When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
:Begin rant: I have a little story of a less than desirable sales experience at Lee Johnson Chevrolet/Mazda in Kirkland. My girlfriend Nicole was looking for a new car and had it narrowed down to either a Mazda 3 or Subaru Legacy. She was leaning more towards the Mazda 3. She really wanted the Mazda in "Whitewater Pearl" which is a color that is now discontinued. There is only one Mazda 3 in Whitewater Pearl in the entire Northwest and it is at Lee Johnson Chevrolet/Mazda in Kirkland. We confirmed this with a couple other dealers. So Nicole schedules an appointment with them to see it, tells them she is ready to buy and will be paying cash for the car.
On Saturday we hop on the Bremerton/Seattle ferry and drive from Seattle to Kirkland. It took about 2 hours to get there with the 520 bridge being closed turning 90 into a parking lot. We get there, she looks over the car and we go for a test drive. The sales guy wasn't too bad, though during the test drive he told us "Mazda is consistently number one for reliability" and "Subarus are troublesome because of their all wheel drive." Mazda makes good cars, but I can't recall anybody who says they are number one in reliability. Consumer Reports rated Mazda 7th overall after 5 years of ownership (Subaru was 6th.) We get back from the test drive and Nicole loves the car. We decided to make an offer.
We talk to the sales guy and ask him what the invoice on the car is. He tells us $1,000 less than the $22,047 we were quoted. We ask him to leave so Nicole and I can discuss what we will offer. The sales guy comes back and says the internet sales manager wants to talk to us. We go and talk to him and this is pretty much where it all goes to shit. We tell him that we got a quote from Peninsula Subaru for a comprably equipped Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited for the same price (actually slightly less.) He doesn't believe us and gets on the phone to call the Subaru dealer owned by Lee Johnson to see what incentives and rebates were being offered. He doesn't get an answer. Nicole offers to play the voicemail with the quote on her cellphone's speaker but he doesn't want to hear it. He then preaches to us how the Mazda 3 is top in it's class and how he can sell these thing "$2,000 over invoice all day." We then tell him we will offer him $21,500 and he then says immediately in a rude tone of voice "I'm not here to negotiate." That's when I slapped my hands on his desk and said "we're outta here." As we walked out of his office, the sales manger said in a rather sarcastic tone of voice "have a good trip back." Needless to say she didn't buy the Mazda. :End Rant:
On the way back from Kirkland, we stopped by the Subaru Dealer in Bremerton and test drove a Legacy. The sales experience there was much better; no pressure or . She decided to think about overnight and on Sunday we returned to buy the Legacy. Nicole is now the proud owner of a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited. MSRP for the car with destination and without tax and title is around $26,000. She got the car out the door for $23,778.04. Peninsula Subaru also will change the oil for free for as long as she owns the car, up to 4 oil changes a year. I may buy my STi from them in a couple years.
Lee Johnson Chevrolet/Mazda in Kirkland
. She decided to think about overnight and on Sunday we returned to buy the Legacy. Nicole is now the proud owner of a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited. MSRP for the car with destination and without tax and title is around $26,000. She got the car out the door for $23,778.04. Peninsula Subaru also will change the oil for free for as long as she owns the car, up to 4 oil changes a year. 
I may buy my STi from them in a couple years. 
I mean come on, Subaru has very little experience with AWD systems. 
