Subaru El Cajon

They made me drive all the way there and didn’t offer me anything. I sent the information they requested, the price that another Subaru offered me and they said they would beat the price. They made me drive all the way there, with my baby for nothing. The salesperson didn’t even take the time to tell me that he couldn’t beat the price I had, he sent someone else to say they would call me later. And they never did!
I exchanged emails with them to make sure they had everything they needed before going there and they lied about beating the price. Then they couldn’t even tell me in person!
I hate wasting my time and I was ready to buy the car!

I have not made any purchases from Subaru El Cajon or used their Services but for someone who looking to wet their feet in their car buying journey this is the review for you.
I have been shopping around for a possible new car for awhile now and have avoided going to any dealerships for the fear of being pressured or put under tons of stress by salesmen. I went on the Subaru El Cajon website to check inventory and the automated chat box asked if I needed help. Though I usually ignore this, I decided to hold a conversation. I gave nothing but my e-​mail and was quickly informed that the car I was looking for was still available. I was then set up with Travis George, the Internet Sales Manager. I responded saying I may or may not have time to come in that day to see the car but they set me up with an appointment just in case. I was honestly not going to go until they did this.
I met with Travis who was such a pleasure to talk with. He was not pushy, rude, or all about the sale. In our entire experience he gave me options and was open to answering all my questions. He was honest with what he could possibly do for me and I ended up leaving with his card and having test drove the car I wanted. I loved that even though he knew I wasn’t in a rush to buy a car he still treated me with great service. If I choose to buy a car in San Diego I will most definitely go to Subaru El Cajon and highly recommend Travis.

The parts department here has become a real joke. After being transferred around five different times to get to the parts department, I was put on hold for 10 minutes. Just to speak to a human who couldn’t help me.

This review is for the service my boyfriend and I received from Martin. We were driving around trying to get information on different cars that we were interested in purchasing later on in the year. We had already gone to one dealership and had such bad service that we didn’t know what to really expect going to this location. First off, it was easy to find and parking was pretty decent for customers. We got out of our car and we were greeted by Martin. He was nice, smiled and offered a firm handshake. He asked what he could do for us and worked fast to find the cars we were interested in purchasing. He was able to find the cars and gave us information in a quick and professional manner. We never felt pressured to test drive or purchase anything. Even when he found out we weren’t interested in purchasing right away he kept his calm and professional demeanor and still made it feel like we were just talking. He was informative about any special orders we could do and any customization that can be done to the vehicles. I’ve had pushy sales reps before, but Martin was super nice and never pushy. If you want a great experience I would highly recommend talking with Martin! He’s the type of rep you’d love to interact with.

I purchased my WRX here back in 2005 and have recommended several friends to purchase cars here, but will never again.
Subaru has a recall on 2004 – 2005 WRX’s regarding their passenger airbag and advised they would repair it at no cost, which is great. Here’s what really made me upset:
I received the recall notice (Recall No. 15V-​323) last summer in 2015, stating that «in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger’s frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.»
I called to order the new air bag, ever since Sept 2015 AND STILL KEEP GETTING THE RUN AROUND. I’m not going to throw any names under the bus.
— 9÷2÷2015 11:15am: Spoke with a rep who advised it would take 1 week to order the part. Great!
— 9÷12÷2015 10:25am: Spoke with another rep who then advised that the wrong part came in and that he would have to order it again. Ok?
— 10÷2÷2015 11:03am: Spoke with the same rep who I spoke to the first time and was told that the part is now on backorder and to call back in the Jan 2016. Really?
— 1÷18÷2016 9:55am: Spoke to a new rep who couldn’t find the part and is now telling me that they might have to order it again. Said they would give me a call back…
What’s the deal? Is this really backordered? Do you keep giving the part that I ordered away to another customer? Was it ever ordered? Throughout the process I never got a call back from any rep with any updates. I always get clueless responses every time I call in.
It’s not the fact that the part never came in, but rather why am I getting different stories every time I call and no one can give me a straight answer. It’s like they never recorded anything in their system.
I ended up calling a different Subaru dealership today who was able to handle the situation. I won’t be coming back here and will share my experience with all my Subaru buddies.

WORST PLACE EVER! Ran by idiots!
They don’t even deserve a one star rating! First of all, they gave us the completely wrong car! We drove around in what we thought was our brand new car for 3 wks until we come to find that we signed for a different car. They all had different stories of how it happened. When I asked how many times this has happened before, they said it has happened one other time before. We were nice and had to resign the new contract with all the right vin numbers. Still no regristration or license plate after 2 months. I asked the people who sold me the car how long it would take and they were no help. They were all rude and sarcastic, not helpful or sorry for their mistakes. It’s about to be 3 months with no mistakes fixed.

I’ve had a terrible experience, unfortunately. I was quoted one thing via True Car, and contacted by a rep from Subaru El Cajon regarding the quote. I was told they didnt have the exact car in stock but they could order it for me. I asked for them to confirm the true car estimate was locked in. I was told they were «pretty sure» but they’d make it work. Over the next 9 days I ask multiple times, and the person is very nice and responsive but wont give me a confirmed price. Finally he states the price is 1K over what was quoted in true car. There were all sorts of reasons for this, ranging in somewhat understandable to complete hogwash. At the end of the day there was no effort to budge, no negotiation. It was simply a take it or leave it situation, 9 days after the fact.
I found this experience incredibly off putting. I would just advise that you be absolutely sure you’re getting direct answers as early on as possible and knowing they will not keep to their own truecar estimates. They have no problem wasting your time.

Unfortunately my family did not have a good experience at this dealership. My brother and I took my mom car shopping for Christmas and we came to this dealer to look at some used cars on their lot. The salesman clearly would have rather been somewhere else than at work on a rainy evening. We decided to come back the next morning so that mom could test drive while it was light out and not raining. The next morning my mom and I went back and I called my brother for his opinion on pricing, etc. Apparently while I was on the phone with my brother, Phu was asking my mom personal/​family questions. (i.e. how many times she’s been married, do her children have the same father, our living situation…) My mom was very uncomfortable! Thankfully we decided to go to lunch before making a decision which is when she told me he was asking her questions. I told her we weren’t going back there unless she was absolutely in love with the car she drove.

Just picked up my Outback 3.6R at Subaru El Cajon on Friday. The car is beautiful and the help I received from Royal Wilkinson along the way was tremendous. Royal had been helpful, persistent and patient. Did a great job explaining the features of the car to me. The thing I like the most about the whole buying process with Royal can be summed up in two words ‘no hassle’. We agreed on a price via online communication and we stayed with that. No deception and no hassle and it was quick and easy except for the fact I had to wait over a month for the car to come. I am anxious to find out how good is their service department. I would highly recommend Royal and Subaru El Cajon if you are in the market for a new Subaru.

We are very happy with our new car! Thank you Larry! The best sales man we found in San Diego! Everyone knows how stressful it is to buy a new car, but Larry made it a pleasurable experience! We recommend him and the Mitsubishi El Cajon team!

Randall Dunn made buying a car a lot of fun. He is very knowledgeable and we could have some fun while doing the paper work.
He worked very hard to get me the exact can will all of the latest electronic safety features.

I was dreading going to the dealership to purchase a new car, as every car buying experience I have had in the past was such a pain. Royal Wilkinson made the experience absolutely painless! I never felt pressured into buying a vehicle and Royal answered all of my questions and provided me with a great deal of information. Thanks again! I’m loving my car!

This dealership is very passionate about their cars and they WORK for your business without being overly aggressive. Daniel in Subaru sales was very helpful, beat any other quote that I got for the STi and was very very friendly. Definitely go to him if you are looking for a Subaru. He even put up with my incessant weekly calls regarding updates on my car order :)
Definitely the best Subaru dealership in San Diego (much more friendly than Kearny Mesa) and one of the best buying experiences I’ve had.

I’m laughing at having previously written «Thank you Subaru El Cajon for putting my worries at ease» because a year later, now that my registration is up for renewal, I come to find out they accidentally used my information to register someone else’s car. How do I know? I received a bill for the toll they ran. I last heard from the GM’s assistant on the progress of my case. Otherwise, no apology call, nothing. Will not do business with them again.

These guys know how to make shopping for a car easy and hassle-​free. I know you’re probably thinking hassle-​free and car dealership don’t go together but this place really puts you at ease. Royal and Vaughn in sales were friendly, knowledgeable and all around top-​notch. I’ve never had an easier car buying experience and Ronnie in financing was a big part of that. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, don’t hesitate to give these guys a shot.

Buying a car is stressful. It’s a lot of money, and a huge commitment. Like most people, I was somewhat scared and cynical going into the dealership.
But we were referred here, and I’m very glad we were, because Jack Manchester was entirely comforting throughour the process of buying a car.
He worked with us and his team to get me a deal I was comfortable with and felt was fair.
Since then, he has been nothing but professional in his correspondence with me – I HIGHLY recommend asking for Jack when you go in here.
Did i mention i love my new outback?!

I didn’t WANT to drive to El Cajon to buy my Crosstrek, but the crappy treatment I got at the Carlsbad Subaru dealer drove me there (no pun intended — oh, and I’m doing THEIR review next).
James was determined to make everything right. He and his sales manager knew I was unhappy when I got there, and they seriously got to work getting me exactly the vehicle I wanted.
The finance and contracts guy is one of the most professional and reasonable I’ve ever worked with. I didn’t feel like I had to boil my body after signing all of those papers. In fact, I felt like taking him out for a beer afterward.
I never suffered from post purchase abandonment, either. James followed up with me weekly to coordinate the application and installation of my extras — my schedule being insane, he was happy to accommodate. And did. As promised. Every time.
Would I buy another vehicle from these folks? Yep.

I have had it with Subaru El Cajon. The service department is terrible. It started out with our first 2 service visits taking hours longer than they were supposed to. We kept going there because we had purchased the car from them and at least when the service time estimates were wrong my wife could walk to the mall and shop while she waited.

On I believe my third visit for an oil change the Tech forgot to tighten the drain plug on my STI and it gradually loosened up until I pulled into my work and parked. After about 4 hours I came out to see all of the new oil from the motor all over my parking lot (have a lovely stain to remind me of that day still) I called Subaru El Cajon to let them know what happened and the service adviser told me he could not help me and I had to call Subaru road side assistance. After waiting 4 hours they showed up and towed my car to Carlsbad Subaru since it was the closest dealership to me. Carlsbad would not give me a loner car so I had to go rent one on my dime. Once I returned to Carlsbad Subaru I had to pay for the new oil change on my dime as the second one that week was not covered under my factory service. I then Had to Submit my receipts to Subaru El Cajon and wait for my reimbursement.
The Final Straw was last week when I went in for an oil change and rear brake warranty.
Upon returning to my office I parked the car, pulled the e-​brake linked to my fresh rear brakes, jumped out closed my door and the car proceeded to roll away! E-​brake has nothing! I then called Subaru El Cajon over the next few days never reaching an actual person in service so I left a message for my Service provider. I then E-​mailed him and a week later still have no response. I even got an Automated phone call asking me if I was happy with my service and told it NO! and still no call from Subaru El Cajon.

I was bummed when I found out that Eric C left El Cajon Subaru and that I was assigned a new sales manager, Royal Wilkinson. But then I saw great reviews about Royal so I was optimistic.
Well, Royal earned all those 5-​star reviews! I went to pick up my new car a couple days ago and there was no BS. Royal was EXTREMELY knowledgeable and personable, and very passionate about the Outback. He took his time going through the key points in the manuals, and even took me out on a drive to demonstrate many of the cool safety options with the newest generation Eyesight system. LOVE IT!
If you are looking for a Subaru, I HIGHLY recommend contacting Royal at El Cajon Subaru. Buying a car is never fun, but this was as good as it gets!
p.s really love my Outback too :)

This week my car died, and needing a replacement, I test drove the Subaru Outback and Forester. Both are very nice cars, but I ended up going in a different direction, purchasing a RAV4 across the street from this dealership.
My salesman at Subaru El Cajon was Dylan, a young man who is new to the industry. Dylan showed sincerity and helpfulness, coupled with encyclopedic product knowledge, that impressed me no end. If you’re shopping, I highly recommend you stop at Subaru El Cajon, and ask for Dylan.