Sommer's Subaru — Local services in Mequon

My husband and I have always owned Fords. We knew it was time to trade in our Escape which served us well for many years. We went to our local Ford dealership expecting to find something that would check all of the boxes, but sadly, we were disappointed. They even made the Ford Escape smaller. A friend suggested that we look at a Subaru, and Recommended Sommer's. Even my sister said check out the Subaru's as they hold their value and have a high safety rating. I called Sommer's on a Friday night not knowing much about the dealership. I was impressed with the pleasant young lady that answered the phone. She transferred my call to John S, the Sales Manager. He too was very pleasant sounding. John patiently answered all of my questions that I had about Subaru's and Sommer's. My husband and I decided to schedule an appointment the very next day to meet with John. When we drove up to the dealership, we were impressed with the amount of inventory on the lot. We walked up to the front door that was opened by a sales person that warmly greeted us. He asked if we wanted anything to drink, and if we were meeting anyone in particular? We told him we were there to see John S. John immediately came out of his office to greet us. We felt that our initial interaction with him was very pleasant and helpful. Based on our discussion, he made a couple of recommendations of vehicles to test drive. At this point he did a warm handoff to Josh C who stayed with us throughout the rest of the entire process. So far, we liked everything that we herd about the Subaru Outback so we took one for a test drive. After our test drive we went back to the Dealership. We had one more hurdle to jump, and that was to see if the Outback would fit in our garage. Josh got permission for us to drive the vehicle home, which by the way, was about a half an hour away from the dealership. Once we got it home, much to our excitement, it fit! It was at this point we decided to go ahead with the Subaru Outback. The Pearl White Outback in the showroom caught my eye from the very beginning, so that is the one we wanted. While Josh started the paperwork we asked him for some privacy while we discussed our offer. This is the part that we normally hate the most when buying a vehicle but, today things were about to change. Before Josh came back with the paperwork, we called John over by us. We said here is our offer. He replied I'll accept that offer. That's how easy it was to buy a new car. Once all the paperwork was complete, I said to both John and Josh I was shocked on how painless the process was. A couple of days later when our Outback was ready for pick up, there was a big beautiful red bow on it as I had requested. Once again, Josh spent a considerable amount of time with us assuring that we were comfortable with every feature on the vehicle. Signing the paperwork with the finance manager was seamless as well. Now that we have had the Outback for a couple of weeks, we have had consistent follow up from Josh assuring that we were pleased with our purchase and to answer any questions. We also received a follow up from Charles, suggesting that we schedule an in person appointment to go over the vehicles features once again. It was also an opportunity for him to answer any additional questions that we might have. For our efforts, we received a $25.00 Kwik Trip gas gift card, and a free car wash. Our one wish is that we were able to meet Mr. Sommer's in person on the day we took ownership of our new Outback. Perhaps another time. Our overall experience on the sales side...

Went to Sommers to look at a 2015 Nissan Murano I was interested in to see if it would be worth pursuing. I found the car on the lot and went in to ask to see it. Was warmly welcomed by the front desk receptionist asking what I needed help with. Explained to her I was interested in a closer look at a used vehicle. Sales consultant Jim Naus happened to be standing close to the desk and offered assistance. I told him which vehicle i would like to check out closer and he told me he'd get the keys so he could open it up for me. As I checked out the body, undercarriage and overall interior condition, we chatted about what brought me in, what I was driving, a little about each of our histories, just basic conversation. Test drive went well, and Jim said he could work up a detail sheet to show what a final cost would be if I was interested. I said would like that. Got a trade in value (what I'd planned on) and final cost detail within 30 minutes and agreed to purchase the vehicle. I let Jim know I was approved by my credit union and would prefer to work with them on the auto loan. He did let me know that they could offer financing through the dealership, but it was my choice if I wanted to explore it. I chose not to, as I felt my rate was at the credit union was pretty solid, plus I prefer working through a business I have familiarity with. We set up a time for the following Friday to pick up the vehicle. The following week I went in to pick up the vehicle and the process from the time I walked in to the time I had the final documents signed was about 30-35 minutes. The finance manager was simple and easy, offered all the warranties the offered, which I declined. Was happy with the no pressure approach, just a simple discussion of what the offered if I was interested. There were a few things when I went over the vehicle one last time that I noticed needed correcting, new batteries for the key fob (vehicle started first time, than not the second time) after batteries replaced, no problem. I also, the remote side mirrors were not adjusting when I tried to set them. Jim got me set up to see a tech while I was there and found they were just pushed to the extreme one way, once they were recentered, they worked fine. Since I drove 100 miles from where I lived to purchase this vehicle, I was very pleased Jim got everything squared away (within and hour) for me before I drove away! I recommend Sommers and Jim Naus to anyone. I had a fantastic customer and car...

I called to schedule my 30,000 mile service and was quoted a price. I asked for any current specials or discounts and was given $10 off. That was only a 2.7% discount but the scheduler said it was the best she could do. When I arrived to drop off the car, the service rep on his own initiative increased the discount to $50. I appreciated this gesture but had a sinking feeling about what might be coming next.

Sure enough, while the car was being serviced, I received notification that additional work beyond the estimate was needed. Sigh. I called the service rep to get more information on the issues identified and on how much more time and money it would cost me. The service rep explained that two of the three additional items are “recommended at 30,000 miles.” I asked why, then, weren’t they included in the 30,000 service package. He said he didn’t know and didn’t create the package. He also pointed out that I didn’t need to do the work, though this advice conflicted with the written guidance I’d received that the items identified “! Needs immediate attention.”

I was very disappointed that the cost of this service ended up being almost double the price quoted me when I dropped the car off. I think a reputable service department should be able to issue more accurate estimates, particularly around work it knows it’s likely to recommend during the service. For transparency and integrity, I feel this additional work should either be included in the package price, so customers know up front what their cost is going to be, or, at the very least, the scheduler (who was able to read me a list of items included in the 30,000 mile package) should alert the customer at the time the service is scheduled that there’s likely to be a recommendation for added work that is outside the package price. Hearing from the service department once your car is already on the lift that the price just doubled doesn’t feel very good.

In general, this is a conveniently-located dealership with nice people and efficient service, and I appreciated the loaner car rather than having to find a ride or wait for shuttle service. But my trust in the service department is greatly diminished after this negative experience around pricing. It’s inconvenient and time-consuming to have to comparison-shop service options, but it seems I will need to do that going forward. Not sure at this point if I...