A month ago I bought a 2015 Subaru WRX Limited from Sea Auto. I've written an outline of the pros/cons of my experience and below that a detailed explanation of my experience. Hopefully you find this helpful and good luck to you on your search for a car!
Pros
- They didn't pressure me into anything I didn't ask for
- They we're willing to answer all of my questions to the best of their ability
- Allowed us to take the car to a mechanic within 5 miles of their location
- Allowed us to test drive the car on our own
- Average price for the car I was looking at
- Offered exactly what I expected for trade in on my old car
Cons
- They buy most, if not all, of their cars from auctions, so be very wary of the car's history
- The car I was looking at was dirty (see picture) when I arrived despite telling them I was coming to look at it the day before
- Oil needed to be changed
- No wiggle room on their listings because their inventory is typically less than 70 cars and most of them are sport/luxury
- They don't seem to care whether or not they complete a sale (later learned that that is because they are on salary pay and not commission, so there's no real initiative)
- Said they would give the car a full detail before we left with it, but it looked like they just ran it through a cheap car wash, and the car was only gone for 20-30 mins tops (supposed detail and gas fill), which doesn't seem like enough time for a full detailing
Why I gave it 3 stars:
Overall, I had a neutral experience. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't outstanding. After a month of owning my WRX, nothing is wrong with it, but I'm still holding my breath as most people say their problems started a few months after ownership. I wouldn't buy another car from them simply because I would still feel insecure about how truthful they were being with me. Anyone that wants to buy a car from them, my advice it to be very skeptical, take someone that knows what to look for, RESEARCH your car thoroughly before you go to look at it, and take it to a mechanic just to be sure!
Sea Auto had everything I wanted in a Subaru WRX, the price was as expected/fair for the year, mileage, and condition, and I knew I wasn't going to find WRX like this without upgrading to the STi and increasing my budget. The moment I saw this car on their website, I knew I had to have it. But when I looked up their reviews, my heart sank because the majority of reviewers had a very negative experience.
I read in one review that they wouldn't allow a customer to take a car they were looking at to their mechanic to be inspected, so I decided to call them and ask if they would allow me to do this and their answer would decide whether or not I would take the trip up to Washington to look at the WRX because no reliable dealership should deny a customer this. I was told I could take the car to a mechanic within a 5 mike radius of their lot, so that put my mind at ease a bit. However, I was still skeptical. I told myself that if I had any bad feelings about them while we were there, I was leaving.
The night before we drove up to see the car, we called and let them know we were coming in and we told them which car I was interested in. Despite that and having at least 12 hours from the time of our phone call to the time we arrived, the car was filthy when we got there! And it's a black car, so when it's dirty it is painfully obvious that it is DIRTY. You would think they would want to make a potential sale as presentable as possible, but apparently not. Dirty or not, I fell even more in love with that car as soon as I saw it in person though haha!
We inspected the car and, other than the oil being somewhat dirty and a few minor scratches on the body, everything seemed fine. I spent a year researching this car, so I looked for any modifications to the body and engine that could negatively impact the car. I couldn't find anything, but I asked if the car had been modded just to be sure. I was told the previous owner modified the exhaust a bit, but it still looked and sounded like the stock exhaust so I wasn't entirely sure on it.
Everything ran smooth, sounded right, shifted well, and worked after the test drive. They worked with us on the loan, didn't lower the price, but gave us a full tank of gas and a full detail (but I think they just quickly just washed it rather than detailed it). Just before I paid, I thankfully asked for the Carfax and they happily obliged, and everything came up clean.
So far, I am still in love with this car and I don't regret my decision one bit! read more