Reynolds Subaru of Lyme CT — Local services in Lyme

Questionable Product, Mediocre Customer Service, Broken Agreement

We started business with Reynolds’ in Apr. 2023. We found a 2017 Crosstrek Premium in their inventory and made a Friday appointment to complete the purchase. The day of the appointment the sales rep was surprised to see us and stated he expected us the following day. We informed him I only had Fridays off. They scrambled to prep the vehicle and manage our trade-in. While completing paperwork we noticed the vehicle mileages were swapped. We completed the purchase, but when we got home noticed snow tires despite heading into Summer. We contacted our sales rep and they agreed to give us new all season tires if we paid for labor. When we arrived the sales rep hadn’t informed Service.

Two months later we noticed humming. Both rear wheel bearings needed to be replaced. This was covered under the 60 day guarantee, but a nuisance.

Sept. 2023 we paid off the car and contacted Reynolds about gap insurance payout. They needed to determine responsibility for payment; insurance company, bank, or dealership. We followed up through Nov. before being at Reynolds for service. During service we were told the exhaust needed to be replaced for $1800. Due to poor sales experience, poor service from Finance, and multiple repairs soon after purchase we asked to see the sales manager. We told her about the sales experience, gap payout, and repairs. She agreed to cover the exhaust and follow-up on the gap payout. She got gap paid in mid Dec. It had been on the desk of a finance rep that left.

For the next service we requested a loaner, which was confirmed. Service checked us in and sent us to the front desk for a loaner. We were told no loaner was left. We informed Service we would be waiting instead of dropping off then waited for them to fit it in.

At Nov. 2024 service the front ball joints needed to be replaced. We requested to see the Service Manager. He was in a meeting and parts weren't in stock. Service said they'd order parts and follow up. When we were given the keys our car was blocked in. After this appointment we no longer wanted the vehicle since it had five underbody part failures in 18 months. We emailed the sales manager, service manager, and owner about our concerns and requested a trade-in.

We met with them to discuss our concerns and wanting to trade to a low mileage certified 2021 or newer Forester Premium. They said they’d take care of us and wanted to maintain their reputation. They offered two options; 2021 Forester Premium 60,000 miles not available for test drive and 2021 Forester Limited 30,000 miles that we test drove but needed inspection and certification. Before the test drive they put a hold on the Premium. After the test drive we said we’re more interested in the Limited, but wanted inspection results. We left with an appointment for Wednesday and agreement both would be held. The used sales manager left a voicemail that night confirming the Limited was held for us.

Tuesday he cancelled the appointment because the cars weren’t ready and he would call on Friday. I called Wednesday to request numbers. I was informed he took the day off, so I left a voicemail.

Friday he hadn’t called by mid-day so I called. He hadn’t discussed deals and would call back in an hour about our trade in and the Forester Premium. I said we also wanted numbers for the Limited. He called back three hours later. They would give us market value for our trade in, didn’t have numbers for the Premium, and another Premium was coming Monday. I asked about the Limited. It was sold to a couple who looked at it before us. I asked if they had a deposit on it or if it was held for them. He said no. He agreed they allowed someone to go ahead of us despite holding that vehicle for us. I voiced displeasure and said we needed numbers on the Premiums the next day. The next day he said they’d offer list price for the Premiums. Not what we expected when they said they’d take care of us and the owner said he wanted to maintain their reputation.

We took our...

This dealership is absolutely wonderful!! My wife and I started looking for an SUV in late February, 2015. The object was to put our trusty 2005 Pathfinder (196,364 miles) on easier duty. We wanted a car that had at least some “off the pavement” ability for our summer trips to the Colorado mountains. We first researched appropriate vehicles, visited a number of big city dealerships with acres of vehicles, and saved the Subaru Forester for last because of reputation, knowledgeable input from previous owners, and reliability and safety data. We then researched Subaru dealers as carefully as we had the statistics on other vehicle makes and models. Honestly, we had tired of the larger, city dealerships we contacted, who almost without exception attempted to skirt around the question of final sales prices for the vehicles we had looked at. During our search for dealers within about a fifty mile radius and carefully reading customer reviews, we came across Reynolds Subaru. We were drawn there for basically two reasons. The reviews were consistently outstanding (you already know that, since you visited this site). Additionally, it was not like the big city sites we had already visited for other brands (we had become tired of test driving vehicles around the block and dodging busy urban traffic). Our visit could not have been more what we were looking for. Personal attention to customers was clearly a priority. There was absolutely no pressure to close a deal at any point, not even a hint. Our salesperson Mike spent his time asking us what we wanted, instead of trying to close a deal. When we asked for an “out the door price” on the model and trim we were most interested in, it took Mike about thirty seconds to write down an exact offer (which was in line with what our research had indicated to be a going price). It was the only dealership we had visited we could get to do that. Trying the vehicle out, we had the option of driving to a more congested area of town, or on nice country roads – we enjoyed the latter. When we decided to place an order for the exact model and accessories we wanted it was Mike’s day off so we met with his sales manager Nora, and hers was the same helpful, friendly, no pressure approach we had found with Mike. Worried about the lead-time involved in locating a model and accessories not on the dealer’s lot? We got a call from Nora about ten minutes after we left her office saying a vehicle was on the way. Fast forward. We’ve now put close to twelve thousand miles on the Forester in a few months, driving out to Colorado and Arizona and all around the mountain scenery while we were there. We had opted for the 2.0XT version to handle the mountain passes and, well, the thing just scampers over the hills. We set the Trip B mileage indicator at the beginning of the Colorado trip, put 7,300 miles on the vehicle, and finished with an average 30.0 MPG. That’s with the AC going all the time, doing 75 miles per hour where it was legal, and including local and dirt road travel where we were frequently between 5-10 MPH or less on the way to good fishing water. Our experience with Reynolds Subaru has been/is simply the best we’ve ever had! Whether it’s been placing a parts option order or taking care of routine servicing, everybody we’ve dealt with at the Reynolds dealership has been on the same page – treat customers professionally and a perhaps just a bit...

I need to start by sharing that I have had a terrible experience from the dealership I bought my car from which was NOT Reynold's Subaru, but a different CT Subaru dealer... which I will not name, but they are in Newington/Berlin CT and are terrible. They sold me a car with extremely warped rotors and when I brought it back so they could 'shave them down' (which we all know is a bunch of BS), the mechanic didn't torque my front tire all the way and I had major issues driving home. Anyways, even after that experience, multiple break issues and transmission issues had my car repeatedly in the shop. They tried telling me a transmission software update was not covered by any of the multiple warrantees I purchased even though the mechanic was able to recreate the bucking issue I was having. It has just been a constant nightmare and I swore off buying a Subaru ever again. Someone finally recommended Reynold's so I took it there to try to resolve the reoccurring (yet intermittent) "bucking" problem.

Eddie was kind and patient as I described my issue and they were kind enough to let me use a loaner when I dropped my car off which I very much appreciated since I am a single parent of two school-aged children with lots of extracurricular activities to transport them to/from.

When they couldn't recreate my issue, they asked me to take a ride with the foreman, Rodney. I think Rodney is one of my new favorite humans. He was patient as I tried to recreate the bucking issue and helped me understand some issues with the Android Auto system that I had been experiencing since I originally purchased the car (and then fixed that software issue for me).

Even though we couldn't recreate the transmission/engine issue and I still regret buying my car and probably will never buy another Subaru again after all of the break/rotor issues that I've had with my Ascent (Rotors replaced 3x in 4 years due to Subaru not putting the proper breaking system in their largest vehicle and denying it for years - a fix finally came out last year...), the service at this dealership is excellent. Mike, the service manager, even delivered my car back to my house and picked up my loaner which saved me a long drive. Totally unheard of from a customer service perspective and I was totally blown away by this. I'll use this dealership for as long as I have this car but I seriously hope Subaru of America gets their crap together because what they pulled with the Ascent has severely damaged...