Southern States Automotive

My 2013 Mazdaspeed 3 has always been very reliable. A month ago, it sputtered and died, so I had it towed to Southern States Mazda. When I had filled it with gas the previous day, the gauge did not move, leading me to think there was an issue with the sensor. When it stopped running, I assumed a more significant problem with the fuel system. I explained this situation in detail to the service advisor when I dropped off the car. Southern State's diagnosis was to replace the fuel pump, which cost roughly $800. The repair took almost two weeks. When I picked the car up, the gas gauge still read empty. I thought that was odd since I had delivered the vehicle with a nearly full tank. I asked to speak with the technician who had done the work. When he arrived, I asked if he had drained the tank to replace the pump. He replied that the car had an empty tank when he started working on it. Apparently, in a moment of distraction, I had not filled the car as I thought I had. Nonetheless, I had explained the situation carefully to the service advisor. They were fully aware that I thought there was an issue with the fuel system. Yet, I was not informed during diagnosis or repair that the vehicle had arrived with an empty tank. I only learned this by asking the technician directly. Unfortunately, there is more to the story. Upon receipt of the car, I noticed a strong gas odor. I again dropped the car off with Southern States. I was told the technician had damaged the gas tank during the previous unnecessary repair. The tank would have to be replaced, which took another week and a half. After the second repair, I instructed Southern States to deliver it to another mechanic. This mechanic checked their work and found system codes concerning the fuel evaporation canister. The car now stumbles under wide-open throttle and requires further repair, which I do not trust Southern States to perform. It's been over a month since I entrusted Southern States Mazda with my low-mileage, well-maintained, dead-reliable car. Rather than charge me for a simple diagnostic, Southern States took advantage of my confusion to advise an unnecessary repair. Their actions constitute fraud, Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, and violate Article 15B, § 20-354.8 of the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Repair Act: "It shall be a violation of this Article for any motor vehicle repair shop or employee of a motor vehicle repair shop to do any of the following: (3) Misrepresent that certain parts and repairs are necessary to repair a vehicle."

punctual, polite, helpful

Short version - Yes, I would buy from Southern States Subaru again. Long version - Sales: There are three Subaru dealerships within 30-40 minutes from my house. One of them is 1.5 miles from my house. Southern States Subaru is 20 minutes from my house. I, of course, went to the closest one first. But to see their selection, the sales rep had to drive me to an off dealership storage lot and we had to drive around and around trying to find what I wanted. We never did. I then went online. Each of the two remaining dealerships had the vehicle I wanted. So I submitted a request to get their 'e price'. One dealer took 2 days to respond with their price. Southern States responded within 30 minutes (and had the lower price). I first talked to Tim and arranged a time to come out. But he was going to a wedding so he asked Matt to work with me. Matt did an exceptional job as you will read. Trade In: I checked a couple of places and Southern States gave me a fair price for my trade in. Receiving: I am not sure what this department is actually called, but when new vehicles are received from the manufacturer, the dealership prepares them for retail sale. As we were test driving the vehicle, Matt noticed the tire pressure warning light was on. He looked at the tires and thought there were over inflated. He explained to me that manufacturers over inflate the tires as this aids in shipping from manufacturing plant to dealership. He was going to take the vehicle to Service but Service was closed. I told him I can check the tire pressure when I got home. The next morning (allowing the tires to cool overnight) I checked each tire. According to the chart, the tires were to have 29 - 30 psi. Each tire had exactly 50 psi. Matt was right. So I deflated each tire until it reached the recommended pressure. Detailing: When the vehicle was detailed for delivery (to me), they did not remove all stickers, plastic wrap protectors and there was mud inside the vehicle. Matt was none too pleased and we drove the vehicle back to detailing and he had it redone. Finance: This comment applies to every finance department in every car dealership I have done business with (VW, Jeep, Infiniti, Honda, Mazda, Hyundai and now Subaru). One of the main jobs of the finance person is to sell you additional products and services. Typically, they try to sell you upholstery protection, leather protection, exterior paint protection and more versions of extended warranties than you can shake a tire iron at. So, just like you researched cars, you will want to research these add-ons. If you decide to buy any of them (I did not), keep in mind that the prices for these add-ons are negotiable and a substantial discount can be negotiated. If you decide you do not want any add-ons, you will have to say No more than a few times. Vehicle: I purchased a 2017 Forester Limited 2.5i. There so many things I like about the vehicle. The only complaint I have so far is the moon roof. When driving with the moon roof open, once I got to 60+ mph, the wind turbulence in the cabin became more than I was used to (and my previous car was a MX-5 Miata, so it is saying something when the cabin turbulence is more than a convertible) and a reverberating noise became very apparent. I went back to the dealership and talked to Matt. He took me to the Service department and let me describe the problem to a lead technician. The technician explained the cause of the problem. I asked if the wind deflector would solve the issue and he said that it would definitely help a lot. So I had Service install the wind deflector. My other complaint is when you push the button to lock the vehicle, if a door or the tailgate is open, you will get a warning beep. But if the moon roof is open when you lock the vehicle, you will not get a warning beep. So if you are like me, you may think you are locking your vehicle for the night, but you are actually leaving the vehicle wide open if you don't notice the moon roof is open.

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An incompetent mechanic  wrecked my door doing over $2500 worth of damage to my car & neither the service manager or GM thought it was worth their time to call us.  We asked for the report from the body shop & they wouldn't send it. Had to get an estimate from our own insurance company.  Than they wouldn't return our calls. We told them via email that they could proceed with the repairs as soon as they sent us a letter acknowledging the accident & outlining the steps they were taking to fix it. That was two weeks ago. No email, letter or phone call since. We asked Hyundai Corporation to help & they did nothing. All we want is some official documentation due to the large amount of damage they did. They refuse to put anything in writing.  I will never buy another Hyundai. If you do, go to Johnson Hyundai in Cary. The extra 30 minutes is worth the drive. My family have none of these issues with Johnson.

Poor customer service after the sale. They sent out a free birthday "car wash", when I went to get my car washed they said they were too busy and didn't offer another time. I went back a few months later and asked for my 'free car wash" and they said they haven't heard of such a thing. In my opinion, this is not a way to run a business. The manager was upset to hear, he claimed, that I was unhappy with their customer service and said he would get someone to sit down with me to discuss this, of course I never heard from them.

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We had an excellent experience purchasing our 2015 Subaru Outback Limited from Southern States Subaru. Our sales representative was Angel, and she was friendly, knowledgable, and she made the car-buying process a cinch! I have to admit I had been dreading the process of buying a car--the unreasonable price-haggling, the up-selling, etc.--but there was none of that at Southern States. I actually ENJOYED our visit!! (Not to mention how much I love my new Subaru). Highly recommend!

Napo B. was great to buy a car from. He knew what I could afford and what I wanted. He did not go back and forth with me. Respectful and easy to buy from.

My sales lady, Kay Greer, was very professional and very knowledgeable about the Sonata!  She explained every aspect of the car.  I had a Hyundai Santa Fe and had mistakenly traded it in on a Chevy Trax- not a good decision on my part!  I was more than pleased with Kay Greer's help and assistance as well as everyone with the dealership!  Will never leave again! 

I paid 1,000 dollars and the problem is still there. The workers were not prompt. It was a very tedious process getting out of there. I would not go to the service department at this dealership again.

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The pieces were plastic and the manage was able to reinstall them. The manager came to the dealership and had us follow him to his auto body shop. It was only $80 and that was incredible! He completed the work in about 2 hours. I wished I could give them an A+.

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We like the service, and I feel like that other places where we took our Nissan's don't have all the tools. Their price is a little more expensive.

I have been to them four times now and each time they have fixed my issues at a reasonable price.

They provided the service contracted to be done, at the price they quoted. However, an hour to complete an oil change which was scheduled in advance is quite a long time to wait. I usually go to a quick oil change place and am out in less than half an hour. They also have this form which they checkmark to indicate fluid levels and other areas of the car they reviewed...and when they handed it to me, they said everything was fine and checked out OK. Yet, when I got home and was putting the form in the glove compartment I noticed they checked the battery as needing replaced. So of course now I wonder, did they check the wrong box, or tell me all was OK because they were too busy and just wanted to get rid of me.
I will take it somewhere else to obtain that answer.

appointment available Saturday until 4pm - great because I work during the week. prompt, very helpful and friendly,

I've been using Southern States Mazda for about 3.5 Years now, for all service on my previous mazda 3 and now my MazdaSpeed 3. I recently took the car in for a warranty repair, and it was kept for 2 days for the repair and another item I was letting them fix.
While the car was under their care, it was damaged. The front fender took a significant hit from something which caused a large dent, and some of the paint was removed. Even though the car was directly under their control, and in their care, they are refusing to take care of the damage. I filed a complaint with Mazda USA, and the Mazda rep. agreed that "any damage to the vehicle, while under the care of the dealership, the dealership is responsible." I received an update today that the dealership will not take any responsibility for the damage.
This is completely unacceptable. They obviously care so little about taking care of their customers, they are willing to lose all of my future business over a minor repair. I would advise anyone who is considering or currently using Southern States for your service, to go somewhere where they will actually take care of your vehicle, and appreciate your business.

Very well