Southern States Pre-Owned

I normally do not write reviews but felt that the experience I had with Brian at Southern States pre-owned was worth taking the time. I had been looking for a manual transmission Subaru ( Forester or Outback) for some time. They are hard to find!! I discovered one at Southern States. I live in SC but used to live in Raleigh. I called the dealer to inquire about the car and got Brian on the phone. He told me a little about the car - sent me many photos of the car and was extremely patient and helpful in answering all my questions. It looked like a clean car. He said that his sales guys were itching to sell the car so I gave him a deposit to hold it until I could get to Raleigh. I went up a week later and met with Brian. We check out the car and it was super clean - no smoke smells or pet smells and the owner had apparently took excellent car of the car. The Carfax had all the history. He had some things replaced in the engine, the dealer had put new tires on it and all seemed well! We test drove it a little and we did notice a little torgue binding. Brian took it to the service dept and they changed the oil in the differential to see if that fixed the issue. We drove it again and it seemed fine. So I made arrangements and bought the vehicle. Now here is the interesting part. On my way back from Raleigh to SC, I stopped and as I drove into a parking lot and when I turned, the car kind of jumped and made noise. It kept doing that when I made sharp turns. So I called Brian back and told him what the issue was. Apparently this only happens when the car is really warmed up so that is why we did not notice it before because we did not drive it enough. I am suspecting that the previous owner new about the issue but did not tell them as they did not drive the car enough to get it heated up! Brian got with his sales people and they came to the conclusion that it was the differential in the car and it should be replaced. I got back to SC and took it to my mechanic here and he thought it was the same thing - but....my mechanic said that this was the cleanest used Subaru he had ever seen!!! So Brian called me back and asked if I could bring the car back to the dealer and they would either take it back or fix it. I drove back the next week, they took the car in to fix it, gave me a loaner car etc. They were all super nice and helpful! And......they did not charge me a cent to get the differential replaced! Now... the car runs great and no issues!!! So with all this said, I do have to give my thanks to Brian and the Service Department there at Southern States - They never tried to talk me into something else or try to add on a lot of extras etc. Despite the mechanical issue, It was a pleasure to work with Brian and the Service Dept. So I do have to give these guys a 5 star as they went out of their way to make the car right.

Prepare for a dealer that won't budge at all on price, who also tacks on as many extra charges as possible. Their sales tactic seems to be to ignore whatever you say you can do and tell you what they think you should do in order to buy the car at the price they want to give you. Apparently a fair all cash offer isn't an incentive, as it was completely disregarded with them instead suggesting we finance instead because they wouldn't come down a cent. It may be a "hot" used car market right now, but there are still plenty of other vehicles available for what we were looking for - we'll be taking our business to a dealer that is willing to deal.

WARNING! DO NOT BUY HERE! Bought my Jeep here before Thanksgiving. After months of looking, I thought I found the perfect car. 3 days after pulling off the lot I found leaks in the windshield and door jams! I even had a puddle that filled the whole front passenger side floor. I brought it to Management and they said they fix it, I was called to come pick it up. Guess what no work was done when they said it had. I was livid! They took ownership and said they give me a loaner car and they fix it. Well 3 tries over a months time and the car still leaks. That’s not it though. 2 weeks after my purchase the car started shaking and making noises, management told me to hold on and it would be fixed when the warranty kicked in. I waited nearly two months and finally they looked into it. They said it was the drive shaft and said it was “fixed for the most part” and it would still make a small shake. So they said bring it to a Jeep dealership. So that’s what I did to find out that they only replaced the front drive shaft and the back drive shaft now needed replacing as well. Jeep told me it would take a week to get the part and a week to fix. At this point my car warranty wouldn’t cover a rental (my cars been in the shop more then I’ve driven it at this point). I reached out to southern states Pre owned to make it right and see if they would give me a loner car for the inconvenience and all that I’ve been through. They denied it and said good luck. Here I am 3 months in from purchasing my Jeep and barely driven it. I was sold a lemon. I would never recommend this place.

I went to several dealerships near and far - Stephen Jenkins at Southern States PreOwned was the most honest, accommodating, sincere salesman I dealt with. There was zero pressure and I was treated more than fairly. Best experience I've had. Don't hesitate.

Stephen was extremely helpful and got me through the purchasing process quickly and with very little stress. I showed up late on a Friday evening and they really helped to make my weekend. Thanks Southern States!

Bought a 2013 Outback for my wife. They worked with me on the trade and gave me a great deal. They even made sure the two dings on the car were repaired to my satisfaction. Very happy.

I searched few web and a 100 mile radius looking for the specific vehicle that I needed. Southern States had it and their $500 off coupon on their web page made their vehicle the best buy. Then they would not honor the coupon.