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| - In the market for arrogance? Then Don Miller is the place to shop.
First, Subarus are very good cars. I leased a 2006 Impreza and a 2010 Forrester, both from Don Miller and I loved them.
Today, Subarus are selling like hotcakes, virtually everything they can ship.
And don't Don Miller know it. In spite of that, last month I went to Don Miller, and thought I had come to a deal. A good deal, not fantastic, but something I felt comfortable with. I produced a letter from Subaru Motors Finance (SMF)when my last lease ended, Dec '13 which said they'd pick up the first month's payment on a new lease and the disposition fee for the Forrester. I FULLY understood that was a limited time offer, and told the salesman such, but I said, as a 3 time repeat customer, could they find out if SMF would extend the offer to pick up the first month's lease, $253.00. He "checked" and said he didn't see a problem. So, he gave me a blank purchase contract to sign, ILLEGAL AS HELL, and asked for some money down, to "prove" I was serious, and then sent me in to see the Finance Manager. The old coot sales manager stopped by, who had signed the blank contract (ILLEGAL) and joked about what a good deal I was getting. Obviously, the salesman knew the offer was bogus because he disappeared. The finance manager went to the file cabinet, pulled out a policy from SMF saying the offer was only good for 6 months after the previous lease ended. I said I realized it had expired, but I was told that it would still be possible and that's the basis on which I agreed to the deal. I asked the Finance Manager if he could get SMF on the phone and perhaps, since I was an 8 year lessee who had always paid on time, check with them to get another 3 years of business. "No." Now, even if SMF had said no on the speaker phone and he was humoring me, I'd probably have gone through with the lease. Even better if they had gone to bat for a three-peat customer. But no. Then he looked at me with dead eyes and said, "So?" I said, would Don Miller lower the price $253 to make up the difference. "No, that was our offer." They were still making about $1,500 on it.
So I grabbed my cash, any document I had signed and left.
Arrogant Don Miller lost a customer and Subaru lost a customer for life. I spent $30,000 on my first two leases, and this one would have been worth $9-10,000 for Subaru and SMF and they would have gotten a well taken care of leased car back after 3 years to resell and another $1,000 for Don Miller for maintenance business for three years.
If you're set on a Subaru, there is a dealer in Waukesha and one in Janesville. Don't fall for the Don Miller Deal/screwing that they spend thousands of dollars on full page ads in the State Journal and Isthmus and on radio and TV each week, but they diss a three-peat customer over $253. Did I mention arrogant?
There are a lot of good cars, and a few dealers that treat you with respect. Don Miller is not one of them. I think it's a corporate culture kind of thing, because I had a similar bad experience when they sold Pontiac. Only that time they had me sign a contract for a car on order with one set of options, and "oops" it came in with other options for $1,500 more.
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