2013 and earlier-Subaru Forester Prices Paid and Buying Experience

mountaindog · February 2011

No, it's not insensitive at all. I want the dealer to profit. I just down know if I am paying 1000 too much or not, that's the whole point. How do we know other then to pay the average price everyone else has paid. I got my Foreter at Mark Miller Subaru. Basic 2.5x with alloy wheels, roof rails and the automatic. My wife does not like the 5 speed in stop and go city driving and she will be driving this car. The price out the door was 22985.00. Is that a good price,,,,,, I have no idea. I was not willing to spend more then 23000.

I live in Utah. My home is it 8000 feet. We get 25 or more feet of snow each winter from Sept to June. The salt is what takes the cars out. I am very easy on cars and engines. I use Mobile 1 oil since it flows better when it's cold. I only run manual transmissions in my cars because they are simple and just don't give out. I have also never replaced a clutch. Never over rev an engine. Our 2007 Impreza is not even close to the toughness of my 1984 and 1994s of which we had a pair. My 1994 was the best car I have ever owned. Every Subaru I have owen out performs everything in snow. I have a hill side home with a 23 percent grade driveway and the Subarus go up the driveway covered with snow just like it's July. With snow on the driveway my Toyota truck in 4WD low only makes it half way and slides back down with all 4 wheels spinning. Going up the hills to my home I pass jeeps which can't pull the snow covered grades (mostly because they have the wrong tires). I will say the 2007 engine runs very well and has more power. One reason to not get new ones is that the salt on our roads for 7 months a years just eats them.

nyccarguy · February 2011

Subaru should pay you to do some marketing for them & film their cars driving around your neck of the woods.

jk2011tour · February 2011

There is no credability in the car market today. After purchasing two 3 year old off lease cars i vowed never to buy new again, but i did. New 2011 forester touring before they arrived at dealers. 1300 under invoice. The automakers over the years have already built into the price the game of invoice pricing. Cars are mass produced on assembly lines. Give or take a few thousand dollars it costs basically the same to build a $18,000 car or a $40,000 car. Its all about marketing. We the consumer and i accept this game by buying these new cars for way to much money. This is not about profit, remember mass produced on a assembly line. Just my opinion

mountaindog · February 2011

Well, Saturday I picked up a new Forester.

2011
Automatic trans
alloy wheels
roof rails

The total price was 22985.00. Did I get a good deal? I have no idea. I still have no clue what the profit was on this car.

22985 -(1200 sales tax + 80 DMV + 5 tire disposal)
22985 - 1285 = 21700

So 21700 went to the dealer. Now here it the question.

What profit did the dealer earn? On the way out door the Salesman insulted me one more time. "We only made 90 dollars on this car." Right, and I'm Teddy Roosevelt.

So, was the profit:
5 dollars
50 dollars
500 dollars
5000 dollars
???????
I would like to know because if it was only 90 dollars they won't be around when I need parts.

What ever the price, profit is fine with me. But,,,,,,,,,,, why the BS "we only made 90 dollars". Was that comment really necessary? If any dealers are here you should know that if you have used lines like that we don't think much of you.

jk2011tour · February 2011

Profit is whats left after all expenses ,taxes and salaries are paid.The Salesman has no clue what profit the owners are making.The ownership can pay themselves and management whatever they want. This is real business. With the investment the have an owner has a right to make money. But again the insults from salesmen saying there making $90.00 on a car or loosing money on this deal is a complete joke.

ateixeira · February 2011

Maybe they have some formula where they figure their total monthly expenses to operate the dealership and divide by the number of cars they sell.

Any how, don't worry, enjoy your car and congrats!

My brother is actively shopping for a Forester manual with the Premium package, with or without AWP. Lemme know if anyone finds one in the DC area.

mountaindog · February 2011

I have been driving Subarus since 1977.

As for first impressions of the 2011 Forester. The most important, high tech items on the car is:

The oil filter on top of the engine where a human can get to it. Whoever the engineer was who came up with that idea, many thanks. Hundreds of millions of cars world wide and you got it right.

I didn't check as I usually do but, with the new motor and longer piston stroke is it now and interference engine? Wonder how long the chain will last?

Thanks.

ateixeira · February 2011

I like the oil filter location, too. 7500 mile intervals are longer now, and that's almost a shame! LOL

The EJ25 was also interference, so that didn't change.

I'd feel *MUCH* safer with a timing chain vs. an older timing belt, say >6 years old.

mountaindog · February 2011

I know everyone is going to jump all over me but, here goes.

I only change oil every 15000 miles. I change the filter every 5000. I run Mobil 1 10W 30. I have done this on my last 3 cars and 1 truck.

1994 Impreza 280,000 miles. Dead due to rust
1995 Impreza 148,000 miles. Sold while running just fine and it's still fine
1994 Toyota T100 truck 155,000 still going strong
2007 Impreza 90,000 miles still running just fine.

None of these 3 cars and 1 truck consume any oil.

I started doing this 15 years ago when I was commuting 120 miles each day. I was doing a lot of oil changes at 5000 miles. So I switched to synthetic oil and a change interval of 15,000 miles with 3 filters.

As for the new forester, it will be my wife's car. It has way too much automatic junk on it for me.

auto trans
push button door locks
push button to disable the computer transaction system
auto windows

I remember when we actually had to learn how a car worked. I smile when I think of the choke and throttle cables. I still double clutch a manual transmission, habit from those years driving a dump truck at a quarry. One of these days I will try to double clutch on a down shift forgetting I am in a new auto trans forester and slam on the brakes twice. Those were the good old days, 5 speed manual with a 2 speed electric rear differential.

Winding a rope around the top of the motor to pull start the lawn mower.

Soon all will need to do is sit in a chair and eat all day.

Not sure where we are going with all this stuff. My first 1977 front driver Subaru got over 40 MPG. Now we are down to 27.

I still want to know how much the dealer paid Subaru of America to put my car on the lot.

baires60 · February 2011

Not quite the same as the car prices but still a question on what you paid. I am leery of dealership doing my maintenance but until my warranty is up I want to use them, I don't want any hassles in case of a problem.

I just brought my car in for the 7500 mile check up and oil change. I have a 2010 premium forester no turbo or anything fancy, except AWP. I did request to put in synthetic oil since I found that when my VW mechanic changed to synthetic my car ran 90% better than before (and had he done it 6 months earlier I might have postponed buying the forrester until now instead of last year- though the AWD did come in handy this year in NY).

I paid $167 + tax. The inspection which they say cost $10 was free since I bought the car from them.

What have others paid?

Thanks, Silvia

ateixeira · February 2011

I'm not gonna jump all over you ... it's your car. LOL

I think most people change their oil too often, actually. I've drained oil I could see through before.

One reason I think the intervals aren't often long is that the manufacturers want a chance to spot any early signs of problems. Not to mention dealers make more money on service than they do on new car sales.

fushigi · February 2011

Yeah, I also won't jump someone's case for how they choose to maintain their car. My only suggestion is to make sure that the manual is followed for maintenance during the warranty period. Even if using synthetic oil, should there be an engine failure the automaker can refuse warranty coverage and legitimately cite failure to maintain the vehicle as a reason.

It's because of that sort of thing that I use normal oil & follow the scheduled maintenance pretty religiously during warranty. After warranty I'll switch to synthetic & extend the intervals to what seems to make sense for me & the car.

ateixeira · February 2011

Yep, at least go with the "schedule B" as it's often called.

jk2011tour · February 2011

I changed my own oi lon 2011 touring myself. Anyone can do work on your car,but the dealers use scare tactics. They even give you info on how to change oil in your car manuel. Im bringing my 2011 to dealer to check warrenty item and having synthetic oil changed and tires rotated. The cost is $79.00 This is fair. I would not pay much more than this. My local mechanic charges me 59.00 for synthetic oil change if i use him. I did purchase subaru oil filters on line. About $4.50 each.

fnamowicz · February 2011

I paid about $66 at a dealer in the Chicago area. Includes Synthetic oil/filter
plug gasket and so called inspection.
I think $167 is a little high.

fushigi · February 2011

The first time I had a place supply the synthetic oil they charged something like $10 a quart; overall the oil change was about $80. I later found Mobil1 at Sam's Club and it was $30 for 6 quarts. I just checked and depending on weight it's $32-33.

Check with your shop; you may be able to save some money by bringing in your own oil. Even if they charge the automotive equivalent of a corking fee it's probably still cheaper to bring your own than to use theirs. And since the 6 quart pack is likely less than what a single oil change calls for, you're actually buying enough oil that every 4th or 5th change you won't have to buy any at all.

baires60 · February 2011

Hi thanks, $169 wasn't just the oil change - it included the other "stuff" that gets done during a 7500 mile check up or is that only an oil change. I noticed he did remove a tire to check on the brakes, or so it said on the inspection paper.

He said add $25 for the synthetic oil vs normal oil, I knew that was a rip off but since I wanted synthetic I paid and my next oil change should be free at this place I hope it includes the same type of oil they charged me for. It supposed to be every other oil change is free, granted if they charge you double for the one you pay you are not getting anything free.

I can't change the oil, I will change a cabin filter, air filter maybe even a battery depending on the car but oil changes are not something I think I would do, not something for a girl to do. But I can buy the oil and have them use that next time, though it's supposed to be free.

Thanks. Silvia

joybell1 · March 2011

I've had a lot of problems with my Forester 2003 purchased new -many, many trips to the dealer which is now in Montreal (local dealership closed). They even had to change the engine (rebore the block). So when it came to finding a car for my kids to go to drive to college, I searched for an earlier, used model. The only problem the earlier Foresters had were head gaskets, right? That seems a minor problem to me now, after my Forester 2003 experience. I found a 2002 Forester Premium, fully loaded, just south of border in upper NY state, with 131,000 miles on it. Paid US$ 7500. Right now we are waiting for the paperwork to finish in order to bring it back across the border to Canada. Then it needs to be federally and provincially inspected before we can license it.

Anything I should know about this model as far as what are the usual problems? Hopefully it was made in "one of the good years"!!

Kirstie_H · March 2011

If you live in a warm climate and recently bought a Subaru, a reporter wants to interview you. Please email pr@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, March 9, 2011 and provide your daytime contact information and a few words about your decision.

Thanks,

Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com

ateixeira · March 2011

Head gaskets
Wheel Bearings

Those are the two biggies. It was reliable overall, though, above average per CR.

joybell · March 2011

Thank you! I wanted to pick up the car today but I still didn't get the "Recall Clearance Letter" from Subaru USA - which I need in order to import the car into Canada. I requested it over a week ago. Red tape? Just to be sure that there are no open recalls I did open an account online with Subura USA and typed in the VIN. It shows one recall (completed) of the parking rod on the automatic transmission. No open recalls. So it's a waiting game right now.

ateixeira · March 2011

Call 800-SUBARU3 to follow-up...gotta stay on them, but be nice about it.

tvcrider · March 2011

I have a question on MSRP. In researching prices have found that dealer sticker prices are higher than those listed on both KBB and Edmunds. Ironically the prices on both KKB and Edmunds are identical. I don't see any special dealer add-ons on the stickers and the higher sticker prices are consistent across dealers I surveyed in Upstate, NY. So why the difference in MSRP between KBB/Edmunds and sticker?

For example:
2011 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited w/

* All Weather Floor Mats
* Luggage Compartment Cover
* Rear Bumper Cover
* Remove Engine Starter
* Splash Guard Kit (Mud guards)
* Vertical Cargo Net

Dealer Window Sticker: $28,535.00

MSRP from both KBB & Edmunds for same vehicle: $28,161.00

ateixeira · March 2011

Could it be that SoNE adds a bit to the sticker when distributing to the northeast USA?

tvcrider · March 2011

It could be? One dealer stated that was the case, but I didn't know if I should believe him or not. Others dealers simply said that KBB/Edmunds were 'wrong'.

mwahlert · April 2011

i have located a left over 2010 xt limited that i'd like to acquire.

i have been offered the car at $26,786

msrp according to the invoice is $29,703 w/ dealer cost as $28,096.

i have asked to get me down to $26k flat but the dealer said there is nothing left as this price is cost - holdback.

sound good?

ateixeira · April 2011

You beat invoice by a few hundred...the dealer's gotta feed his kids. He's not making any money on this sale, probably just hoping you will service your car there.

galever · April 2011

My 2010 Subaru Forester was recently totaled. I will soon have my money from the insurance and plan on purchasing a new Forester.

I recently went to my dealer and he implied that because of the quake and Tsunami in Japan Subaru's were in short supply and that prices would be going up.

Has anyone heard anything about this? I know it affected Subaru and other Japanese car makers, but was wondering how much was the dealer just trying to make a buck.

jogousa · April 2011

You should get a car that is "in stock" on dealer's lot at previously advertised prices. Alternatively, you can shop around at different dealerships within 100 or 200 miles radius or more.
Another option is to buy "used" Subaru that is still under warranty with options that you want.

As far as I know, Forester is still made in Japan. Most others are assembled at SIA's plant in Indiana.

Some dealers may be asking for "sticker" prices due to this shortage and may not be willing to give customers any discounts.

Most other dealers selling Japanese brands that are truly made in Japan may do the same. But most of them also sell Japanese brands that are assembled in the U.S. and Canada where there are sporadic shortages, mostly of parts or components that are made in Japan.

How did you "total" your Forester? What prompted your insurance company to total your car? How many miles you had on yours and how much did you get for it?

ateixeira · April 2011

Yup, all Foresters are made in Gunma, Japan, and not only did the plant close, it's *still* not operating at full steam.

To add insult to injury, Forester was in short supply before any of this happened.

I would also try to find one you like from stock, and price shop other dealers. I'm afraid it has indeed become a seller's market for Foresters, however.

logtrail · April 2011

I'm considering trading in my 2006 Forester for a 2011 since a local dealer is supposedly giving 125% of Kelly Blue book on the trade. What changes are predicted for the 2012?
If there was a 6 cyl, a 5 or 6 speed transmission, or a diesel I would hold off and wait for the 2012s to come in.
Any information?

rustythepuppy · April 2011

i went into kendall fairbanks before i had my first oil change to find out what kind of oil my subaru required - the service manager wouldnt confirm it was synthetic. then i go in for my first oil change, and they advised me that synthetic IS required. I am glad that i didnt require oil before that.

pip3 · April 2011

Try other dealers. I bought a new forester last weekend and was able to get a good price. It's true that there must be some shortage currently, but maybe this has been offset somewhat by people's fears about getting parts, warranty issues, even radiation exposure. A couple of the dealers I talked to said they had more foresters that were in port and on their way (and had copies of the stickers to prove it.)

For the last decade or so, once I decide on the vehicle I want, I always do my negotiating via email, contacting several dealers in my region within a reasonable distance. I let them know that I am comparison shopping and researching price with Edmunds and Consumer Reports. I ask for their rock bottom price and sometimes it comes in right about where it should; sometimes I have to counter offer.

This time, I contacted 5 dealers within about an hour's radius. Out of the 5 dealers, only ONE used the shortage to try to seriously rip me in price. I would say the other 4 were all fair, and 2 were actually below edmund's TMV. The other 2 were close enough. There was a 700+ holdback on the car, so they had plenty of room to make some money.

In addition, a couple of them didn't even have the color car I wanted (options were all remarkably similar in this region) on the lot and were willing to get it for me at the good price. A guy might tell you there is a shortage and so he won't deal much, but a buyer in the hand is worth.....you know the saying. The guy that refused to go below his so called good offer (3 % above invoice) was claiming that Edmunds TMV was not accurate supposedly because of the shortage vs high demand. Meanwhile, I had 4 other MUCH better quotes and crossed him off my list.

Be respectful, but let them know you have done the research...it really pays. I bet there is a dealer close to you that actually wants to sell a car today.

saabski · April 2011

Hello all, I was currently shopping for a Volvo XC60, but decide to purchase a Subie instead (due to its capable AWD). I found a Certified Pre-Owned 2010 Subaru Forester XT with navigation with 20,400 miles selling for $26,995. I was thinking of offering the dealer $24,000 plus tax and TT&L. Does this sound more than fair for CPO vehicle? Also, what does CPO warranty cover on Subarus? Is CPO warranty just a Powertrain warranty like rest of the manufacturers? Subaru website wasn't much of help. Dealer is also telling me that it's better to go with brand new for pricing purpose. But I really think I could pull trigger if they can meet my price expectations.

Thank you all for your advice-I live in South Texas.

ateixeira · April 2011

CPO should cover Bumper to bumper, no? Ask the dealer for a list of what is covered.

It costs them a bunch because they have to inspect, recondition, then pay for the warranty, so I'm guessing it's worth about ~$1.5-2k more than a non-CPO.

ball_breakr · April 2011

Hi everyone,
I put a deposit on a 2011 Forester Premium Auto yesterday at a dealership near me in Massachusetts. Very happy with the deal I got - sent it around to other dealers that say they beat other dealers offers, and nobody wanted to touch it. The internet sales manager was great to deal with, and everyone at the dealership was pretty helpful and nice.

In going through the financing, however, something happened that I wasn't completely comfortable with, and I wanted to run something by the group to see if I was being told the complete truth. I'm planning on financing close to the whole amount, either for 60 or 72 months. The current promotional rate Subaru is offering is 2.9% for this time period. My credit isn't great, and I was planning on having my Father co-sign with me to help get the best rate (the 2.9%). The finace manager a the dealership told me that even with the cosigner, I probably wouldn't get the best rate because they would take/use some combination of our credit-worthiness. He was able to get me a rate on my own of 4.19%, and thought the best we would do with my Dad on the loat was 3.9% so he thought it wasn't worth it. My parents live in NY, and we would have had to overnight the credit application to them and have it overnighted back.

I understand his logic, and the difference between 4.19 and 3.9 is pretty marginal, and I'm fine with getting the 4.19 if the best I could do with a cosigner is 3.9. But I got the distinct feeling he just didn't want to bother with the overnighting and/or he didn't want me to get the lower rate (the 2.9%) because that's less money for the dealership/Subaru.

I guess my question is - would I really not get the 2.9% even if I had my dad as a cosigner? Does that seem correct?

I'm really interested in hearing what people think. Thanks!

Pat

xwesx · April 2011

It's hard to say. Your credit must not be too bad if the rate came back at 4.19 for you alone. Depending on the quality of your father's credit, he might pull you up sufficiently.

I co-signed on a car with my brother (who has very little credit history and a marginal score at best) because the dealership was looking to charge him 14.9% on a loan (this was back before the economic crash when auto loans were typically in the 6-7% range for great credit). I think he ended up going with a 7.9% offer through a credit union with me cosigning (13.9% without), but the original dealership came back with an 11% offer with me on the ticket. I told them to take a hike. We neither financed nor purchased from that dealership.

The dealer should be able to run the credit report for your father and offer a rate before issuing the loan application. Only after you have accepted a financing offer would the documentation need to be mailed out for signatures.

I purchased my last two Subaru vehicles 2,200 miles away in Seattle, and both times I financed them and left home with all paperwork completed and license plates in-hand. When I arrived at the dealer, all I needed was a key.

pip3 · April 2011

I thought the current offer was 1.9% (until may 2.)

http://www.subaru.com/special-offers/index.html

It's sounding to me like the guy is trying to make up for the money he isn't making on the price of the car but maybe I'm just being cynical. I might check with one of those other dealers.

Sorry I can't really help but wanted to wish you luck.

ball_breakr · April 2011

Thanks for your responses guys. I was surprised he didn't just run my dad's info like he did mine. Then if it came out better we would go and get the signatures etc. I'm gonna ask him to do that.

My understanding of subaru's rates is that it's 1.9% for up to 36 mos., and 2.9 beyond that.

Pat

ateixeira · April 2011

I think the average APR last time I looked it up was 5%, so it seems like he gave you a rate that was more than fair, anyway.

Plus, dad co-signs, you know you'll owe him something. Or at least he'll never let you hear the end of it. LOL

georged4 · April 2011

Capitalone.com is still offering 2.99% on new cars up to 48 or 60 months. They issue a check before you buy so you can walk into the dealer with financing

If the salesman says 2.9 only for 24 or 36 tell him you can use cap one and the manager will probably offer you the same or better.

ball_breakr · April 2011

The finance guy ran everything with my Dad as a co-signer and sure enough the best he could do for 72 months was 3.9% with both of us on there. So I'm just gonna do it myself, and not owe my Dad anything.

The deal I got was this:
2011 Forester Premium, Auto, with all weather package and bumper cover, luggage cover, cargo tray, and plate bracket.

MSRP, incluidng destination: $26,082
I paid $23,175 plus the dealer fee of $324.

From what I can tell the invoice is $24,675, so it seems as though I did OK.

I didn't have to do any haggling for this price. I requested quotes through edmunds.com and this was one that I got after I went back and forth with the dealer a couple times about the model I wanted. Other dealers wouldn't beat it, so I went with it.

Thanks again for your responses.

Pat

ateixeira · April 2011

Is that for Tier I credit only, though?

You may need a credit score in the 700s to qualify.

jeschwartz · May 2011

I was at a dealership and I overheard a couple guys talking that Subaru scaled back on production by 50% because of parts problems from the earthquake/tsunami! I'm glad I bought one when I did because I'm sure the prices will just go up now.

ateixeira · May 2011

Supply will be short for sure, in fact it was before the disruptions.

specdan · May 2011

I Purchased a New Subaru 2011 2.5x Ltd yesterday 5/5.
MSRP-$28,013
Invoice-$26,160
Paid Invoice less $1300 or $24,860.
Camelback Subaru in Phoenix delivered it to me (115 Miles) in Tucson.
Lithia Subaru in Reno was also very Competitive with their Quote.
Very few Foresters are available in Ca,NV,AZ.

ateixeira · May 2011

Congrats, they went that far to deliver it right to you? Must've been nice!

kannon8833 · May 2011

We just purchased a Forester Premium with AWP, fog lights, group 1A, automatic for $23,700. This was the first car we have purchased in about 5 yrs. My original strategy was to get invoice price from online here and then offer a few hundred above. But then I came across a blog where people were offering below invoice price. The dealer original kind of laughed at my wife when she bought the numbers to them while having her 2007 Forester serviced. Then, on the last sales day of the month I get a call at 5:30pm and they offered what I considered a very good price and so we went ahead and signed. Got 1.9% for 48 months too, I was disappointed in the way they treated us initially but happy in the end - they should have just done that upfront.

Anyhow, today's buying experience is even more confusing. Now we do below invoice offers.

ateixeira · May 2011

Good deal, congrats!

mkunze · May 2011

Looking at a 5-speed manual 2011 Forester 2.5X with alloy wheels and roof rack. MSRP $21,620

What would be a good price I should be able to get? How much should I offer?

2013 and earlier-Subaru Forester Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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