The owner buys cars from wholesale auctions and resells them at his gas station/shop. I don't think this is a problem because this is how many used car dealers get their cars. However, the owner is a real salesman, in a back slapping kind of way, and either tells you that he'll find the car you need, or try to sell you an existing car on the lot. In my case, I described what I was looking for and he happened to be headed to an auction the following day. When I looked at the car, none of the tires matched, it didn't track right during the test drive, and the engine had a knock. There were various other issues, all of which he said he could fix if I decided to buy the car. I was left with the impression that this car, which was described as perfect, would end up costing me a lot more once he started servicing the vehicle. It seemed really sketchy and I couldn't accept that he'd 'take care of me' after I bought the car which had obvious problems. read more

The worst of all possible used car operations on the planet. I kid you not! Here's the rundown...they sell and service Subarus and the vehicles they sell are invariably high mileage with a number of serious flaws. The problem is, they do not account for the flaws in their pricing and do not fix them before selling. Prior to selling a friend a Subaru they promised to have the vehicle ready to roll with no safety or mechanical defects. We noticed that there was water in the headlight - something that should have been addressed before it went onto the lot. We had the car examined by another mechanic who said that the transmission needed replacement. After a bit of prodding Royal's owner agreed to install a new transmission. They spent about 12 days working on the car before telling us it was ready. Upon receiving it we found that they had not installed a new transmission but had taken a rebuilt one and slapped it in, covering it with paint and a layer of silicone to make it look new. In a nutshell that's all you need to know about Royal Used Car Sales. Stay away! read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. I went there because I found on the internet that they sell and service Subarus. They have a special on their website that says: State Inspection + Tire Rotation + Oil Change = $59. So was I absurd in taking my car there for that deal? Obviously I was. Going there started a four-day string of horrors. First, they come in and tell me that the axle on the car I just bought is broken, and that it in addition needs a new head gasket, water pump, and timing belt. For a total job of $2800. Then they proceed to tell me that they can or can not pass me for inspection. Whatever I want, because it might be easier for me to go after the guy who sold the car if it failed inspection. I was flabbergasted and extremely upset. So, I start calling the guy who sold me the car telling him that all this stuff is wrong with the car. He keeps telling me there's nothing wrong with the car. I go home and I am upset. I decide that I'm going to get my money back for the car and then buy another one because I don't have the $2800 for the repair work. I call the guy from the shop. He tells me he just happens to have the same car as I do that he can sell me, but it'll be $1400 more than the car I currently have. So, I decide that's the only option because I believe that's a better deal than spending $2800 on the entire repair job. I give the guy a $300 deposit and wait to get my money back from the other guy. In the meantime, I took the car to another mechanic who totally refutes everything they told me at Royal Used Cars/Mobil. So I get on the phone immediately and I tell them that I want my $300 deposit back because it was made under the false pretense that my car was royally f*&#ed. I got the biggest run around trying to get my $300 back. I finally got the deposit back at which time they also passed my car for inspection. Does that sound like good business practice? To decide to fail a car for inspection arbitrarily and then to just pass it without re-checking it or making sure that the axle was fixed. NO!!!! Why? Because there was nothing ever wrong with my damn car. And the last straw? They totally overcharged me for the special that I mentioned earlier. Instead of charging me $59, they charged me $100. I didn't notice that day because I was so upset about everything. read more

Royal Used Car Sales - Used Car Dealers Near Me - Dedham, Massachusetts

I went to Royal Used Car sales after I had been looking for a car for months. I had had a tough few weeks, dealing with the loss of an immediate family member. I was treated by Roy as though I was his brother. He was nothing but nice and there was nothing but hospitality. I told him I had another car I was trying to get rid of, and he offered to take me and the car to the auction and help me sell it. Great Guy, STAND UP! Now to the sale of the car. When I came to Royal I had seen an ad they had on craigslist for a subaru Impreza Wagon. The car had a new clutch, new tires, a new timing belt, and Roy threw the new breaks in after. I test drove the car, Roy let me think about it for the night. He was straight with me, on the price, and very nice about everything. It was evident, that he wanted to help everyone that came to him, and did, but he has to make a little money. He opened his books, showed us the paperwork, and gave me another night to think about it. I ended up buying it and Roy let me store it in his lot for a week until I learned how to drive a standard, he offered to teach me but my dad wanted to do that as he is my dad. After the sale went final, Roy called me, to make sure all was well. I took the car to my mechanic who told me a got a steal, and whoever sold me the car, "knew what they were doing", when is came to Subaru's. Roy has been answering my calls(I call a lot, A LOT) he is happy to help me, evry second of the day. I know this sounds to good to be true, but it is not. Email me I would be happy to discuss it. And I have the car to prove it. Go to Royal Used Car Sales if you want good satnd up honest treatment, and a great friend in Roy. All the negative reviews are from unrealistic outraged people, and I take the negativity personal, because I was treated so well there and continue to experience the same treatment, and I know them to be false. Thanks, Mike Roberts read more

I bought a 2004 Subaru Impreza Outback with 110K miles on it from Roy at Royal Used Cars about 16 months ago. I also go there regularly now for oil changes and service. The service has been great, and I still love my car. I ended up buying from Roy after spending a couple of months looking and doing a lot of research on what car I wanted. I definitely got frustrated with a lot of the other dealers I went to, but had a good experience here. I don't know if is ever is a GREAT experience buying a used car - it's nerve wracking - but I feel like I got exactly what I wanted at a very fair price. And the follow-up service has been super. Whenever I call, Roy remembers me and my car. The whole family works there, and they are all very friendly and bend over to accomodate my schedule. If I had any complaint, it would be that when I went in for my first oil change, I had to remind Roy that he promised to include a year of free oil changes. I don't think this was anything underhanded on his part; they just don't have a stellar electronic record-keeping system. I then had to remind them to start charging me for oil changes after a year had passed. I've needed some work done on the car over the past year. I'm no expert, but my husband works on German cars and knows a lot. He's looked over the work and charges and thinks everything has been right on. I've only had a couple mechanics in the 20+ years I've been a car owner who I totally trust, and so far this place is one of them. read more

We bought a car from Royal a year ago. We had read the reviews so we knew to take it to our mechanic to have it checked out. The guy from Royal drove it all the way across town to our guy for us. We were told by Royal that they had done A, B, C so we had our mechanic make sure- turns out Royal guy suddenly remembers that he hasn't done A (surprise!) and our mechanic says it needs X, Y, Z so back to Royal. So Royal then does A, X, Y, Z and he dutifully trundles it back to our mechanic who verifies and all is well. We protected ourselves, Royal did what he said, we have had no problems with our high mileage car. Could I have gone to the auction, and then paid my guy to do the work, sure- but we ended up paying Royal only about $1000 more than he paid at the auction and he did all the work. read more

Hmmmm, sounds like a lot of sour grapes from people that didn't have their bases covered from day one. I bought an Ouback from this shop back in April of 2007. I knew going into the deal what to look for in high mileage Subarus: issues with timing belt, water pump, head gaskets and valves. When I addressed these issues with the dealer they agreed to replace all these parts, as well as put 4 new tires on the car because it needed them. The car has run reliably ever since with some basic maintenance required, as expected on any high mileage vehicle. I plan to return to the shop this year to purchase another car from them. I think the problem most of these other people ran into was that they did not let an independent mechanic check out the car before they purchased it. It's called check and balances and that's how you ensure you are getting a quality vehicle. The business that Royal operates is one based on sourcing mostly Subarus, fixing everything up and getting them to their customers at a good price. It is YOUR job as the buyer to ensure you are getting a quality vehicle, that is the name of the game with any used car dealer, just taking someone's word that a car is in good shape is buying blind. read more

I agree with the other person posting.. STAY AWAY from Royal Cars who sell used vehicles out of the gas station/workshop at this address. I would also give negative stars if that were at all possible. We bought a used subaru from them last July 07 and there were endless problems. My husband had negotiated a set of small fixups as part of the sales agreement (and got it all in writing) but for the next 6 months it was a constant battle to get them to meet the terms. There were replacement parts they had agreed to order that they never bothered to get, there was touch-up paintwork that was supposed to have been done but never happened, even down to the smallest thing like new tyres and a wheel balance were included in the deal but on the day we got the wheel balance done, they charged us the $25 or so for the service. We didn't have the sales agreement on us at the time, so had to pay the money to get our car out of the workshop. It has been like pulling teeth to try and get them to do everything they promised in the contract, and 8 months later we have finally given up calling, emailing, and visiting to try and get the final jobs done. There are still a couple of outstanding items but we are so sick and tired of excuses and delays we won't waste our time chasing those last pieces. We've wasted so much money in gas going out to there that it's just not worth it anymore. The owner, Roy, will promise anything to get his sale and then will not deliver - even if you have a written contract. He will also not return emails or calls when you have a problem, and he will make appointment times for you to go to his business and meet with him to resolve issues, then he'll stand you up. He has a bizarre sense of how to do business, not seeming to recognize that a contract is binding and that by breaking it he is breaking the law. He seems to consider it harrassment when you call and email trying to get him to do the work he promised in his contract. We would take him to small claims court except that what he owes us now is down to about $200 of work, and the court fees would cost us more. We count ourselves lucky that we got most things settled but it was no thanks to him, only thanks to our persistance over the past 8 months. Customer service at this place is atrocious. read more

I bought a 2003 Subaru LL Bean Edition Outback from Roy 2 years ago. It had about 130 K miles on it when I bought it. Except for some expected basic maintenance, the car has treated me very well. It's certainly served its purpose. I've put about 35, 000 miles on it, have been prompt with oil changes, maintenance etc- the car runs very, very well! I am pleased with my Subaru. read more

This is the greatest combination car sales / garage / gas station I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing first-hand. It's a family run operation, and every single member of the family is extremely friendly and helpful. I was in the market for a $6000 vehicle last summer. My brother has some mechanics training, so he accompanied me on the search. We checked out more than 50 cars in the price range over a period of a few weeks, all of which turned out to be junk. Then on the way home from a Saturday outing, we just happened to drive by 1200 VFW. We stopped in with a 'what the heck' attitude and wound up stumbling onto pure gold. I bought a 2001 Subaru Outback on the spot, and I haven't had a single problem with it. I was told specifically (1) about all the problems that usually happen with 100k+ mile Subarus, (2) that these problems had all happened with this car, and (3) that these problems had all been thoroughly addressed. This is the fifth car I've purchased in this price range over the last ten years, and it already shatters my usual record of finding lemons disguised as Hondas sold by 'real back slapping salesmen'. Plain and simple: you want a reliable used car that comes with a reasonably priced full-service garage complete with an owner that actually remembers your name and gives you his cell phone number? GO SEE ROY! For as long as I live in Boston, I'll never go anywhere else. read more

Bottom line, do not give ANY of your business to Royal Used Car Sales! I purchased a 99 Forester from Royal, and it turns out that it had and still does have a minor transmission issue, in that it can pause slightly between gears. Roy promised me that there was nothing wrong with it and switched out the fluid and filter, which did alleviate the issue temporarily. But lo and behold, the issue re-surfaced and continues to bug me. Fortunately the issue is tolerable, and has not become worse over the last 4-5 years. What is not tolerable was the run-around Roy gave me as the problem re-surfaced. Save yourself the headache and buy a certified pre-owned Subaru from a Subaru dealership or a reputable used car dealership! I won't be back to Royal nor would I ever recommend that anyone else give them business! File this under lessons learned from a 1st time car purchaser... read more

I read the reviews, but it seemed like Roy was a good guy. So I trusted him and bought a car from him. The car looks nice, but there have been several issues. He said that within the first 30 days everything is covered. I brought up excessive road noise, but he reassured me this was just wind. Finally I took it to another shop and found that it needed 2 new hubs. Roy offered me a good deal on this, but it turns out that his good deal was cheaper parts that weren't installed right that led to even more damage on the car. Yes, he did offer to re-do this, but I now live a couple hours away, things never good smoothly there. I asked for a partial refund, but it looks like this isn't going to happen. Now I have a leaky head gasket. More fun! Turns out I know the guy who had the car before me. He sold it for just over half of what I paid. Nothing was done to the car in the meantime. I thought that I was getting a better car from Roy because they give everything a look over and fix what needs to be. This does not seem to be the case. I'd be very cautious of buying a car from Roy or getting service done at their shop. read more

Some two years after buying from Roy, I'm still in love with my Subie and the continued great service from Roy. I bring it to Nick's Parkway Auto (same lot and family) for regular service. I was impressed that Roy recognized me the first time I brought it in (it had been almost a year since purchase), and was able to fix a few minor maintenance issues on the same day for a very fair price. This place is run by a family, and treats you like one. I recommend. read more

I agree with Daniel. It seems like other reviewers weren't sure what to expect when purchasing a used vehicle. As far as the service, I had a really positive experience. Roy was really accommodating with scheduling, even bringing the car to my mechanic in Somerville and waiting for me when I unexpectedly had to deal with a client during our appointment. Things checked out and he did the work that we agreed on including replacing the timing belt, and 02 sensor and the spark plugs before selling me the car. I have only had the car for a few days but it seems to run well. If anything goes wrong I will bring it back to the shop and expect the same level of competent friendly service that I experienced when purchasing the vehicle. Thanks Roy! read more

I think I would have actually given this place 5 stars but no one is perfect LOL. My dad and I recently purchased a 2002 Subaru Outback LL Bean Edition, for my first car, from this location. Granted my dad was very concerned, looking for a safe and reliable vehicle for me on a tight budget. Luckily we found this place and were able to get a great deal on a high mileage Outback that was fully loaded. Now I should start by saying I was originally hesitant going there since I saw a couple of not so great reviews here on Yelp but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and I was NOT disappointed - on the contrary we are very happy with our purchase. This is the first time I review a place on Yelp and even though I am always reading about different places I never took the time to actually write a review ... I guess people take the time to complain and don't always take the time to give a good review after a pleasant experience. I just thought it would only be right to write about mine. Roy, the owner, was helpful in putting my dad at ease and working with us to get the car we wanted within our budget. Also, he drove about 45 minutes back and forth for me to help me get the car registered for no additional charge since I am a student full-time and my dad couldn't get out of work to go during the weekdays. I appreciated that because he went out of his way even after we had already paid him and he didn't have to do that. Since we are local I will be taking my car there for its regular maintenance, it looks like a lot of people trust them on working on their Subarus based on the amount I saw there waiting to get serviced for others. I guess at the end of the day each case is different and I am thankful for our good experience and I would definitely recommend them to my friends. read more