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Special Ordering an Outback

5K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  Oberhaus 
#1 ·
I have noticed that particular outback I want (premium with eyesight/power rear gate) is no where to be found in my area (checked 8 dealers). I am wondering what the process is if i want to special order the car I want. My questions:

1. How long will it take?
2. What happens if I want to trade in my vehicle?
3. How much of a deposit?
4. Do you negotiate like you would any other car?

Thanks for your help!
 
#2 ·
When I special ordered mine I had to put a $500 deposit on it. I've heard some say $1,000 and others that they didn't have to put any money down. My dealer said it would take anywhere from 8~12 weeks, it took 10. As for my trade, it was appraised the day I picked up the new one. As far as haggling, I got the car at $50 over invoice. There really was no haggling about the price. Right now, supply and demand dictate that dealers really don't have to haggle over price. But the price is fair, at least it was at my dealer. You just go in and tell them what you want. They'll sit down and discuss options and order your new Outback that day.
But, you better do it quickly, because they're about to stop orders on 2015 models and you'll have to wait for the pre orders of the 2016.
 
#6 ·
If you miss the deadline for ordering the 2015s, you realize that there will be a few weeks before production starts on the 2016s. So if you've missed it for 2015, you can add at least another 4 weeks to that 8~12 week window for the 2016 models.
You've kinda picked a real bad time to order one right now. Good luck!
 
#8 ·
I special ordered my 3.6R OB in early January as it was impossible to find one in the San Francisco Bay Area. I purchased it via the Subaru VIP purchase program through my membership in Leave No Trace. Once you have been a member of a participating group (i.e., SPCA, IMBA, Leave No Trace, etc.) for at least six months, you qualify for 2% below invoice pricing. Took almost 3 months before the OB arrived. To me, it was worth the wait to get the car exactly the way I wanted.

Info on the Leave No Trace Subaru VIP purchase program can be found at the following link: https://lnt.org/join/subaru-vip-program But as noted, there are other groups that have the same arrangement with Subaru.
 
#9 ·
I have no idea where you are from, --but surprisingly enough, the dealer where I just a month or so ago, bought mine from has 10 outbacks in stock --including a 3.6. It is University Subaru in Columbia Mo. They are conveniently located right on I-70 in Central Missouri . They are a pleasure to deal with.
Good luck!!
 
#10 ·
I was able to haggle just a bit and they apprasied my trade in when I ordered the car and estimated the mileage that I would be putting on the car over the waiting period and included that in the trade in value. They did also say they would have to reappraise the car at the time to trade it in. They tried to trick me with this when the time came but, I stuck firm to the original price they gave me because they said they were accounting for the added miles with the original quote. It also took 12 weeks for mine.
 
#11 ·
I live in Maryland. I can always wait. I didn't realize there was a "bad" time to consider ordering an OB. I was going to go to trupromise or edmunds to print out what the price guarantee there. That's better than haggling.

I need to test drive one first. I'm not even sold on getting an OB yet. I should go by a dealer and see what can be done. I don't have to have a car right now...I was actually looking to buy one around September.
 
#13 ·
I didn't realize there was a "bad" time to consider ordering an OB.
All auto manufacturers have shutdown periods between model years. They have to stop taking orders to clear the order lists. Then they have to physically shut the plant down to re-tool for the new model. Some years it's not a big deal, just clean up and maintenance on the machinery, Which is what will most likely happen this time with the plant that makes the Outback. If you aren't even thinking about ordering until September then it's a moot point anyway.
I'd say if you order one in September, you'll get it around November, if the sales are still as strong as they are now.
 
#12 ·
There is certainly little room for negotiation on the rare unit you can find on the lots and it will certainly have a few things/colors that you may not like/want. However, there is more competition on ordered units because ETA is pretty similar for most of the dealerships.... and the product will be almost identical/commodity?!

Significant changes for '16 are unlikely but with luck we may see steering assist as part of Eyesight.... because Subaru withheld that functionality from us in '15

For reference, check out the pricing thread where the reported pricing varies significantly. Good luck!
 
#16 ·
Anyone in Canada that orders an OB will be waiting up to 6 months! I ordered mine in Sept 2014 and received it at the end of March 2015. I was in the dealer "Subaru of Nanaimo" last Friday and they actually had a 2015 OB 3.6R Limited with Eye-Sight (tech package here in Canada) sitting in the showroom unsold! There is no haggling on price either due to the high demand.
 
#17 ·
Ordering in Canada

I REALLY hope you're wrong AkitaGuy. My dealer ordered my 15 OB 2.5i Limited about a month ago, and as of yesterday was still expecting it to arrive by early June. But they found my OB sitting in a lot in Indiana, and if it had to be built I am sure I would wait another month. When I asked Tuesday he said it was in transit -- probably on a train to Toronto. I really hope he's being straight with me -- I have to return my current leased Venza by June 7th. But 6 months wait this late in the production year is pretty unlikely based on the current supply vs. demand for 2015's, and they will probably stop making them very soon.
 
#18 ·
But 6 months wait this late in the production year is pretty unlikely based on the current supply vs. demand for 2015's, and they will probably stop making them very soon.
It's already been noted in another thread that dealer sold orders will close for 2015 Foresters, Outbacks, and Legacy on May 26th, so I'm not revealing anything here. That'll give the plant until the probably the third week of July to get those built (due to summer shutdown). We'd still be ordering them here if we had any allocation left - we're done until we can order 16's.

As for the six month wait - I don't know how it is with Canadian orders. Obviously they have to cross national borders. And SOC isn't SOA - so I'm not sure how your dealer network works, sorry. I know that last year, even when we got flooded with orders when they opened in July, our first ordered units were still here by the middle of September.
 
#20 ·
yeah i went into the dealer today to test drive the outback. I have to say it felt really comfortable. I didn't realize it sits higher up than my Honda CRV. It was a very comfortable ride.

I was told that Tuesday, 2pm (5/26) is the absolute latest to order a 2015 outback. Right now the dealer is expecting to get factory ordered cars end of July, some time in August which is in line with what most are saying...8-12 weeks.

I'm seriously thinking about going back in to order one. I would be getting it around the time I was thinking about pulling the trigger which was around August or September. I kind of like the idea of ordering only what I want and nothing else. LOL!
 
#21 ·
I was told that Tuesday, 2pm (5/26) is the absolute latest to order a 2015 outback. Right now the dealer is expecting to get factory ordered cars end of July, some time in August which is in line with what most are saying...8-12 weeks.

I'm seriously thinking about going back in to order one. I would be getting it around the time I was thinking about pulling the trigger which was around August or September. I kind of like the idea of ordering only what I want and nothing else. LOL!
The time frame is correct - presuming that your dealership hasn't already ordered in their entire allocation and was shut off last week. (Stupid allocation!)

I had someone tell me yesterday that he couldn't believe he could just order a car in with what he wanted on it (within the limits of what we have available, of course). He said he'd gone to the local Toyota store a couple of years ago and they told him they had no way to order a car in with his options. (I suspect that was just the local dealership he'd gone to, but still ... why would you tell a customer 'no'? Sure, I want to sell you what I have on my lot, and I'll dealer trade if I have to, but we have no issues ordering.)
 
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