[OutbackDude]

I'm pursuing this purchasing option since I am a Costco member:

http://www.costcoauto.com/research/how.aspx

I've already been contacted by a local Subaru dealer within 24hrs, and although he is not authorized by Costco to provide a price over the phone, he did say that the pricing is aggressive and lower than invoice.

Anyone out there look into this?

I should be following up with the Subaru/Costco rep on Saturday or next Monday for exact pricing (in-person) and I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

Just thought that Costco members out there may want to know...

Dan

 

[darrelld]

I'm pursuing this purchasing option since I am a Costco member:

http://www.costcoauto.com/research/how.aspx

I've already been contacted by a local Subaru dealer within 24hrs, and although he is not authorized by Costco to provide a price over the phone, he did say that the pricing is aggressive and lower than invoice.

Anyone out there look into this?

I should be following up with the Subaru/Costco rep on Saturday or next Monday for exact pricing (in-person) and I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

Just thought that Costco members out there may want to know...

Dan

I am currently doing a purchase through Costco, had the same results as you report.

Problem so far is getting the order filled, don't know if the Costco order has caused delays in delivery or not.

 

[rsrocket1]

I had a very good experience a year ago getting my 08 OBW. They may not quote you a price, but I got "hints" from dealers participating in the Costco program. They would state $X above or below invoice + whatever incentives are available to the general buying public. Since you can find the "invoice" pretty much anywhere on the Internet, its pretty easy to figure out what they will charge. To them it's a no brainer automatic sale and to you, its a no haggle purchase somewhere in between sticker and bottom line best deal. The Costco program is a good balance between the two. You talk directly to the fleet sales buy so there is no negotiating. At that time Subaru had a $2k rebate so the price before tax+license was $2200 below "invoice" and my estimate was within $50 of what they actually quoted me when I went to the dealer.

I've been through the bottom line haggling where I offer $x, "take it or leave it" and walked out with a car in 45 minutes. OTOH, My brother has boasted several 4-hour purchase experiences. I don't have that kind of time or patience.

On top of that, Costco sent me a $50 coupon to buy more stuff from the dealer and I used it to buy the subwoofer which was a pretty good ad-on. My second choice would have been oil filters or crush washers

 

[fosto]

The experience seems to vary widely based on the dealer.

I have tried the Costco program three times. Once with a BMW dealer, once with a Ford dealer and once with a Subaru dealer. In all three cases I still spent hours at the dealership, had to demand that they quote me a price, and wasn't very impressed with the pricing that they quoted.

For the Subaru dealer I was actually looking at a Forester initially. Their "Costco" price was only about $850 below the sticker price. In the end I just called a couple of other dealers told them I wanted to buy a vehicle without a lot of haggling and found one that quoted a $1000 discount off sticker price for a Forester right over the phone. I ended up buying my Outback there instead for $1200 off sticker with zero negotiation games.

By comparison, I have also tried the AAA vehicle purchasing service with a Ford dealer and had a great experience dealing with the internet sales rep who replied by email with pdf copies of the window sticker and quoted no-haggle prices.

 

[OutbackDude]

Thanks for everyone's feedback, I appreciate it. I've been doing some research and I'm also finding that folks have not a.) found Costco pricing to be as good as most dealers will offer and b.) found the entire experience a hassle.

 

[Startiger]

Alon the same lines as the Costco program, has anyone used the Sam's Club version of the program?

I'm pondering a Legacy in a year or two and I was wondering if that would be worth looking into.

 

[cptplt]

do you have a costco amex card or any amex card?? then use the amex car buying program. you get a price on line and its a good price. I just got a 09 OB for less than subaru VIP pricing. few years ago I got a costco quote which was just above VIP pricing. but the best thing about the amex is you see the price the dealer will give you right away on line, no messing around waiting to be contacted etc.

 

[OutbackDude]

Yes, I've had an AMEX card for years (not an Amex Costco card). Didn't know about their car buying program. I guess I'm going to take a look right now to see if they are going to beat any local dealer's quotes I have received already. Thanks for the heads-up, I appreciate it.

 

[dguertler]

$100 over invoice, with no hassle, from an in stock car. Bought my 07 Accord the same way.

 

[mchristsen]

I am going through the Costco program for a 3.6R Limited with Nav. I am in Southern California and I was quoted $750 over invoice. I have had a hard time finding this Outback configuration. I figure the Costco pricing is not Nationwide pricing, but regional. Trying to talk SoCal dealers down to Invoice for a 3.6 Limited with Nav was proving to be difficult.

Can't wait for the car.

Mike

NB: When I put my details into the Costco website, it told me there were no dealers available. After visiting one to see the 3.6, I found out they do Costco.

 

[aknitter]

I was quoted $500 over invoice for a 3.6 limited w/ nav. I went ahead with it, even though it sounds like I didn't get the best deal. However it was no hassle.

 

[zeta30]

I did the Costco route with my wife's '02 BMW. There are only two BMW dealers in Portland so they don't usually come down in price. I tried one dealer on my own and they wouldn't go any lower than $1000 off sticker price. Went through the Costco program which was through the other dealer and got nearly $3000 taken off the price.

 

[bikergeek]

Got mine through the same Costco plan because the dealers by me were not giving the car away. Most were selling at MSRP or just a small drop in price ($500.00).

Through the Costco plan I saved about $1385.00 off the MSRP. Ordered the car 8/28/09. Got it Oct 2nd.

I'm sure if you shop around, first at all the dealers in your area, you might find a dealer willing to negotiate a deal better than Costco.

Remember, the longer you wait to buy a 2010 OB the better the deal since dealers will have more inventory and will then be more willing to negotiate; especially around late November-thru January 2010.

Good luck!

 

[brywong1]

I tried this, but the dealer never bothered to contact me. By the time Costco sent an e-mail to ask about the status, I'd already moved on dealing with a local dealer instead.

 

[bikergeek]

I tried this, but the dealer never bothered to contact me. By the time Costco sent an e-mail to ask about the status, I'd already moved on dealing with a local dealer instead.

brywong1,

If you're referring to the Costco plan, you should call the Costco Auto Buying Plan administrator (or Rep), and tell them about your experience with the auto buying plan. Costco wants to know if the dealerships fail to respond to their Costco customers. Remember, Costco makes money from each car sold by the authorized costco dealership so they have a very good reason to make the plan work smoothly.

 

[mchristsen]

Well I took delivery of my Met-Silver OB 3.6R Limited w/Nav all purchased through the Costco program. I also exercised a $250 off coupon I got from teh O.C. Auto Show which reduced my price. I agree that if you have a bad experience with a dealer recommended by Costco, you should provide feedback.

Michael.

 

[SALTY]

I tried Costco Auto Program to buy a 2010 RX350. He told me I should go down to the dealership to get their "Costco Price". when I told him that I live 5 hours away, he told me to tell him about the best deal i got and he would let me know, if he could beat it or not. When I forwarded him the other Lexus dealership offer (minus the name of the dealership ofcourse). He e-mailed back saying "Go buy it there then". I found his behavior very rude and unprofessional. I have found out that the costco price is not necessarily the lowest one

 

[hoager]

I was told the Costco price was $500 over invoice. I offered 2% below invoice for a 2.5 Limited, and it was accepted. The whole process took literally less than one minute.

 

[mchristsen]

I was told the Costco price was $500 over invoice. I offered 2% below invoice for a 2.5 Limited, and it was accepted. The whole process took literally less than one minute.

I think dealers are willing to accept lower than invoice sale prices in the 2.5, because each dealer usually has a lot of inventory. The 3.6 (esp in SoCal) is not as common and thus paying over Invoice is more likely. Since I had a 3.6 limited w/Nav, I was happy with the $500 over invoice.

Glad to hear that your experience was painless and quick.

M

 

[bigdadi]

This Costco car program is a joke ... when I tried to buy or lease a Honda 2 years ago, I sent the Costco assigned Honda dealer an email.
I knew it is a small dealer but they didn't even reply my first email inquiry.