Bertera Subaru of West Springfield
Dealership Service Review
I brought my car into Bertera Subaru for an oil leak repair. The car's engine has been recently been with a brand new 2014 bottom end 3 yrs prior, with all the recipes and paperwork. I have already brought the car to a respected shop when i first bought the car, to get a entire inspection for the motor. It was a very well built and healthy motor. At first, i brought my car into another mechanic shop to get an estimate and diagnosis on the fix. That shop quoted me a fix on the crankshaft seal which they found was the source of the leak. Being that Bertera Subaru was a full size dealership that estimated me a more affordable fix, i told them to once again diagnosis the oil leak and find where the leak was coming from. Over the phone, they told me that they have found the leak, which was the crankshaft leak. I confirmed and asked them to check everywhere to make sure nothing else was leaking. They confirmed that the crankshaft was the only spot leaking. The guy i talked to was Dean from Bertera. After charging me 570$ for the fix, they i picked up the car and paid for the fix, i noticed something was off about the car. At first, i made sure to check the oil levels before starting the car. The oil level was a whole inch above the maximum fill line. I thought that it would be fine, being that a "senior" technician worked on the car. I started the car up, and noticed that it was misfiring, backfiring, idling high (above 2k) and stalling out when i slightly tap on the gas. There was a check engine light on for the code P0336, crankshaft postition sensor. When i notified Dean, he had told me that the sensor had nothing to do with the fix that they had done, because the sensor is deep inside the back of the motor, while they only worked in the front timing belt area. He said that they were not responsible for the repair, being that it had nothing to do with them. He then proceeded to tell me to bring it home and drive it for a week, because it was just in its relearning stage and that it will go away. I argued and told him that there was definitely something wrong with the car and that i wanted to them to check it and get it fixed immediately. He told me that there was nothing they could do since it wasn't them. They had not notified me of the check engine when i was paying for the car, and went to go bring it home. The senior technician knew about it, but kept quiet, until we asked about it. We agreed to just take it home to drive for a week, but as soon as i drove off the lot, the car would not go anywhere in gears 2,3,4 and 5. It would not allow me to drive over 20mph, while the car jerked violently back and forth, misfiring idiotically. I drove back to the dealer in the emergency lane. That was when they said that they would take a look at it, but there wasn't much they could do for me. Not until i called up to Subaru of America and opened up a case on that situation. Once they got the phone call, they admitted to messing up the car, and agreed to fix the check engine with no charge. Dean reported to me, saying that it was indeed their fault, since they had broken a tooth of the crankshaft sprocket and i had to leave the car there once again. They have had my car for a week now, by the time i went to go pick it back up. Driving back home and into my garage, i noticed a huge puddle of oil at the same exact location. This time it was far worst. I brought it back to them, and they said they would take it look at it. I received a phone call telling me that the leak was coming from the oil pump, not the crankshaft seal, and that the car was all set and ready for pickup. I assumed that they had fixed the leak for me, and went up to pick up the car, but it was still leaking. The next day, on Saturday, i brought it back up and continued to argue with Bertera on why my car was still leaking oil. Glen, one of the head guys from the office came out to talk with us. He told us that he knew nothing about the situation on the car, and will have to see and check out the car on Tuesday. I agreed and left to go shopping. I got a call back 30 mins later saying that they will not work on the car because it modified, old, and worked on previously, which i stated the first day we brought the car in. Then they proceeded to tell me to go somewhere else because they wont work on it. I argued that i wanted the car fix, because i was already charged for the "fix" that they already did, and wouldn't take the car till the car's oil leak was actually fixed. They threaten me and told me that they would tow my car if i didn't leave, and refused to give me a refund, discount, or anything in my inconvenience to their unfinished work. After calling up to Subaru of America once again, they called Glen, and surprisingly, he magically knew exactly what was going on with the car, falsely claiming that the car had multiple leaks from the start, and that they were only obligated to do one fix. Which was false because i came to Bertera to get all the oil leaks fixed, and Dean had already confirmed that there was only one leak, that they will make sure to fix. Well upon final inspection(when i had time of course) a few weeks after they refused to fix the car, I've found the culprit for the leak. It was the crankshaft seal(if i can i would upload a picture), it was not seated correctly as it rubbed up against the gear.
- Recommend this dealer? No
- Were you satisfied with the quality of work performed on your vehicle? No
- Did the dealership complete the work within the timeframe promised? No
- Did the dealership provide you with an accurate quote of the work to be performed? Yes
- Do you feel the price paid for service(s) was fair and appropriate? No
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? No