Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I brought my 2020 legacy sport into this dealership for fixes recently. Most importantly I had made an appointment to have my side mirror on the drivers side replaced after it was hit on my street while parked at home. I waited 8+ weeks for the part to come and when it came into the dealer no one called me as I was told they would. Many days later I called asking about said part arriving and was told it was in and to make an appointment for Friday April 25th at 830 am. When I dropped my car off I asked if it was possible to pay ahead of time as I might not be the one to be able to pick my car up after repairs were made and it would be another family member of mine. I was told that payment was only accepted after repairs were done and I came to pick the car up. Easy enough. I was then texted later in the day saying my car was ready but that the mirror was not painted and it was white. The mirror ordered should have been for the sport model which comes with black side mirrors. I father called the dealership today as I am a nurse and working 12 hours downtown and was unable to call myself. My father was told on the phone that we wanted the correct side mirror to be placed on my car and that the wrong side mirror was not acceptable. My father told them to take the ****** off again after the dealership said that I would have to pay 150 dollars extra to have it painted and wait more days for my car. They removed side mirror that was wrong. When my dad went to get my car today they would not give him the car without payment. Nothing was done to my car to be paid for. They had told me payment was only due after repairs were performed. My car is now being held at the dealer due to me not wanting to pay for the wrong part and service. I need my car to work this week and cant wait days until proper part is placed. I want my car. I will not pay for the dealers mistake.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2025

  The customer came in 3/03/2025 for a cracked windshield and the left side view mirror. The windshield and left side view mirror parts were ordered that day. One of the pieces for the mirror was on backorder.
  
  The windshield was replaced on 4/04/2025 under warranty (windshield warranty extension), the mirror part was still on backorder.         
  
  The left side view mirror was replaced on Friday (4/25/2025). The upper trim piece is not painted and the customer was not aware of this until the vehicle was ready to be picked up. I explained the situation and told him he could get the trim piece painted himself or we could send it to be painted. He told me to send it to get painted, but asked if he could still pick up the car. I said yes. So, I ordered a 2nd upper trim piece for the mirror. I left the unpainted piece on the car, so electrical wires where not exposed. I told him there would be a separate invoice for the paint.
  
  When he came to pick up the car, he was under the impression we would let him take the car without paying for the work we completed. So, he left the car here.

  After that to ease the customers frustration we completed the paint portion free of charge, the customer has paid for the work done and taken his vehicle as agreed and this job is closed. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/01/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dishonest, greedy manager at Lafontaine Subaru (**** ***************, *****************, **) - Avoid buying cars from this place!!!On June 18th, 2022, I took my 2018 Subaru Forester Premium with ****** miles to trade for a new 2022 Subaru. I shook hands with the manager, and got a signed contact to get a trade-in value of $21,000. I also put down $1000 for deposit.After over 3 months of waiting, on September 30th, 2022, they called me in to pickup the new 2022 Subaru. My 2019 Subaru now has ****** miles.They told me that, due to market fluctuations, my car trade-in value now only worth $17,000, down from $21,000 3 months ago. They refused to honor the printed contract.They kicked me out of the show room when I mentioned I will file a complain and would ask a lawyer to look into the signed contract.I took my 2019 Subaru to the ****** Dealer Ship in ************. I was able to trade-in my 2019 Subaru for $20,5000 and got a ****** Rav4.I proved that my car was worth around 20K as reflected on KBB and Edmunds. The manager at Lafontaine Subaru just low-balled their customers to make a buck. They are greedy and have no integrity in their words and actions. Even a signed contract did not mean anything to them since they know most people won't file a law suit due to cost and time.I have the documents of the signed contract, deposited money receipt, and document that I was able to get a trade-in for $20.5K at another dealership.I will file a complain with the Better Business Bureau. It is a waste of time for me after over 3 months, and it caused me a lot of grief and anxiety dealing with dishonest people.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/03/2022

  Mr. **** is correct in that we appraised his vehicle @ a value of $21,000 on 06/18/2022. However, what Mr. **** neglected to mention is that 1.) LaFontaine tells every customer that the vehicle value that is put on their vehicle is "today's" value not a future value and values are subject to change as market conditions change daily, and 2.) upon we re-looking at the trade in vehicle on 10/1/2022, there was extensive staining to the interior, a plethora of scrapes, dents and dings on multiple sides of the body, and an aftermarket windshield had been installed. These issues, combined with the market fluctation that is present in the entire world, caused the overall value of the vehicle to decline. An aftermarket windshield costs $1,600 to replace to adhere to Subaru safety standards, to re-******* the dents, dings scarpes etc. would have cost another $1,000, and to replace the interior of the vehicle was another $1,000 - combinsed with the dramatic decrease in market value's over a 3 and a half month span, the $17,000 offered was fair and correct. It is highly unlikely Mr. **** received $20,500 for the same vehicle at any Subaru store - however; being that the customer went to a ****** store, it is possible that dealer is not aware of the safety standards required by Subaru to retail the vehicle. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/05/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of why I am rejecting this response appear below:
  
  

  The only true statement from Lafontaine's reply was:
  
  

                         Mr. **** is correct in that we appraised his vehicle @a value of $21,000 on 06/18/2022.
  

  
  The rest of the statements from Lafontaine are false:
  

  
  1. I did not neglect to mention about the present or future value. As an average consumer, I rely on the typed or written agreement on paper, and not verbal or after-the-fact statements from the dealership.  The clause that the value of the trade-in could change base on the present/future values are not in the signed paper that provided to me in any form. The manager and the salesperson never mentioned verbally or in writing at any time about today/future's value to me or my wife on 6/18/2022. I only see this rationalization the first time from this exchange. 

  
  If it was explained to me that my car trade-in value could decrease significantly in 3 months, I would not have signed the agreement, shake hands, and put down the $1000 deposit. I would take my car to another dealership the same day. Why would I want to subject myself to such uncertainty? 

  
  Once the agreement paper was signed on 6/18/2022, I thought that with the signed paper, deposited money, hand-shakes, 2 witnesses (manager and salesperson), and the reputation and integrity of the Lafontaine Family would protect me as a small consumer. But now I know that none of these matters at Lafontaine.

  
  2. Regarding the windshield cost, the interior and exterior repair costs, these factors were already discovered and communicated with me by the manager and salesperson  on 6/18/2022. The inspection persons did do their jobs correctly the first time. These blemishes are not some thing new that were discovered when I came in to pick up the car on September 30th, 2022.

  
  On 6/18/2022, I asked for the trade-in value for $22.5K and the manager agreed for 21K due to the blemishes discussed. We shook hands, signed the paper and agreed on this value.

  
  The car is garage kept, and I only drove the Subaru ***** miles for 3 months as shown on the odometer. There was nothing changed on the car.

  3. Yes, on Friday September 30th, after I left Subaru Lafontaine,  I did buy a ****** Rav4 from ************ ****** and got $20,500 trade-in for the Subaru. ****** did a thorough job to inspect the car just like Subaru did on 6/18/2022 and reduced my trade-in value by $500 not $4000 as at Subaru Lafontaine.

  
  The fact was that Mr.***************** did try to increase my trade-in value to $19,000 after I objected to the initial amount of $17,000 showed that my car trade-in value did not decline to $4000 as described.

  4. This is only a car. No big deal.  Anyway -  you can close this complaint as I don't believe my action would make any different for other small consumers like me dealing with corporation like the Lafontaine Family.

  I will let the words out to my friends, families, the public,  and just hope other consumers read this and know that signed agreements, handshakes, deposited money, integrity, trusts, and words do not mean much at Lafontaine Subaru.

  Regards,
  
  *******************