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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Subaru Outback Prices Paid and Buying Experience
2261 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 6:03 PM
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Replying to: steve98 (Mar 11, 2006 4:50 am) Yes I was caught short by the quote! Never thought I could get the Outback at such a price. Dealer "Becker Subaru/Allentown PA". Very low presure dealership. Price was given over the phone. Salesmen said that they were having a special, and would hold the price if I came down. I live in NJ and had to drive a good distance for the purchase. I know I did not use $3500 in gas to get there!! I guess they used the $2000 rebate and their holdback monies to swing the deal Becker dealership claims to be the 3rd largest volume dealer in the USA! I now can see why. Has a good website at Becker.com You can see the inventory, access. and MSR. RAV4: I looked at those as well! Was hunting down an 05 back in October and was having no luck. Toyota dealers, if they had any, were not willing to deal them out! That was strange considering the 06's were comming in. Test drove the 06 I liked everything about it. But, of course, dealers were looking for MSR++ so.....I staggerg back to an Outback! (Ha!)
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Replying to: hoople (Mar 11, 2006 5:16 am) Becker is one of the larger dealers, currently 4th in the nation month to date and 5th for the year.
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Replying to: raybear (Mar 12, 2006 2:59 pm)
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I am looking at 2005 used OB wagons. The best price range I can find in the South Shore/Boston,MA area is $19,500 - $19,995 for one with anywhere between 15K and 22K miles. The in-service dates are all 12/04 - 3/05 or so (according to Carfax). All of the vehicles I am considering are Automatics. I did find one "lost leader" (2005 with comparable mileage, in-service date etc.) at a dealership about 40 miles away in Central Massachusetts for $17,700. Of course that one sold towards the end of February. They do have some similar 2005s in the $18,700 -$18,900 range. Using Carfax it appears that they were all bought at Auction in early March and most are former "daily rentals", one may be a former lease. This doesn't bother me too much since I am planning on buying a "Subaru Added Security Plan" (more on that later.) I had been working with the internet manager over the phone to see if he could get one of the lower priced ones within striking range of $17,700. Ultimately I got a voice mail message from one of the owners. After playing voice mail tag I did speak with yet a third person (calling on behalf of the owner) who basically said these prices were firm. This came as a bit of a surprise since the vibe I got from the internet manager is that there may have been one or two they would have had some flexibility on. I think I should still be able to save at least $150.00 using their "Internet Savings" certificate and another $150.00 if I set up a test drive appointment through their website. So, theoretically I should be able to get a 2005 for $18,400 -$18,700, representing a potential savings off of the local vehicles of $1000.00 to $1,600.00 Also, the Central Mass dealership does have one 2004 for $17,700. It has about 35K miles and a Feb/04 in-service date. What I would be losing is about 1 year of original Mfr warranty and side curtain airbags. (Unless anyone can point out any other differences that I am missing). Obviously I am reaching the point where I need to re-visit my local dealership (with the $19,995 2005 OB) &/or finally visit the Central Mass dealership. I'd appreciate some insight into whether the Central Mass dealership may have more flexibility in their prices, since they bought these vehicles at auction, or whether I should focus on trying to get the local dealer down by about $1000.00. The local vehicle has a little less time left on warranty but significantly lower mileage. It also has these "options": security system upgrade ($98.00), all weather mats ($55.00), and cargo net ($45.00). As I understand it, the usual security system is just a "Dummy" flashing light but the upgrade actually makes noise. As long as the light alone qualifies me for the insurance discount I'm not sure the security upgrade would mean anything to me. I don't know how motivated the local dealer would be. I tested the waters before I realized the $17,700 lost leader had sold and they made it clear they weren't coming down to $17,700 or $18,500 but they never made a counter-offer. They have a reputation for not negotiating but have been known to come down by $1000.00. If it matters, they acquired this 2005 OB wagon at an auction in January of 2006 but it is one of the few vehicles they have in this category, compared to the Central Mass dealership. They have it marked as a "super saver", I think because it's white. The only other vehicle they have in this category is about the same price with slightly higher mileage but more time left on warranty. However, they acquired this one at auction much more recently. So, I would appreciate any thoughts on where to go from here. Do you think either of these dealerships would be more motivated towards the end of the month? I had considered waiting until the Summer but if the current prices on used 2004s are any indication I'm not sure the 2005s would be significantly cheaper then. If only because the more reasonably priced ones seem to be former daily rentals bought at auction and I have no idea when those might be hitting the dealers' lots again. Not to mention if I wait too long then we would be getting closer to the Fall/Winter and I'm guessing AWD vehicles will be at more of a premium then. Regarding the warranty, for a non-turbo, $0.00 Deductible, Gold Plus, 7 yr / 100K warranty the best price I found over the phone was $1,530. He faxed me a quote and the $1,530 was crossed out and replaced with $1,430. That's slightly better than 40% off the $2,460 MSRP. I'm guessing that's as good as it's going to get but if anyone is aware of a better deal please let me know. Again, I'd appreciate any feedback on how to negotiate on any of the vehicles described above and whether I found a pretty good deal on the warranty. Thanks, ~Cath |
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Replying to: hoople (Mar 13, 2006 5:28 am) I realize that you are buying a 2006 but are you under the impression you are buying a new vehicle(possibly a demo) or a used one? How many miles are on it? Since this almost seems to be a "too good to be true" price, I think what Raybear is suggesting is that this may be a used vehicle that the dealer picked up at auction. The big tipoff would probably be mileage. Although it is possible for the miles to be so low that you might take the vehicle for a demo. Worse yet, it is theoretically possible for the miles to be so low that it might be a flood vehicle (e.g.: Katrina). In my case, I am looking at a number of used 2005 OB Wagons that I know are former daily rentals that were purchased by the dealer at auction. I learned this through Carfax, which you may have heard of before. Here is there link: http://www.carfax.com/cfm/UUCP_Redeem1.cfm If you haven't heard of them, they are essentially a service that has developed a database of used vehicles through public --and some private-- sources of information including the Registry of Motor Vehicles (for purchase info) and State police (for accident info). If they give you a clean report, they offer a “Buyback” guarantee against certain problems (odometer rollback, salvage titles, etc.), but you need to register with them within 30 days or so to be eligible. I should note that they aren't the only service like this out there. If you have any question about whether the vehicle has been represented to you accurately I would definitely spend the $19.99 or so to get a report from one of these types of services. For anyone else who is in the market for a used vehicle and thinks they will need to look up more than one vehicle, with Carfax you can get a 30 day membership and look up an unlimited number of vehicles for $24.99. Let us know what you learn. ~Cath
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Replying to: cathmac (Mar 13, 2006 9:56 am) Now you got me worried! But.....I test drove the car. It had less than 3 miles on the odometer. I have the VIN number on this vehicle. I also had asked the dealer if this stock came from flood areas (Katrina) He looked at me like I was crazy...but I made him sign the agreement that it was NOT a flood car! I have heard about Carfax. But never thinking it could be used for NEW cars! So if I enter my VIN # to the site will it come back as a NEW CAR? Would it tell me where the car started is journey to my dealer? I pick the car up Friday (unless it snows!..not ready to test the 4WD right out of the showroom!) If I ask the dealer if the car is from an Auction...do they have to disclose the details? The deal just seemed too smooth! I started to question if I had taken the correct invoice price from the internet! Looking forward to what the group suggests I do BEFORE I give the final check!! Thanks, Hoople
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Replying to: hoople (Mar 10, 2006 6:59 pm) Bought for $21,300!!! Congrats, it's a really super deal! For other potential buyers, check http://www.fitzmall.com before you go to a dealer. Right now, the cheapest Outbacks are: OBK 2.5i Manual $21,330 MSRP: $25,475 OBK 2.5i Auto $21,767 MSRP: $26,526
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Replying to: drfill (Mar 13, 2006 11:27 am) I feel much better knowing that you drove the vehicle and it had less than 3 miles on the odometer. Of all the hypothetical things you have to worry about I think you’ve ruled out the worst case scenario in having them sign something assuring you it isn’t a flood vehicle. To try and answer your latest questions: I have a current Carfax subscription; I ran a Vin for a new 2006 Outback and got the following notation: “The CARFAX© database currently contains no records for this vehicle. Please check back again soon, as our database is continually updated.” Regarding what the dealer must disclose about the vehicle, that probably varies depending upon state law. However, there are a few basic principles of contract law that probably apply here: 1) The duty of each party to deal with each other in “good faith” and 2) the duty of the Seller to disclose anything that has a material affect on the value of the item being sold. That begs the question of what is “good faith” and what has a "material affect" on the value. For the sake of discussion, assuming that the vehicle is “Used” they would probably have to let you know that since there is a big difference in price between a new and a used vehicle, even for one of the most current model year. A demo may fall into a gray area but I would think most reputable dealers would let you know that and, again, the mileage would probably be a tipoff. I think Subaru also has “Used / Executive” cars driven by Subaru dealer owners and the like. I see this notation on cars available for sale in my area but don’t know whether these are technically “Used” and whether the “Used” and/or “Executive” notation is required. My guess is the “Executive” notation is a more appealing way of putting people on notice that it’s “Used”. However that’s not likely to be an issue with a car that has only 3 miles on it unless the odometer has been rolled back. If the vehicle has been disclosed as “Used” then they probably don’t have to tell you how they acquired the vehicle (e.g. at auction). On the other hand, regardless of how they acquired the vehicle in all likelihood they need to tell you if they know --or have reason to suspect-- that it is some sort of salvage or flood vehicle. I think that, as with the purchase of a house, the duty to disclose negative information is weakened if the Buyer has the right of inspection and the negative info in question could have been discovered by inspection. Of course, very few people that think they are buying a new car would ask if they could have the vehicle inspected. As a practical matter, in my limited observation, oftentimes very intelligent buyers are “put on notice” of critical information by way of the paperwork. As an example, I have a friend that got a great price on a used van only to find out that he had “signed for” income disability insurance and an extended aftermarket warranty after he had specifically told them he didn’t want or need either. However, he didn’t look at the paperwork carefully enough. Fortunately that story has a happy ending. I won’t bore you with the details except to say that I got involved at the eleventh hour. For what it’s worth this is the course of action I suggest: 1) Check your paperwork. In addition to reviewing what you do have copies of make sure you aren’t “missing” anything they might “accidentally” have forgotten to give you a copy of. 2) Call or better yet visit the dealership and “go over” the paperwork with them; that’s your best way of making sure that they don’t have a copy of something you don’t have 3) As an alternative to #2, take the more direct approach and simply call and ask. 4) Finally, I would definitely try to run a Carfax, if it comes back without a record you are probably ok. I do wonder if you sign up for the one report and it comes back with no record if you’d get a refund but I think that’s the least of your worries. It’s kind of sad that when you get a good deal you almost have to start to wonder if it’s too good to be true. Good luck and keep us posted. ~Cath
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Replying to: drfill (Mar 13, 2006 11:27 am) I am replying again because it just occurred to me that there may be a much more practical direct way to get some useful history on the vehicle. Try calling Subaru of America Customer Service &/or Warranty. Generally their policy is to not give info regarding a vehicle to you unless you are the owner but in the past I have had some luck calling them regarding extended warranty eligibility on vehicles I am interested in once they knew I currently owned a Subaru (which sounds like your situation). Be prepared to give them the VIN # of your current vehicle. You don't necessarily have to open with any alarming, inflammatory questions such as "is it a flood vehicle". You might start by simply asking if it is eligible for an extended warranty and if so what the in-service date would be. Which brings me to another point, if you are interested in an extended warranty I think I found the price to beat at Stacy Subaru, Brattleboro VT. Check my posting one or two pages back for the details on a 7 year / 100K, Gold Plus, $0.00 Deductible. Good luck, I'm anxious to hear how things work out for you. ~Cath
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