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So I started my search by going to my local subaru dealer in Kingston, New York. My family and I bought several cars from them over the past couple of years. So I expected to be treated right. That's not to say that I don't believe that people are entitled to make a profit: albeit a fair profit. Initially, the price issue was not even a concern, no one in the Hudson Valley had any cars in stock and no one expected any in for quite some time. After spending several weekends driving around and looking I was finally convinced they were right the only thing I could was order the car and wait.
So we went back to my local dealer one Saturday in earlier January and was pleased to be advised that they expected an Outback Limited in Graphite Gray to be coming in off their January allotment in the beginning of February. Previously, we had agreed upon a 2% markup from invoice. He knew, because quite frankly I told him, and I still feel this way, that I wouldn't have a problem paying a couple of hundred extra dollar to purchase the car from him than travel. I was, of course, a loyal customer.
(Turns out the loyalty only ran one way. As I see it, the demand for these cars was so high and availablity so low, that all dealers, including my friendly saleperson in Kingston, New York, had absolutely no problem with demanding a higher than usual profit margin. This experience was absolutely common place in the Hudson Valley.)
Anyway,back to this story: The problem with agreeing to 2% over invoice, isn't the 2%, it agreeing upon the invoice price. Not one dealer in the Hudson Valley agreed with the invoice prices listed on yahoo, edmunds, or truecar. They all pulledwhite invoice sheets to show they were paying substantially more than the invoice price listed on those websites. The difference in invoice was more than a couple of hundred bucks. The invoice price diffence from the dealer in Kingston was about fifteen hundred dollars. A considerable difference.
Now listen to this, the salesperson tells me I can have the car coming from the January allotment, due in earlier February, for $30,724: (Limited w/autodimming mirror, all weather mats, splash guards, remote engine start,rear bumper cover, and trailer hitch), or I could same the car for $30,124 if he ordered it. Bottom line he is wanted a $600 premium, ontop of an already inflated price, for the car that was on his allotment but wasn't even have on his lot. Well I left and no member of my family will never go back to that dealership to buy a car. No way!
Well say good bye to Kingston and say hello to Van Bortel.
Van Bortel is a true no haggle dealership. They post their price on their web page. That's the price: no tricks, no gimmicks, no hassle. The buying experience was simple. I called up told them what I was looking for. They asked if I wanted to order the car. I said go ahead. The confirmed their price was the same as the price advertised on their website. They said approximately 4 weeks for delivery. I told them to go ahead and order it. I e-mailed them once or twice during the period with some questions. They called back the next day without fail. Always polite. Always courteous. Always professional. Three weeks into the process they called and said they expect the car the next week. The next week they called and said its in. They did all the usual paperwork with DMV and my insurance agent. I then drove four hours to pickup the car. Not one problem. Not even a hiccup. The price was the price. Dan Fisher and Jeremy at Van Bortel were great. Dan then spent probably close to an hour go over the features with my Wife. This was the simplest and best car buying experience ever. It was worth the trip.
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Maine
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington
PZEV is optional elsewhere, so there is a good chance you can also find those vehicles in states other than the ones I just listed.
One thing you might verify with Subaru is whether the extended warranty for emissions components (15 years / 150,000 miles) is extended to vehicles purchased by CA residents if the car is purchased outside the state of residence. I would think 'yes,' since those individuals do not have the option of purchasing non-PZEV vehicles, but one never knows....
In case that last statement confused you, I purchased a PZEV vehicle in Washington (required there) but am not eligible for the extended warranty on those emissions components because I live in Alaska and my purchasing of a PZEV vehicle was by my choice. Therefore, if those components fail I am stuck holding the bill.
I looked in my area (Binghamton, NY) and because I have some family in Bergen county, NJ, I got some quotes there too.
Wonderful response time and the real players were as follows:
Bill Kolb Jr. Subaru (NJ) - Very straightforward. Will sell @ invoice.
Ramsey Subaru (NJ) - Asked for a competitive bid on a limited and he said straight out '500 under invoice'. The only small gotcha is that they had a $299 doc fee which wiped out some of the gain.
Matthews Subaru (Binghamton area) - This is my local dealer. The internet rep was friendly and willing to work with me based on my NJ quotes. The sales rep who represented my walk in experience for the test drive was wonderful too.
Bottom line.... The dealers had the following prices to order this car (which includes moonroof, Homelink compass auto-dim mirror, bumper cover and media hub)
Matthews = 29117 +147.5 in fees.
Ramsey = 28571 + 359 in fees.
Matthews said they couldn't go more than 200 below invoice but gave me a more than a fair price on my trade in... about 500 over TMV@edmunds (3k for 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee 103,300 miles) which made them competitive. Assuming Ramsey could at least match the trade in offer (which of course they can't do sight unseen), the difference between the dealers was $365. At that price, a 'looks see' trip to NJ seemed less appealing. I suggested that if they can cut another three hundred I'll skip the NJ trip and buy local..... they came back with 200 added to my trade in value which was good enough for me.
So, bottom line.... 29,117 - 3,200 (trade) + 2,073.36 (8% NYS tax) + (147.5 fees) I am at $28,137.86 OTD.
Matthews Subaru was wonderful to deal with on this and since I proceeded with my internet quotes and was willing to commit to a trip if the price was worth it, I found everything smooth and easy. I highly recommend them.
Ramsey, if I lived closer, would have been good too and I may have been able to get an even better deal there, depending on where they came in on the trade.
I put down my deposit tonight and I'll update with better details as they unfold while I wait 4-6 weeks.
Thanks,
Claude
When searching the Internet I find lots of sites that wish to submit my name for a dealer's bid or maybe just an email or phone response. Then there are sites like CarsDirect that will get a "good" price for a fee, and sites of many other variations for buying a car
I will appreciate any advice on buying an Outback in the extended Mid-West region where a fair price is assured along with decent buyer treatment.
Note: the All-Weather Package and the Harman-Karman Stereo upgrades are standard on the Limited Outbacks but optional on the Premium models.
I live in Columbus, and started with an online quote from Wagner in Dayton. Then slowly worked them against each other. I ended up getting the price that I wanted ($28K), and from a local dealership (Byers Mazda Subaru in Dublin). My sticker is $30,157, and the aftermarket accessories were rear cargo net, bumper cover, all weather floor mats...I found the salesguy I worked with to be extremely knowledgeable and thorough. I also dealt with Hatfield Subaru in Columbus, and would recommend them as well. At least up to the point that we had agreed on a deal. It was just that Byers Mazda Subaru had the right color (sky blue for me w/ black leather).
My recommendation is to work through the internet sales managers. My buddy did this for me and taught me how to play the game. You email one, asking if they'd be willing to sell it at a slight diiscount...maybe $2K off...then when they say "yes", you start sending that around to other dealers...."Joe at Ganley is willing to sell me a 2.5i Limited /moonroof, stock#111111 for $28,400. Can you beat that?"
In reality, I probably could have gotten another $400 or $500 off, but I was happy with my deal. I had both dealers agreeing to give me what I wanted on price. But I liked the Byers Mazda Subaru guy better. I did not like the Byers at the airport at all. I found them condescending and rude.
I think that if your area dealers think they might lose their deal to Columbus area dealers, they might be more willing to deal.
Good luck.
I didn't buy there, because they didn't have the model I wanted in stock... My experience at Beechmont was okay.. got a good price, but it took a little extra work..
AWP includes heated mirrors... I don't have those... and, wish I did.. Mine were iced over after work, yesterday.
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The main benefit here is you can relax and pick the car you love, without being adversarial with the dealership staff. :shades:
Put in your zip code, what you are looking for, and competitive internet quotes (invoice or below) should start coming in. You can use the offers you get to get others to come down. You should be able to make your deal before you even meet the sales rep.
-Claude
Also Capitol Subaru from San Jose were willing to sell similar car on the same price.
As I understood there is shortage of base CVT models in Bay Area, but some dealers are willing to accept invoice offers on car in transit.
Thanks.
bottom line we bought a 2.5i Premium Harmon Kar. radio, trailer hutch, dog divider.. for $25k before tax. / lic.
I would like to say thank you to my sale rep. for putting up with me the last 4 weeks. I would never buy or service from Austin Subura..
Also I bought 7yr 100k Zero deductuable coverage for $1461.00 , which I think is worth it for trouble free 100k
Thanks again George Town Subaru..
Vu
MSRP $27,170
Invoice $25,188
OTD price $25,557 (includes SC sales tax $300, registration $30, doc fee $489)
I'm essentially paying $39 above invoice before tax and registration
The inventories around where I live are non-existent. Anywhere from 3 to 9 outbacks on the lots. Only one dealer in my area. I'm driving 3 hrs to get the one I want at this price.
Is the deal any good?
My wife and I have been looking at the legacy and outback
we like the outback 3.6 R premium... its going to be my wife's car.
we drove it, CVT is too boring and had absolutely no torque!!
we test drove the legacy h-6 and it sure can MOVE!! OH YEAH!!
so I'm sure the outback h-6 is going to be nice too... but the dealer didn't have it in stock
the car comes out at $29690... how much do you guys think I can get it off for?
I looked at the 2.5i premium, add the cvt and the all weather package... it was like $27K!! Unreal!!
F the MPG!!! Lets put more in more ponies and fly like the wind!!
Doc fee $489.00 (that is crazy) .. you need to check with your local state DMV to see the acutal cost would be.. for mine in Texas, was $125.00. (from other posting. , they say the doc fee is pure profit for the dealer).
Offer then that. it is some close .. you can check my prior post, i had posted consumer report base line price.
btw.. i bought my 7yr/100k NO deductable coverage for 1461.00
goodluck.
vu
Fluorescent Light Fee
Glass Fee
Bathroom Fee
Pen and Paper Fee
Oxygen Fee
Any time a dealer says "our document fee is ...." I say "I won't pay that because I know it is b.s." No dealer has ever refuted that fact and I have never paid a document fee.
They could charge me a coffee fee - I do swill it down and it helps my negotiation stamina.
We had an Outback H6 but gave it to my mother inlaw. We are looking at the Legacy H6 Limited. I received a price for 26,958 (excluding taxes and tags). Good price?
Honestly, I expected someone to pop in and say it would be in the $30s.
The 3.6R costs less than the GT, right?
Yes, the GT cost more.
Purchased from Suburban Subaru in CT, why? because the price was better than in NJ. I have to say apart from the wait, (ours was a custom order from any dealer in the northeast), this dealership made the transaction simple and painless, especially the pick up process.
You now have a 7/100K no deductible warranty, the car came with 3/36K, so when the dealer mentions 5 years or 7 years for his price its really for the extra 2 or 4 years - is that right? Or does it cover something the OEM warranty doesn't?
I just want to be sure I calculate the different options and offers correctly.
Did you check out any of the dealer offers available via eBay?
All other accessories were priced (correctly) at invoice.
The made-to-order will take 12 weeks to deliver.
Any comments from the experts out there?
He agreed to sell at "invoice price". The doc fee is under $300. My goal is invoice minus doc fee.
Thanks.
He must be adding other fees, maybe advertising or processing?
This is why I usually ask for out-the-door prices. I ask them to include even state tax, and fees for tags.
PZEV is mandatory in MA
So should I add $300+ to the invoice price to be fair?
I have no idea what the extra costs are, but as an example... a Toyota in the Southeast can cost the dealer upwards of $1000 more than in other parts of the country..
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