CMA's Valley Subaru — Local services in Staunton

Just another car dealership. They do have a lot of Subarus on the lot, but nothing special... All run of the mill, make a million of them models, so if you just want to go to a dealer and try your luck to buy what they have, they do have quite a few to choose from. That said, it mostly looked like the same two models of Subarus you see everywhere, just lots of colors to pick from. I only spotted one WRX, which was in the showroom. If you have a specific model, color, or options package in mind, I would recommend calling a few dealers to locate it before just dropping in.

I would also recommend having all your own ducks in a row before going in to do business, since the people I worked with were hit-or-miss on their knowledge of how some things work. The salesman was eager and friendly, but didn't really know how long certainly things would take.

We were selling one of our cars back to them and were told to come back in a few days for our check. Unfortunately, when we returned, that wasn't the case. Our rep ushered us to his "finance guy" - unfortunately, this guy was clueless. Worse, he had a flippant attitude about the whole situation. When I pressed him for more information, he admitted to not actually knowing how long any of it would take. The way CMA is structured (it's one of these multi marque dealers spread across both sides of a half-mile of road; Honda, Nissan, Subaru, etc) his only recourse was to call the real business office to figure out what was happening. That's when I realized I had been wasting my time relying on the Subaru folks to actually know anything. I took matters into my own hands - called the bank myself, called the VA DOT myself, then found a way to weasel my way into the actual business office (across the street in the Honda dealership) to get the business done.

If I was a manager in this dealership, I would consider significant training for the "finance guy" I spoke to. His attitude about the whole situation was not acceptable. His lack of knowledge and concern for a situation that impacted both me, and his employer, would not fly in my business.

The root of the problem is CMA's process for how they buy cars back. CMA won't pay you for your car until they receive the actual title from the state. I've sold cars to other dealerships and they don't do it this way. The last dealer we worked with in a similar situation paid us as soon as the payoff was confirmed by the bank. At that point, the dealer has the car, and they have the knowledge that THEY are waiting for their title to come, which is straight from the DOT. We, the seller, have relinquished the car and have absolutely nothing to do with the transaction. We had to wait for almost 30 days for Virginia to process everything and send the dealer the new title - so we went in with a car, walked out with nothing, then waited almost a month to get paid. This is a bad practice that basically puts the consumer in the situation of front loading the entire transaction while the dealer has the car. Had the salesman told me this was their process, I would have paid the car off myself and actually driven it for those 30-days while I waited for the title - then I would have gone to the dealer and made an instant swap, like any other cash sale of a car.

Basically, if a private car sale worked the way CMA's process works, you would drive away with the car, but you wouldn't pay the guy you got it from until the you received the reissued title with your name on it from the state.

All said, my complaint is fairly specific. As a dealership goes, they do have Subarus to buy, so there's that. The sales and service folks were all polite and professional. Free coffee and beverage service while you wait. Clean waiting areas. Express service available, but get...

Other dealers I visited drove me 100+ miles to give me an offer based on number I already knew and could've been discussed on the phone, then let me leave after 10 minutes with no counter offer or even offering to show me another model (I wasn't shown the model I wanted either, just given numbers).

Valley Subaru was definitely worth the drive. I was able to get some preliminary discussion/numbers out of the way via email with Kelly. When I showed up, Billy found me at the smoking area. Only about half the other dealers I went to actually received me, others I had to have service desk contact the salesman I scheduled to meet.

The car was set out waiting for me. After a personable introduction, Billy immediately showed me the car. He started under the hood and walked me through everything very thoroughly to the trunk. Mechanics, accessories, safety features, etc. Then we jumped in for a test drive, on a route that gave me a good idea of how the car drove at highway speeds which I appreciated. All without talking numbers.

After car presentation, Billy took me in and we discussed numbers. My trade-in was evaluated during our review of the Subaru by the way, which was efficient and I feel like it was given more consideration than other dealers had given. After presented with the initial offer, I laid out for Billy where I was looking to be at to buy. Then he (and team) spent probably a couple hours looking at alternative finance approvals than my pre-approval, looking for exceptions, working numbers. I was amazed at this as other dealers had given one offer and let me walk out the door without a second thought. This is exactly the type of sales staff and dealer I was looking for. All in all, they got me closer to my goal than I'd anticipated. Gave me above KBB for my trade-in without using the new car markup to cover that like other dealers wanted to do, and I got what I felt was a very good sale price on the model I had selected.

All the while of the number crunching and team members working on my behalf, Billy was still very personal and connected. He kept me updated, took some smoke breaks with me, etc. I feel like that's a nice touch worth mentioning.

Helen ran me through the available options (warranty, GAP coverage, etc). She was personable as well, very thorough and realistic. And accommodated some of the more beneficial plans by providing some alternate financing details to keep me at the prices I wanted to be at. She was patient in letting me decide, thorough in explaining the ins and outs, and honestly I felt like she was looking out for my best interest with the additional coverages like GAP.

All in all, great experience. This is what I expect from a good dealership but doesn't seem important to most dealers after my recent shopping experience. They were personable, friendly people, They were eager to make it work for me, and without unnecessary sales tactics that people don't want to deal with. "Go see Billy at Valley Subaru" is going to be my new favorite phrase, and it's a 2 1/2 hour drive from...

I have bought many cars in my years, and had mixed experiences from good to bad at dealerships. I will say CMA Subaru has been an awesome experience by a long shot!

After a less than favorable experience at another Subaru dealership in the area, Lucas Hald reached out to me and promised they would take care of us the right way. Lucas did research on getting a model that met my specs and got it delivered a month early! Wow…

Special shout-out to Harry Drum for his professionalism and making the entire process go so smooth. He showed us the car tooth to tail and ensured every inch was explained perfectly.

Harry took the wife and I around the dealership and we met most folks on the staff. All friendly and respectful and not once did I feel like I had to go wash my hands. It was a genuine welcome feeling with zero pressure tactics or B.S.. My kind of dealership!

At one point, and I realized I forgot to order an accessory and told Harry. “No problem” he said, during the tour, he introduced me to Parts Dept fellas and they had the part in stock. Harry had it installed while we were finishing up the paperwork. Perfect!

Never really liked hitting the Finance Mangers Office before (reminds me of getting a root canal at the Dentist), but Mike Desmond was GREAT! He knew how to finalize the paperwork without upsetting me like others that so easily succeeded in the past. He listened carefully to all of my questions and provided great answers. Took the edge off my concerns with ease.

Wife is thrilled with her 2024 Subaru Outback and Harry did a phenomenal job teaching us all the bells and whistles before she departed.

I’m a Honda guy normally, and this is our first Subaru and dare I say… I might be looking at Subaru next time.

HIGHLY recommend this dealership to anyone in the market for a vehicle and wants a true no hassle and all promises delivered experience.

Well done! Mike Corrigan LCDR (Ret.) USN Swoope, Va

UPDATE - 01Jun24: I was so impressed with my first purchase, I took my sister-in-law in to see Harry Drum. She is retired and on a fixed income and Harry understood the sensitivity. Within a few days, he found her the perfect car at the perfect price. I’ve never seen her so happy. Thank you, Harry. You did it again! See...