Looking for a new Subaru? Dealer Invoice (Minus) Dealer Holdback

[axis008]

Well convincing my parents didn't really go well. They said they'd talk about it but that probably means no. But I guess I have till Thanksgiving to go over it in detail... Thanks again for all the help.

[SBT]

[quote name='EyeFlyIsTheEye']Subietonic, do you know the measurements of the wheel locks for the Legacy? With all those numbers, I'm confused... I also have Gorillas on my Konig Divas on my Camry and they work fine for the price. BTW: I'm gonna pick up my Legacy from Desiree next week, and I will be walking out of the dealer, $27,570.12 poorer (including tax and license!) for a Legacy GT with these options: Subwoofer Auto-Dim Security Air Filtration All-Weather Mats Really great deal, and SBT, you are da man![/QUOTE]EFITE, Glad to hear you're getting your LGT. With all of us getting them, we are going to have to have a local fun run/get together soon, but hopefully, not before I get mine next month. I'm grateful that Jeremy called me to let me know IS was doing this. the deals (on whatever Subaru product you want) are awesome. If I weren't waiting for an STI Forester next year for my wife (hehe), I'd got get an FXT for her too. WRT Subaru locks, I don't know the measurements for the locks but all of the current Subaru products use am M12x1.50 stud if that helps. SBT

[SBT]

[quote name='axis008']Well convincing my parents didn't really go well. They said they'd talk about it but that probably means no. But I guess I have till Thanksgiving to go over it in detail... Thanks again for all the help.[/QUOTE] A008, Don't sweat it. Parents are smart and it sounds like you're being a diligent student and a good son. Doesn't mean that you wait for the handout... just means that you're building capital that you (and they) can use to invest. I recall that I wanted a 1968 Opel Kadett Rallye that my cousin had brought back from Germany and was selling. Sweet little car and was different from anything else in the area. Guess that's one of the reasons I like Subarus so much today. They're different thant 90% of the cars out there. I was going to pay for the whole thing but I needed them to sign the loan because I was too young (only 17) to sign it. They told me they'd think about it and then bought it secretly behind my back. I still paid for it, but they did it as much for me as they did for themselves because they knew I would work hard to pay for and take care of it. Not trying to get your hopes up... but as a parent, I've been known to do a few things like that for my kids. SBT

[axis008]

Yeah, I understand why they don't want to get it. For them it's a financial thing. I just can't help it sometimes. It is just part of my character to be selfish when it comes to things I desire.

[eVoMotion]

SBT This is a very compelling deal. I am in Oregon. I plan to buy very soon and am not seeing a Black GT Ltd 5sp wagon available locally. Best deal Carr Subaru has offered is to order one for invoice price. Any drawbacks buying a car from out of state? Would registeration in CA be required to drive it off the lot? Wonder if they could reroute the destination to a local dealer? Ideas? Cheers!

[sde]

sales tax?

[Rommel]

sales tax will be calculated according to your local tax

[greg davis]

It is to bad no Indiana vicinity dealer wants to offer the same deals or I would be purchasing one tomorrow.

[SBT]

[quote name='eVoMotion']SBT This is a very compelling deal. I am in Oregon. I plan to buy very soon and am not seeing a Black GT Ltd 5sp wagon available locally. Best deal Carr Subaru has offered is to order one for invoice price. Any drawbacks buying a car from out of state? Would registeration in CA be required to drive it off the lot? Wonder if they could reroute the destination to a local dealer? Ideas? Cheers![/QUOTE] Just talked to Desiree, the owner at Irvine Subaru, and she has three in Black 5BH (05 GT Limited Wagon with Taupe Leather Interior) in stock right now. She indicated that Subaru is either out of stock of black leather or they're not going to be making any soon. I could have missed something on this but call her to confirm - 800-970-5755. Couple of things to think about from Desiree: 1) If you "bought" the car in CA and "drove" it back to Oregon, you'd have to pay CA sales tax because you're taking delivery in CA. She indicated that there was no sales tax in Oregon so I'm not sure that would be to your advantage. 2) If you "bought" the car in CA, but "shipped" it back to Oregon, you'd pay no sales tax because you're not taking delivery in CA. Probably not that much to ship from SoCal to Oregon so that may be an advantage and you get the car you can't find there at a great price. 3) If you "lease" the car then there's no sales tax because you're taxed on the amount of your payment. However, I just saw something on the forum about Subaru lease-cash (~$1-1.5K) which reduces your lease capitalization and that "is" taxed as part of the lease setup. Not sure if I answered your question(s) but hopefully, have given you some info to discuss with Desiree. Good luck. SBT

[SBT]

[quote name='greg davis']It is to bad no Indiana vicinity dealer wants to offer the same deals or I would be purchasing one tomorrow.[/QUOTE] I know, this is a killer deal. FWIW - I'd take the approach that volume for the dealership is a good thing, unless Subaru is just one of many products that they sell and then they typically have a "we don't care that we don't care attitude" where their Subaru product line is concerned. However, help them see that you're making an investment in future sales because of your "pro-active" support for the dealership and selling "by extension" for them. That should be worth at least one good deal where they see the "logic" and help you out. Wish I could do more because I'd love to see everyone get into a new LGT. Good luck, SBT (feeling your pain)

[eVoMotion]

I just spoke with Desiree - a very pleasant person. She asked that I inform the Forum that GT wagons with black leather are definitely currently backordered with an unknown delivery date. She has communicated to Subaru the high demand, but has not receieved any resolution. She also asked that we review her in-stock inventory - [url="http://www.irvinesubaru.com"]http://www.irvinesubaru.com[/url] Click left "new car inventory" button and then search for your desire model. There are three wagons with taupe leather in stock. I need to go to a local dealer and take a second look at this color. Thanks to SBT for his assistance.

[pug]

Hi all, esp SBT. Been watching this thread with great interest, and called Irvine Subaru today. Spoke with Desiree (who was very helpful and friendly), but she said that the dealer holdback had been changed from the ~$1200 or so to about half (in the case of a Legacy GT Limited Wagon, it was around $550 or so). She said the other half went to the dealership and won't apply anymore to the 'special deal'. Apparently this deal was also posted to i-club, which she mentioned (apparently if I read the whole thread on i-club, I'd see that the holdback had been cut in ~ half). So... I was wondering if anyone has any info/comments on this. I'm a bit confused atm. Also, I'm looking for a Legacy GT Ltd Wagon 5EAT Silver. I was quoted just under $29k, and it included a few basic options like wheel locks, and I think a sub -- I don't have the exact numbers with me right now, but it was ~$550 under invoice. Anyhow, I have a trade-in for which I'm probably getting KBB's trade-in value @ fair quality, so there's probably a lot of leeway there too. Thanks, pug

[eVoMotion]

So are you saying Desiree said the deal changed and she is not offering the $1200 off - now only offering roughly invoice pricing?

[SBT]

I'm both confused and disappointed at this point but have not talked to Desiree and probably won't be able to do so until tomorrow given my schedule today. This was supposed to run until the end of November but my only guess is that they have sold their pre-determined/needed "amount" of Subaru's for the month already. I know that this has thread has generated at least 6 maybe more sales this past week alone so I'm only speculating at this point and don't know what's happened. Hopefully we'll get some clarity. That said, and not justifying Irvine's price jump, $550 below dealer cost is still a good deal and given that many are paying $300-500 above, it's still saving you ~$800-900 off most deals. Will keep you posted. SBT

[SBT]

[quote name='pug']Hi all, esp SBT. ...I'm looking for a Legacy GT Ltd Wagon 5EAT Silver. I was quoted just under $29k, and it included a few basic options like wheel locks, and I think a sub -- I don't have the exact numbers with me right now, but it was ~$550 under invoice. Anyhow, I have a trade-in for which I'm probably getting KBB's trade-in value @ fair quality, so there's probably a lot of leeway there too. Thanks, pug[/QUOTE] GT Ltd Wagon w/5EAT $28,375 dealer cost + $178 SWA + $27 WL = $28,580 dealer cost. If you subtract out the $550 holdback that = $28,030. If she's quoting you $29K, and the option package is the same, then you're really paying almost $900 above dealer cost. With holdback factored in, you should be paying ~$28K. SBT

[pug]

Hi SBT, I just spoke to Desiree, and have a few numbers in front of me now. I was quoted $29016 for the 5EAT wagon I mentioned above, and it came with a sub, rear cargo net, amp, wheel locks. She said she took $520 (the holdback) off the invoice which was $29,536 -- the invoice includes $575 dest, $275 ad fee. I asked her about the ad fee, since Jeremy said he'd drop it, and she said no, it's on the 'invoice'. And is similar to a non-limited GT wagon that had an invoice of $27335 and I was quoted $26769 (the holdback was $566 for the non-limited). And eVoMotion, yes, that's my understanding -- if I recall, she said the holdback had been 'reduced' by Subaru and that half of it now went to the dealership and would not apply towards commission or something. She said that the holdbacks were higher in August so those cars which sold recently must have been those cars. And yes, I think this is still a good deal, but once one's expectations have been set it's always a little disappointing. I'm actually in northern cali, and the dealers I spoke with would match at invoice over the phone but I'd have to negotiate to get it any lower. Thanks for the pricing SBT.

[eVoMotion]

thanks for the further research... I am getting offers to order my wagon at invoice here in Oregon through Carr. It is still better than the average street person would get, but as you say - an expectation has been set by Desiree. I need to order to get the black leather regardless - might as well do it locally. Either way - as soon as I am behind the wheel (and the 1000 mile break in is over) it will all be a tire smoking memory. Cheers!

[SBT]

Grrrr %^&*#&#(%&, Does anyone know how to post a table inside the thread. I've done up a cost "invoice" table for PUG's car that lists both the MSRP side and the Dealer Cost side of the Invoice. It's all over the map when I copy it into the thread and is darn near unreadable. Any assist would be greatly appreciated. [color=black][size=2]PUG,[/size][/color] [color=black][size=2]Couldn't agree more with you more about expectation management. However, I'm looking at the same cost sheet that Desiree is looking at and it looks like she's subtracting $420 from the dealer cost on the invoice. Desiree is correct, the $275 WER AD GROUP is a Dealer Cost but there is no charge for it on the MSRP side. Unfortunately, Jeremy is on vacation so I can't get him to confirm with Mom what was said. [/size][/color] [color=black][/color] [color=black][size=2]SBT (Somewhat chagrined) :( [/size][/color]

[pug]

Hi SBT, Unfortunately I don't know how to post tables, sorry can't be of help there -- only thing I would try would be to paste it into Word/Excel then Notepad, which should strip out the table info, then paste the bare text into the forum text editor. It looks like SOA has been changing the price of the Legacy slightly over time. Apparently the first few batch of them didn't have the $275 ad fee associated with them, so if you managed to get ahold of one of the early batches, you won't have that listed on the invoice. Presumably the same is true for the amount of holdback as well? Anyhow, now my parents are recommending that I get a Camry SE instead (the fullsize spare and lower 5yr TCO by about $4k), as opposed to a Legacy (test drove a 5MT silver LGT yesterday and I really enjoyed it - felt smoother than a 1.8T Passat, and well balanced weight. Even living in the bay area, I think it'll be fine). But I don't want to digress too much there... But didn't get to test the 5EAT, but will try today. Interestingly, the dealer recommended against the silver, saying that with German-made cars, silver looks fine, but with Subaru, you can see the imperfections (i.e., quality not quite up to par). It was nearly dark when I saw the car, so it's hard for me to judge. Regardless, I'm now also considering Atlantic Blue. Oh and eVoMotion, I don't know how state taxes work between states, but since you're in Oregon, I would guess that the tax is less (if any?) than CA. If true, then $500 probably won't mean anything to the $2500 or so we pay in tax & licensing. All I know is that we have to pay tax on out-of-state cars if it's 'new' (something like < 6 months old or < 3000 miles).

[guru_del]

I just emailed Desiree and we worked out the best deal of any dealers around here in So Cal. I am picking up my wifes new Outback on sat. Thanks for the info on the deal.

[pug]

Hi, Well the dealers in northern cali could only go as low as $200 under invoice (at least, that's what my poor negotiation skills got me), and Desiree had a car with the right color & options, so I'm on my way to pick up my LGT wagon, 5MT. Thanks everyone for all your help!

[guru_del]

hey pug when you getting it? Maybe we can meet up when I am getting my car hahahah!!!!

[eVoMotion]

I just got two price quotes back from: Joe Spitz in Seattle - Carter - invoice price of $28,623 Doyle in Eugene, OR - $27,900 - though does not have the car yet I am waiting to hear back from Ken @ Carr before I make the final decision; he offered to order whatever I wanted for list and is looking at what he can source locally.

[SBT]

[quote name='pug']Hi, Well the dealers in northern cali could only go as low as $200 under invoice (at least, that's what my poor negotiation skills got me), and Desiree had a car with the right color & options, so I'm on my way to pick up my LGT wagon, 5MT. Thanks everyone for all your help![/QUOTE] Look forward to hearing all about it when you get back. Drive safe and break her in easy! SBT

[pug]

hey guru_del, actually I just got it today, around noon -- there were a lot of people picking up their LGTs & Outbacks, etc. from Desiree today. She was a real pleasure to work with. I heard I'm supposed to keep the RPMs under 3k for the first 500 miles, then 4k for the next 500. I'm lucky if I can keep it under 4k at all, the car is really quite a lot of fun. Still varying the RPMs and will continue to break in the brakes as well. Also I checked the car for similar problems that others have had -- for example, radio w/ rear defroster = radio turns off or something. So far no problems. May look into a turbo timer (presumably with a 3rd party alarm), my friend said it really extends the life of the engine. Also, I think the stock shifter works great -- test drove the short shifter, but gtguy is right in that the 1" reduced throw really doesn't make a significant difference (at least it doesn't to me). Happy thanksgiving all!