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How do you buy a new Subaru?

B

ballmode

Lifer
Well the obvious question is go to a dealership... and that's what I did.

I went there today to see if they had any new info on the 2015 WRX/STI which they did not have. Leaks have been made all over the internet on what trims will be available etc, so I played dumb when I went there and didn't claim to know anything more than the salesman told me.

What the salesman did tell me that had me thinking...

This dealership requires a $1000 dollar deposit when ordering a new car. The salesman claimed they only get so many for that dealership so it's either pick with what they are planning on ordering, or put down $1000 to buy based on your customizations.

Now when it comes to negotiation, if a dealer already has you locked into putting down money to buy a car based on your options checked, can/do you have any wiggle room for talking down the price? My guess is not much or not at all.

Second, if the dealership claims they only get so many per year, my strategy of waiting till the end of the year to buy would be slim pickings or I might miss out entirely because they sell out.

I know in years past Subaru couldn't make as many as they could sell leading to shortages and with a new WRX/STi coming out I don't see that changing anytime soon.

So what do you say ATOT? Consider buying this new at all, and if so when/how? Or take my money and get something else like a slightly used 135/335 or new Mustang GT?
 
I've custom ordered several cars over the years. I've never had to put a penny down, and wouldn't even consider it. If they are in such high demand, they can just sell it to someone else if I don't buy it. Right?

And putting money down without even knowing the final price? Ridiculous.
 
My buddy had the same issues buying his WRX. He just went around to different dealers until he found one that didn't require a deposit and didn't care about ordering a car with special options. Their response was they'd be able to sell it no matter what if he decided he didn't want it (Chicago area).

You should negotiate the price before putting money down. Otherwise what's to stop them from jacking up the price of the car once it's built? For my buddy he negotiated it down based on what was on the lot and got the same discount extended to the custom order.
 
Sounds like that dealer just wants money. Granted I've never ordered a car that was in high demand though....

OP, there is more than one dealer around right? Heck, if anything go out of state. I wouldn't give those scum my money.
 
I would negotiate everything up front before deposit, and not pay over MSRP. If the dealer wants more, walk away and wait till supply catches up with demand.

I think Mustang is going to be a better car for the money, IMO.
2015 WRX/STI is going to be based on a $20K Impreza design that will be 3 years into its product cycle. So you are going to have a dated economy class interior fit and finish.
Mustang is going to be designed as a $30K performance mid range car from the start and everything will have a modern, performance oriented feel throughout.
 
WilliamM2 said:
I've custom ordered several cars over the years. I've never had to put a penny down, and wouldn't even consider it. If they are in such high demand, they can just sell it to someone else if I don't buy it. Right?

And putting money down without even knowing the final price? Ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I've custom ordered many cars and have always put a small deposit down as good will. It's going towards the car anyways so not really a big deal to me.

The price of the car is negotiated at order date, not it's arrival. Financing via the dealer is usually lockable for so many days after the original order date (IIRC BMW is 90 days).

They receive an allotment of cars per month based on previous sales. Things like European delivery (usually) do not count against this allotment which is why you will find sales people who eat them up, you can sell an infinite number at razor thin margins.
 
When I ordered our GMC the salesman was surprised I wanted to leave a deposit. We agreed upon pricing in so much as it will be $xxx below invoice minus incentives.

As mentioned unless you want some crazy combo of options someone else will buy the thing.
 
I have never put money down when ordering a Subaru. Demand is outpacing supply right now. It did take two or three months for a 2014 Forester in the color and options I wanted to be available.
 
senseamp said:
I would negotiate everything up front before deposit, and not pay over MSRP. If the dealer wants more, walk away and wait till supply catches up with demand.

I think Mustang is going to be a better car for the money, IMO.
2015 WRX/STI is going to be based on a $20K Impreza design that will be 3 years into its product cycle. So you are going to have a dated economy class interior fit and finish.
Mustang is going to be designed as a $30K performance mid range car from the start and everything will have a modern, performance oriented feel throughout.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. I love the WRX, but it's not really a bargain if you live in an area where you can drive the Mustang. If you need more than 2 doors or AWD (live up north where it's snowy/rainy 3-4 months a year lol) then the WRX starts getting a lot more appealing.
 
All good valid points, I think I could get more discounts at the end of the year with the mustang too... I just gotta be patient and also see what the STI has in store. I'll start talking to other dealers if I get more interested in the Subaru again.
 
ballmode said:
Well the obvious question is go to a dealership... and that's what I did.

I went there today to see if they had any new info on the 2015 WRX/STI which they did not have. Leaks have been made all over the internet on what trims will be available etc, so I played dumb when I went there and didn't claim to know anything more than the salesman told me.

What the salesman did tell me that had me thinking...

This dealership requires a $1000 dollar deposit when ordering a new car. The salesman claimed they only get so many for that dealership so it's either pick with what they are planning on ordering, or put down $1000 to buy based on your customizations.

Deposits are refundable by law unless explicitly stated otherwise. I would check the contract and search for that clause. Always pay by CC, as some dealers try to rip you off, and a CC leaves more wiggle room if your placed in front of a unethical dealer. However for a new car such as the 15 WRX, deposits are usually commonplace, since new models, limited allocations, hence most of the cars need to showpieces that dealers can showcase and sell at MSRP or above sometimes. They don`t want to order a car from their limited allocation and then the customer backs out and they`re now stuck with a car the market may not like 🙂

Now when it comes to negotiation, if a dealer already has you locked into putting down money to buy a car based on your options checked, can/do you have any wiggle room for talking down the price? My guess is not much or not at all.
Depends on the dealer. Usually if your buying a new model car, incentives are nonexistent, since again dealers want to make a HUGE profit on these models (the most they`ll probably make on that besides if they ever have a shortage). however their are dealers who want to play ball, so you have to find one. Check out the subbie forums, and see if any members are getting deals and go for them.


Second, if the dealership claims they only get so many per year, my strategy of waiting till the end of the year to buy would be slim pickings or I might miss out entirely because they sell out.
Sell OUT HAHAH! Look my advice if your not hell bent on being the first on the block, is to wait till MY2. MY1 kinks are always PITA, so wait for them to be fixed and go for MY2. Plus you can start dealing better on the MY1 or My2.

I know in years past Subaru couldn't make as many as they could sell leading to shortages and with a new WRX/STi coming out I don't see that changing anytime soon.
True WRX/STI is the halo car of Subbie, but there are deals to be had, but with reason of course. If your expecting the STI to be on a firesale discount anytime soon, I wouldn`t hold my breath


So what do you say ATOT? Consider buying this new at all, and if so when/how? Or take my money and get something else like a slightly used 135/335 or new Mustang GT?
Click to expand...

If your handy with e-sys for BMW and love troubleshooting and fixing, nothing beats a properly equipped 135/335 (if your going e90 skip the twin turbos). However maintenance and etc kind of hit the wallet hard if your not a DIYer. Mustang GT new holds promise, but again same time of negotiation applies to the GT as well as the STI
 
Just an FYI, I've bought three Subarus from Subaru of Wichita, 2 of them when I lived out of the area. They will ship anywhere in the lower 48 for free and the starting price is invoice + the $200 (IIRC) dealer fees, although I've pretty easily gotten them a bit lower.

When I got my 2014 Forester, they went and found it, traded the other dealer for it, etc after I started talking to them about it. I wanted body molding to be added to it, so they told me they would do it no problem once I told them for sure I wanted the car and they would try to held the car for me until I decided for sure, no pressure. A couple days later I called them and told them I definitely wanted it and got everything in writing. At that point they asked me to put $500 down to hold the car until I came to get it, or had it delivered, but no pressure to come immediately.

What was weird about the $500 deposit, is it was fully refundable, hell they'll give you a 100% refund for up to 3 days on the whole car. So the $500 I think is to just make sure you are serious and aren't going to make them hold a car forever for no reason.

I've looked at Subarus at other dealers, because I would prefer to buy local, but a lot of them are just dicks. Since there are so few dealerships around, they think you have to buy from them. My local dealership here, told me they sold enough Foresters and didn't care if I bought one from the or not. So I said fine, I am going to buy it in Wichita, at which point they told me they would provide horrible service to me (for service work) if I didn't buy from them. A month later, my 2006 needed new HGs and timing belt, so I found a dealership that wanted my service business.
 
Zorba said:
I've looked at Subarus at other dealers, because I would prefer to buy local, but a lot of them are just dicks. Since there are so few dealerships around, they think you have to buy from them. My local dealership here, told me they sold enough Foresters and didn't care if I bought one from the or not. So I said fine, I am going to buy it in Wichita, at which point they told me they would provide horrible service to me (for service work) if I didn't buy from them. A month later, my 2006 needed new HGs and timing belt, so I found a dealership that wanted my service business.
Click to expand...

Have you tried Adventure Subaru in Fayetteville? That's where I picked mine up at, did almost everything over email so when I showed up the only thing I had to mess with was financing and insurance. They were probably about 3k cheaper than the local dealer in Little Rock.
 
Ok I'd like to know what to "expect" when it comes to these dealers that sell at invoice or around that ballpark.

If a 2014 WRX limited retails at 29495 what would I expect to pay?

And if for any who have the experience, are the odds of negotiation better for a fully loaded car or a base model?
 
Experiences for me have been usually dealers tend to play ball when they have a car for longer than say 3 months or a car that is in a configuration not many people will buy. In addition, a base car is just that; basic. Base models have little to no negotiation room (unless their is mfgs trunk money), as theirs not much profit to be made on it. Fully loaded models usually are less wanted by most since of their high monroneys so dealers are more willing to play ball.

When do you intend to purchase the 14. Email all the local dealers see how they play ball. If they throw the "too new model to negotiate only MSRP" bull, walk. Also if you can speak directly with a GM or Fleet manager, they tend to be less about commission more about the # of cars they can move, since their pay is not affected. If you can get others to do a "group" buy of the same car model or same brand purchase then even better.

just tips I have personally used or have seen that works.
 
2014 Forester is in high demand, yet people are getting good discounts now, perhaps not when it came out. Expect better discounts on USA assembled Subarus such as Legacy and Outback. The Indiana plant will be making Impreza in 2015. It is known that discount for Impreza (100% import from Japan) was very low because supply could not meet the demand. Same goes for BRZ - many dealers charged more than MSRP.

So don't expect great discount, you should get something though.
 
ballmode said:
All good valid points, I think I could get more discounts at the end of the year with the mustang too... I just gotta be patient and also see what the STI has in store. I'll start talking to other dealers if I get more interested in the Subaru again.
Click to expand...

I was talking about the redesigned Mustang with IRS that will be out soon 🙂
 
Bought my WRX from Manchester Subaru in NH. Zero shenanigans as you posted about. Found them through Nasioc. You will pay something like $500 under invoice probably, or their wholesale price.

My '10 WRX premium was 1400 dollars cheaper from them than the dealer my family has purchased ~5 Subaru from.
 
most of large volume dealers do ship them for low price. You shall mention in which state you are in. There are few large volume dealers across the USA.
 
Hopefully the dealer is willing to work with you on that shipping business. To be painfully honest dealers have absolutely ZERO reasons (unless they`re trading like for like) to trade for free, ESPECIALLY on a Limited Allocation Car such as the New for 2014-15 STI. Most dealers tend to be PITA and request MSRP or above for such vehicles.

Does that mean you should loose hope on dealer trades, no. I know of a few select dealerships of BMW where, if say you did something called a European Delivery in Deutschland. The dealer who you purchased the vehicle allocation from can arrange another dealer to accept delivery to their showroom (maybe local) and the final delivery dealer does not charge anything. So its possible, but you have to get to figure out.
 
ballmode said:
Ok I'd like to know what to "expect" when it comes to these dealers that sell at invoice or around that ballpark.

If a 2014 WRX limited retails at 29495 what would I expect to pay?

And if for any who have the experience, are the odds of negotiation better for a fully loaded car or a base model?
Click to expand...

the WRX/STi have been selling themselves. It would be tough to get them for more then like $2k under retail. I think thats the best i've heard from friends. With a new body style and etc, i dont think it would be possible for a while.

Subarus in chicago are gold mines and its obvious why. They hold way too much value, which is why i've just stay away from the WRX cars. Its common to see a 2004-5 WRX with 150k asking for $10-11k.
 
ballmode said:
Do these dealerships ship cars direct or do you have to pick it up at another dealership?
Click to expand...

Subaru of Wichita ships directly to you. I don't think local dealers take kindly to an out of state dealer selling in their backyard, so i doubt many would be the middle man.

FYI: They currently have 2014 STis listed on their website for $1550 of sticker, which would just be the starting point of negotiating. I've also find it pottery easy to get accessories thrown in for free.
 
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