Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors is always proud to support and recognize our loyal Sponsors, especially when they continuously strive to provide meaningful community connections that promote our magazine’s mission of Bringing People Together. This month, we are pleased to highlight Rafferty Subaru, where It’s All About You!
Rafferty Subaru has been a family-owned and operated dealership in Newtown Square since 1977. It was founded by Robert Rafferty Sr., with a promise to not only give the customer a great product but to give back to the community. Robert
began the dealership after spending years working in the auto industry. Immediately after returning from the Air Force, he began selling cars, starting with small dealerships and eventually working for a national leasing company. He worked for a Cadillac dealership in Boston for a short period until he decided to start a dealership of his own.
The dealership initially sold many different brands of cars, including Pontiac and GMC. Robert’s sons, Kevin and Bob, grew up in the business and worked there part-time in high school. They shared a similar path, working part-time before college and joining the sales department full-time
after graduating.
When the dealership opened, Newtown Square and Edgmont were considered rural towns with a relatively small population. Over the years, as Rafferty Subaru and the Subaru brand grew, our area underwent renovation and rebuilding. The growth continues today with the new properties at the Ellis Preserve and large-scale housing projects.
Rafferty Subaru’s goal has been relatively straightforward: growth. In 2000, the company underwent a rebranding and sold the Pontiac and GMC product lines to become exclusively a Subaru dealership. Today, Kevin and Bob Jr. work as Rafferty Subaru’s general managers and feel very fortunate to have been a part of the growth that has come with their hard work and the development of the overall brand.
That growth also allowed Rafferty Subaru to complete a massive renovation in 2018. “We doubled the dealership’s square footage and number of bays, created a large luxurious waiting room with a coffee bar and a kids’ room, and provided a three-lane, climate-controlled car porch for customers to review and decide on their service options comfortably,” explained Bob. “We may have added fancy features and sleek design elements, but our passion for service and commitment to customer satisfaction remained the same.”
In addition to their impressive showroom and service center, Kevin explained that they offer their customers many perks they won’t find elsewhere. “We have a fleet of over 115 loaner vehicles available when customers vehicles are in for service,” he said. “We also provide complimentary car washes with every service appointment, free multi-point vehicle inspections and free lifetime PA state safety inspections.”
Whether you visit the dealership to browse, buy or you’re in for a service appointment, you will be greeted and treated like family. It’s clear the moment you walk through the door. “I like working with people,” Kevin said. “One of the aspects of this business I really enjoy is that you get to meet and work with new people every day.”
Rafferty Subaru has always been a generational family business. Until his passing in April 2018, Robert would come to the dealership and talk to all the customers, making sure they were happy and their needs were being met. “My father was always focused on making people happy, whatever it took. He worked in the business for over 60 years, and his love for it was always obvious,” Kevin said proudly.
Bob’s son Bobby is Rafferty Subaru’s Pre-Owned Manager. Bob and Kevin are proud of Bobby’s hard work for the company. Kevin’s daughter Jillian has been the face of Rafferty Subaru on TV and its voice on the radio since she was a child. The community watched Jillian grow up, marry and become a mom to her two sons.
There is a serious love and commitment to family and our community at Rafferty Subaru. “Our team has consistently been committed to supporting local schools and organizations for the past 47 years,” he said. “We are always looking for ways to help promote worthy causes.” Kevin said that they like to keep it local. “65% of our Subaru sales come from the residents of Delaware County, so we knew that is where we needed to focus.”
One such partnership is with Providence Animal Center (PAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Media. The opportunity presented itself in 2017 when folks from PAC approached Rafferty Subaru in the hopes of forging connections that would qualify them for national Subaru grants. Kevin said that while considering the partnership, they discovered that over half of Subaru owners also owned dogs. “It was a perfect match,” he explained.
Kevin and his team regularly host animal adoption events and sponsor and promote the Rafferty Rescue Pet of the Week. That campaign has been running for nearly six years and has a 100% success rate in finding these pets forever homes. “I am very proud that Rafferty Subaru was also able to donate a Subaru Outback (The Rafferty Rescue Vehicle) to this deserving organization,” added Kevin.
Most recently, Rafferty Subaru presented a check for $20,720 to Sow Good Now, A 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to empowering youth in underserved areas through sports. They also host clothing drives, collect holiday toy donations and support our local youth organizations. Kevin said, “Volunteering our time and resources has given us all much more joy than we ever expected.”
To learn more about Rafferty Subaru, visit their showroom at 4077 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square. The showroom is open Mon.–Fri. 9am–8pm and Sat. 9am–5pm. You can also reach them at 484-492-0697 or visiting RaffertySubaru.com.