What did you pay for your 2012 or 2013?

[pgh]

Originally Posted by J Delman

Got my 1st Subaru just 5 days ago! This comes after 5 Honda Accords ('80, 82, 84, 91, 97), and 1 '04 Nissan Murano.

I was in car sales many years ago, and learned some insides tricks. I avoided all the messing around and BS. I won't tell you how much I saved off sticker price, but it was A LOT!

My general advice: Call the FLEET manager at a HIGH volume dealer, a day or two before the end of the month. That is when they are striving to reach their target sales goals, which determines the size of the kickback they get from Subaru. The higher the volume, the more they get back, and the more room they have to deal and still make a profit. Which month isn't likely to matter much - except at the end of the model year, but with a full & instant 1 year of depreciation and not having the latest model updates, you're likely to lose more than you gain.

The fleet manager usually does little bargaining, already selling at or very near rock bottom. His main purpose at the dealer is to move volume to improve dealer performance status, rather than be expected to make larger profits on individual sales.

If you live near San Jose, CA - call Capitol Subaru and ask for Tommy. Tell him Jeff sent you. I get nothing from it except knowing I'm helping out a fellow who definitely treated me well.

Regards, Jeff

Congrats Jeff, After almost 4 years of ownership my 10 is a keeper, it is a fantastic car for the money and imo the best car in their lineup currently. Unfortunately, I had a 12 Impreza (leased) and I never grew to like that car, poor mpg and underpowered. I traded it for a 13 Accord loaded. Apples and oranges is all I can say. Plenty of tech and power and build quality that is unreal. They even made it. luxury quiet. Good luck on your OB you will really enjoy it

[MUSTBF8]

Originally Posted by pohnjarker

i guess my question would be, should i start emailing dealerships now and get some quotes, for both vehicles, or wait until i get home?

When dealing with car dealerships I always like to take up as much of their time as possible. Keep asking questions, bring up concerns you have, tell them about forum posts issues and other cars you are considering. It keeps them engaged and this investment in time makes it worse for them if you walk away. I think it helps you drive the price down. Start now, in a few weeks you will have several nice deals to choose from.

[pohnjarker]

Originally Posted by MUSTBF8

When dealing with car dealerships I always like to take up as much of their time as possible. Keep asking questions, bring up concerns you have, tell them about forum posts issues and other cars you are considering. It keeps them engaged and this investment in time makes it worse for them if you walk away. I think it helps you drive the price down. Start now, in a few weeks you will have several nice deals to choose from.

Thanks, i'll get started asap.

[fun2drive]

Are you kidding me?
I sent the dealers my specs and waited for feedback. It took a week of getting the best price deal which turned out to be a little better than 1500 under invoice and I never did anything but enter one dealer and test drive a number of 12's and 13's.

No wasting my time or theirs. If you don't know what you want and can't make a decision then maybe the above approach works but I plan to buy another OB 14 and will do the same thing.

Each to their own but I learned from this forum that this method is the most productive. I don't like hanging out in dealerships as I have better things to do with my time. Research what you want, confirm that with a test drive or two and then get it done...

[MUSTBF8]

Originally Posted by fun2drive

Research what you want, confirm that with a test drive or two and then get it done...

I've had several freinds recommend Cars for Sale - Buy a New or Used Car Online - CarsDirect for a no haggle approach for a price and you can get quotes from several dealerships at once. I don't mind investing some time when car shopping. Spending $30k+ for a vehicle that I plan to keep for 10 years or more I want to make sure I'm comfortable with the deal and for that is means shopping for a while.

I looked at every vehicle in the crossover/wagon class that I could afford before I decided on the OB. I set aside some time to go to the dealers and have them show me the very top model for the class and took it for a test drive. It only took two evenings after work to get all the test drives in. Once I had things narrowed down to the OB, I started emailing dealers in my area for pricing. I was able to get responses quickly and asked a few questions then when I received their reply's I sat on them for a few days. Then they started to follow up with me a few days later and told them I'm ready to buy in a week and to give me their best offer. I used the best price and worked with them all to get my final buying price. I actually ended up with the best offer from the dealer I test drove the OB for a little over $4k off MSRP and they were willing to get everything installed for me prior to delivery (except the shock sensor). Now I also had a trade which made things a bit trickey but I used Carmax, KBB, and the online car shopping sites to determine a fair value. I negotieated the price of the OB before I even let them see my trade. It took a couple of days but we agreed on the trade in price and were able to make the deal. If we could not have agreed, I would have went to the next dealer I was working with and so on. I prepare for this but I feel it has saved me thousands on purchases.

To each their own as far as your approach. Just know that dealers are trying to maximize their profits but also don't want to lose a deal to the dealership down the road if they can make money. I found this article on Edmunds that may enlighten you on the sales process from the dealer side. Confessions of a Car Salesman - Edmunds.com

Good luck shopping!

[MUSTBF8]

I also used this SS to keep track of things and shop using gas mileage and finance rates, etc. I also compared it to my old car so I could see a monthly cost change. If anyone wants it, PM me and I'm happy to email it to you.

[jkman]

Ok thanks I wasnt sure if December would possibly have more dealer incentives since it is the end of the year or even march since that's the end of the fiscal year for Subaru.

[pohnjarker]

there is one dealer around town that is having 4k off MSRP on EVERY outback in stock. i used that information when i called another dealership, told them about it, and they said bring in the flyer and they will beat it by atleast 500 bucks.
so it looks like those two might be the best to go with, although i am looking at 2 other dealers that were a little higher initially, but we'll see when it comes to crunch time.

[gocarolina85]

Just wanted to share my recent experience to see if it’s helpful:

I just bought my 2013 Outback 2.5i Limited with Moonroof two days ago. About two weeks ago, I emailed the 10 most local dealers around (all within 150 miles) and informed them that I was "accepting bids from local dealers for the lowest offer" and that I planned to purchase a car within the next two weeks. I was very specific about the model I wanted and told them what colors I did not want, but was open to the rest. I heard back from about 8 of them, and emailed the 2 lowest offers back to do some further haggling. I would up buying the car (my first Subaru by the way--I've been trucking around my 1999 RAV4 since it was brand-new) for $27,900, and I traded-in my Toyota (that had 217k miles on it) for $1,700. Because I put about 30k miles per year on my car with my current job, I ended up purchasing the 100k extended warranty for $782. The total out the door price (including taxes and fees) was $28,489.20. It is a Venetian Red exterior and taupe leather interior and included accessories of: 4 all-weather floor mats, puddle lights, rear bumper cover, rear seat back protector, splash guards, and wheel locks-alloy wheels. To me it seems like a good deal, and I think part of the reason I was able to get a low purchase price is because the particular dealership I bought from was kind of set back in an area of town where people would never know the dealership even existed--so they probably don't get a whole lot of business. On the plus side, it was only 30 miles from where I live. Good luck!

[Samy]

Originally Posted by gocarolina85

Just wanted to share my recent experience to see if it’s helpful:

I just bought my 2013 Outback 2.5i Limited with Moonroof two days ago. About two weeks ago, I emailed the 10 most local dealers around (all within 150 miles) and informed them that I was "accepting bids from local dealers for the lowest offer" and that I planned to purchase a car within the next two weeks. I was very specific about the model I wanted and told them what colors I did not want, but was open to the rest. I heard back from about 8 of them, and emailed the 2 lowest offers back to do some further haggling. I would up buying the car (my first Subaru by the way--I've been trucking around my 1999 RAV4 since it was brand-new) for $27,900, and I traded-in my Toyota (that had 217k miles on it) for $1,700. Because I put about 30k miles per year on my car with my current job, I ended up purchasing the 100k extended warranty for $782. The total out the door price (including taxes and fees) was $28,489.20. It is a Venetian Red exterior and taupe leather interior and included accessories of: 4 all-weather floor mats, puddle lights, rear bumper cover, rear seat back protector, splash guards, and wheel locks-alloy wheels. To me it seems like a good deal, and I think part of the reason I was able to get a low purchase price is because the particular dealership I bought from was kind of set back in an area of town where people would never know the dealership even existed--so they probably don't get a whole lot of business. On the plus side, it was only 30 miles from where I live. Good luck!

Was your warrant the gold plus 100k/7 year? If so, where did you purchase the warranty?
Thank you