Subaru Sherman Oaks

Shopped online, called around, talked to the people at Subaru Sherman Oaks. Negotiated a price. Picked up my Forester Next day. I was in and out in an hour, hour and a half, max. The sales staff is fantastic, the transaction smooth, financing couldn’t be any better. I recommend Arthur Albanese on the sales staff. Helpful, very experienced, nice, informative – knows everything! about the car! I remember when buying a car was a dreaded experience. No more. Highly, highly recommend them.

I walked in just to take a look at the WRX that the dealership had in stock, intending to speak with Michael Castillo. Before I could even ask someone for him, Elaine Teti approached me with a warm smile and greeted me to see if I had been helped. It was smooth sailing from there. She was able to answer my questions, and help me come to an agreed upon price for my new WRX. I placed a deposit with the dealership, and requested that they withhold running a credit check until the car arrived and I agreed to make the purchase. Elaine made sure that my request was honored and nobody from the sales team jumped the gun. I was elated to learn that my car arrived early, and she was vehement about ensuring that I was the first to test drive it before any other prospective buyers. The day I picked it up, she directed me to Paul in Finance, who was happy to address the barrage of questions I directed his way. He was informative, and incredibly resourceful in simplifying the legal language of all the agreements I signed to ensure my full understanding of both the financing, and the extended warranty I selected. Nobody was pushy, and everyone at Subaru Sherman Oaks allowed me to take my time in coming to all of my decisions. I strongly recommend prospective buyers to stop in for a great experience. They won’t push you to purchase a car that you don’t love.

Spent Memorial Day weekend looking for deals on a Subaru Crosstrek and was created with a ton of run around from multiple dealerships in and around the Los Angeles – until we heard from Aram Moss at Casa Automotive Group. He worked with me online, answered all of our questions, and helped us reach a deal that fit my families budget all online so when we got to the showroom we weren’t there for six hours.
When we arrived we met Elaine Teti who is wonderful. She didn’t once question the tentative agreement set up with Aram. She also worked with the rest of the team to get me out of the dealership quickly so I could get back to the West Side to pick my son up from school.
I would go there again in a heart beat and would totally recommend them to my friends and family.

We were a little hesitant walking into Subaru Sherman Oaks on Tuesday after two bad experiences elsewhere this week with high pressure sales techniques and bait and switch attempts. But here we were treated with respect and given transparent information with great professionalism every step of the way to driving out our 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium that day.
Manager Michael Castillo met us at the appointed time and chose Art to be our salesman, which turned out to be a great choice. Art was knowledgeable, personable, patient, courteous, and informative. He took us for two test drives since the Forester didn’t seem large enough for us and so we went for another drive in the Outback. Subaru Sherman Oaks didn’t have the white we wanted, but they tried. Actually, we’re glad we took the Wilderness Green; it’s more interesting.
There was no haggling over the price; Art’s first offer was a great one! Then he worked on our behalf to get us the best trade in value for our old car. As he hustled around getting the car prepped for us, Michael came out and chatted with us. It’s a friendly place.
Then we went to Finance where Gene B found the best extended warranty for us in under five minutes and had all documents already prepared for us to sign. He also was knowledgeable, friendly, patient, courteous, and informative. Sometimes finance is where the boom is lowered and things can get ugly, but Gene was terrific! We were done in under twenty minutes.
I didn’t think I wanted a Subaru, but its well thought out amenities, smooth ride, good gas mileage, and reputation for safety and resale value are making me really glad we bought this car. And Sherman Oaks Subaru is the only place I would recommend for buying one next time.

SERVICE DEPT REVIEW
I had a very pleasant experience taking in my Forester for its 6,000 mile service. Peter Diaz of the service department was quick to help me out and the turnaround time for my oil change was pretty quick. When I went to pick up my car I noticed they hadn’t taken care of my recall update and mentioned it to Peter who quickly got his staff to resolve the problem. I waited for an extra 20 mins, which wasn’t that big of a deal. Got my car back I’m happy.

I was rather disappointed with the way I was treated at this dealership. I had provided my contact information after visiting their website because I had a genuine interest in purchasing a particular Subaru. Unsurprisingly, I began receiving regular emails inviting me to visit the dealership and test drive the car. That’s fine; I understand that emailing is a standard marketing practice. After a couple of weeks I was able to block off several hours on a weekday afternoon and I made an appointment to see the car. I even got a confirming email telling me that I would be met by someone named Michael Castillo and that the car would be ready to drive.
When I arrived at the dealership (which appeared to have no customers at the time), Michael Castillo was nowhere to be found. Instead, a salesman — who looked barely old enough to vote — came out. He was a nice enough guy, but he seemed to know less about the car than I did (not a surprise given the amount of information available online these days). Also, a shaggy-​looking man with an Australian accent came out to the sales floor to look me over and disappeared immediately after shaking my hand. I also noticed that the car I was there to drive was on the showroom floor, not outside on the lot.
I should mention that I am an ordinary-​looking man in my mid-​fifties, reasonably well-​dressed, gainfully employed, with cash in the bank, and I happen to own a home less than a mile from the dealership. I don’t say those things because I think I’m better than anyone else; it’s just that it seems to me that I should «tick all the right boxes» as a potential customer. If I were 17 years old and had no visible means of support, I could understand how that might raise some red flags. Anyway, I had arrived hoping to be wowed by the car, and if I liked it enough, maybe even buy it. Stranger things have happened.
Next I was told I had to provide evidence of my own insurance before I could drive the car. This was something new to me, as the last new car I bought was purchased ten years ago. I actually have no problem with this as I have been insured since, well, since well before the salesman I was dealing with was born. However, the insurance card I had with me (actually, I had to walk back to my parked car and retrieve it) needed to be updated because it didn’t reflect the current term. In other words, my insurance policy had auto-​renewed a few weeks prior, but I hadn’t yet printed out a new card. According to my very young salesman, that meant I could not drive the car.
Okay, so not having the current card with me was my bad. I get that. What surprised me was that no one had thought to mention this policy of requiring evidence of insurance — this despite the many emails exchanged and the phone call I had made that same morning. It would have been an easy matter for me to print out a new card before heading the dealer. What’s more, between that, Mr. Castillo not being there to meet me as promised, and the fact that the car was effectively «landlocked» within the showroom, I was starting to feel like this dealership didn’t really want to sell me a car — and did I mention that my bank is literally on the same block?
I’m really not faulting the salesman, as I suspect he was just doing as he was told, but I did tell him that I don’t appreciate having my time wasted. I keep my insurance card in my car (as required by law), but I could have come with a friend in his car, or taken Über, or whatever. What really astounded me was how unmotivated the people at this dealership seemed to be. Didn’t they want to make a sale? With a little polite encouragement I could have been back at the Subaru place with an updated insurance card inside of a half hour. However, I wasn’t about to go rushing around just to be treated like an unwelcome pest a second time.
I left the Subaru dealership, went home, and printed out an updated insurance card, which obviously I needed to do anyway. Realizing I still had most of the afternoon left, I drove across town to another dealership to look at a competitor’s model. What a difference! The people there treated me like they actually wanted to conduct business. What a concept — a car dealership that wants to sell cars! Oddly enough, no one there seemed interested in my newly-​printed insurance cards.
Finally, I later sent an email to «Aram Moss,» who had been emailing me in an effort to get me to drive the Subaru. I put that name in quotes because I’m starting to question whether he’s a real person or some kind of marketing autobot. I wanted to communicate what had happened at the dealership and possibly reschedule a test drive (yes, at that point I was willing to forgive and forget), but guess what? I never heard back from the guy. My feeling is that if a business doesn’t want my money, I will gladly oblige them.

It all begins with the purchase of a 2016 Outback 3.6R on April 30^th 2016. The purchasing experience was great I knew what I wanted and was able to get a great salesperson, Linda Combs. After the initial test drive Linda was able to answer any of the questions that I had however I went to the dealer after doing lots of research so I knew what I was purchasing. Then low and behold RECALL on my brand new Outback with less then 400 miles. Subaru of America (Matthew) was my initial contact he went right to work for me contacting Sherman Oaks and setting everything into motion. I immediately received a call from the dealership setting up the best time for them to come and pick up my Outback, this call was from Peter in the service dept. explaining that they would send out a low bed truck as Subaru did not want to take the risk of anyone driving the vehicles because of the steering parts recall. David now became my contact at the dealer, he was great he kept me updated on the time frame and assured me that once the recall work was complete I would have my brand new Outback returned to me in pristine condition just as they had received it. The dealership quoted 3 weeks in anticipation of the parts but wow 11 days all done. Once again I get a call from Peter from Sherman Oaks Subaru telling me my auto is ready to go.
I work in the service industry and I know the importance of outstanding service and both Sherman Oaks Subaru and Subaru of America get the highest vote from me. Knowledgeable, Professional and just extremely nice. Together they took what could have been a bad experience and turned it into a very positive experience.
Three Cheers to Linda the salesperson, Peter the service writer, David the tech assigned to my auto, William who I believe is the manager or supervisor and last but not least Matthew located in New Jersey @ Subaru America who kept me off the ledge… at the start.

I am so pleased to be writing this review. We worked with Arthur and purchase a 2016 Crosstrek.
Arthur and other sales reps there were kind and attentive. Arthur helped us solve some problems with having an up-​to-​date insurance form and also lacking a pink slip from our trade in.
We never felt pushed to buy.
Thank you so much Arthur and the rest of the staff!

This is a review for the service department. If you own a Subaru and live somewhere in LA, make your appointments with Peter Diaz. He’s one of the best service consultants I’ve ever worked with for any car manufacturer. He’s friendly, easy to work with, and will tell you what you need to know about your car, no more and no less with no hassle. I didn’t buy my Subaru here, and there’s one dealership I know of that is closer to me, but I choose to go to Subaru of Sherman Oaks for service every time.

DO NOT COME HERE FOR SERVICE!
I came for a basic oil change and they forgot to put the oil cap back! That’s oil changing 101. I drove my car home and came back to it only to find a huge puddle of oil under my car! I opened the hood and there was oil EVERYWHERE!
Sure, Subaru service apologized, they refunded me for my oil change, and pressure washed my engine to remove all the oil, but it was THE LEAST they could do. It was still sloppy and seemed rushed. There’s still oil in various areas of my car. Who knows if any damage was done in the long term? And mostly it was a huge inconvenience to me and my girlfriend who I couldn’t pick up from work and luckily I had nowhere to be the following day. ANOTHER NOTE: They originally sent a guy to my house with some oil and rags to clean up the mess assuring me that’s all that needed to be done, even though I completely disagreed.
I understand mistakes happen (although this one really shouldn’t have), but they really didn’t make an extra effort to further accommodate me (free services) or alleviate my concerns for future problems (extended warranty). I try not writing negative reviews and I was holding off on this one, but my cries for concessions were left unaddressed. I spent a lot of money on my Subaru Outback, take really good care of it, and just like my last vehicle, I intend for it to last me well over 10 years.

Very disappointed in the sales team. Called and spoke to Taylor about availability of the WRX and they said they had it. Got there early and met with sales person that initially seemed to be helpful. She said she had to get the car. During that time she ask me what kind of price I was looking for and I told her that another dealership is offer the same car for a lower rate but not in the color I wanted. She went to her manager and came back to said that they could not match them because the «cars here were white and silver which are high demand». She never offered a test drive or attempted to negotiate with me.
The honest truth was that I would have actually paid more for car if she actually had tried a little.
Got a pleasant call later that day from Taylor, told him the situation. He said he would call back. However, I never heard from him.

I typically hate dealing with dealerships (I’ve been burned more than a few times), but dealing with the folks at Subaru Sherman Oaks was as easy and pain free as it gets! Talked with Aram via email and arrived at a great price, came in and purchased the car in less than an hour. Thank you so much for all your help, I love my new outback.

A little overdue review because I was enjoying the new subie the past couple of weeks, this will be reviewing the sales/​finance department. This is family owned dealership with great people, if you’re car shopping come here to Sherman oaks instead but at a reasonable time if you’re planning to test drive– com’ on people. Watch out for the neighboring dealers, I was insulted by another location, not mentioning names but you know who you are…
I’m a gearhead, it’s great to talk to fellow gearheads about car stuff and feel totally comfortable making a new vehicle purchase. Not pushy at all, just straight forward and fully explained everything. They even went the extra effort of locating the color and trim level I was looking for.

After visiting 90% of the dealers in the LA/​OC area, I pulled the trigger on a 2016 WRX Premium here at Sherman Oaks Subaru. My salesman William Johnson approached me and was very friendly and also funny. He took me to the WRX I was looking for and I took it for a test drive. The difference between this dealer and many other dealers was that it was relatively stress-​free and the salespeople are not pushy on you. I made my decision and decided to purchase the WRX here with a great deal. At the end, they took the WRX out and William gave me all the necessities and paperwork afterwards. He had to go help another customer out and Jamie came out on behalf of William to show me the features and stuff inside the car. Thanks again Sherman Oaks Subaru for a great experience and thank you William and Jamie!

This is my first Unilocal review and I must say, Elaine definitely helped me, she did not hassle me or anything at all towards purchasing a vehicle. But instead explained everything to me with honesty. Can’t forget Robert, the sales manager, he worked very well with me and went straight to the point. Overall great experience and I recommend them both.
Oh and don’t go to Glendale Subaru, horrible customer service, they dinged my credit and never gave me my report. No flexibility for payments no offers or explanations.

I wasn’t in the market for a Subaru, but my employee was. She was treated so horribly that I felt the need to intervene. I called the sales manager, to make it right, and shockingly (or predictably) he didn’t return my call. Maybe it’s because my name indicates I’m a female. I guess we’ll never know. So, here’s what he would have learned if he had the decency to return my call: My employee (a very smart female with a car fetish) had her boyfriend call on a Monday evening to see if they had the WRX CVT (automatic) available on their lot so she could test drive it. Whoever was on the phone informed him that there was 1 available and set up an appointment with Michael Castillo. She arrived with her boyfriend around 5:50 PM and asked for Michael Castillo, but, despite having an appointment, he was busy so he said William Johnson would be helping them. My female employee told William what she was looking for and saw it on the showroom floor (it was blocked in by one other car, but it looked very easy to get out). She asked if it was possible to test drive it and he said «You can as long as you have full coverage insurance, but I would rather not have to move all the cars to get it out if you aren’t going to buy it today.» She thought that was rude (and I do, too, as well as lazy) but she compromised and said she would test drive the WRX in manual then since they had plenty in the lot. As she made clear, she didn’t want the manual, and since William was too lazy to get the automatic out, she agreed to have her boyfriend (who had been identified as her boyfriend) test drive it, so that she could have some frame of reference. Her boyfriend test drove it and she sat in the passenger seat to get a feel for the car (despite the fact the actual car she wanted was available for a test drive). While on the test drive she asked William if the CVT (automatic) drove similar to the manual; obviously it won’t drive the same since one is auto and the other is manual, but she wanted to get a feel for it since he didn’t want to move a car to get it out for her. That is when William said «well you chose the girl car, so no. He is driving the man car so he has control over the car.» She thought he was just joking (since this is a car more well known for racing and has never come out in automatic before).
Then, when they pulled back into the lot and had finished the test drive, she asked him a couple questions about the car, and he directed every single answer to her boyfriend, and refused to look at her. She then asked for his business card (in case she went back to buy a car) and he handed it directly to her boyfriend. She optimistically thought maybe he was giving each of them a business card… nope. That’s when William asked if they were married (as if that’s remotely relevant, given that it was made clear that she was in the market for the car) and she said no. He then explained that he is «more comfortable dealing with the men.» He then asked for a phone number, so instinctively she asked «Mine?» where he quickly responded «No. [his].» After that she was ready to leave and told him they were going. William then shook only her boyfriend’s hand and thanked him for coming. As a female who buys my fair share of cars, I’m disappointed in the sexist treatment my employee received. She is a car enthusiast and didn’t deserve to be treated like a secondary consideration. I have been fortunate in that I have been treated well as a female buyer at Audi of Santa Monica and WI Simonson Mercedes. The idea that this dealer treats women like dumb second class citizens is horrifying. Perhaps they don’t know what a sexist salesman they have working for them. But they would know if their manager returned my phone call. I guess having a female name didn’t help with that. Wake up: females pay attention to cars and have sincere interests in purchasing them without the aid of a husband or boyfriend’s permission. Shame on you for not respecting the buying power of women in this day and age. If Michael Castillo wanted to make this wrong right, he could have had the decency to return my call from two weeks ago. As I said in my voicemail, he can find me at 310−979−8700. Women aren’t second class citizens. We have strong opinions about cars and have money to buy them without a male’s intervention. Meanwhile, I will steer my employee (and anyone else who asks) to a female friendly dealership so she never has to deal with this crap again. Signed — a female Audi S5 driver who was treated with utter respect at Audi of Santa Monica. You know how to find me, Michael.

We had such a fantastic experience at this dealership! Trish was our salesperson, and she is fantastic! She was up front with the numbers, never pushed us to buy instead of lease, and gave us the best she could for our (very old) trade in. Everyone at Subaru of Sherman Oaks is really friendly, and really timely when working with you! We met the manager, Bruce, and he was really friendly and personable as well!
I highly recommend Subaru of Sherman Oaks!

This is an overdue review. This review encompasses the dealership experience. The sales rep experience. The service center experience.
I bought my vehicle from Elaine almost 2 years ago. Car buying especially new cars can be a lengthy and stressful process. Most dealerships will make you wait, add excessive charges (here’s looking at you dealer in front of Subaru) and make the process a living hell.
Elaine and Casa motors made it easy. The first thing she asked me was how serious I was about purchasing a vehicle. She claimed if I was, she will put in the work for me otherwise it’s a moot point for both of us. I appreciated the honesty. I told her another dealer was holding another vehicle with the color that I wanted when the shipment comes in. Elaine countered the offer by asking if she could lower the asking price from the other dealer, would I buy it from her. I said yes. She stated she would rather lose some money than lose the sale. The total sum of the bill was explained and there were no abhorrent hidden charges (other dealers involuntarily charge you $ 100 for mudflaps and carpet, etc) Subaru gives you the total up front plus they throw in for free whatever it is other dealers want to charge you unless you ask for an upgrade. They will not try to sell you stuff you won’t need and if they do. They’ll just ask and not jam it up your throat (again the last dealership we bought our other car charged us $ 700 for a damn car alarm) We will definitely buy another Subie in a few years.
Elaine followed up a month after just to see how I was doing with my car. She/​Casa Motors sent a birthday card too just to greet me. Does your dealership do that for you?
This is a small dealership. It’s so small you don’t get the fancy cookies in the waiting room. You get to know the service department sooner or later. The mechanics will always be most likely the same mechanic working on your vehicle. This dealership takes care of you and makes you feel like you are part of the family. The car itself is great. I believe most Subie owners are cut with the same cloth. Considering most bleed blue, love animals, outdoor enthusiasts, LGBT supporters and the oh-​so reliable car guy who loves STIs.
Subaru vehicles are great, Subaru dealerships are great too. You wouldn’t find a lot of car owners go out of their way and say they love driving their car and the experience they have as well as the relationship they have with their dealers more than Subie owners.

SERVICE review
DAVID and DARRYL rocks. I live one mile from GALPIN and I drive 40 miles to take my wrx to these guys
They were very knowledgable and courteous. Treated me fantastic and listen to my concerns
I have other cars services at Lexus and Acura and these guys were right up there
Don’t go to galpin subaru
Go to Sherman oaks !
I am a lifelong customer as long as David and Daryl are there
–Ryan

I purchased my car here over a month ago on a whim. I didn’t NEED a new car. The one I had was just fine and I loved (I had a pathfinder). I was looking to downsize but didn’t want to lose my functionality of heading to the snow in winter. I worked with Linda and she was amazing! She made me laugh and I felt extremely comfortable. No pressure whatsoever to buy the car. I took it out for a test drive and decided to see what kind of offer I could get. Everyone there was very helpful and welcoming. It was close to closing time so I felt bad that they were still there after closing. Their finance manager, Michael was very helpful in securing me a great rate and went the extra mile for me. Easiest purchase and not at all stressful for me. It was great because I normally despise having to buy a car.