Garavel Subaru

Very nice salespeople. They are the «face» of the business. But the business – pricing and the way they set monthly payments – is done in a back office.
The sales manager, who finagles the pricing, is an unpleasant guy who doesn’t even introduce himself or shake your hand when you meet him. The salesman brings him over if you want to change the deal – such as, not do a trade-​in after all, but just do the purchase/​lease as a stand-​alone. This sales manager is an angry guy who treats such customers as adversaries. He is tight mouthed and hostile. He manipulates numbers to try to confuse you. He will try to make it seem that you are wrong.
I learned later that friends of mine caught him «stealing» a month’s lease payment from them – something they caught shortly after signing (they made a stink and got the money back).
No dealer will sell you a car that he loses money on. Dealerships get back-​end payments from the manufacturer based on meeting numbers, selling certain models that month, etc. We as outsiders never know what or how much these incentives are, but they are there.
That’s why it’s best to time your car purchase or lease for the end of the month or even quarter, when the dealer may be under pressure to move cars off the lot.
Note also: Garavel is not «user friendly.» You have to climb ugly, steep concrete stairs to enter the place. There is no showroom, just a lot of guys at desks and a separate waiting room for the service area. Maybe they are trying to convey that they don’t spend money on «show,» but it’s a ruse.
Subaru is a good brand. I don’t understand how they tolerate this outfit.

Just bought a new car, and my sales person Joe Wiatrzyck did a great job of keeping posted on the arrival of the car, and taking the time to show me everything the car can do!

This is a 0 star review. This dealership shouldn’t be reviewed they should be investigated by the Connecticut Attorney General.
Instead of relating my dreadful experience I will give the numbers of my transaction with explanations.
Went in with a friend to price a Subaru Forrester. He wanted to trade his current one in but Garavel offered $ 1000 less then a competing nearby dealer so we took the trade in off the table.
I asked the salesman to give us his best price for the car my friend wanted and also the following:
Length of lease
Capitalized cost of the car
The money factor– % of interest paid on depreciated value of car.
The residual amount– amount due at end of lease if car is purchased.
Additional fees
Sales tax
I received all these numbers and didn’t negotiate the capitalized cost at all. They OFFERED a very good price. Using the numbers above, if you know the formula, one can calculate the cost of a lease to the penny, i. e THE EXACT PAYMENT DUE EACH MONTH. This is not a negotiation. THIS IS BASIC MATH. PERIOD. I calculated what the payment would be.
I showed the number to the salesman who got flustered and went and got his testosterone filled sales manager. A big burly guy. He didn’t like my number. He said, «what about the additional fees.» I responded what additional fees? He said a bank fee. I said it wasn’t on the list. Then I said I would pay this last minute undisclosed fee, along with all the other unnegotiated fees up front. I didn’t want them amortized into the lease.
The sales manager went away and came back with another number. An inflated number unrelated to the simple math of what the payment should be. I told him this is the wrong number, that his computer was programmed to rip off customers. He asked me if I was saying all car dealers rip off their customers. I didn’t answer his question. He went away, came back clutching his «cooked numbers» and snarled at me,
I’M NOT DOING THIS DEAL, WE WOULD LOSE $ 650 ON THIS CAR.
Now there are many morals to this story.
First, this man was one of the most dishonest general managers I have ever met in the Car business.
Second, if you don’t know how to apply the math formula to calculate the correct lease payment on numbers given to you by the dealer. NEVER LEASE A CAR.
THIRD AND MOST IMPORTANT IF YOU EVER GO TO GARAVEL SUBARU YOU WILL BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER SUBARU DEALERS NEARBY. GO TO ONE OF THEM INSTEAD.
I have bought dozens of cars over 50 years using this formula and have never once felt compelled to review a dealer like Garavel on Unilocal

Purchased a used Outback from them 2 years ago. It was 7 years old with less than 80k miles on it. It ran great and was a wonderful car. My husband insisted, against my better judgment, on taking it back to the dealership for servicing when there was loss of coolant. What a waste. Spent over ²⁄₃ of what we spent on the car for multiple services this past summer and every time I drove it off the lot there was a new problem. Didn’t refill power steering fluid, didn’t charge A/​C. Simple things that were plain oversight each time requiring me to go back, get a ride home and figure out how to get where I needed for the day. 3 months later with no check engine prompt, I had engine damage due to complete loss of oil. The car was ruined, and my mechanic asked when it was last serviced. He agreed that it should not need more oil in a 3 month span. Garavel was NO help what-​so-​ever.

Just went in to lease my fourth Subaru and was helped by Bob Fuchs. He was an excellent and very helpful representative who answered all of my questions and had me in a brand new 2016 crosstrek in a very short period of time. I love Subaru but have had some not so good sales people in the pass. Bob was a nice surprise and I would recommend him as your sales rep if you go to Garavel Subaru. Love my new car!

GARAVEL SUBARU OF NORWALK CT: HAS NO INTEGRITY
I purchase a used car from Garavel Subaru of Norwalk on 8÷22÷2015. I had owned it for about 70 days, the warranty in CT was 60 days, and it was driven less than 1000 miles. On or around the 70^th day the transmission went on the car. I contacted Gregg Catandella (service manager), and he told me he would look into it and get back to me. Gregg Catandella never called me back. So I went into the dealer a week later to speak to him (he was very rude and yelling at me). After yelling at me, he asked me to bring the car in to look at it. Several days later he called my wife yelling even though I gave him my cell phone. He was very rude to her, and told her it is no longer under warranty. He said they could fix it, but it would cost $ 3,900 dollars; the purchase price of the car was around $ 9,000.
GARAVEL SUBARU OF NORWALK CT: HAS NO INTEGRITY

Garavel — What are you afraid of? A bad review on Unilocal.How dare you take down my review that explained the horrible situation my family found themselves in after dealing with this dealership. You cite: «Not enough detail about customer experience»
Bait and switch. They took advantage of my mother and renegotiated a different price and features after my husband left. She thus signed unknowingly for a different finance/​car package THAT WAS OVER $ 100/​MONTH MORE THAN NEGOTIATED PRICE. They also sold us a maintenance package does not match my lease (24 vs 36 months). WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE FOLLOWING YEAR? WHY WOULD THEY NOT SELL ME A 36 MONTH WARRANTY.
I love my car but find this dealership unethical. WHAT IS UNCLEAR ABOUT MY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE FROM THIS REVIEW?

All of the staff at Garavel Subaru were extremely nice, caring, and accommodating. I was always greeted by a smile and someone was was willing to help. The atmosphere both inside and out (even in the excruciating August heat and humidity) was comfortable and enjoyable.
This was my first car buying experience and I had the pleasure of working with Bob, whom I could not have been happier with. He went through every detail with me, answered all of my questions, and showed me that my needs and wants for a car were just as important to him as they were to me. Even with all of my indecisive nature, Bob was patient with me and very helpful.
After the process, I ended up with a car that I could not love any more. It’s everything that I could ever want and need in a vehicle. Not only was getting a Subaru a great choice but dealing with Garavel Subaru was wonderful as well!

We have been loyal customers to Garavel Subaru since buying our Forester 3 years ago. The Service department at Garavel has always been helpful and efficient over the past three years. My husband and I had an unforeseen engine failure. When we first contacted Garavel about the car failure we were concerned that they would not uphold the great service we have come to expect. Once owner Paul Garavel stepped in we was reassured of the great service philosophy that this dealership is built upon. Paul Garavel was understanding, extremely accommodating and really helped to turnaround a terrible experience around.

After driving my 2005 Subaru Outback to 169,000 miles I finally traded it in for a 2010 Outback (silver metallic) and I couldn’t be any happier with Garavel Subaru of Norwalk. Kevin O’Brien made the transaction seem less, never putting any pressure on myself or my fiancé. They really worked with me on the numbers, giving me a more than fair price for my trade in. Cory was a big help on pickup day, getting the paperwork in order. I would definitely give their inventory a look over and definitely ask for Kevin!

Had an excellent experience at Garavel Subaru. They gave me great value for my trade in and were helpful with questions. Kevin, the sales associate was very knowledgeable and stood by his word. I would definitely recommend Garavel Subaru to anyone. Go see Kevin.

The ordeal of looking at new cars as a young woman by herself can turn into an absurd, or irritating afternoon, but I had the exact opposite experience at Garavel. After test driving cars at two different dealers and not being respected or taken seriously by either, and forfeiting the idea of selling my old car privately, I threw in the towel and went to Garavel by myself at 6pm on a Wednesday, an hour before they closed. Jason met me at the door and took me over to the table where we discussed my situation and my frustrations and intimidations about buying a new car, and what I was looking for etc. He took the time to understand exactly what I wanted, and never tried to push a more expensive car on me or sell me something more than what I needed. He was extremely knowledgeable about all the Subaru models, being a true car-​geek himself, and helped me understand the difference in styles and models and answered every silly little question I had without belittling me or even mentioning that the dealership was closing down around us (and I was still there for a half hour after they closed). The line he kept using the most was «I am going to get you exactly what you want, and I am very confident that I can get you a great deal» (AND HE DID).
I was able to test drive a manual and CVT as I wasn’t sure which transmission I wanted, and he had patience enough to meet with me and my mother twice more to help me with the final negotiations. Since he didn’t have the model and color I wanted in his inventory, he found one for me that would arrive in a few weeks, but it was exactly the right car. He explained the process of financing and breaking down costs so well that I finally walked away knowing something about buying a car! After a few weeks of waiting for my new Impreza to arrive, I drove away extremely satisfied. The salesmen here are cheery, helpful guys who have a good time helping you when you need it and are always open to advice, and questions. I am recommending Jason and this dealership to everyone I know because a) Subarus are amazing and b) I was so impressed with my honest and helpful car salesman, I feel extremely lucky!

This dealership is an EMBARRASSMENT to Subaru. Their lack of Customer Service and Rude and Disinterested Attitude is appalling, and consistent. I have purchased at least 3 cars from them, and have used their service department on various occasions ONLY because they are close to my home. Each time, they display their view that «the customer is always wrong, do NOTHING to accommodate the customer.» I recently pre-​booked a service call AND a free loaner car, yet when I got there, they refused me the loaner UNLESS I paid $ 43.00 for it, and rudely insisted I HAD to wait 2 – 3 hours for the service if I would not pay the extra fee. I then had to wait 30 min in the freezing cold to leave while they retrieved my car from the remote storage-​which is supposedly where they put cars that will be staying ALL DAY because their owners are being given a loaner. I will NEVER go there for service or purchases again. Instead,
I reported them to Subaru Corporate online and received a $ 100.00 gift certificate towards future service. Even Subaru corporate recognizes these jokers are an embarrassment to the company.

Worst place ever! Horrible service manager! He told me to get my car the f*** out of there! Stay away from this dealership.

Went in and automatically knew I would be purchasing my vehicle from here. When here, ask for David Anderson — my sales consultant– he’s knowledgable, friendly, honest and NOT pushy.
We all know how «fun» car buying can be– working with David and gravel was easy. And I know I got the best price (check in on Unilocal and get $$ off!) also, they price match!
Don’t go anywhere else. I’ll be recommending all my friends and family!

Have bought two new Outbacks from this dealership over the past 3.5 years and have had great Service Department experience throughout.
Why a one star review? Because I am hoping to get some attention paid to my recurring issue: This dealer is cheap when it comes to making new car demos available to test drive!
Other Suburu and non-​Suburu dealers will do anything to get you into their dealership to drive their cars. This one has his salespeople and managers tell you to order a new car on faith «because this car is so hot we can’t keep them in stock». The truth is: this dealer is frugal, his showroom and lot are too small, and he has a captive audience in this Suburu-​loving community.
As we all know, auto buyers have too many choices. As a rule, my family and I choose to invest in brands and their ambassadors who choose to invest in us. We have no complaint with Suburu nor the Service Department at this dealership. Having us walk out of the showroom without offering to source a test drive for us and our not putting down a deposit on our third Suburu in five years when we came in with an appointment expecting to renew our brand-​dealer relationship is a marketing sin.
Will we stick with Suburu or test drive something else? Dunno.

I had the worst experience here. Shockingly poor service. I really had to buy a car today and they couldn’t even show me one. Then they suggested that I go to harlem to check out cars. When we finally went up to the manager and said that we wanted to see a few cars– even if it’s just the inside– he shrugged his shoulders and said «go outside and check it out yourself.» I haven’t seen anything like this before. Stay away from these incredibly rude people.

Ask for Carly! We bought a CrossTrek Hybrid and were lucky enough to get Carly Luft as our salesperson. She listened to what we were looking for and found the ideal car for us. She was very thorough, taking care of financing, insurance and registration for us. She also did a great job explaining all the amazing benefits this car has. I recommend asking for Carly when you buy a Subaru at Garavel.

I really like my Outback Subaru, just a little disappointed that the car was dirty, when I picked it up. They promised some things that were not true, but I think they just want to get you in the door. Overall the car is good! It is just as nice as the Jeep my Hubby bought. I’m from Sunny California so I wanted to have a good «snow «car for CT., we will see how it performs soon enough.
The people at the dealership were OK, I would most likely return in the future. Just get everything in writing to protect yourself.

I was in the market for a new car and had my sights on a Forester. My father loves — LOVES — to test drive, so I invited him along with me. We arrived at the dealership and sat down with one of the dealers (Ed?) to discuss the specifics. He could not, for the life of him, stop checking out my boobs. As awesome as a lady’s rack might be, look her in the eye when you’re trying to sell her something.
We headed out for a test drive, with me and my father in the front and the salesman in the back. My father had reiterated multiple times that he was not the one buying the car, that the dude should be talking to me, but he spent the entire test drive talking to my father about golf, pausing occasionally to answer my questions.
I ended up buying a Forester, but not from them.