Here’s one shot of the family in our new, used Subaru Forester wagon.
In a post last week I talked about my recent car accident that left me with a mangled 2002 Honda Civic with 175,000 miles. My options were to fix a car that was nearly totaled or go shopping for a new, used car to get me from home to work every day.
Being 6’4″ tall, I decided I’m ready to drive something a bit bigger. I began scouring Craigslist for anything in the Camry/Accord class. All great, reliable cars. On one search, a used Subaru Forester caught our eye at Kearny Mesa Subaru here in San Diego. Hey, for my growing family, maybe a family wagon is the way to go. On top of that, I’ve heard stories of excellent Subaru customer service and legendary customer loyalty.
Upon arriving at the dealership, I met Dan Mitchell who was to show me the car. I wrote about a car-buying experience nearly a year ago, swearing that it would be my last post about cars. I lied. Here are a few things that set buying a Subaru from Dan apart from previous experiences.
1. More Concerned About The Connection- We took the car out for a test drive. After driving a few miles down the road, I asked Dan where we were going. His response was “I don’t know. I was just enjoying the visit.” In a world where car salesmen can’t wait to take you through their test drive course so they can start trying to close the deal, Dan was more about enjoying the experience and making a connection with the customer.
2. Driving The Product- I once purchased a used Toyota 4Runner from a Toyota dealership and I asked the salesman if the back window rolled down. Shortly after he said “No, I don’t believe it does,” I found the button and showed him how to roll the window down. On the flip side, I asked Dan for his honest opinion of a Subaru. His response was “I have owned six.” I would say this is a man qualified to sell a Subaru and vouch for the quality of the product.
3. A Full Tank Of Gas- This may sound kind of silly but when we bought our last car, the gas tank was almost on empty and I had to haggle with the guy to give me like four gallons of gas. Dan on the other hand made sure I had a full tank before driving off the lot– a detail I will never take for granted again when buying a car.
4. A Second Key- Referring again to our last car-buying experience, the car had one key and the dealer told us we would have to go buy another key for like $300. Dan on the other hand set us up with a second key without hesitation.
5. A History Lesson- I always dream of finding a used car driven by a seventy year old woman approximately five thousand miles per year. We came close with this car. Dan personally took it car in as a trade-in and sold a new Subaru to the previous owner. In the process, he learned the history of the car and shared it with me.
In the end, I left the dealership feeling like I got a terrific car at a great price. On top of that, Dan and the gang at Kearny Mesa Subaru managed to raise the bar on what I previously thought was a great car-buying experience.
