Cityside Subaru
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Fri 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sat 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sun 12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
13 Reviews for Cityside Subaru
So I leased my car here and it was your typical cat and mouse negotiation which I hate so much but seems to be standard with car dealers. They weren't overly aggressive during the process so I think I got lucky in that regard.
I've done my scheduled maintenence here and its been extremely smooth every time. They have a waiting lounge with TV, coffee and most importantly free wi-fi. They also have a ton of magazines there too so it's as pleasant a wait as I can expect. The wait times have been very short so I've been happy with that too.
My Suburu Legacy has not needed any repairs (knock on wood) so I haven't been subject to any overcharging attempts which has been commented on here so I can neither confirm nor deny that it happens. Until it does, I have to give it a solid 4 stars.
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No idea on sales, but the service here is awful. Seriously, the only reason I joined yelp was to talk about how bad it is.
I had an appointment on the 11th of July, 7:30am. City of Belmont called them (in CitySide's own words) "late in the day" on the 10th to say the road out front would be closed for paving. Did CitySide call me to say it wouldn't be possible to reach the shop? Nope.
2 hours of rush hour traffic later, I park at Star Market in Belmont and bike to work. Come back after and the battery on my car is dead. So that's an extra $100 for towing because they didn't call, and they haven't even looked at my car yet.
Once my car got there, they somehow missed the smashed in lock when they "looked it over", but did see some "rust" on my 11 month old brake rotors and recommended a $400 replacement, along with another $100 to spray WD-40 on the calipers. I passed, told them to replace the battery, adjust the belt tension and replace the lock.
They called me on the 16th to say my car was ready. Got there, the lock was still broken. But they did toss in a $40 oil change without asking. After 15 minutes of fumbling around, they realize they had ordered the lock body, not installed it. I get a "Sorry 'bout that" on my way out the door.
Riding my bike home from CitySide that day, I got a flat and had to walk the rest of the way to Alewife, then come back to get my bike the next morning. Three hour time penalty because they called for no reason.
Finally get a call the next day, go to get it, and the manager refused to apologize and was like "nothing we could have done" to all my complaints. Great service for the masochist in your life; all others, seek help elsewhere.
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I've had really good experiences with the service and parts departments here. We went in to inquire about a price of a hose for our car and the guy in the parts department told us it would cost an arm and a leg if we bought it new and gave us a number of a used parts place to try instead.
We had a setting adjusted on our last visit and after driving it I still thought it felt funny, so we took it back in. The mechanic who had worked on the problem (I'm sorry, I forgot your name but you rock!) took the time to come out and drive me around in the car to show me how it should be riding. Labor costs are $99/hour, which is pretty reasonable.
One of the service desk attendants is not the friendliest guys in the world though. I asked him for directions to get to the T and he replied with "I have no idea," and turned around to leave. Luckily another guy was there and pointed me in the right direction. Definitely didn't offer any shuttle service as someone mentioned below.
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Yelp doesn't let me give 0 stars, but believe me: I would if i could. This experience was horrible.
Some bumbling salesman idiot REEKED OF ALCOHOL AND CIGARETTES, totally insulted my girlfriend, was burping as he was talking to us and we were told the extended warranty and remote starter would be included in the price of the car.
we went to sign the paper and the warranty wasn't on there, so my girlfriend asked about it and this kid was like, "oh, oh, i'm sorry you wanted that too?" so he goes up to get the manager, the guy pratically dances over to us after they were talking all hush hush..and he actually had the balls to try and add another 2500 on to the price. needless to say we left...we'll never look back.
went and bought the new forester somewhere else got a great deal...the guy where we bought the car was laughing about what happened at cityside (i guess it's typical?)
This is a good dealer. The salesmen are good guys - knowledgable, down to earth, and if you are shopping, they respect that. No high pressure here. Just be clear of your intentions as to why you are at the dealer - just to browse, just to test drive, whatever. They listen and they respect you as a customer.
So.. you want to test drive? They just give you the car. Whatever - go as far and long as you want.
The problem - flipping Subaru of America. They don't have any cars for the dealers! They aren't too keen on selling much more than Outbacks - so finding the right Impreza or Legacy without a factory order is quite a challenge.
Service here is good as well. Busy - but with a decent waiting area and good folks running it.
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Hate to rain on everyone's parade, but they almost tried to dupe me when I brought my car in for some repairs last summer.
I went in with my Legacy GT and asked them to find out what that "burning smell" was all about - my car had this strange smell occasionally.
They told me that I would need to replace part of my transmission because there was a huge leak. I freaked when I found out that it would cost over $600. So, I went to the ever so awesome Arco Tire in Somerville. They kept my car for a weekend and did periodic tests on it to make sure that this was the problem. Turns out that there actually wasn't a problem at all....someone had put too much transmission fluid in and it had leaked onto the exhaust system. When the exhaust system was hot (when I drove) it would cause the fluid on it to warm up, causing the smell. Cost for the news? $0.00
I won't be back there again.
I have a 17 year old car that need the engine light codes read so I brought it in to cityside after reading the Yelp reviews. I agree the the service is good and friendly and the prices are typical for a dealer. The reason I am writing a review is because of their shuttle service that goes to Alewife station.
The driver was fun to listen to as he discussed all the free sports tickets he gets from different friends and funny comments he made about his driving.
I will check this dealer out when I am ready to give up my car and buy a newer one
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I had (until this morning!) a 9 year old car- I love it- but clutch #4 went in this summer. And then the timing belt was on it's way out.....
So it was lease time- and this outdoorsy queer girl decided it was Subaru time!
My brilliant Dad found a fabulous special offer on an Impreza lease. Seeing as I had to go to the Dedham Costco anyway, I made Norwood Subaru a part of my suburan-errand-running afternoon.
Big Mistake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They insulted my car. They tried to make me feel guilty for all the work they put in trying to get me the exact car I wanted. They tried to put me in an automatic transmission. You get the idea.
When they couldn't get me what I wanted, I called Cityside- that's when Lucas blessed me with his prescence in my life.
That's why there is a manual transmission '07 Impreza Wagon in my parking lot right now.
The folks at Cityside were respectful, honest, did not insult my car and actually gave me a fair trade value, they were diverse, and they were helpful.
Go there- Lucas, Laurie, Julia, and Nate are wonderful.
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They charged me $50 to change a lightbulb (something I could easily have done myself) without first confirming that it was ok. Also, they quoted me $790 to change the timing belt when Subaru of Wakefield quoted me $290.
Yet, I still go here because it is nearby and I can use SubaruBucks. Just be cautious and call around before agreeing to large expenditures...
I'll give it the 5 stars it deserves. I have purchased 3 subarus from them and was never treated like a "dumb girl" The service there is phenomenal and their new location in Belmont is so much better than their former cramped space in Arlington.
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Now that I've passed 40 reviews I notice my criterion for 5 stars has gotten much higher, in fact while I love Cityside Subaru I just don't see how I could possibly give a car dealership 5 stars. So consider this a 4 1/2 star review please.
I am a Subaru addict! Especially on a day like today with 13 inches of snow on the ground, I appreciate not even having to shovel my car out. You can't beat the All Wheel Drive and now it seems like so many other car's are following the lead. I love Cityside because the service center is run by a bunch of nice guys. They are always polite and informative and the new facility in Belmont (used to be in a cramped little spot in Arlington) is beautiful and makes waiting for my car go by quickly. If you want to buy a Subaru go here and stay for the service.
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i am writing from their waiting room. they have a waiting room with comfy chairs, free wireless and free coffee. the coffee is the the kind that makes one cup and you can pick from a variety of green mountain flavors. this is enough for me to like this place. but they also seem to be nice guys and take good care of our beloved subaru.
i agree w/ the other reviewer, i feel weird giving a car place 5 stars, so i'm sticking w/ 4. i also did not buy the car here (i think... i didn't buy the car at all... i just drive it), so i can't speak to that part of their business.
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My beloved and aging Subaru was ailing, and I had to get to work somehow! Cityside rented me a sexy new Forester while my car was in the shop, and because my repair bill ran so high (not their fault, just bad car luck), they didn't even charge me for it--and I had it for a good 2 weeks (again, not their fault, just bad luck)! They were very kind to me, and my car's been running smoothly since.
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