Missed Incentive . Need dealer help.

[wannasubaru]

Well, looks like I missed the extension on the Outback dealer incentive. I had to work out of town. Over last night (2k off)

 

What's the best approach now. Wait till end of Month? Better deals made? Is that an urban myth? I need to see if another incentive comes around. Can't afford the special edition without it. I can sit. Will they sell out of my color? Darn. Any tips of negotiating would be LOVED!

 

[idosubaru]

Stop in the library or book store and get a book written by a car salesmen. There's probably a couple, I've seen one that was really good but can't recall the name. It was really short, more of a pamphlet but very informative.

 

Your best deal will come with negotiating and not trading in your car. But if you're like most and you don't like doing those then you're essentially paying for the "service" of not dealing with that. That's sort of what they're banking on, most folks don't know how to play that hand.

 

I'm not up on the new car market so I'm not sure how it's been affected with the recent economic deal, but Subaru at least a couple months ago was actually beating previous year marks.

 

Tell them as little info as possible, including where you live. Talk price, that's it and mean business. Cut them off (politely) and don't sit through their rhetoric, ignore their fake "Invoices", and babbling unless they're talking about coming down in price. Plan on stopping in more than once. Looks like you're in a city, shop two different dealers if you can, remembering not to tell them where you live. Send someone else and see what kind of deal/talk they get.

Edited May 5, 2009 by grossgary

[bheinen74]

drive in an old clunker loyal wagon, when they ask if that is your trade, say NO, that your friend is buying it for 4500 dollars, and you are selling it to them as soon as you get the new car to replace it. Then talk about pricing on the new car..

when you get them under msrp, then they might bring the old, lets see about maybe we could take your car for trade to get a better price.

 

 

When they step aside and say, well, we could give you about 3200 for that old clunker, say deal.

[gbhrps]

wannasubaru,

"without the incentive you can't afford it", suggests that you may be aiming too high, particularly in this current market. Its your money and your decision to make, and you certainly don't need me or anyone else to tell you what you should be doing.

 

But I would wonder if you you wouldn't be better off taking your time, searching the various dealerships in your area, to find a one or two year old, low mileage, Special Edition, or even a Limited. You can get far more car for a lot less money than a new one would cost, and with careful shopping, find a real creampuff that puts you in the driver's seat, rather than the dealer. This is the way that I've done things for years. At present my wife is on her 3rd Lexus ES, and I'm on my 3rd OBW LTD, all since 1997 and none of which we bought new and had to pay the long dollar for.

 

The best of luck with your new purchase which ever way you decide to go!

[Bucky92]

When I bought my 08 Impreza back in Nov of 07 there werent any incentives on them ..the economy was good and they were too new ( I was one of the first handful in my state to buy one) . I went in and told the dealer what I wanted to pay and what I wanted my payments to be....this is what I wanted on it and this is how much I have down. They said they would see what they could do and the next day I got the call telling me they would make the deal.

I thought long and hard about how much I could honestly afford ..including insurance. I was looking at a super low mileage bugeye OBS wagon at the time also...and the better deal was going with the 08.

 

I would suggest you think hard about your budget and how much you can spend before jumping into something ( been there/ done that and have the repo to prove it) You want to be able to afford the car payments..easily. Dont be pressured either...stick to your guns and 8 out of 10 times ..withing a day or 2 the dealer will call you back and make the deal you want.

[idosubaru]

wow those two make a very good point. if by not being able to afford it you mean you're living at a high percentage of monthly income then that's a really bad place to be and a terrible financial decision and emotional risk. the loan becomes a huge liability to both of those.

 

i pay cash for everything, i realize most folks can't do that, but at one time i couldn't either. with some good decisions it didn't take long to get there. just because everyone else lives month to month doesn't mean i have to. but i'm wierd, if i'm doing what everyone else is doing i'm probably not headed in the right direction!

[3Pin]

I agree with grossgary. Don't stretch youself. Pay cash for a lesser car and save your money or invest it. New cars are not an investment, it is an expense that depreciates immediately as you drive off the lot. Granted it is a great ride off the lot and for the next year or so, but you lose at least 20% of the value right away. I haven't bought a new car for myself since 94. I try to buy something that has been taken care of or I buy a real cheapie that looks good, but needs a HG job or something most people don't want to tackle. Drive it as long as it makes sense, then sell it and move up the food chain.

[Cougar]

Since you don't need to purchase a new car right away then I suggest you just wait a while and see what happens. Usually the longer you can wait for a good deal to come along, the better the bargain gets. Don't be surprised if the deals get even better than the one you missed. The cash back offer will appear again at some point and perhaps even with lower financing costs also. When the right incentive comes along be ready to make the deal. Time is on your side. You can even save more while you wait to have more cash ready when the right deal comes along.

 

When I purchase a new car I like to get all the extra options since I tend to keep vehicles for a long time (over 10 years). If the dealer doesn't have what I want in stock I may order it. This can add more to the final cost since it may not qualify for a in stock sell off sale but I get what I want and will tend to be happy with it longer and not want to get something else.

[Flowmastered87GL]

according to cars101.com the northwest region still has 1500 on legacy models and 2000 on outback models. til June.

 

Not sure of your region. but if you really dont have a rebate now.... wait. one will come back since you dont NEED a car now.

[wannasubaru]

Thanks everyone. I think I did pretty well today.

Bought a Silver Outback SE. Got a great deal (5k below sticker) and also a low interest rate. Yes, I know everyone mentioned buy low miles, used. All the used ones I came up with were in the 50k miles range. I don;t want a car with 50k+miles. There was a low miles used car that came up, but it was from a rental place. I'm happy with my payments (affordable) and my warrenty.

I'm excited. Picking it up till Monday.

 

Thanks for the feedback. As a mom with a small child, living up high in a canyon, I need a car that I can depend on.

[Olnick]

Congratulations! Ought to be a nice ride--enjoy!

[richierich]

Like you a customer of mine just bought a Outback SE and said it was going to be cheaper with the interest rate then buying the 07 w/ 17k miles on it.

[Bucky92]

I agree..sometime new IS the better deal..it was for me... was looking at a super low mileage bugeye OBS when I got my 08. The bugeye was $14K ( had 8K miles) they wanted alot down and big interest rate.. yet I got my 08 for $18K with a super low one and little down...and I could get exactly what I wanted on it and not settle for something someone else ordered.

 

Congrats!!