il collaudatore Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Based on the majority of threads I've read, a lot of people negotiating very good prices on their Legacy. Is this something common to all Subarus? Or do you think this is a marketing tactic to get the word out that Subaru is no longer a "poor man's Audi"? You can't negotiate too well with an Audi or BMW, I would think since they have status and can charge higher prices. Since Subaru has stated they want to move upscale and compete with Audi and the Germans, that means they want to compete at their price range. But how many people would take a chance on a $30K+ upscale Subaru Legacy, esp. since it's their first upscale car? I'm guessing that the avg. person would not even consider the Legacy if they're in the market for a $30K car. It's kind of like when Lexus first came out- they weren't charging $70K+ for their first car. Do you think after the word has gotten out that the Legacy can compete with Audi, et. al. that this period of generous pricing will end? And when do you think this will happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smada Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 While some BMW dealers won't negotiate, some will. It just depends on how bad they want to sell a car that day. Just like some Honda guys will deal, some Subaru guys will deal, etc. It seems to me that they want to move these things quick, but they were also willing to deal on the STi and WRX when I was in. If you are willing to make a reasonable offer (slightly over invoice) most 'reasonable' dealers will eventually take it. I did notice that BMW dealers were a little more 'proud' of their product and thought they should make a much higher profit for it.. I don't agree with that and that's one reason I'm not buying a bimmer (besides the fact they are already way overpriced). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPower Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 Prices tend to be lower with the internet shopping public that we are a part of. Just because people have been able to negotiate these prices doesn't mean that's what most are going for. If a sales person gets a minimum commission of $100 (which all of these low selling prices garner a mini), then he/she will have to sell at least 30/month to get $3000 when the actual average is about 10-13/month. This is why I'm getting out of the car business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebio in CO Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I came across quite a bit of variability in the willingness of dealers to negotiate price. Some dealers were adamant that they were no haggle and would not entertain offers from me. Some said that because it was brand new model I'd have to basically pay msrp (yeah right). Others would play the game. I ended up emailing all the dealers in colorado to inquire about their best price on the car I wanted. Only 4 or so wanted to talk turkey over email. From there I went back and forth. Took me a week of phone calls and emails but I finally got a dealer to quote me a price in the ballpark of what I was thinking. Then I went in and did the final dickering. I think I ended up getting a pretty fair deal. Took a lot of work though, and many dealers didn't want to "play the game" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldog1330 Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I've noticed both sides of the spectrum as well. One dealer responded to an email of mine after I told him I had better offers elsewhere that he'd beat ANY dealer's offer. And another dealer's idea of knocking a few bucks off was to find one without a spoiler. A third would not move off the sticker price, but rather kept bumping up my trade in value - but was still $2000 off my best offer. So just like nebio said, it all depends on the dealer and how bad they want to sell the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSattler Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 If you can wait six months to buy, the VIP program gets you a legacy (or most anything else) at invoice. That's what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPower Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 [quote name='DSattler']If you can wait six months to buy, the VIP program gets you a legacy (or most anything else) at invoice. That's what I did.[/quote] yep, I just pm'ed him on the details. Does anybody know if the sales person you had been dealing with still gets a commission? I only ask because the VIP program letter I was sent for going to the Ride & Drive directed me straight to the sales manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Zevil Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 You should be able to get invoice or near there now, regardless. They get a substantial holdback.. even on ordered cars. It's hard to trust a dealer, but when you can you will never go anywhere else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerdave Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 With the VIP, you have to be a member for 6 months before you can even *order* right? So then it's 8 weeks or whatever after that if they have to build your car, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver72 Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 [quote name='il collaudatore'] Do you think after the word has gotten out that the Legacy can compete with Audi, et. al. that this period of generous pricing will end? And when do you think this will happen?[/quote] I got mine for $100 over invoice...over the phone. I ordered the car basically as I wanted it (I couldn't get white though, not in this allocation with what I wanted, so I got silver) and I didn't even have to haggle. I spoke directly to a sales manager at the dealership in Thousand Oaks, CA and told him what I was looking for. Told him I wasn't going to come in and sit down with a salesman, and told him a few other things, he than said, I'll get you your car and sell it to you for $100 over invoice, how's that? Perfect. He ran the numbers, I verified and sure enough, $100 over invoice. I think it helps when you order a car, they don't need to spend time and money having it sit on the lot. I think the "great" pricing will end when the word gets out. Unlike the WRX and some other cars that are hyped to no end by the auto mags, this drives prices up. There hasn't been hardly a peep about the new Legacy, hence demand is low. I'd think in a couple months, that will change. They'll never sell for MSRP though, these aren't Audi, BMW, Toyotas when it comes to demand and prestige. But doubtful the dealerships will continue to sell them for a couple hundred above invoice forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 [quote name='PPower']Does anybody know if the sales person you had been dealing with still gets a commission? I only ask because the VIP program letter I was sent for going to the Ride & Drive directed me straight to the sales manager.[/quote] They let you buy at invoice just because you showed up at the R&D?! Btw, I read that SoA will give the dealer $500 for every car sold via the VIP program. So that's $500 + 3% of MSRP holdback + no bank interest or insurance or anything + documentations fee + whatever fees they demand. This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axis008 Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 PPower, the VIP pricing you got from the Ride & Drive: does it expire? -ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 [quote name='il collaudatore']Based on the majority of threads I've read, a lot of people negotiating very good prices on their Legacy. Is this something common to all Subarus? Do you think after the word has gotten out that the Legacy can compete with Audi, et. al. that this period of generous pricing will end? And when do you think this will happen?[/quote] Subarus, prior to the 05 Leg/OB and the whole "premium" thing, have sold below MSRP. Dealers in my area usually go with invoice+some small margin. What I observed was when the 05 models first came out, dealers in my area were trying to stick to Subaru's new corporate policy of selling "premium" vehicles by not budging very far from MSRP. I see the "good deals" as basically a return to business as usual. Another way of looking at it is a measure of brand equity. The difference in selling price between two similarly equipped and capable models, say an Audi and Subie, is what the consumer perceives to be the premium (or discount) for a particular brand. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 [quote name='Driver72'][quote name='il collaudatore'] Do you think after the word has gotten out that the Legacy can compete with Audi, et. al. that this period of generous pricing will end? And when do you think this will happen?[/quote] I got mine for $100 over invoice...over the phone. I ordered the car basically as I wanted it (I couldn't get white though, not in this allocation with what I wanted, so I got silver) and I didn't even have to haggle. I spoke directly to a sales manager at the dealership in Thousand Oaks, CA and told him what I was looking for. Told him I wasn't going to come in and sit down with a salesman, and told him a few other things, he than said, I'll get you your car and sell it to you for $100 over invoice, how's that? Perfect. He ran the numbers, I verified and sure enough, $100 over invoice. I think it helps when you order a car, they don't need to spend time and money having it sit on the lot. I think the "great" pricing will end when the word gets out. Unlike the WRX and some other cars that are hyped to no end by the auto mags, this drives prices up. There hasn't been hardly a peep about the new Legacy, hence demand is low. I'd think in a couple months, that will change. They'll never sell for MSRP though, these aren't Audi, BMW, Toyotas when it comes to demand and prestige. But doubtful the dealerships will continue to sell them for a couple hundred above invoice forever.[/quote] You are correct. My brother-in-law was a car salesman for few years. He told me the same thing. I offered (over the phone) 1% of invoice when I bought my Mustang. Called three dealers and one called me back within five minutes after all said "no" to begin with. Also, as mentioned, don't ever underestimate the dealer holdback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPower Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 [quote name='axis008']PPower, the VIP pricing you got from the Ride & Drive: does it expire?[/quote] 45 days from the date on the letter (Monday after your event most likely). I'm surprised that there wasn't even a ripple in the water when I mentioned that in my Dallas R&D comments. As for the holdbacks, I thought it was about $300. Where I work, we only get paid starting about $400-600 over invoice ($1000 on NSX). That is all supposed to be covering their costs so anything above that should be straight profit for the company, and it's not charity work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoldonSubie Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 All good points. When shopping the BMW dealer by me had a "standard" discount of $2,200 off MSRP on all 3 series. This is up from around $1,400 last March. Also, the Audi dealer discounted the a4 by at least $2k. Lastly, Carsdirect.com is a decent starting point for pricing. Leg GT's are now $1k less than MSRP +/-. Interestingly the XT is still $200 under MSRP for my zip code. But, where I live OB's consierably out sell Leggys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.