ComplaintsforRiver City Subaru Inc

• Initial Complaint

  02/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went into River City Subaru to purchase two new vehicles at the beginning of January this year, an Outback and an Ascent. The Outback was available, and the Ascent was not. I purchased the Outback with a financing option that was recommended by the dealership's financial advisor, Heath, as "the best deal he could find" for us. It was an auto loan with a small local credit union for an interest rate of 6.9%. I put down a deposit of $500 for an Ascent that is expected to arrive later. A week after the Outback was purchased, I came across a Subaru advertisement saying that the manufacturer is having a promotional APR of 4.9%. I inquired with another local Subaru dealership and was advised that the promotional APR was available at all dealerships and have been available prior to the date I purchased the Outback. I was upset for never being offered or told about the promotional APR, I called River City Subaru to speak with the finance manager. Heath, the finance manager, told me that he "doesn't know what happened that day but they tell everyone about the rate." He proceeded to tell me that the rate wasn't available for the 72-month term loan anyway. We only went with the 72-month loan due to the rate being high and we wanted to refinance as soon as possible, which we did. Not to mention, a 63-month loan at 4.9% (advertised by Subaru) would have resulted to similar monthly payment as the 72-month loan at 6.9% anyway. Because I feel like the finance manager had been dishonest (for a kickback from the credit union), I no longer feel like I could trust the dealership enough to purchase the second vehicle from them. When I told them that, they refused to refund me the deposit I put down initially at the time the first vehicle was purchased. The dealership was also violating Subaru policy by asking customer to lie to Subaru Corporation about their Encore Delivery services, which shows the way business is conducted at this place.

  Customer response

  03/16/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates that the business has not responded to you directly.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  At this time, I have not been contacted by River City Subaru Inc regarding complaint ID *********
  
  Regards,
  
  *** **

  Business response

  09/07/2023

  Regarding this complaint, we spoke to *** ** multiple times about this matter. *** ** initially called in because he was upset that he wasn’t offered the low financing rate from Subaru. However, after talking to *****, the Finance Manager, he was offered the low financing. Because it was shorter term, it was determined that a local credit union had the lowest rate for long term financing. The customer agreed to the financing through that institution. Shortly after the purchase and before the purchase of the 2nd vehicle, Mr. ** called in upset that he didn’t receive the financing from Subaru. ***** explained again why the financing was obtained through the local credit union. *** ** was then offered to have that contract cancelled and to put his financing through Subaru at the low financing option. *** ** declined that option and threatened to give us “bad reviews” on every platform that he could.
   
  Hopefully this resolves the issue. If there is any more information that is needed please let me know.
  
  Thank you,
  
  **** ******
  
  River City Subaru

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