We've lived in Hampton Roads for 2.5 years and own two Subaru Outbacks. We bought one of them from First Team Subaru Norfolk because they had the trim/model we wanted, but we've avoided them the other time due to pushy sales tactics. This review, though, is specifically about their service department, which has been consistently disorganized and dishonest, with a particular service advisor who defaults to being defensive and argumentative.
Our first bad experience was last year. I urged my wife not to write a negative review of her experience, but after today's interaction, I wanted to revisit it. Here's her story:
"My 2016 Outback had a locked emergency brake and we had it towed to First Team because they were the closest. It took several days for them to figure out the problem, and it genuinely felt like no one knew how to fix it until one technician finally did. When I picked it up, the car had a strange musty smell.
A few weeks later I brought the car back for its regular service and asked them to investigate the smell. I told the service agent (L***a) that I had to have my car back by 3 p.m. I dropped it off at 7:30 am and didn't get any update. I called repeatedly--no answer. At 5 pm I finally got a call saying my car was 'ready' and that a courtesy driver was on the way. I couldn't get there by then, so my husband Ubered there the next morning... only to be told the car wasn't ready and that the carpet had been removed entirely because they found water underneath it.
For the next week, I had to chase them down daily for updates. The service agent L***a admitted she didn't know she was supposed to update me. I was given multiple contradictory explanations, including that it took '48 hours' for my carpet to dry outside the car. L***a's default is trying to convince the customer that they are wrong.
When they finally said the car was ready, another service manager told me I was 'lucky' because they had just gotten a new cleaning product and mine was the first car they used it on. He warned it might smell like a pool for a few days. In reality, my car reeked of chlorine for six months. My husband said he could smell the chlorine in my hair every time I got out of the car. The car continues to have this smell today, albeit not as strong, one year later.
When I received the car, my driver's seat presets were wiped and wouldn't reset. The manager and a technician couldn't figure out how to fix what they apparently broke when removing the seat. I was forced back into a loaner vehicle--even though earlier that day they pressured me to pick up the car because they 'needed' the loaner back. It was just one contradiction after another.
Finally, anytime the driver side door was open, whether or not the car was on or off, the car would ding. I called the service department, and they recommended bringing the car in. But after my horrible experience, I couldn't bring myself to take my car to them again. We just looked up the fix online."
Fast forward to today, I scheduled an appointment for a trailer hitch install and asked if the technician could slightly extend the bumper cutout to accommodate the bike-rack lock. I've had this exact hitch installed on another Outback, so I was familiar with what was needed. Instead of even discussing the request, the service agent (once again, L***a) immediately became argumentative and defensive--this is her style. Before work was even done, she already blamed me for errors in the result. At that point, I canceled the service and took my business to another dealership.
Bottom Line: After 2.5 years of giving them multiple chances, First Team Subaru Norfolk has earned our lowest recommendation. Between poor communication, lack of technical confidence, dismissive and defensive customer service, inconsistent information, and outright dishonesty, this dealership has repeatedly proven to be unreliable.
There are three other Subaru dealerships in the region. Even if it requires a longer drive, we strongly recommend choosing any of them over First Team Subaru Norfolk. read more