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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Subaru Forester Prices Paid and Buying Experience
2755 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 5:41 PM
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Replying to: alyosha73 (Jul 01, 2004 9:52 pm) |
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No, actually on my Malibu I paid zero doc fees, had no trade in and financed through my own credit union! My parents did finance their Subie with the dealer, but it was a 2.9/60 month, I don't think that qualifies as being raped. No extended warranty, no trade. And on both these transactions, we also bought from people that were not paid on commissions, via the internet. In fact on the Malibu, I simply got an email that was the right price, made a phone call and that was that. I bought from one of the oldest GM dealers in the nation, but from a guy who know my car even better than I did, which was shocking to me since I spent many hours researching it and drove a bunch of them. I'm not saying my experience is typical, but frankly with traditional dealers beefing up their internet sales its getting more and more common. Many traditional dealers employ someone who is paid a flat fee to deal with their internet customers. Again, Fitz is fine, but they simply aren't the cheapest. I agree that there is a limit to how low a dealer can go, but Fitz does not go lower than anyone else, and in some cases higher. I mean, how do you explain Fitz pricing a car at $300 over invoice when I can buy the same car on the same day for $700 under? And at the same time, Fitz is saying that's their lowest price. Ok, that's fine, but that wasn't the lowest price from somebody else. Also, why is their overhead lower than anyone elses? In fact, I see ads for them, big money tv and radio, as much as I do the others and sometimes even more. The guy I bought my car from told him that they're easy to beat, I believe him. His question was, if they say they are giving your their lowest price, but they change it every couple 2 weeks, how are they actually giving you their lowest price? Look I'm sure Fitz is a fine place, honest, trustworthy, and hassle-free, which is very important to some people. But if your goal is to buy a car for the best price, I don't think that's your best bet most of the time. I'm not telling people not to buy there, I'm just saying that from the sounds of it on here people shop there and nowhere else and just assume they've gotten the best price.
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Replying to: mfletouva (Jul 02, 2004 11:33 am) -Frank |
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I agree with you, that's an accurate picture. A good place to get a picture, perhaps the best price for people who don't want to haggle. But in many instances, not the absolute lowest price.
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Replying to: mfletouva (Jul 06, 2004 12:02 pm) When I mentioned dealer tricks, they were- (stopped to ask for price, they offered a test drive, I drove and said that I am going to wait untill price drops with release of 2005, they said they can give me a better price, just come on in, so I walk in, they write in big letters MSRP, I dont say a word, they substract 1500 of MSRP, I dont say a word, they ask if I like the price, I say - no, I can do better than that somewhere else, at the time 100 under invoice at Fitzmall, they leave to talk to manager, mentioning that they are working hard for me to put me in the car tonight, they come back with 500 over invoice, I say no, they invite the manager, who starts talking that its not the price of the car but its value which I should look for, I say no, he talks about my family and my wife, mentions that I must not love my wife if I dont want buy such a safe vehicle for my family, thats where I say, enough, whats your final price he drops to 400 over invoice, and keeps talking about paying commissions, keeping lights in the dealership, feeding kids and putting them through college, at which moment I say no, and get up. He says - take the car for a weekend and see if you like it, I have to pry their hands off of me and leave, they stick a bunch of business cards in my pockets, and then call for 3 days, but dont drop the price. This repeats in 3 dealerships with small variations.) So theoretically it is possible that you can get a better deal somewhere else, practically for me it wasnt. As for Fitzmall discounting every month, I dont know what incentives are there, but I only saw the price drop when incentives increased, FWIW other dealers dont immediately share those incentives, so in my experience they are worse. I wont be surprised that my next subie comes from Fitz and I'll save my time huggling with dodgy dealers. |
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CR rated the Baja well overall, actually. It ranked higher than the Honda CR-V, for instance. It did poorly in reliability (specifically). Some people like to haggle, lots do actually. But I saw an investigative report where men were given lower bottom-line prices than women, for instance. It would also depend on the negotiating skills of the individual. From my (relatively little) experience, I just kept finding surprises every time I'd buy a car. Sure, price was great, then they'd tack on some other fee or try to add freight a 2nd time. Plus there was pressure to buy on the spot. YMMV. -juice |
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I understand they 'reevaluate' their prices every 2 weeks or so. That sounds like some BAD experiences. I'm curious, though, did you shop on the internet elsewhere? That's how I was able to obtain my low prices. I certainly wouldn't sit there and get berated like that, I just email a dealer, ask them what their price is, and if they don't give me a straight answer, either email them back or just say forget it. When I'm ready to buy, I look at whoever sent me the best quote by email, and that's that. In your case though it sounds like you got a very good deal at Fitz anyway. I think that's great, I bet that happens with some frequency. I'm done with this topic now but the ONLY point I was trying to make is that to listen to some, you'd think you would always get the best price at that dealership, and in MY experience that has not been the case. I was trying to warn people to not just shop there and assume they did the best they could.
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Replying to: mfletouva (Jul 07, 2004 1:47 pm) So in a way you are not talking about haggling for price but shopping for the best price, using email. Well, thats why fitzmall is so good - the prices are listed, actual prices of actual vehicles. By the way, I think Fitz has some kind lowest price garantee, if you can buy the car cheaper somewhere else, they will pay you reward, I didnt check into it, you might want to.
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Replying to: alyosha73 (Jul 07, 2004 6:59 pm)  He chose to honor it. My subaru dealership is a bit closer to my heart and I had some relationships built there so I accepted a slightly less favorable deal in order (not UNDER invoice) to let the guy make some money, but again, he knew I had an invoice offer in hand from another dealer and a carsdirect price, so very little wiggle room. |
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We agree, though, that Fitz is not always going to have the lowest price. Even with an internet quote - there's no guarantee they won't tack on processing fees after you agree on a price for the vehicle. Do you mention that specifically in your e-mail quote request? Thing is, to me the no-surprises, good buying experience is worth something. I'd rather spend $100 more and not feel like I needed a shower after an ugly deal. -juice
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