[4817]

Hello there,

I am heavily researching on buying my first subaru and wanted to see if any of those on this forum had any tips or buying strategies when they went to the dealer to purchase theirs. I am probably leaning into the Premium Automatic with Eyesight. Do you feel that buying a 2017 is also a good move considering this is the first of a revised generation? I normally don't do that with any products but the timing seems to be right for a car at the moment. Any tips on how to help with negotiating price would be helpful and very appreciated. I look forward to participating as well if and when I purchase my first Subaru! Thank you again.

 

[Jojo613]

I'll share my experience being one of the first people to purchase the 2017 Impreza in Northern Virginia last December.

I had first set up my desired build on the Subaru website and then had that information sent to various local dealers.

When I was searching, only one dealership had the 2017 model on the lot. A dealer emailed me that they just received two cars so I went over to check them out.
They had 2 Impreza Premiums. One of them was closer to my build with the Eyesight and moonroof package, plus it was Venetian pearl red, which I preferred.

The dealer and I sat down and he immediately wrote up a price $500 BELOW invoice. I thought that was interesting considering I didn't say a word.
Then he goes back to his manager and the manager crosses out that price and said NO.
The dealer said something to the effect, "Well, I goofed and I actually shouldn't have offered this price; however, since you're literally the first person to inquire about this car, we'll honor it."

I thought this was a bit sketchy and I asked for a mock-up invoice with all the added taxes, fees, etc.
I then sent that invoice to several other local dealerships. NONE of the other dealerships could match the price. They were all over $1,000 more for the same build.
So, in the end, I did zero negotiating because I felt that they were already offering a decent deal on a brand new, just released model.

I think the internet has definitely changed the car buying process. You basically know the invoice, various incentives and the going street price.
I would bet that if you wait a bit for the 2018 Impreza/Crosstrek to come out in the next months, the dealerships will have better deals on the 2017 Impreza.

In terms of a new model 5th generation, you can read all about the issues on this forum. Yes, there have been various problems, i.e., 2 recalls already relating to the infotainment and backup camera system.
Overall, nothing major to deal with in terms of mechanical issues.
I think it's a great vehicle, especially given the price point.

 

[coletrain]

You're best bet is to get quotes from three, or more if you want, dealerships. From there take the lowest one and ask the higher two to beat them. If they beat them then ask the lowest dealer if they will beat the new low price. If they do and you like the dealer then you'll end up with a great deal. I played the game for four months and ended up with a deal $1,000 under invoice price plus a few free accessories. I also had a $500 Ambassador coupon so it ended up being $1,500 below invoice & accessories (maybe about $150.00). You can probably get a better deal than me on a '17 once the '18's hit the dealers. Best of luck!

 

[4817]

Cole, how did you get that special brand ambassador coupon? Is that something a new owner can get or only a prior one? Thank you

 

[4817]

Thank you Jojo and Cole. Those are great starting points for me. This would also be my first new car in general so anything like this is great info. I am hoping for that to be the case since it is approaching the end of the year. I also hope to see if Subaru does any special offers at the end of the year, but that is a hope.

 

[DeanGibson]

$2,157 below MSRP

When I searched for Subarus in July, my local dealer's web page listed my model (see my signature) for $19,296, and had a "Click for ePrice (Internet only)" button. I did, & that price was $17,139, which is what I ultimately paid (plus tax/license).

 

[4817]

Thats interesting Dean. I didn't realize that you could get an incredible deal like that online. I will look into it. Thank you very much!

 

[smrtech]

So some lessons, and I'd do this with any car these days, fairly easy....

Yea, get as many ePrices as possible from dealer websites - they are free and easy. Find candidate cars or ones very similar to what you want and request a price. Even if the dealer is far away or car isn't exactly what you want.

Try not to use an important phone number (or email) as the dealers will hound you to death. I give my Google
Voice number, they would call literally 10+ times in a week, I wasn't there to answer. I only called if interested.

Then you've got an idea on who is hungry for business and will deal and also who you can tolerate working with. That's a big deal to me, saving $100 is much less important than the overall hassle level of getting the deal done.

Then you have an idea on price range, ask a dealer you like to match pricing, get other incentives, financing, etc.
Negotiating your trade-in is a separate process, but the price of the car should come first.

About ePricing - I have found that many dealer's of all types do not give pricing in response to "Get our ePrice". They will simply respond or call and say "great, when can you come in?". I'll give them a chance and say "where's my ePrice?" - if they don't give pricing on a specific listed car, I was done with them. Life is too short and they have to know some other dealership will give pricing and you will be talking with them - how stupid. They only want to get you into the showroom ASAP - not good. That's how I shop for almost anything on the internet. Get an idea of pricing in general from various places - then who do I want to buy from - not always the lowest priced place.

The dealership I ultimately bought from gave me the best ePrice from the get-go (by $500!) and they were very easy to deal with. They very clearly wanted the sale to add to their numbers and this works out great for you the buyer. They are 2 miles from Subaru headquarters and I wondered if this had anything to do with the pricing. Some dealers want to sell cars, others want to take every penny out of your bank account that they can.

Also, if you have interest in an extended warranty, tell the dealer, as I did, "you know, there are Subaru dealerships out there that will sell you a warranty online at a steep discount, will you match their price?". IM me and I can give you the names. "I want to give you my business". The finance guy blinked, 2 sec pause and they said OK and beat the online price by $50 - and said "we just want the sale to add to our numbers, I'm giving it to you at cost" -bingo! YMMV....good luck!

 

[SoCal355]

Like the others say play the dealers against each other and see who caves in.

Tell them only email contact, use a disposable account or just block them after your done

I got he premium, leather, sunroof, every option, eyesite. 31k msrp 27k out the door in SoCal

If your paying cash still finance using their financing and make sure no early payment penalty and just pay in full 3 months later.

They get paid to write a deal with the finance company that they include partially in the discount.

Find a car that's been sitting around a while, they pay a monthly fee to keep the car on the lot, called a floor plan. Faster they move the old crap they can replace it with faster selling models

BTW I was a partner in a Toyota store few years back, I know the game well.

Good luck they are nice cars

 

[Drewskie916]

My 1st car buying experience

My Impreza is my first vehicle purchase I have ever done. I'm fortunate to have gotten advice from my dad during the entire process. he loves to buy and sell cars. i still don't understand why.

Keep in mind, I am 23, and live alone 150 miles from my hometown, and probably a typical candidate to get bent over at a dealership as i have never really dealt with a salesman before.

i commute 80 miles per day for work and my old car (99 forester) broke down one too many times and i was tired of paying to get it fixed. so I'm in dire need of a car and i decided to go ahead and buy a brand new one. when i decided to get my Impreza, i looked every where around me. I never wanted to buy a car until i knew my credit was good enough to where i didn't need a cosigner. the Subaru dealer near my work, got me going on a deal on a used base model 5-speed. the car had 300 miles and these guys didn't want to give me any dealer discounts that they give a new one. they ended up offering me the car for 18,500 with my dad as a cosigner.

my dad told me to say no, so i did. i then called the dealer where i actually live, 40 miles away, i explained the car offer i got from the 1st dealership. told them i want a 5 speed hatch and i didn't care on the trim level. They offered me my Base model 5 speed hatch brand new, at 17,800, but with no need for a cosigner. so i went to see the car after work that day.

here is where my rant catches up with the negotiations of my car.

i really didn't want to spend more than 350 a month because i couldn't afford more than that. so they gave me a quote of the 17,800 for like 360. i kept telling them no and for a while they kept coming back with a new monthly price. As this is all happening, i am texting my dad everything that is going on with the deal. after i got a price i was okay with, my dad told me to try get greedy. literally. he told me to ask for the lifetime oil changes (from the dealer) and the 100k mile warranty for the same monthly payment.

after more haggling they got me the same monthly with the extra requests. so retail total was about 22k. the price i got was 18,200 which was phenomenal. from my understanding during the whole shabang, was that all they really do to change your payment plan is slowly change the interest rate. they started with like 16%interest at like 560/month. kept haggling, and the percent went to 7%. my main argument when i would decline each offer was "look, you have a solid sale with me being your next customer, i just want this price per month and i will sign in blood*jokingly*"

my down payment was a scheduled check of 1500. i bought the car on march 3rd and they scheduled the check to be cashed on the 29th. so i got my car and didn't pay a dime for it for an entire month which was nice.

im overpaying probably for the value of it now. especially because its about to be 6 months with the car on Sunday and i have over 13k miles on it already. ive had zero problems with it, except for the agony of not wanting to put so many miles on the car.

 

[SoCal355]

My Impreza is my first vehicle purchase I have ever done. I'm fortunate to have gotten advice from my dad during the entire process. he loves to buy and sell cars. i still don't understand why.

Great job you did well!!!

 

[C J]

I look forward to participating as well if and when I purchase my first Subaru! Thank you again.

I guess my help will be to add what I paid.

2017 Sport 5 Door, paid 25k and that was WITH 6 year bumper to bumper warranty. No eyesight, my eyes work just fine. Extras: Winter mats, front and rear clear applicay protectors, door guard protectors, auto dim mirror, mud guards, rear tray.

 

[Derrick0580]

Don?t buy into dealer invoice pricing because there are hidden dollars they are tacking onto the factory invoice. If every dealer was selling cars at true invoice every dealer would be bankrupt in no time. Factory invoice is what you truly want which means the actual amount they paid the manufacturer for the car. I work in Lafayette at SIA and can get you true invoice pricing if anyone is interested. Basically I get a little info from you and put it into the computer at work and you and your dealer will both receive notification so you get the actual invoice price.

 

[Buffalo410]

Don?t buy into dealer invoice pricing because there are hidden dollars they are tacking onto the factory invoice. If every dealer was selling cars at true invoice every dealer would be bankrupt in no time. Factory invoice is what you truly want which means the actual amount they paid the manufacturer for the car. I work in Lafayette at SIA and can get you true invoice pricing if anyone is interested. Basically I get a little info from you and put it into the computer at work and you and your dealer will both receive notification so you get the actual invoice price.

Will you check mine? The company I work for handles a lot of Subaru freight including accessories/parts shipped from SOA to dealers, engines and transmissions. I don?t know exactly what deal they have but all employees are entitled to Subaru VIP program pricing on all models except WRX and STi. They have this program with several other manufacturers off the top of my head VW, GM, Hyundai. So I?m interested in what the diffference is between factory price and the price I paid. 2017 Impreza sport MT black no sunroof or eyesight or anything like that. Thanks.

 

[Derrick0580]

Will you check mine? The company I work for handles a lot of Subaru freight including accessories/parts shipped from SOA to dealers, engines and transmissions. I don?t know exactly what deal they have but all employees are entitled to Subaru VIP program pricing on all models except WRX and STi. They have this program with several other manufacturers off the top of my head VW, GM, Hyundai. So I?m interested in what the diffference is between factory price and the price I paid. 2017 Impreza sport MT black no sunroof or eyesight or anything like that. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

VIP is factory invoice so you got the car at cost. Direct employees and immediate family get a lot more off of the vip price as well. We can?t get vip on wrx or sti either, excuse is that there isn?t enough if them built and shipped to the US to offer us a discount. I would prefer they don?t let us have vip on that ugly ass toyota they call a brz and give us wrx instead. I feel like I see a lot more of the wrx?s on the road than brz?s. Just wait a couple years, I think the 2.4 DIT will be available in a lot of subaru platforms as it will most likely replace the H6!

 

[Derrick0580]

I can?t get the actual numerical price, I can get anyone the VIP pricing. From what I have found it about pays the sales tax on most vehicles purchased with it. Basically you pay pretty close to sticker price taxes and fees included in that price if that makes sense?

 

[Buffalo410]

i would have gotten the WRX if it was part of the VIP program. I only went Impreza because of the unbeatable price I had access to. Hopefully in a few years when I?m ready to buy again they will include the WRX in the VIP program.

 

[iwant2getaway]

Don?t buy into dealer invoice pricing because there are hidden dollars they are tacking onto the factory invoice. If every dealer was selling cars at true invoice every dealer would be bankrupt in no time. Factory invoice is what you truly want which means the actual amount they paid the manufacturer for the car. I work in Lafayette at SIA and can get you true invoice pricing if anyone is interested. Basically I get a little info from you and put it into the computer at work and you and your dealer will both receive notification so you get the actual invoice price.

Yea, what Derrick said is very true. 15 yrs ago when I buy my first car the invoice price was about 10% lower than msrp, now most brand are just 6% off msrp. When I bought mine a month ago, I got a quote from internet and present it to the only dealer in my area that has the color and trim that I want and he show me a screen showing "their cost" and said they are losing $1800 on the car if they were to accept that price. I wouldn't believe of course and choose to walk away. Eventually they offer me $300 higher than the price I first show to them and since they are the only one has the color (Lapis blue) I want, I got the car and never look back. My price is $3100 off msrp.

Another point to make, it's really hard to compare how good the deal you got as the difference between a fully loaded limited hatch and the base sedan MT could be more than $10k. However, if you have done price match of at least 3-5 dealer and multiple dealer is not able to offer you the price, you probably has a good enough deal already

 

[smrtech]

Yep, right, you only really know a good price by comparison to other dealers and similar cars, which is very easy to do. Like somebody else said, Invoice price is really meaningless these days. The kickbacks, hold backs, bonuses, or whatever the manufacturers calls it, makes it hard to tell what a real price is. And quite frankly, I don't care what the dealership paid for the car or what it costs him. I only care what it costs me!

Even if a dealership shows online a car that might be similar to what you want, or only vaguely, ask for a price. By doing this with about 5 dealers over a few weeks I easily knew who was more motivated to sell, then I could zero in on the exact car. Worked well for me. Minimized negotiation time.