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2013 and earlier-Subaru Legacy Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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Comments

  • 03matrixr03matrixr Member Posts: 4
    Hello Edumnds Community - I've been in the market for a new legacy for awhile. I'd ideally like a moonroof/nav but my wallet says otherwise. I've received an out the door quote for a base model, automatic, plus weathermats for $20,500 out the door. Is that a good deal? :shades:
  • rybeckarybecka Member Posts: 4
    That sounds like an awesome deal to me being that I just paid 1000 more for the same car without the weather mats! You're being offered below dealer invoice (20,889) and that's with taxes included? Where may I ask are you getting this deal?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Buy it before the dealer comes to their senses.
  • 03matrixr03matrixr Member Posts: 4
    Rybecka - I just got home from the dealership and got the price of $20,500 out the door. The only options I got was automatic and the all weather floormats. It was from Brown's Subaru in Manassas, VA. Highly recommend those folks, they're super nice and it was a rather smooth transaction. :D
  • rybeckarybecka Member Posts: 4
    Well congrats, that's really a great deal! I probably woudn't have purchased from them since they're kind of out of my way and I want to get my car serviced closer to home, but it's nice to know others are getting great deals out there.

    I had to get my car traded in from another lot since I was a bit picky on color and they ended up getting me a PVEZ model so I'm not going to complain too much on the price I paid.

    Enjoy your new car!
  • nsaeternnsaetern Member Posts: 4
    I have a VIP voucher and the dealership I selected initially to buy from I feel is being dishonest. The internet sales guy told me on the phone that the invoice price for a limited model after my VIP discount is $25800. $24400 is the invoice price I see all the websites posting. Also other local dealerships have the limited model + moon roof going for $25,075+fees. I get the feeling the sales guy is lying to me if my discounted price is more expensive than another dealerships car with moonroof is.

    What does everyone think? It seems that buying one without a vip discount would be cheaper.
  • timadamstimadams Member Posts: 294
    Ask to see a copy of the invoice, or at least a copy of the car specs showing the trim level and all options. Three thoughts come to mind:
    1. There are options on the car you don't know about.
    2. The invoice prices you see elsewhere do not include vehicle delivery costs (dealerships pay manufacturers for delivery costs, which are included on most online invoice summaries). But vehicle delivery does not cost $1,400, so this isn't the entire difference.
    3. Your dealer is not being truthful about invoice.
  • longislander1longislander1 Member Posts: 112
    No offense to Edmunds and KBB, which provide a lot of good information to car buyers, but my experience is that their numbers for actual new car prices are higher than they need to be. Truecar.com used to have the best prices, but I read not long ago that they, too, were under pressure from auto dealers not to provide consumers with rock-bottom pricing. If I were looking for a Subaru right now, I would still look at Truecar.com and then go to two dealer sites: Fitzmall.com and Bill Kolb Subaru, both of which, I believe, still publish their bottom prices without a customer having to ask. And, of course, I would still come here to see what other folks were paying.

    Once you have these numbers, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you'll pay. Then, you have to factor in customer service, convenient location of the dealer, number of competing dealers in the area, etc. When I bought my Legacy back in '08, I got what I felt was an absolute rock bottom price and then was willing to add up to a couple hundred because the dealer is just two miles away and the service there on both my Subies has been simply outstanding. I have more than made that money back in dealer freebies and just the convenience of the whole arrangement.
  • longislander1longislander1 Member Posts: 112
    Just so buyers know, the "documentation fee" that dealers charge from $200-$300 is bogus. They might as well list it on the sales invoice as "pure profit." When I was negotiating a price on a car for my niece, the sales person had the gall to tell us that he couldn't remove the $239 charge because it was pre-printed on the invoice. He intimated that it was some sort of government-required fee. We decided to leave the showroom and continue our looking. A little later in the day, I got a call on my cell from the salesman saying that he was really interested in selling us the car. I told him we'd come back in a few minutes if the fee disappeared. Otherwise, I said, we would be heading down to a competing dealer selling another brand. He eliminated the fee to get the sale.

    Also, as evidenced by some recent posts, the fee enters the transaction fairly late in the game, when sales people know that customers have had enough and are too tired to argue over it. I say they should argue.
  • nsaeternnsaetern Member Posts: 4
    Yea just went to a dealership yesterday and they quotes me a price which was not exactly what the other one quoted me. Also they had two limited models with moonroof that were cheaper. Yea Cheaper even though I have a VIP voucher. I asked the guy how is it cheaper? They must be losing money on those two? Anyways I'm very hesitant to buy now. also when I told the guy it's on your website for $25,075 limited w/moonroof he told me it was a price error but he'd have to sell it to me at that price. So it was cheaper to buy a limited /moonroof on sale than using their VIP voucher which is 2% below invoice. I'm holding off until I figure out the exact costs.
  • nsaeternnsaetern Member Posts: 4
    Alright a follow up. I ended up not using my VIP Price. I did not want to name dealerships initially but I will now that I have my car purchased.

    I went to Carr Subaru first in Oregon who quoted me for a limited model $25,800 VIP price. Which was higher than others.

    Wentworth quoted me $25,400 for a limited model with no moon roof VIP price. But they had two Limited models with a moonroof for $25,075 in twilight blue and $25,575 in ice silver on sale. I wanted the silver but for the price of the twilight blue. He said no and it was a price error but he'll have to give it to me (blue one)mfor that price. Which is [non-permissible content removed] because they've had it posted at that price for two weeks and when I came back 5 days later. Which when I went back later I asked for a printed invoice price for the VIP and non VIP prices. He never gave it to me and I was not gonna keep asking after asking twice for it. Anyways I got tired of car shopping honestly so I thought I would just pay the $500 extra for the silver one, made an appointment to go in Saturday to buy it. Until....

    Capitol Subaru offered me a better price ($219 cheaper) in the color I wanted, ice silver. I also saved $100 fees not buying in Portland and in Salem. So I ended up paying $25,356 + Fees for my 2013 Legacy Limited w/moonroof. I did not use the VIP because well it's December and they wanted to get rid of as many cars as possible. The salesman was incredibly honest with me and extremely helpful. Eric was the guy who helped us and I'd recommend him to anyone shopping around the area. My aunt who was there almost bought a car herself if she had not just bought a rav4 the month prior. Anyways I got 72 month at 2.9% financing ^_^
  • bear57bear57 Member Posts: 2
    edited December 2012
    Just a word about Fitzgerald Subaru in Gaithersburg MD. I have dealt with businesses that lack integrity, but in my experience with Fitzgerald they win the sleazy dealer award. After several calls and emails negotiating the price of a car, they hit me with a "Processing fee" of $199, a "Tag and title fee" of $732.56 and a "tax" of $186. As I do not live in Maryland, there was no tax on the vehicle. They then told me that "all dealers must charge a tax and title fee by law." That is pure BS. It became apparent that their price advantage of $300 was actually a price of more than $800 over the best offer. If you look at the positive posts about Fitzgerald, they all use similar language (e.g., "rock bottom price") which makes me believe they are planted messages.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The $199 fee is mentioned up front on their web site, FWIW.

    We are in state but had a better experience at their White Flint store. My dad and sister also bought cars from them with no complaints.
  • dasanii19dasanii19 Member Posts: 28
    edited January 2013
    Hey guys, just wanted to know how I did? I purchased on 12-31-12 a 2013 Subaru Legacy premium all weather which options include... Spoiler,compass/auto dim/home link rear view mirror, splash gaurds, trunk cargo net, cargo tray, windshield wiper de-icer, heated seats, exterior heated mirrors, for 21,400 which included all fees and docs from dealer, (tax is $1600) out the door price with tax was $23,000. The dealer also included all weather floor Mats as well. What kind of deal did I get? He told me that was rock bottom and the lowest he could go. The MSRP sticker price was $25,143. Thanks guys!! Would love to hear your thoughts! Happy New Years
  • eth2eth2 Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2013
    I bought a 2013 Legacy Premium with the all weather package, mud flaps, trunk cargo caddy, all weather mats, for $21,200 at Van Bortel Subaru in Rochester, NY. They have a $1,000 below dealer price until January 2, 2013. I had a bit of trouble with my trade in, but the owner took over from the used car manager (who cost them my business last year), and I think I got an acceptable trade-in. As another poster commented, I used Fitzgerald Subaru as a comparitor but also found at the last minute that they are not straight with buyers (an $800 tax and tile fee at the very last second was added). This is the second vehicle I bought from Van Bortel and I like them very much. Their service department is excellent and they make it almost fun to go in for service.
  • dasanii19dasanii19 Member Posts: 28
    Nice, what was the msrp window sticker? So the 21200 price was actually $22,000?
  • eth2eth2 Member Posts: 2
    The MSRP was $24,235. The purchase price w/o tax was $21,200
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sweet deal, congrats.
  • bear57bear57 Member Posts: 2
    I am sorry, the price was $22,200 (not $21,200) which was $1,000 below dealer invoice.
  • dasanii19dasanii19 Member Posts: 28
    Hey guys, just wanted to know how I did? I purchased on 12-31-12 a 2013 Subaru Legacy premium all weather which options include... Spoiler,compass/auto dim/home link rear view mirror, splash gaurds, trunk cargo net, cargo tray, windshield wiper de-icer, heated seats, exterior heated mirrors, for 21,400 which included all fees and docs from dealer, (tax is $1600) out the door price with tax was $23,000. The dealer also included all weather floor Mats as well. What kind of deal did I get? He told me that was rock bottom and the lowest he could go. The MSRP sticker price was $25,143. Thanks guys!! Would love to hear your thoughts! Happy New Years
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Congrats! Sounds good to me. That's a lot of car for $23k, I'm surprised it's not an Impreza!
  • lifeson34lifeson34 Member Posts: 5
    Is 24.5K a good deal for a Legacy 2.5 Premium with all-weather package, which includes heated seats, and a sunroof? This price includes all dealer fees and vehicle taxes. This is the best price I could find in the Boston area. Should I keep looking?

    Thanks!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Hmm, Fitzmall doesn't have any with the sunroof. They're aruond $23k, but add a grand for the moonroof. That includes freight, but not taxes (I'm not sure how much that is in Mass.)

    Just for reference.

    Also check TrueCar.com, you can see what others are paying.

    I think if you're including taxes, that does seem like a deal.
  • dasanii19dasanii19 Member Posts: 28
    We need to know the MSRP sticker price and your out the door price to know if that's a good deal or not
  • luvmy2gsluvmy2gs Member Posts: 2
    HI all, I've been doing sooo much research as we are getting ready to purchase our 1st Subaru Legacy. Specifically, I'm looking at the 2013 2.5i base model. My best out the door price is $20,500. That includes everything (VA taxes, title, and dealer fees). I feel like this is about the best I will do. Others who have a 2013 basic....is this a good deal. The MSRP is: 22,405 and remember the $20,500 is out the door. I think I should pull the trigger. Thoughts? Affirmations?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That sounds great, that includes taxes and all? You usually only get 10% but then have to add tax, tags, and freight back.
  • luvmy2gsluvmy2gs Member Posts: 2
    Ateixeira,
    It does include taxes and all. I do have it in writing to confirm it is taxes, title, and dealer fees. This dealer is about 1.5 hours away. While I am willing to travel, I do hope to get my local dealer to beat, or the very least, match this price. Sounds like this is a good price.
  • cathyv1cathyv1 Member Posts: 4
    Does anyone know is Subaru still doing the VIP discount and if so did anyone recently get the advertised 2% below invoice they say you get? Thanks
  • msmbmsmb Member Posts: 41
    I am looking to buy a 2003 Legacy L with standard trans. The car only has 68000 miles on it and the price seemed to be right, around $6750 from an apparently reliable private party. But when we took it in to the dealer for inspection it turned out that there is a problem with the head. Not sure if there was also a leak or if that is related to the head. Estimated cost for repair, including the timing belt (which the owner says he just recently replaced, so I expect the part can be reused) is $2500. Dealer said that he was figuring conservatively, that was probably at the high end of possibilities. Present owner said he would cover cost of repair from the dealer. Since I am not familiar with Subarus I am seeking advice. Does the repair that needs to be done suggest this is a risky car (a headache waiting to happen); and is $6750 minus the cost of repairs ($4250 if the repair costs $2500) a decent deal? do you think that I will be able to trust this car to 200,000 miles if the repair is done well and it is maintianed properly? What i need is highly serviceable and relative headache free trasnportation.
  • lifeson34lifeson34 Member Posts: 5
    Haha. Welcome to the Subaru brand. You have just discovered the most important thing you need to know about Subaru engines: they suffer from severe head gasket issues.

    Here is a cute experiment for you. Google, oh, "Honda head gasket". Note the search results. Now google "Subaru head gasket".

    Oh the horror! I know it's difficult, but pay close attention to the personal accounts of leaking head gaskets! But wait - isn't Subaru supposed to be as reliable as Honda?

    Are leaking head gaskets the only reliability issue? No. Google also, oh, "Subaru wheel bearing". Yeppers.

    Let me tell you about my 2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5 Special Edition - the car the sales folks swore in 2006 would outlast any Honda.

    At 135K miles, that car developed a leaking head gasket. Didn't quite have the funds ($2K) to fix it. Now the engine is dead.

    ...Then there are the three wheel bearings I had to replace during the life of that car. Was it just how I drove? Hm. I am quite the careful driver, but don't believe me. How many hundreds of complaints can you find in your Google searches of "Subaru head gasket" and "Subaru wheel bearing"?

    The car does drive very nice for an affordable midsize sedan. In the winter, it is golden. But, unless you have patience, time and money to sink into this piece of metal, you might want to consider other brands too. And the 2003 model is smack in the middle of Subaru's reliability issues - that's why that car is selling for so little!

    Just know that you are buying trouble. Fun trouble, but trouble nonetheless.
  • lifeson34lifeson34 Member Posts: 5
    Just basking in the glory of posting the 1000th message...
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    A Honda transmission would likely not have lasted 135k miles. You might be on the 3rd trans by then.

    Every brand has its achilles heel.

    For fun, though, let's Google:

    subaru head gasket = 2.89 million hits
    honda head gasket = 4.81 million hits
    honda transmission problem = 6.93 million hits
    honda a/c problem = 105 million hits (had to double check that one).

    Hondas are perfect, totally fault-free. Go for it. ;)

    To to OP - I'd say it depends.

    They have an alloy block, so what you don't want to buy is a car that overheated a lot and warped and won't mate up well to the heads.

    Try to find out how long it's been leaking. If it just started, and that could be why they're selling, then the repair should meet your expectations.

    If it's been neglected and driven that way for a while, I'd pass.
  • lifeson34lifeson34 Member Posts: 5
    True. I can't refute your argument. Hondas did have a reputation for transmission problems. I myself drove a Honda Odissey van whose ultimate demise was a slipping transmission. It cost 2K to fix it.

    Engines and transmissions are sacred. I see evidence that Honda addressed its transmission problems. Two brothers and my mother drive Honda accords, two with high mileage. No transmission issues.

    With Subarus, the story is different. I don't even know that many Subaru drivers, yet two of them have personal accounts of leaking head gaskets - as do I. The problem is that this issue first came to light nearly 15 years ago. Subaru claimed to have fixed the issue in models after 05 - yet that is not true. My 07 Legacy suffered from exactly the same issue 03 drivers complained about.

    Honda is not perfect. But it is more trustworthy. Every brand has its issues, but I have more confidence that Honda has made strides to address theirs. Subaru seems to be clueless.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My concern now, with the Accord for instance, is this is Honda's first foray in to CVTs and also their first try with DI engines. Kind of a risky gamble, a v1.0 of both the engine and trans.

    Subaru's FB25 was a big improvement, but their CVT is also kinda new, so another risk.

    The EJ was an open deck design and has a lot of passages through the gaskets. It took a full redesign to address that 100%. The gasket materials improved over the years so the issues became less frequent, but never completely disappeared.

    To be fair Dodge Intrepid ate gaskets at a higher rate than Subarus did.
  • msmbmsmb Member Posts: 41
    The Honda that the Legacy i inquired about is replacing is now 20 years old. it has 239,000 miles on it. I had to replace the transhission at around 135,000 miles. The cost was around $1200 back then (i found a great deal on a transmission from Japan). It has been fine ever since.

    By the way, I also have a 2003 Camry and had to replace the catalytic converter. Cost of around $800; not of the magnitude of the trasnsmision or the head; but still an important part. It has been fine and now has 185000 miles and is going strong. But the head and the tranny are really important and I imagine can make your life miserable; thus the question if a repair job typically is effective. If the repair has a good possibility of being as successful as the repair of my Honda's trasnmission, with 68000 miles and a fair price (apparently not great but not bad either) it is my kind of car.
  • jumpyjumpy Member Posts: 4
    A 2013 sport with alloy locks, mudflaps, all weather mats, cargo tray, dimming rear view with compass (not home link) and rear bumper applique for $22933....what do you guys think? Doc fee is $190 + tax/license
  • vt6vt6 Member Posts: 6
    What's the MSRP?

    Hard to tell with just the information you posted.
    But it sounds like about 3200 off MSRP. If you can buy at that price with just TTL and 199 doc fee and nothing else, it's a good deal.
  • plagwateplagwate Member Posts: 24
    So I'm in the market for a new 2014 Subaru Legacy Limited and like most people here, I would like to get an incredible deal. But here's my quandary: I'm very particular about the trim level, interior and exterior colors I want. I've searched through the dealers' inventories in my area and there's nothing to my liking. However, I have found the car I like at a dealer that's about 200 miles away in the next state over. I'm not exactly in a rush to buy but the more I look, the more I want it now! LOL

    Here's my options as I see them:
    1) Contact my local Subaru dealer and have them do a nationwide inventory search for the vehicle I want. I fear that this may cost me some negotiating power as well as the expense of transporting the vehicle.
    2) Contact the Subaru dealer in the next state that has the car I want. But how complicated is tax, title, etc. when doing this, especially if I'm offloading a trade?
    3) Wait around a couple of months and see if the car I want appears in local inventory. Ideally I would do this and hope that I can find what I'm looking for at the end of the year when dealers want to move inventory and are eager to deal. But that's leaving a lot to chance.

    Any thoughts?
  • timadamstimadams Member Posts: 294
    My thoughts on your dilemma:

    1) It's impossible to say how much a dealer trade hurts your negotiating power, but it does take a bit of time and costs money to trade vehicles between dealers. The fact that the car is at a store located 200 miles away makes it worse, in that your local dealer probably does not regularly trade with this other dealer, so there is no business relationship. Plus, sending a guy or a couple of guys is not insignificant, in that the trip is probably 3-4 hours each way. One way or another, you will have to pay for all of that.

    2) It's no problem to buy a car in another state. When you are doing the paperwork, you list your home address. You actually pay taxes and title the vehicle in your own state, not the state where you buy the car. I wouldn't worry about this factor. The trade-in is another story, in that you will have four hours invested in going to the dealership. What if they don't make an offer on your trade-in that you like? Will you still buy the new car and then sell your old one on your own? Drive home without the new car you like? I wouldn't drive four hours without firmly nailing down the price of the new car, and also getting a pretty darn good idea of the trade-in value. Final trade-in will, of course, depend on the dealer inspecting your car.

    3) If you really are in no hurry, and can get to a price you like, have your local dealer order a car from the factory. I ordered a 2011 Legacy LTD just the way I wanted it, and got it in about 6 weeks, if I recall (back in late 2011). I didn't pay any more than what my dealer was willing to sell me one on the lot. Right now is probably not a great time to order a car, if Subaru closes their factories in July to switch model years. But I don't know that to be true regarding the Legacy. I don't know when they switch model year production.
  • guorhuarluguorhuarlu Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2013
    Took delivery of a 2014 Legacy last night. Premium w/ moonroof pkg + all weather floor mats, spoiler, splash guards. MSRP is $26162 and got it for $23000 + TTL. For some reason this dealer is selling their 2014 legacys a good $2000~$3000 below MSRP.
  • adwadadwad Member Posts: 1
    here are my thoughts:

    I just went through a very similar scenario. I wanted a great deal on a Legacy Limited (preferably a 2013) but was pretty particular on options. Wanting the 6-cylinder model was probably the factor the affected things the most...there are not a lot of 6-cylinder Legacy models out there, which perplexes me a bit since they really make a difference here in the mountains of Colorado.

    Anyway, I ended up buying a Legacy from a dealer out of state...Albuquerque, to be exact (I'm in Denver). What I did was get several email offers from various dealers (both in and out of state). I got offers for some Legacy models that I didn't necessarily want, but gave me a %-off-MSRP to use for negotiating. Once I found the car in Albuquerque that had all the options I wanted, I asked them for an offer, I then made a counter offer based on the other offers I received. Was able to to get a $31600 MSRP car for $27900 which is not bad.

    My question is...how hard would it be for you to travel to get that car? 200 Miles (in my opinion) is not a very far distance to travel to get a car, especially if you really like it. As the other poster mentioned, the taxes are not hard at all...they'll just plug in your home state taxes and send all the info to your home state DMV where you will go and register your vehicle (they'll give you a temp tag for the interim period).

    Having a car to trade in can complicate things because the dealer probably won't be able to guarantee a price for your trade until they actually see/drive it in person. I also had a trade-in and just decided to sell it privately. Otherwise, given the distance you have to travel (assuming you travel alone in the trade-in to get the new car), you are forced to accept whatever price they offer.

    One last note...I live in Colorado, which is the #1 Subaru market. Therefore, dealers here do not need to negotiate much (if at all) to sell cars here. If you also live in Colorado (or probably Utah as well), a local dealer probably won't be too keen on going through the process of getting a car from out of state AND also giving you a great deal. Might be worth the bit of extra effort to do some of it yourself. It definitely was for me. I love my new Legacy!

    In any event, good luck!
  • rsanislorsanislo Member Posts: 1

    Just curious,

    I'm in the market for a used Legacy and a dealer near me (around Pittsburgh, PA) has a 2013 Legacy 2.5i Premium with just over 5,000 miles on it (likely a sales man's old car or they bought it from corporate) for $20,987 sticker. This car has the CVT trans, cold weather pkg, bluetooth, power drivers seat (manual passeneger), cloth interior, no sunroof Obviously, this can come down with some negotiating, but I was just curious what everyone thinks of this deal...good or just ok? Please let me know as I am looking to buy before the end of the year.

    Thanks!

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