(+-) for the spoiler

the sales manager had major suck!! he wanted to sell me a warrentee and i was like 'i dont want it! i dont want the one taht comes with the car either, leave me alone' so he kept pushing it which was annoying.

the poiler was the only thing i left my car there for, they sucked at that, the called up liek an hour or 2 later to tell me they cant put it on, after i droe all teh way out to them to give them the car, so i was mad and eventually they put it on... and called me back and told me to get it, jackasses left the metal shavings from the trunk lid in the trunk so they suck at cleaning up.

i was happy with the price but now i realize that my car was the demo car and thats why it was cheap, it was made in 2/01 i bought it in 10/01.. so that explains my tranny issues

did i do ok?

[VanillaEps]

I did post a review of Grand Prix I believe. I wrote the post a while ago when I got my car. For the most part I agree with you. I wanted an RS from the start and already knew what options I wanted with the car and what I wanted to pay.
I ordered the car in July and they also tried looking around to other dealers to see if they had the car I wanted. The car took three months to come over. That's not my complaint though.
After the car had arrived at the dealership....it took them 3 weeks to deliver the car to me because of their lack of communication within the dealership, lack of communication with me, and their mishaps regarding the loan (not calling the bank, not working out interest rates,etc) In the end I sourced my own loan and within days of doing it myself I drove the car home.
Would I buy from them again: No, not after reading reviews about Mertic Subaru.

[mtb_dude]

Nice reviews Bladez,


Well i went to Grand Prix and they seemed cool, but they would not work with me on price and I ended up walking out of there. I went to Hasett instead and after talking to the salesman for about 45 minutes, we sat down and hammered out a price. The price was good, but when I went to pick up the car the diff protector wasn't on, the rubber floor mats were missing, and the rear bumper cover wasn't there. It took almost 3 weeks to sort it out and they all seemed like they just didn't care. I got my first service at hassett and it was like a cattle house. Nobody cared and they couldn't tell me which synthetic oil they were using. Well, from that point on I've done all my maintenance.

In short, stay away from Hassett

[Rich10]

I wanted to buy my WRX from Grand Prix (since they are close to where I live) but they wouldn't match the price that I got from another dealer. Even after I showed them the paperwork that had been faxed to me, their best offer was nearly $1,000 over the price that I paid to Premier Subaru (in Branford CT). While this was last August and things may have changed since them, it shows that by looking around and using the internet, you can usually get a better deal.

Another thing to consider is that Grand Prix told me that they "don't even want to see" modified cars in their service department. I wouldn't go back there.

Rich

[VanillaEps]

Is that really true about Grand Prix Subaru? Looks like I won't be going back there anymore. Considering that I've installed an intake and complete exhause including hi-flow cat. They were never really good to begin with. I got free lifetime oil changes. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be going back there at all. They just told me that they don't do anymore 'weekend' installs and services cause they lost the technician that works on the weekend. You even had to reserve a loaner months in advance. It was total crap.

Metric Subaru is the way to go. I'll be there for my next service.

[metricmark]

I'm glad to see you're gonna come to Metric!!!! If I can be of any assistance, let me know!

p.s. I'm the Parts Manager there.

[mtb_dude]

Hey Metricmark,


Yeah, believe me. Any real work that needs to be done will go to you. The guys around here talk great things about Metric. I should be getting new tires and wheels soon, so maybe I'll go to you to get a sport alignment. I'm in Long Beach, but I'll drive pretty far to get a competent nice guy to deal with my car.

[wrxspdr]

yeah if you want it done right def go to metric there service though busy is the best. Mines going in tommorow for a 15k checkup. There sales is good too I think I came by a good solid 15 times to sit in the car before buying. They were nice about it good thing cause I bought it there too.

[limshady88]

I went to Port last year in late March- April and they had just gotten a Blaze Yelow with the options that I was looking for but they will only part with the car for $2000 over MSRP, not invoice, what a rip off. My brother bought his blaze yellow from Northcoast Suby and he paid sticker, so I spoke to the sale rep and siad if I took another one then and there what was the best he could do and he siad $200 off from MSRP. Hasset wanted $1500 over invoice for there Yellow WRX and this was in April of 2001. I sent out a couple of email via SOA website and Nitti Suby in NJ called me back and made me an offer of $450 over invoice. This was a Wednesday and I told him that I would liek to see it on Sat and he said no problem, I didn't even have to leave a deposit over the phone. Get there on Sat and there is was.
Took and loan application, shook the sales rep hand told him that he will receive the appilcation on Monday. Two days later, loan was approved. Great experience.Oh one more experience, went to Wayne Suby in NJ, 1 hour drive, got there while the sales manager was with a customer, waited for 2 hours to be informed that one of his sales rep had just sold the car. Did I make a stink about that. His response was that his hand s are tied and nothing he could do about it. Some slaes manager, huh??

[SteveKerr]

I been to most dealerships on Long Island, and this is what I have found. I agree with the Hassett, the sales was awful when I went. I live very very close to North Coast, so I drive by there almost everyday, and I stop by occasionally. They have nice sales people, but the prices are a little too high, they still are charing almost MSRP for WRX's and they are hard to budge down on price. Metric had the lowest prices to buy for me, however I was good friends with a sales guy at Port Subaru near Manhasset, and I got an awesome deal on a black automatic 2002 WRX, and it's pretty much fully loaded. I reccomend Port Subaru so far, I am picking up the car on Friday. So far I reccomend Port and Metric, I probably would have bought from metric, given the excellence of service and everything, but the drive was a little too much for me. Glad to see some Long Islanders out here!

[northway87]

I'm currently getting a car at Hassett. They are very laid back about things for both better and worse (better=no sales pressure, worse=not very motivated to sell you the car, or to really keep track of things) The people at Brown seemed really good, but they didn't have the particular car I wanted, and Hassett did, so that's where I wound up.

[ELLEN]

SO GLAD TO READ YOUR OPINIONS. I LIVE IN BROOKLYN, NY. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FAR OUT ON THE ISLAND GLEN COVE IS? I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH L.I. I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT A 2002 IMPRESSA WRX WAGON.

THANKS.....
ELLEN

[MightyWRX02]

Glen Cove is about 1/2 an hour from NYC. This is mainly b/c there is no L.I.E. or NSP exit in the immediate area. Take the extra 15 minutes and do yourself a favor, go to Metric, it's a lot less hassel and they really know what they're doing.

~~MikE--

[subarex]

So are any of these dealers more likely to allow mods? I went to Hasset (they're local) and the service dept told me that theyre really cracking down on modified cars. Where can I go in Nassau that won't put that stuff into the computer. I dont want to do huge mods, probably just an axle back muffler and a K&n filter.

[06BlackSTIwith550WHP]

bought my STI from north coast subaru. They are the best without a doubt. Ask for Bill he will take care of you everytime

[SQC120]

u understand that you just brought a thread back from 2002? 4 years ago buddy

[Impresario]

2nd for north coast

[RascallySaelfa]

I bought my Subaru from Thomas Subaru on rte 112 near Port Jeff. I did not like them at all but I got a good deal from them. I know I will not be doing my car service there. Maybe I will go to metric too!!!

[naragonl]

This is really getting hard to make a decision on where in the NY NJ area to go to purchase a Subaru. One person says good the next bad and on and on. At least RascallySaella has a somehat recent post but even that has good and bad in it.

[xilles]

i got mine from hassett in wantagh. they are very stuck up people there. needless to say i only got my sti bc i paid it outright.i went there 5 seperate times saying i have a check for 37ks for you .do you want my money or what. they did not believe a 20yearold would have 40,000 to drop like its nothing. needless to say i took the keys and the car without ever test driving it and never looked back..i already have experience and known the potential of subarus and sti's. i would not buy from them ever again. i got the first 07 sti in the tristate area

[naragonl]

Originally Posted by xilles

i got mine from hassett in wantagh. they are very stuck up people there. needless to say i only got my sti bc i paid it outright.i went there 5 seperate times saying i have a check for 37ks for you .do you want my money or what. they did not believe a 20yearold would have 40,000 to drop like its nothing. needless to say i took the keys and the car without ever test driving it and never looked back..i already have experience and known the potential of subarus and sti's. i would not buy from them ever again. i got the first 07 sti in the tristate area

first off, thx for posting reply, but this is what i mean, i see people buying hteir car from a dealership nad hten saying they had a bad experience of some kind. I also fear buying car from one dealersip and then needing service at another. Being small delaships, they rpobabaly wont be nice. this is so frustrating.

[basemodelsadface]

I got my 08 2.5i from Hassett, the salesman was very nice, no pressure. I didn't get all of the features I wanted though even though I tried to ask for them, but I did get the color I wanted.

[DC16A2]

I purchased my 2002 OBS from Bill Kolb in Orangeburg, NY in Sept07 and they tried to do that "$100 lost remote" thing on me.

However, I've been going to North Coast Subaru since Dec07, and I have had positive experiences with them so far. Of course, they're very familiar with Subarus: they identified/fixed my heat shield rattle, found faulty timing belt tension/squeak, performed 70K service, and replaced my O2 sensor and catalytic converter under warranty.

Their service and attitude is above average. For example, once they found out that I had to take the railroad back to work in NYC, they drove me to the nearby train station. They're not the closest to home, but they have my business.

-Dave

[northcoast123]

GLAD TO SEE NORTH COAST ON THE MAP!
ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME VIA PM's