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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: 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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Replying to: cathmac (Mar 14, 2006 5:36 am) Here is an update. Ran the VIN thru Carfax free Test Run....came back as "No Recornd of Vin..or something like that. I guess that is a good thing since it had not been titled as yet! I am also very interested in an extended warrenty! Here is another interesting "Becker" touch, they (Becker) will offer extended warrenty that basically covers what Subaru New car warrenty covers. But with an interesting twist! They will refund "ALL" $ of what you paid for the xtd warrenty if you do NOT make use of it!! So, for ex: if you purchase 7yr. ,100,000 package, and do not lay any claims against it, (Which they will check with S.O.A) they will cut a check at 100% refund. I have never had an extended car warrenty, but I think I want to go with one this time. I will check out your info on the Warrenty JOHN
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Replying to: hoople (Mar 14, 2006 6:53 am) I'm glad to hear you got a "No Record" from Carfax. Even with my active imagination I can't come up with a scenario where one dealership's catastrophe damaged vehicle would wind up on another dealer's lot in a different state. So as long as the Carfax "No Record" is accurate you should be ok. Although I'm sure a conspiracy theorist could come up with something to worry about. For additional peace of mind you might try to subtly get more info on the history of the car from the dealer --in the natural course of things-- and/or contact Subaru Warranty once you are the titled owner. I am a big fan of extended Mfr's warranties. As much as I loved my OB Sport the extended warranty got quite a work out. I spent about $900.00 on the warranty but I had more than $2000.00 worth of warranty work including: --a $1,350.00 short engine block replacement, for the part alone, not including labor; --rear differential, $700.00 +/- on the part alone; several wheel bearings (at least $100.00 or so each), etc. Regarding Becker's Warranty, I'm guessing it's not backed by Subaru and that you won't be able to go to just any old Subaru dealership. (Although I am thrown by your comment that they will "check with S.O.A." for any claims against the warranty, which implies that some --if not all-- other dealers will accept it). Even if there is a Subaru near you that will honor it now there is no guarantee they will do so in one or two years. You may have the option of having the work done and then submitting the paperwork for reimbursement but you have no way of knowing how difficult or time-consuming the claims process might be. Additionally, even if you lived near them (which you don't) there is a built in disincentive for you to use it. Would you make a $150.00 claim against the warranty in year one if you think you might not use it again for the next three years? Would you make a $300.00 claim in year two where you've already passed on $150.00 in year one and you may still get a full refund in year three? In the meanwhile, they are earning interest on your money. So, even if I lived near this dealership and I believed they would be around forever I would not consider buying the "Becker" warranty unless I could refrain from submitting any claims until they cumulatively exceed the cost of the warranty. In other words, the time limit on submitting claims is generous enough that at any point --even towards the end of the life of the warranty-- you could submit all claims for consideration; which of course you would only do if the total dollar amount on the claims exceeded the cost of the warranty. Even then, however, you face the risk they won't pay all of the claims and you would have done better if you'd sought reimbursement of the cost of the warranty. My instinct is you are better off shopping around for the best price you can find on a Manufacturer backed "Subaru Added Security" Plan. I know we aren't suppposed to post phone numbers but the name of the dealership I found the price to beat on the warranty is Stacy Subaru in Brattleboro, VT. The contact person is Luke Higly (sp?). By the way, when you say you got the base model am I correct in assuming it is the 2.5i Sedan, with the couple of extra options you described? Is it an automatic? I am curious since I am in the market for a 2005 wagon and I'm trying to get some perspective on the price ranges I am seeing in my area. Just for the fun of it I requested a quote on a base OB Wagon from Becker. If the price is right it might be worth a ride to PA from MA. Once again, good luck and keep us posted. ~Cath
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Replying to: era174 (Mar 13, 2006 12:21 pm) I just visited the Fitzmall website and I'm pretty impressed. These prices are close to what Hoople paid for his. It looks like a brand new 2006 OB/Legacy Wagon is $21,700 or only about $3,000 more than the least expensive used 2005 with about average miles and 1 1/2 to 2 years left on the original Mfr warranty. In fact, a fair number of dealers in my area are asking for about that much on some used 2005s. Before I get too excited, I live in Eastern MA, on the coast in the Boston area, and their Automalls are in PA, FL & MD. Am I correct in assuming you would have to pick up the car at one of their automalls? If so, I might be able to make that work if one of the PA automalls is right on the NY / NJ border. I'd have to do all of the advance work by phone, fax, email, etc. and then my husband and I would have to drive out together to pick it up but for the savings it could be worth it. Have you dealt with Fitzmall &/or any of their automalls yourself? Do they have a good reputation? In the alternative, how likely do you think it is that I could get a dealer that's local to me match their prices? Thanks for the info and feedback. ~Cath
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Replying to: cathmac (Mar 14, 2006 11:31 am) In fact even their body shop is great. -juice |
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Replying to: cathmac (Mar 14, 2006 9:32 am) I will reply to your questions" Car is a 2006 Outback wagon 2.5I/Auto. with HOmelink Mirror/compass access. Xtd warranty is a "Subaru Backed warranty"! Top of the line Gold is 7/100,000 for $1800, 0 deductible. Good at any Subaru dealer. Becker comes into play with the Policy Return Feature. I am also curious to see what they give you! Go to the website and look at the inventory! Hey! Stop on by when you go down to PA and I will throw in some coffee and donuts!! But you have to promise to bring me "Coffee MIlk Drink" I miss that since I have not been to Boston in a few years! Hoop
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Replying to: hoople (Mar 14, 2006 12:36 pm) Thanks for the feedback. I am hoping to hear from the Central Mass dealership towards the end of the week to see if they get any good deals on used 2005 OB Wagons at auction on Thursday. If they acquire anything they could sell in the $17,000 - $18,000 range that's probably the way to go. At that point I'd be saving about $3,500 to $4,000 off of a comparable new 2006. That money is probably better put towards the new roof we need and the new windows we want for the house. If the saving is $3,000 or less a new one is more tempting. I checked Mapquest and Becker in Allentown, PA is about 6 hours from me. The closest Fitzgerald Auto Mall is Annapolis, MD, about 7 hours away. So, if Becker can meet or beat Fitzgerald's best price(including "delivery"), assuming my husband and I are willing to deal with the logistics, then that might be something to think about. But I'll need to wait and see if they respond to my request for a quote. I did check Becker's inventory. They only list MSRP and as far as I can tell they don't have any "Specials" or any sort of new car promotions with an actual list of cars. Although after poking around a bit I did find one notation regarding their car specials due to dealership construction. I guess they need the space. That notation did refer me to their specials page, but all I found there were Maintenance specials. It may be that they've thinned down their inventory to a point where they don't need to price their cars as competitively, or at least not to advertise it as prominently. I seem to recall your saying something about the salesman "holding" the price for you. Was there a time limit on the ad you saw? By the way, did you have a chance to check out Stacy Subaru's Warranty price on a 7 year / 100K, $0.00 Ded? If memory serves correctly the price I was quoted over the phone was $1,530.00 but the price he faxed me was $1,430.00. So you'd be saving approximately $400.00 off of the "Becker" warranty and you wouldn't be faced with the dilemma of whether to actually use the warranty for minor items. Just something to think about. in any case, before you are committed to the warranty I would request a copy of the actual contract and review it thoroughly, for whatever my opinion is worth. At any rate, it looks like you're in good shape now. I'm sure you are relieved. But again, keep us posted. If nothing else I'll be interested to know how smoothly your out of state buying experience goes from here. It could be instructive for me. Good luck. ~Cath
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