Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

1231232234236237344

Comments

  • reddog14reddog14 Member Posts: 3
    I'll be buying a new Forester soon, and was just told by a Massachusetts dealer that the cost to dealers of both new Foresters and options is significantly higher in New England than in other areas of the country, AND that this difference is NOT reflected in the invoice prices that Edmunds displays (even though Edmunds prompts for one's ZIP when giving pricing). Does anyone know if this is actually the case, or is the dealer trying to pull a fast one on me?

    Is there any way I can verify the true invoice cost of Foresters and options in Massachusetts? Thanks for any help!

    Larry
  • joseph50joseph50 Member Posts: 235
    Generally very favorable, inside and out. (No great surprise, for this show.)
    Reported 6.2 seconds for 0-60.
    Only negative was a sticky hill holder.
  • tornbetweentornbetween Member Posts: 6
    I was told by a dealer today that Subarus in New England cost more - something about the New England distributer. I was told the invoice price of a 2004 XT AT is about $300 more here than what was on Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book.

    Also - I'm getting pretty close to a decision on the XT over the XS. I'm thinking about the 7/100 extended warranty, but am getting quoted a price by the dealer of $1,499 with a $100 deductible. Any advice on that? I read some earlier (1992)info on the Subaru Gold plan for about $1,000 with no deductible. Did the price go up or am I being over-charged? What about purchasing it later?
  • mfletouvamfletouva Member Posts: 166
    I'm shopping in MA too, and this is turning into a very odd experience. Subaru of New England is the franchise here which operates 60-odd dealers as part of the late Ernie Boch's empire. There is a lawsuit dating back a bunch of years that claimed that Boch forced cars on dealers in his distributorship with extra options, among other things. That may be what the 'cars cost more in MA' thing is coming from.

    Its true that there sometimes is an ad fee that Subaru of New England charges which is around $300. As far as I can tell, that is currently not on the table (if anyone knows differently, please say so!) Having shopped in VA and MA, the MA dealers were virtually the same exact price.

    All that being said, I'm currently getting my chain jerked by a MA dealer who vagulely quoted $19700 on a 2.5x auto and today had his manager veto that and come in at $20800 which is not even ballpark. I have much lower quotes from other dealers so I will give this guy one more chance to get my business, otherwise its off to another dealer. I'm telling you guys though, say what you want about General Motors, but in the 5 GM vehicles I have been involved in buying at various dealers, the dealershp experience was FAR better and more straightforward. The quoted price was the price! I think that the SNE distributorship has a lot to do with this.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    GM? You mean the deep deep discounts they offer, like $9M cash back and then another $3M if your aunt's uncle's cousin works for GM? Of course the GM dealerships can give you great deals, no one I know pays anywhere near Invoice on any GM product!

    -mike
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    I bought my first Subaru at a dealer that was primarily Buick-Chevy, and it was a horrible experience. They had no clue how to relate to me -- it was like they were used to dealing with Ma and Pa Kettle all the time. Thankfully, it didn't deter me from buying a Subaru, and my new Subaru dealer is great.

    Overall, though, I think you will encounter good and bad dealers with any make. For many years, my parents bought Dodge cars and trucks because they had a good relationship with the dealer, yet the cars were not that good at all. Years later, my parents bought a Honda Accord. The sales experience sucked, but it has been the best car they ever bought. I guess if you're lucky, you can find a good car and have a good buying experience.

    When I bought my WRX in January, I did the initial negotiating over e-mail (2-3 days), and then went up to the dealer for a test drive and picked out the car I wanted. I was in and out of there in 3 hours, which is a record for me!

    Craig
  • chassolchassol Member Posts: 95
    Subaru of New England is an independent distributorship from that of Subaru of America. They DO charge more or less $200 - $300 more per car and $10 - $100 each on port installed options.

    So far as warranty - "I'm thinking about the 7/100 extended warranty, but am getting quoted a price by the dealer of $1,499 with a $100 deductible." - If this is for the XT it's well in the ballpark. Matter of fact it may be somewhat low, because if you look at the extended warranty contract there is a space for an additional fee (usually $250.00) for "TURBO". Your "1992" figure is a little old for 2003 (11 years). However if you try to wheel and deal - you may or may not get the dealer to go with the NO DEDUCTIBLE for the same price or a little more. If you plan on keeping the car for several years it could be worth it. One major component and it could easily be the amount of the extended warranty - this is your decision - with a TURBO it might not be a bad idea. Just make certain you have all your maintenance done on time as required and keep receipts. Oh yes, you might be able to purchase it later (must be before the regular warranty is up), but you may not get as good a deal and the price could go up.

    Hope this helps............
  • lbhaleylbhaley Member Posts: 91
    I bought my XT in New Hampshire which I assume is in the same distribution area as Mass. The dealer quoted me the same invoice price that I got from Edmunds. He never mentioned anything about the invoice being higher here. I had the deal done in 45 minutes. I paid $400 over invoice with a rear cargo tray thrown in. I probably could have done better if I wanted to dicker, but it was the most hassle free car buying experience I have ever had. I love the car and am very satisfied with the deal I got.
  • ivestorparkivestorpark Member Posts: 31
    ...tell the dealer that you charge $185 for dealer surprise charges. Documentation charges are an excuse to get extra money out of the buyer and are a rip-off. They should be limited to the actual charges that DMV would charge the buyer should s/he walk into DMV theirself. The dealer's title person goes to the DMV every day for titles for the new and use cars they sell and the used cars taken in trade. When I hear of outrageous doc fees, other dealer add ons, and market adjustments I simply look for other dealers.
  • tornbetweentornbetween Member Posts: 6
    The info I was quoting on extended warranty was from 2002 - not 1992. Boy was I tired when I wrote that. I've kept every car I've owned for 10+ years, and anticipate putting on about 10,000 miles per year.

    Thanks also for the info on the added charges in NE. It looks like I'm getting the 2004 XT AT for the original invoice price plus the $300 New England distributer charge, plus retail cost for two options I chose (the compass mirror and a cargo tray), and the dealers fee for "Documentary preparation" of $186 (which I now know is too high). I'm also thinking of adding an after market moonroof which is power and tilts up for $950, and putting on the plastic coating on the front of the car (Roadblock) for $595. Am I making any serious missteps here before I totally seal the deal? Any other important options to consider (like mudguards). In need to keep my car looking good for work.

    During this process I've been to a number of nearby Subaru dealers. I actually thought they were great - no complaints about any of them except that it was really hard to pin them down on price. I actually went with a dealer who was more upfront about pricing, and could get after market additions like a moon roof for what I thought was a reasonable price.

    My big hurdle was the XS vs. XT decision. I was really on the fence, but made my (final?) decision by rationalizing. I have an easier time spending more on capital items (car, house, etc) than on expenses along the way (gas, insurance). When I drove the XT I loved the smoothness of the ride and the fact that it had more power when I needed it. I also liked the look of the interior of the XT better even than the leather in the premium XS (a silver car with gray leather didn't excite me)

    But I didn't want to spend extra on more and higher grade gas. So I capitalized that extra cost over time (a maximum of $336/year for ten years) and realized that I would have gladly spent and extra $3360 for the XT. I liked it so much better than any other car in the $28,000 price range or even well into the mid $30's range.

    Any last minute cautions, suggestions, opinions???
  • forestergumpforestergump Member Posts: 119
    Fees are a farce. In Illinois, the titling fees charged by the state is around $15-$20, and that's all you should have to pay. Having worked in a bank years ago, I can tell you it takes all of ten minutes to fill out/type up the titling form. And most dealers have dedicated staff that prepare documentation for banks and other lenders. Try this - if the dealer balks at waving the documentation fee, tell them that your lender will do it and that they just have to send all the documentation to the lender. When I was in banking, I actually PREFERRED to have our banking staff fill out the title registration in order to make sure that the name of my institution was filled out correctly on the form. Dealers would often screw it up. Besides, if you are financing your vehicle, all of the documentation (bill of sale, mileage verification, title) has to be sent to the lender anyway because they are the ones that need to file them with the state to record their lien. No lender is going to give the dealer a check for the vehicle if they aren't assured of getting their lien in place. IMHO...
  • mfletouvamfletouva Member Posts: 166
    Well the dealers themselves have been nice except for one, they are just impossible to pin down on price--that's my complaint, its hard dealing with a moving target. I'm not really interested in nice, I just want to have a quote be honored. Having the salesman give a price only to have the 'sales manager' come out and play the little 'admonish the salesman for trying to lose us money trip' is insulting.

    By the way, the recent JD Power and Associations Dealer Satisfaction Rankings show that Subaru dealers are significantly below average, while of the 21 dealers ranked above average, 6 of them are GM.

    My understanding is that there is no reason you should be charged a $300 Subaru of New England fee except for the dealer just padding his profits. During my shopping there hasn't been one, and why would it just be on the XT? Personally, I wouldn't pay it.
  • officeglenofficeglen Member Posts: 15
    My post was deleted for an offending acronym.
    My apologies if anyone was offended.

    Hi and Help
    I have been lurking in here for some time.
    Thanks all for the great information.
    I bought a Forester X, m/t, tweeters, tinted windows, armrest extension. I removed the extension because it interfered with the shifter.
    I took delivery in early June. The cars been great so far (6900 km) except for a rattle (more of a creek) coming from around the radio.
    question.
     I was hoping to get some OEM alloy wheels for summer use and use the steel rims for winter tires. Subaru is making that VERY difficult, here's why 538.48 per rim here at the Ottawa area dealers. One would give me a "deal"of 495.00 each if I bought 4. I called some dealers in the USA 137.00 to 140.00 each down there, same part number 28111SA020. the point I'm trying to make is why should a 137.00us (193.00CAN) part cost 538.00CAN in Canada.
    Also The only way to contact Subaru in Canada is to mail then a letter. There is no e-mail contact on the web site www.subaru.ca. and no phone number. Canada411 lists a number in B.C. but it's an automated system and you need to know the mailbox number.
    thanks.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I think that price is a little high for the warranty. Someone got a 7/70 for just $700, though that was for an Outback.

    Shop it around, isn't there a place on the internet that gives free quotes? Remember, you can buy it up until the 3/36 B2B warranty is up.

    Go with the XT, what is the price of happiness? I think the XT is a vehicle that people will look back at 10 years from now and say "I should have bought one".

    -juice
  • lumbarlumbar Member Posts: 421
    I too would have a very hard time passing on an XT in favor of an XS premium, and am looking forward to facing that decision next year. But I don't think it's a slam dunk, depending obviously on one's priorities. When you factor in price difference, insurance cost, and fuel cost differential over, say, a five year period, you're talking about real money--or at least real money to me. Beside, the XS is a very nice ride in it's own right. I'm prepared to ante up for an XT, but I can certainly understand anyone who thinks that the XS might be better value from a purely practical perspective.

    Dealer fees: As others note in these boards, this issue can be a non-factor if focusing on the out the door cost. In VA, we have dealer "processing fees" galore. Fine. Meet my pre-tax only number, and you can charge me $10,000 for "processing," but then it comes from someplace else.

    New England "surcharge": Call me a cynic, but why do I suspect this exists because Subies are so popular in the NE winter climate? It's just a dealer's way of telling you ya have to pay more here. They'll either negotiate it or they won't. I strongly doubt the actual car costs the dealer more in NE, and would love to hear if it does.
  • ohsubeguyohsubeguy Member Posts: 21
    Thanks to all of you who have responded to my nightmare I am having with my Forester and the dealership. How can I make sure Patti sees my case file after she returns from vacation?

    Thanks everyone,
    ohsubeguy
  • earthwomanearthwoman Member Posts: 47
    LOL... I am already looking back and saying that! Problem is I didn't read this board or know about the XT until my friend's Mother traded in her black MY03XS (she hated the color after 6 months of washing it and it always looking dirty) for a red XT.

    I was open mouth shocked when she said it was a turbo Forester. The salewoman didn't tell me the turbo was on its way in March. Oh well.

    Rebecca
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Remind me on Monday and I'll put you directly in touch with her. She does not follow every single thread here, time constraints don't allow that.

    Rebecca: you can join our Xtreme Torque Envy Club. We generally hallucinate about the advantages of the non-turbo:

    * fewer speeding tickets
    * XT is too fast, it actually distorts your face and causes wrinkles
    * where do you go from there? Step DOWN to a Porsche 911 C4?

    -juice
  • earthwomanearthwoman Member Posts: 47

    you can join our Xtreme Torque Envy Club. We generally hallucinate about the advantages of the non-turbo:

    * fewer speeding tickets
    * XT is too fast, it actually distorts your face and causes wrinkles
    * where do you go from there? Step DOWN to a Porsche 911 C4?



    Hallucinating is the correct word for it!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Other advantages we have:

    * gas prices might hit $5 per gallon like in Japan.

    Maybe. Some day.

    OK, I'm grasping for straws here. ;-)

    -juice
  • tornbetweentornbetween Member Posts: 6
    I do have a "Vehicle Detail Invoice" from Subaru of New England. The dealer cost for the XT Auto Premium is shown as $25,917. From my Blue Book pricing that does look like $300 over ($24,042 for the auto + $1,570 for the premium).

    Lumbar - My insurance seems to be $30 more per year - not a big issue for me. XT vs XS may be less of a tough decision by next year.

    Juice - Good input - think I'll wait on the warranty. Does anyone know website for quotes?

    mfletouva - I spent a lot of time at a lot of dealerships and I really appreciated their being nice. But I'm buying from only one and feeling a little guilty. Went with the one that played the least amount of games with price...

    forestergump - unfortunately my lender is the dealer (2.9%). Is that a mistake?
  • forestergumpforestergump Member Posts: 119
    A mistake? Not at all. You can still bring up the same issues - that the actual costs and time to prepare the necessary documentation are a fraction of their "fee." Plus, the dealer is not the actual lender. They are acting like they are the lender. Either Subaru of America is the lender or an actual financial institution is. Car dealers are never lenders. They act as an agent for whatever lender(s) they use, and in turn get a piece of the action for passing on the borrowing relationship.

    One of the primary rules when buying a car is to separate negotiations for the purchase price from any negotiations for financing. The two deals are separate, despite what a salesperson might try to make you believe. IMHO.
  • kullenbergkullenberg Member Posts: 283
    Taking forestergump's comments a step further, you are far better off to set up your financing independently, prior to going to the "stealership". Tell him you have your own financing, and don't allow him to run a credit check (makes them crazy), unless they can beat what you have. They sometimes can. I got my mom a $100 over invoice deal on a mt OB, and when she told them she wanted to pay cash, they turned pale. She ended up taking about half in a 0% loan for 2 years. In spite of what the sales guy might have you believe, the Golden Rule applies - " he who has the gold makes the rules"!
    Cheers
    Pat
  • chassolchassol Member Posts: 95
    Lumbar,

    I agree with you on dealer fees. I tell my dealer deduct it from the selling price then add it back as the dealer fees. Truly it still depends on the bottom line price.

    So far as the ---- ""New England "surcharge": Call me a cynic, but why do I suspect this exists because Subies are so popular in the NE winter climate? It's just a dealer's way of telling you ya have to pay more here. They'll either negotiate it or they won't. I strongly doubt the actual car costs the dealer more in NE, and would love to hear if it does."" - It is not the dealers - Subaru of New England is an independently owned DISTRIBUTORSHIP and does NOT belong to Subaru of America. When you see the invoice and the window sticker they are $300 higher than those sold by Subaru of America. There are (or were three years ago) three other one in Hawaii - one in Denver area and the other I can't recall (I think Pacific Northwest).

    The key words are "Distributorship" versus "Dealership". The Subaru of New England Distributorship sells to all the Subaru Dealerships in New England. Subaru of New England buys the vehicles from Subaru and resells them to the Dealerships. This is not a bogus charge from the Subaru dealers in New England it's real.

    BTW - If it had not been for Subaru of New England we might not have ever seen the Subaru Outback vehicles (or as soon as we did). The Subaru of New England distributorship had them special made for just them to provide to their dealerships in New England (about 1997 or so). Subaru of New England paid Subaru CASH for them. The owner of Subaru of New England - Ernie Boch (recently deceased and business now run by Boch Jr.) not only owns Subaru of New England DISTRIBUTORSHIP, but also has several other car line DEALERSHIPS in New England. His selling line is - "WE CAN SELL YOU A NEW CAR OR TRUCK FOR LESS - BECAUSE OUR COSTS ARE LESS - WE HAVE NO MORTGAGES WE PAY CASH FOR OUR CARS" - See here http://www.boch.com/.

    Oh and the year he brought out the Outback line of Subarus he only spend over $30,000,000 CASH.

    Sorry to be so long winded..........
  • forestergumpforestergump Member Posts: 119
    You're absolutely correct! Due to my wife's employer, we belong to a credit union that has the lowest vehicle financing rates, bar none (except 0%!). I love to watch the reactions of salepeople when I tell them I'm not going to be financing the vehicle with them after we've already negotiated the price - it is "priceless."
  • lumbarlumbar Member Posts: 421
    Thanks. It sounds like at least from the perspective of invoice Subarus -do- cost NE dealers more, which makes me wrong to specuilate that they don't--provided that the additional cost is not de facto rebated to the dealer in some other way such as a larger holdback or some other device.

    My perspective would be that, if Subaru of New England is the sole distributorship in the area and is truly charging dealers X dollars more for the vehicle than is done in other locales and this is being passed to consumers, that this comes pretty close to the anti-trust line. However, since Mass. is a pretty activist state from the perspective of consumers, I'm going to assume that it's OK. But again, the ability of anyone to charge more (distributorship or dealer) still is ultimately tied to the demand side of the equation in a good area for Subaru.

    BTW, I remember Ernie Boch from that area when he was an AMC dealer. How long ago was -that-?
  • chassolchassol Member Posts: 95
    Lumbar,

    Ernie Boch apparently knew a good deal when he saw it and never dreamt of selling it back to Subaru. Being the only authorized Distributor for New England does give him the right to price the cars as he "wholesales" after he buys from the manufacturer. Few people realize that several of the Japanese car manufacturers could not handle the entire U.S. distributorship when they came here in the early 60's - so this is how some of them are still independently owned. Even Toyota doesn't own all of the ones in the U.S. - take a look at this crown jewel - http://www.jmfamily.com/SET/default.htm.

    Couldn't tell you about Ernie way back, but if you do a search on Google for Ernie Boch you come up with a lot of interesting stuff.
  • fryingbolognafryingbologna Member Posts: 85
    I received the following from SoA in regards to the same beef about no contact info for SoC

    Subaru Canada, Inc. may be visited on-line (www.subaru.ca) or by contacting
     
    5990 Falborne Street
    Mississauga, Ontario L5R3S7
    Phone: 905-568-4959
    Fax: 905-568-8087.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Hmm the Outback actually came about in 1996, not 1997, and my dealership had them and is not part of SNE, so I'm not sure where you got the idea that they were made "special" for SNE.

    -mike
  • chassolchassol Member Posts: 95
    I may have been off on the year, but Subaru of New England had them one year before Subaru offered them to the rest of the U.S. - http://www.subarurep.com/HTML/timeline.html -click on "1994" on left side of screen "Subaru introduces Limited Edition Outback Legacy Wagon" - that was Boch doing his thing. Sorry about messing up the year. There use to be several articles, but the webpages drop off after so long.
  • mfletouvamfletouva Member Posts: 166
    Well, I ran into one of the 'good dealers' tonight and got a deal done very quickly with no messing around. I ended up buying a 2004 Forester X Automatic (no options) for $19500, about $900 under dealer invoice. I financed with Subaru at 2.9%. I'm very pleased with this deal as I think its as good as I was going to do, and this particular dealer was as straightforward as they come. We take delivery on Friday. Dealer Doc fees were $99 which is much more reasonable. There was no $300 Subaru of New England surchage--I think that the $19500 price is a great deal anywhere in the country.

    As for Ernie Boch, he was not responsible for the entire Outback series but rather for the Special Edition Outback SEDAN, which he pretty much demanded Subaru create. Originally, it was sold only in New England but was extremely successful and was spread to the entire country. He was an interesting man and quite a businessman, but SNE was no stranger to the courtroom as he got sued a number of times.

    Anyway, I look forward to many happy years of Forester ownership!
  • ballisticballistic Member Posts: 1,687
    Several of the six Portland-area Subaru dealers are selling '03 X 5-speeds at $17,400, and X automatics at $18,200. And, of course, no sales tax here...
  • mfletouvamfletouva Member Posts: 166
    That's a low price. I've seen ads like that, but they usually don't include destination and other extra fees and have never actually heard of someone buying one for that low. I mean, who would sell a car $2,000 under invoice? Maybe in Oregon I guess...

    The first dealer I dealt with advertised a Forester 5 speed at 18399 (which I didn't want anyway). Nevertheless, I looked into it and found it didn't include destination plus a few hundred in other fees here and there. His lowest price on a car that I actually would buy was $20600. He insisted that any dealer that said they would sell a Forester under invoice was either lying or losing money. Well, I know they aren't lying, and I doubt they're losing money...and he lost a sale pretty quick!

    Still, if you figure a 20400 invoice plus a 3% holdback you are talking $19733 so I figure that there must be something else that Subaru has in terms of dealer incentives to make that $19500 a feasible price to sell the Forester at.
  • rochcomrochcom Member Posts: 247
    Boch was a very shrewd business person. I once had an appointment with him in connection with another business he owned. When I got there, I was startled to find my chief competitor sitting in the wating room with me. Boch made us both wait for over an hour and a half after the appointed time. Then, he saw us one at a time. Obviously, he wanted to let us both know that we were competing and wanted to make us both uncomfortable by making us wait while emphasizing how busy and important he was. What a great buying technique that is. If only we could do something like that when buying a car. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
  • reddog14reddog14 Member Posts: 3
    mfletouva, would you mind sharing the name of the dealership that made you so happy? Enquiring minds want to know! Thanks!

    Larry
  • chassolchassol Member Posts: 95
    Subaru was not going to do the Outback -
    "As for Ernie Boch, he was not responsible for the entire Outback series but rather for the Special Edition Outback SEDAN, which he pretty much demanded Subaru create. Originally, it was sold only in New England but was extremely successful and was spread to the entire country."

    If Subaru had not seen how overwhelmingly successful it was they might not have started it nationwide. So Ernie was the driving force in getting the ball rolling.

    Also the $300.00 is in the invoice price. Supposedly if you look at the invoice for the same exact vehicle with identical equipment outside of the Subaru of New England area it will be cheaper. Remember Subaru of New England is a Distributor NOT a Dealership.
    The reason I'm sure of this is my local dealer (Florida) also owns a dealership in New England (Connecticut) and he is the one telling me of the pricing difference. It may not be exactly $300 for each car, but the price the dealer pays the distributor is higher in New England. Bottomline if you bought the car in New England you did pay more than you would have in the area (distributorship) owned by Subaru of America. Believe me Subaru wishes they could buy back the 3 or 4 remaining independent distributorships left in the USA. No ones willing to sell, can't imagine why :-)
  • mfletouvamfletouva Member Posts: 166
    I think I better wait until we actually take delivery of the car (just in case something goes wrong!) to tell you the dealer...but that should be as soon as tomorrow.

    I don't doubt that Boch was the driving force behind the entire Outback line--in fact, I'd probably say he is partly responsible for the success of Subaru as a brand going mainstream. Below is a good article about him (and about his creation of the SEDAN).
  • bkaiser1bkaiser1 Member Posts: 464
    I remember seeing one of those Original SUS Legacies at a car show in Las Vegas in 1995 and was sad that they were only available in New England. At the time, I couldn't see myself in a wagon, and loved the idea of a rugged sedan...who knew that just a few years later I'd have an OB wagon and a WRX wagon! Interesting article, by the way.

    Brian
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    Following a series of links I found this TSB on repair and replacement of rear wheel bearings on first-gen (1998-2002) Foresters and first-gen Imprezas.

    http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2- 249

    It should be very helpful to those of us who have had or may have to deal with this problem.

    Ed
  • jdanisjdanis Member Posts: 1
    officeglen -- I'm here in Ottawa as well. If you don't mind, how much did you end up paying and which dealership did you buy from?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Actually, the Legacy Outback arrived in model year 1995, with the 2.2l engine. The seperate Outback line did come in 1996. In 1997, the engine got the upgrade to 165hp and used 87 octane, so that's when popularity really started to grow.

    That does it, I'm moving to Oregon. ;-)

    -juice
  • ballisticballistic Member Posts: 1,687
    In the immortal words of a former Oregon governor who kindled the resistance to what he termed the 'Californication' of Oregon, "Come visit...but don't stay."
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Okay, so what's the catch? What's to stop someone (such as myself) from getting a one-way ticket and flying to Oregon to buy a new car and then driving it back home? On a $20,000 purchase, I'd save $1,400 based on Georgia's 7% sales tax. That's more than enough to cover the plane ticket and assuming I varied the speed, the drive back would take care of the break-in period.

    -Frank P.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I don't know about Georgia's tax structure. but many states get you on the tax when you register the car. That's what Idaho does to the locals here who go next door for car shopping, and they got me for sales tax (in addition to other registration fees) on my used OB that I got in tax-free AK on a private party sale. Peachy, eh?

    Steve, Host
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Haaaa, they sell like 20 SUSs a year. I wouldn't call them "a huge success"

    -mike
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Steve- Hmmm... I may have a way around the tax requirement. I'll have to do some research on this.

    -Frank P.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Don't forget the chat while you are researching the tax laws - link's on the left, and it's going on now.

    Steve, Host
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Chat ain't workin' tho...

    Yeah, in MD you pay sales tax when you register the car. I've bought several used vehicles and registered them, learned the hard way to take a notorized bill of sale with the amount, else they charge you tax on the full blue book price too!

    -juice
  • mfletouvamfletouva Member Posts: 166
    I had a few posts deleted because I included the whole article (which is against the rules, sorry!) but they just discussed Boch's role in the SUS and the overall sales numbers for the distributorship...

    At least in MA, if you buy a car out of state, you still have the pay the tax for whichever state you register it in. However, it was not uncommon for MA residents to register their cars in New Hampshire through various loopholes until the Commonwealth of MA started cracking down on it a few years back.
  • psfod3psfod3 Member Posts: 63
    The red button that releases the driver side rear seat belt sticks down and is slow to pop back up in my 03 Forester. The same problem occured in other cars I have and I can only attribute it to my small children always spilling drinks and eating in their seats. I spilled some water over it and it then worked great for a day and started to stick again. Does anyone know the best way to clean it out or should I just ask the dealer to change it
This discussion has been closed.

Your Privacy

By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our Visitor Agreement.