Island Subaru — Restaurant in New York

I made an appointment at Island Subaru’s service center for an airbag and brake pipe recall a week ago, and was honestly dreading the visit.

I’m going to be very upfront — and this is nothing against Island Subaru — I do NOT like going to dealerships for anything, but had to because of this dangerous recall. All I wanted was to have my car fixed with no hassle and be on with my life.

While I was there, I also asked them for a new key remote battery.

Unfortunately there were a few curveballs thrown before and after my visit.

The night before my appointment, my car battery died. Luckily after a jumpstart, it had enough of juice to start the next two days (this wasn’t the factory battery I had).

I told the dealership about my battery and they weren’t pushy when I told them how I did not want the factory battery. They explained how they only installed factory ones, so I ended up going to my local mechanic to get that done.

OK, cool. But back to the reason why I came there.

When I went to pick up my car later at the end of the day (it was Columbus Day, they were incredibly busy) after paying for the remote, (the gentleman, William, was very kind in handling everything) once they pulled up my car, got in, and drove out of the garage, I noticed all of these dent marks, scratches and two holes — legit holes — in my dashboard. The dents and holes were in the center part of the dash and the scratches were above my steering wheel.

These holes, dents and scratches were not there when I dropped off my car.

After driving down the street, I immediately turned around and spoke with another gentleman about the damage done to my dash (William had left at this point). At first, no one seemed to believe me. They said those marks wouldn’t have happened removing the passenger side air bag, even though to remove the passenger side air bag, you have to remove the entire dashboard because it’s one piece.

I kept reiterating how the marks and holes were not there and I could understand if something were to happen while this work was being done on my car. But what upset me was having to discover this for myself — that they deemed this as acceptable — and having to go back there to fix the situation.

Because it was the end of the day I was told to return the next day and ask for the General Manager. I did just that and spoke with Sal and explained to him what happened.

He informed me that their best veteran guy worked on my car, so at this point I was more confused as to why this damage even happened. Again, I reiterated to Sal how these marks were flat out not there when I dropped off my car and again, no one seemed to believe me at first.

I was very honest with him explaining how I only came for the recall and that was it. This was the last thing I wanted to deal with.

Sal heard me and wanted to make this right. He told me that they’d detail the entire inside of my car, but I’d have to come back later in the week. He also assured how they wouldn’t make the marks look worse.

When I went to pick up my car, not only was the entire inside polished, but they even washed my car, shined all of the tires and rims and tried to buff/patch up my scratches on the body which I wasn’t even expecting. My car almost looks brand new, like the day I first bought it!

Sal then told me that they ordered a new dashboard because it was the best solution.

I was honestly stunned at the length Island Subaru went to flip this from a disappointing 1-star experience to an unforgettable one. I’ve already told my friends and family and they are equally as impressed.

Thank you to Sal and the entire Island Subaru team. I will be sure to update my review with photos as soon as the new dash is installed!

Update: My new dashboard has been installed, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. My car looks brand new on the inside. I attached some before and after shots...

To whom it may concern:

I had to bring my 2013 Subaru Crosstrek to the service station because of two recalls on the vehicle. I also wanted them to take a look at the seatbelt to see what my possible options were to replace it.

I brought it in on August 27 and the person who took my car as well as the service agent that helped me (Priamo Perez) and the girl that gave me the loaner car were all extremely pleasant and helpful.

On September 8th I contacted the service station to inquire about my car. Service agent Priamo Perez called me back and notified me that my vehicle was in fact ready. I went to the service station that day and the gentleman that took the loaner car from me was very helpful and I waited in line to see a service agent.

As I was waiting in line, the service agent who was sitting at the desk behind me asked the woman who was BEHIND me in line if she needed any assistance. The woman stated that she was there to pick up her car. At which point I interjected and stated that I also was there to pick up my car.The service agent said that he would also help me but then looked up my information and told me that I needed to go back to the same service agent I saw before. He then proceeded to help the woman that was behind me as I waited there. I did not want to pursue that the person behind me was taken prior to me because I was afraid that I would not be given my vehicle in a timely fashion.

The service agent that sits right next to service agent Priamo Perez was actually the one that ended up helping me. He was very pleasant, as was the person who then brought me to my car.

Although everyone with the exception of that one service agent was a pleasure to be around, I left that service station feeling like I was invisible, not a priority and that my time was not as valuable as other people's time.

I have no intention of ever returning to that service station .

Prior to me purchasing my 2013 Subaru Crosstrek I had a yellow Subaru Impreza for 11 years. When I was shopping for a car, I went to the Subaru dealership on Staten Island and I did not have a good experience with the dealership, so I ended up purchasing my Subaru from the Brooklyn dealership. They were very happy to take my business.

When I sadly had to give up my Subaru Impreza, I decided to give the Staten Island dealership another chance. I spoke to the gentleman who ran the Staten Island dealership at the time , I believe his name was Ira, and he changed my mind which prompted me to purchase my Crosstrek from there.

I do not know why that service station agent chose to take the person behind me instead of helping me 1st. I will not make any assumptions on that. I do not know why that service agent lied to me telling me that the person that initially helped me was the only person that could help me again; when that obviously was not the case. But I do know that a different service station would probably be happy to take...

I was coming out of an existing non Subaru lease, I went to several dealers (Audi, Toyota and Subaru) some offering many more amenities than Island Subaru, ie; free maintenance, car washes, tire rotations, loaner cars, etc.(found out thru the sales manager, Mr Kemp that Island Subaru offers loaners cars and car washes as long as you give advance notice of a loaner car needed) in the end we went with Island because the manager gave us a quick, easy deal with ZERO pressure. I don’t like being forced into any car deal, I always say, give me your best deal and if I walk away and come back with a better deal and you can match or beat it then we have a deal., this is why we went with Island. When I came back and told them another dealer was willing to cut me a check for my last three payments and give me 15k miles per year and be at my certain monthly payment, Island matched it! The proof of their excellence will be when I get that check in 7-10 business days as I was told (and which I DID receive last night,1-08-19) and I have no reason not to believe they won’t. This process was very easy and definitely not a hard sale, even when I went in to see the finance lady, Ms Candace, that was also very positive, quick and painless. So kudos to Island Subaru, so far so good. Next test will be their service department. The previous Subaru dealer had a HORRIBLE service department, I’m hoping I don’t need to go to other service departments for service and or warranty work. And will also add that I had to use service Island service this past Monday when a gas attendant in NJ forgot to tighten my gas cap and we got a check engine light almost 3 days later. Island took me in right away and honestly I was prepared for them to tell me “sorry, we can’t help you today.” Our car had less than 1100 miles on it and who wants to hear that when all the lights are lit up on the dash? Again,Island stepped up and did the right thing. All I can say is thank you and keep up the good work! I think I’m a customer for life as long as I keep going with Subaru products. This is a whole new dealership and I have to say Staten Islanders need to give them a chance,...