2013 and earlier-Subaru Outback Prices Paid and Buying Experience

brb729

Just got back from Norwich VT with our 2007 Outback 2.5i 5 speed regular not basic no other options but floor mats and hood protector which I didn't ask for but were on the car for no extra $. $21,181 delivered +Tax,title and reg. I did an email blitz to all dealers within 100 miles using fitzmalls price as a base. Didn't do too much back and forth once I got a good price as it was snowing here in VT and didn't want to drive too far today.

Feel pretty good about the deal, however I hadn't done any research on the extended certification warranty and ended up paying $900 for the 5yr 60,000 gold. It kind of caught me off guard and the only reason I did it was because I have 90 days to cancel with no fees. Anyone have any advice on whether this is worth keeping?

Thanks

Sam

kremerb

Hi,

Just thought I'd share...

Just bought our Outback Sport SE. Had a GREAT buying experience from Heuberger. Did everything on-line -- 5 dealerships competing. Had Mike Shaw out of Denver tried to pursuade me to buy from them instead of Heuberger by telling me "Heuberger just gives their cars away." Weird sales technique that obviously didn't work for them. This is what I got:

Brand-new off the transport '07 (white plastic still on the body, plastic still on the seats, etc.)
Urban Gray / Silver
240watt 6-disc/MP3/Sirius/Aux port stereo system
Cargo mat
Cross bars
(think all the above is standard with the OB SE)
All weather mats
Arm rest extension
5-spd manual

No dealer B.S., very helpful sales staff, up-front & honest with everything... car value aside, best buying experience I've ever had.

Price: $17,980 plus tax/title -- no other fees/costs.

Highly recommend the dealership.

Good luck & Happy New Year... :shades:

fnewby

Just found this forum - a wealth of info here - thanks for sharing!!
Looking at an Outback or a RAV4. Saw a 2.5I (not the basic) at Concordville Subaru/Nissan - list price = #25604 ( a couple minor options). They'll sell it for $22244(includes $750 rebate) + Tax&Tags AND will also provide a FREE lifetime, unlimited mileage powertrain warrantee as long as major service is done at the dealer. Comments please on this deal - is it good or should I push for a larger discount?? Of course - need to make the decision by 2-Jan when everything expires.
Have a happy and safe new year celabration!!
Regards,
FTN

jag1769

Your deal looks good to me. In fact you beat mine by about $500.00 though mine did not include the rebate as I financed. If I had paid cash or had private financing my price was going to be $21,920 before tax and title, etc. With financing, the Price of 2.5i Wagon with 4 Speed Auto transmission with sportshift and autodimming rearview mirror with compass: $22,812.00 (total before tax, title and Lic.). Based on my experience, you might be able to work them down a bit more but we are not talking much. Good luck. My purchase was in Massachusetts.

hk3888

Reposting without phone number to comply with community rules.

brb729 wrote:

"Feel pretty good about the deal, however I hadn't done any research on the extended certification warranty and ended up paying $900 for the 5yr 60,000 gold. It kind of caught me off guard and the only reason I did it was because I have 90 days to cancel with no fees. Anyone have any advice on whether this is worth keeping?"

$900 is MSRP for that extended warranty. Dealer cost is reported to be 50% of MSRP. You should be able to get a better price on that. You don't have to buy it from the same dealership where you bought the car and you don't have buy right away either. You can buy it when you are close to 3-year, 36k miles. But if you want to lock in the price now, call Curry Subaru in Mass. for a better quote.

zfk

18,995 for the 2007 base model outback currently advertised in Maine.

Makes me realize 20,300 was no deal! (what I paid).

Seriously, sales of the base must be tracking lower than expected or something, this seems like a great deal (until they offer them at 17995)

rsholland

Is yours a 2007 model?

Bob

xwesx

Well, considering that I was forced to do this search/negotiation under, perhaps, the worst possible conditions (aside from the fact that it is -30F today!), I think I did okay. The market up here is limited, with only two dealerships in the state. The Fairbanks dealership, after confirming that they would not seek a manual Basic from Anchorage and that there was not one en-route to Fairbanks, gave us a price of $23611 (OTD) for a manual 2.5i... which is a whopping $600 off MSRP. I contacted Anchorage regarding a manual Basic and managed to get them to 22125 (pre-incentive, title, fees) with crossbars, floormats, and mudguards (color coded) but with none installed... so, $378 over invoice (TMV for zip 99501 is listed on Edmunds as $22,533). OTD price was $21706. I made a calculation error when I was figuring the accessories, as I "wanted" to hit ~$250 over invoice. Basically, they flat refused to drop the sale price below $21706 so I decided to add the accessories I would be putting on it anyway in order to come closer to the price I sought. So, with the cost of flying to Anchorage and driving it back, the total cost to get it home is ~$22,000.

If it had been a situation where I could have piggy-backed the trip down and had time to drive it back up I would have looked more seriously at the L48. "Feeler" prices I was getting from Washington were not enough less than the price I negotiated to justify the flight, lost income, drive up, and the time it would take to do it all.

There will be other opportunities. But, I have not actually paid for nor picked up the car, so if someone has a compelling reason to talk me out of it - speak up!

fnewby

jag1769,

Your deal was good. We did end up buying the Outback wagon - list price was $25,604 - paid $22,000 with lifetime powertrain waranttee included - $3604 off list!! But the best part was that we also got the most for our 2 trades than we were offered from any other dealer (Honda, Toyota & Subaru). In fact - we checked with another Subaru - they offered about $2000 off sticker and $3000 less for our trades! Very happy so far with our first Subaru.
ftn

canuck785

hello!

I previously own a justy back in the day(1989) and i loved that little car!
this w/e I had the chance to drive an outback limited sedan. they guy is asking 6000$ and it has 135,000 miles (or so) on it.
would it be a good deal?
from what i read online, it would be quite below appraisal and the car is IMMACULATE inside and out! it has the leather interior and really, this car looks and feels new all over.
it only had one owner and all the maintenance was done religiously.
i am just concerned about the mileage after seeing a few ppl with head gasket blowing at 100,000 or less. I can't really afford major problems and i am debating getting this car or go with a new car (looking at entry level hatch) with full warranty.
I would appreciate any input !!
thank you

xwesx

I'd be seriously tempted, but if it has not had the gaskets replaced and you are not willing to deal with such a problem when it arises, you should probably shy away. Of course, it is not guaranteed that such a problem will occur, but the chance are that it will.

The price, from what I have seen lately, is spot-on considering the year, etc.

canuck785

thanks for your reply!

i would have to check if the gasket were replaced. All the paperwork has been kept so it should be easy to find out.

anything else I should know or consider about this car?

from what i read online today, it has been pretty realiable and even CR recommends it.

ateixeira

$18,995 plus what? Freight, processing fee, and advertising fee?

They low-ball you with an ad like that, then you get in there and the price is really over $20k.

You didn't necessarily get a bad deal, not if that price isn't the bottom line.

-juice

edf2007

Hello jag1769,

I live in Belmont, MA and am looking for a 2.5i Wagon myself. Where did you get your great deal?

Thanks!

Elisa

jag1769

Elisa:

I purchased my Outback 2.5i wagon at Patrick Subaru in Shrewsbury. I sent a fax out to 6 dealers on the 28th of December requesting that they fax me back their best price. Long Subaru in Webster and Patrick were close in price. Patrick Subaru is less than a mile from my house so I preferred to do business there. I think the approach and the time of year (end of year with dealers trying to make year end sales goals) conspired to work to my advantage.

Good luck with your quest for a good deal.

JAG

george2000

In reply to 1158 regarding the Patrick Subaru in Shrewsbury.
Be wary of service at this location. My wife who owns a 2001 legacy usually goes to a subaru dealership in Natick that has been fine. Once she took it to the dealeship in Shrewsbury. They had found something wrong and replaced the part under extended warranty(don't recall what it was). A year later the dealeship in Natick found that the cover for the part that was replaced was missing. They said that when it was replaced, someone forgot to put the cover and it's very unlikely that it just fell off. The Patrick dealership claimed that they put a new cover. We ended up paying several hunded $ to install it. Needless to say that was the last time that we took our car for service there. But hey, they are open for Saturdays. Sorry for the rambling...

george2000

I am in the process of purchasing a new Subaru Legacy. What is your experience with the extended warranties? Where did you buy them?
Based on my own experience with one Legacy that we've had, it didn't seem that it was worth. Of course, I don't know how much the warranty repairs cost.

snowbelter

It all depends on how lucky you are, how long you intend to keep the car, and whether you like to gamble.

We're on our fourth Subaru, each with a Subaru Extended warranty. Two of our cars are still within the 3/36 warranty.

The Extended warranty on my wife's 2000 OB covered a bad auto-dimming mirror (the part w/o labor is $265), and a tie-rod end link was covered for the person who bought the car from us. The cost of repairs was less than half the cost of the warranty.

The Extended warranty on my 02 OB paid for an auto-dimming mirror and a clockspring estimated to cost between $500-$700, and part of the pourchase price of the warranty was refunded when I traded my car in before the warranty expired.

Just make sure you don't pay full retail for an extended warrany.

ateixeira

Yep, you can usually get about 40% off the list price of a warranty.

Also, if you pay for AAA now, remember you get free roadside assistance for the duration of the warranty. So a 7/100 warranty saved me 7 years of AAA fees, or $497 in my case.

That made it worthwhile to me.

Caveat - make sure you pick a car you really like, and will keep.

-juice

paisan

I like the manufacturer Bumper to Bumper extended warranty, why you may ask since I'm fairly mechanically inclined and have a big shop to work on it?

Electronics! Every car today has some very high priced electronics in it, and even though failure is unlikely, if it does, it can be quite costly to repair. 1 single incident could cost more than the warranty cost.

-mike

pf2001

I was able to get the Gold Plus 7yrs/100,000 $50 deductible for $1275. Do you think this is reasonable?
Thanks need some support

paisan

Yeah not bad, that's about what I paid for the 7/100k 50 deductible on my Armada. I'll probably get the same thing on my GTO or SpecB when I pick em up.

-mike

chaki

pf2001, May I ask where you got a $1275 deal on a Gold Plus? Thanks,
Chaki

pf2001

Chaki,
I brought the warranty from John Kennedy Subaru in Plymouth Meeting, PA.

ateixeira

I often hear prices closer to $1400, so that sounds good to me.

-juice

pf2001

Hi juice,
I want to thank you for your help when I posted the question a while back.

I'm a little disappointed that the 7yrs is actually 4 more years . I guess I miss understood

xwesx

Yes, 7 yr from date of original sale.

For me, I look at the mileage side (100,000 total) as that is more like 5 years for me.

denver5357

I've been working deals on a couple of vehicles for a month. Currently have an offer for $22,693.26 for AT of Outback basic wagon including all taxes and fees (before taxes and fees = $21,137, and then subtract the $750 rebate). Also have an offer about $400 less than that, at a dealer 90 minutes away.

Question: Are these good deals based on what the board is seeing? Also, I've seen a little about the 2008. Anyone have any suggestions on whether I should wait for the 2008 or better prices when the 2008 comes out - do Subi dealers discount then? Thanks.

pf2001

Good point xwesx

dbiker

Almost all warranties are written with the phrase "...whichever comes first", so that a seven year/100000 mile plan will only last 5 years if you drive 20000 miles/year.

One of the really good benefits of the Gold plan (and the like) is that you do not have to pay for the repair and then seek re-imbursement from a third party insurer. I have had difficulty (in the past, with third-party insurers) trying to find the insurer and getting full payment proved to be impossible. With the Subaru warranty, all you pay for the covered repair is the deductable.

As good as I believe that the Subaru is, I am virtually certain that some of the electronics will fail within seven years of my original purchase. These days most electronic elements cannot be fixed, and the replecement costs are rather steep. I am so sure something will break that I went with the $0 deductable.

Extended warranties are one of those things that have a good outcome either way ... either nothing goes wrong (which is good) or something does go wrong and you are (fortunately) covered. If you sell the car prematurely, you can transfer the warranty (or, apparently, be reimbursed on a proration basis).

DB

xwesx

Extended warranties are one of those things that have a good outcome either way ... either nothing goes wrong (which is good) or something does go wrong and you are (fortunately) covered. If you sell the car prematurely, you can transfer the warranty (or, apparently, be reimbursed on a proration basis).

Indeed... They are really a win-win in the "peace of mind" department. Especially in terms of resale, it can add quite a bit to the value as the buyer does not have to inherit and pay for any little gremlin that might (and probably will) arise. I see quite a few Subarus being sold near 100K miles (so, low to mid 90s) probably for this exact reason. It is the ones at 105/110K that I worry about. I have to wonder if the owners did not have an extended warranty, or if they have the "dreaded" head gasket failure and are just outside of the extended warranty period. Or, maybe it is just coincidence and I should not read so much into it!

cptplt

I needed the a/c almost completely replaced on my 98 Legacy which had the Subaru Gold warranty. Also had several hundred dollars work on 2 electric radio antennas going out and one oil leak and a few sundry items. that was well worth it, on the other hand I had a 92 which needed a few new sensors etc but it all happened after the ext warranty ended!!

shess2

Have a question maybe you can answer. Im looking at buying a Pontiac GTP 98. but the it has a salvage title on it. My mechanic, who is my uncle, said it is a VERY good car for the price. Would a bank be willing to give me a loan for the car if it is priced competivly and in good condition?

paisan

I'd keep away from any salvage title car, unless you plan to race it or use it as a non-daily driver. You are just asking for problems down the road on salavge vehicles.

-mike

swebb1

The car is a new '07 outback 2.5i manual with a few accessories (rubber floor mats, armrest extension, plus something else I don't care about). This price includes the rebate, destination charge etc, but does not include doc fee of $125.

$22k+TTL -- Good deal, or no?

Also, does anyone know if the standard audio system speakers are different than the speakers in the enhanced audio system (w/ 6 disc changer, etc)? And is the powered subwoofer a worthwile addition?

Thanks.

-Steve

swebb1

It also has the auto-dimming mirror/compass (didn't realize that was an option).

-Steve

zfk

That was the price before tax, title, doc fee, but does include shipping charge. The ran this special for a week last month apparently with good results as their outback base inventory went from 15+ to about 5 in a few days.

Now they are back to the 19995 add online but I did see a flyer in yesterdays paper with the 18995 add. You can see online adds at Mainetoday website, click on wheels, then dealer adds......20k seems like a good deal, 19k seems like a great deal where subaru may actually be losing money at the expense of moving units.

I suspect outback sales are not as strong as hoped, the Indiana plant likely continues to lose major $ though that might change when they start subbing camry assembly there for Toyota (supposedly this year).

ateixeira

Actually now that they gave one of the two major assembly lines to Toyota, supply is kinda tight on certain models.

I met with my dealer buddy yesterday, and he told me they can't keep enough Tribecas in stock. They had just 6. And only one single spec.B model, and it wasn't even limited production!

They made plenty of base Imprezas and base Outbacks, so maybe it's the product mix that is just off.

-juice

mceline

ateixeira

You'd have to ask a lender, but my guess is no.

The 3.8l engine is a good one, but resale on those cars is poor so I'd try to find one without a salvage title, since they are abundant. The Buick Regal and Chevy Impala also came with the venerable 3.8.

-juice

zy1

fitzmall.com, 07 outback 2.5i MT, $21,452
This dealer in denver sell for $20,998.
http://shopping.postnewsmarketplace.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=389813&adid=4141020&c- - at=4642
The price depends on the hidden manufacture rebates. If the dealer in your region has $1,500 hidden manufacture rebates, your target price should be $20,500~$20,800.

vinnie07

Greetings. We're thinking of the Subaru Gold Plus plan for our recently purchased '07 Outback. From reading lots of posts it seems this plan will give us the peace of mind we'd like for this car. This will be the first car we've ever purchased an extended for--these contraptions are just getting too damned complicated! Anyway I was wondering about proof of oil changes. I've always changed my own oil and filter, do my own tune-ups and such. (I don't trust anyone else to change the oil because I know I do a better job and I won't drive the car off the lift with zero oil or drain the front differential by mistake etc...) So if somehow the engine on this car develops a problem down the road, and the dealer doesn't see all my oil changes in his records because I did them myself every 4K miles, do I risk not having the engine problem covered under the extended warranty? Is there some standard of record keeping I can conform to such as keeping receipts for every quart of oil and oil filter purchased?

Thanks,
Vinnie

xwesx

Keep receipts for fluids and filters, and also record the maintenance you perform on my.subaru.com or keep a log of all the maintenance, mileage, dates, etc. Beyond that, there is not much you can do! Maybe write yourself invoices?! :P

ateixeira

Beat me to it.

I have a 3 ring binder and print out all my entries for my.subaru.com, and so I have nice, neat records for the buyer when I eventually sell it.

-juice

xwesx

Good point. While we are on the topic, though, do the previous my.subaru.com records transfer over to another owner if the VIN is later re-registered under different ownership? It seems like they should, but maybe they do not have it set up for that.

I had my '96 registered there since about 130K miles (Maybe early 2003?), so it had nearly 100K worth of entries. Not that it matters for that car, considering it is a mangled hulk now, but one would hope that is not the fate of all my cars - at least not while I own them!

ateixeira

Not sure, because I've never sold one, but my guess is no, for privacy purposes.

Did you know that even dealers cannot look up that info?

-juice

xwesx

No, but dealers can add that maintenance info. Mine does, at least. Any time I had work done there (which was rare), the repair info would show up on my.subaru about 4-6 weeks later.

swebb1

A friend is closing the deal tomorrow. The car comes with a few accessories, but nothing major (rubber floor mats and cargo nets?). Price includes doc fee, destination charge, and $750 customer cash, but does not include tax, title and license.

Does anyone know if the customer cash incentive is going to be dropped at the end of the month? Increased? Decreased?

Any way to find out if there are local factory -> dealer incentives in place? Zip code is: 41042

-Steve

saxatilis

i have a deal that i am about to go through with that i would really appreciate your input...

3.0 6cyl ll bean 2007 outback (msrp ~$31,500, edmunds invoice $29,500) is offered to me for $27,870. tax, title and license are not included.

good deal or not?

and also, how negotiable are finance charges? i have really good credit...

any input would be most appreciated!!!!!!!!

ateixeira

Same here, so I have the original receipt plus the log on my.subaru.com. Pretty complete records - should help with my sale.

-juice