Subaru of Ontario Review By Adrien P.

I own a 2015 Subaru Forester and live in Ontario. I've been coming to Subaru of Ontario for the last 3-4 years to have my car serviced; oil changes, preventative maintenance, etc. and admittedly have never been 100% happy with the quality of service, but continued taking my vehicle here because it was so close to me. Overall, it seemed as if the dealership's service department was too small and ill equipped to handle the needs of the various cities in the Inland Empire. My opinion changed earlier this month when both Alan and Clay in the service department went above and beyond to help me. I had originally taken my car in for an oil change and a rear spring recall. When I picked up my vehicle, I was told that the control arm bushings needed to be replaced soon and that the total would run between $300 - $450. I asked if this was an urgent repair and was told yes, so I told them I would bring my car back in about a week when I received additional money from unemployment, since I am jobless due to COVID-19. I also received a PDF quote from Subaru of Ontario via e-mail, noting that this repair would cost $349, which was between $300 - 450, as was previously stated. About a week later, when I had the money, I brought my vehicle in for the control arm bushing replacement. Dropped it off and strangely didn't receive any paperwork with a quote or the detail of the service being done and was told I would receive a call when it was ready. I received a call 1 day later and was told that it was done and ready for pickup- great! At the cashier, I was told that the total payment due was $719. That's not correct... My e-mail quote had said $349, which was what I was expected based on the previous verbal quote of $300 - $450. Alan stepped in and helped. Apparently there was a miscommunication and no one had called me prior to inform me of the hourly rate their mechanics charge, which is additional on top of the actual service. Also apparently this service also requires a full alignment job, which was also completed. I couldn't afford $719 at that time since my expectations were somewhere between $300 - $450. After I explained the situation, Alan worked to get my payment back down to $349, which is nearly a $400 difference. I understand that mistakes and miscommunication can happen when businesses are busy or overwhelmed and I couldn't be happier with how he handled it. Flash forward about a week. 5 lights on my dash, including my Check Engine light all randomly come on at the same time and my CVT (transmission) starts to jump and slip. This is now my 3rd time bringing this vehicle here in three weeks: first time was the oil change + spring recall, second time was the control arm bushing replacement, and now CVT issues. I'm no mechanic, but I know a decent bit about my vehicle, enough to know that Subaru automatic CVT transmissions are junk. I received paperwork detailing an extended warranty that applied to my vehicle in late 2017 that said that the CVT would be under warranty until 100,000 miles were reached or the vehicle was 10 years old. Whichever happened first. Well, I drive A LOT and so despite my car being five years old, it's already got 137,000 miles on it. Clay is the service advisor helping me this time around and I'm told that the transmission's valve body needs to be replaced entirely. This is basically the brain of the transmission. I'm quoted $1,400 for the entire thing, labor included. I just spent $350 on control arm bushings, and $70 on an oil change. $1,400 is a lot of money to me when I'm unemployed. I immediately called Subaru of America, Inc. and explained the situation. I inform them that I've spent over $5,000 in general service and preventative repairs at Subaru of Ontario on this vehicle since 2017 and have the receipts to back that up. I noted purchased my car with cash and have been a firm believer in the Subaru brand. I asked if there was any way to extend the CVT warranty despite my vehicle being 37,000 miles over the warranty threshold. I take it in for oil changes and maintenances whenever it is necessary and the $5,000 in 3 years shows that I really take care of my vehicle. The representative at Subaru of America says that it's highly uncommon for them to do anything once a vehicle is out of warranty, but they'll get in touch with the dealership and see if something can be arranged. As it turns out, Clay and Subaru of America reached a deal where SOA would cover 50% of the cost of replacing my vehicle's valve body which would effectively knock my payment down to about $700. Again, I can't say enough about Clay working with me and talking to SOA to help. This is my only vehicle and without a job, money is tighter than ever. The repair took about a week to do and Clay kept me updated the entire time. Times are tough right now, but there are good people out there who are willing to listen and meet your expectations considering the difficult circumstances some of us are going through.