Purchasing 2005 nonlimited GT, few final questions

hey i just put a deposit on an atlantic blue 2.5 gt nonlimited. it has 39000 miles, the dealer offered me a good deal. the manager is saying that i get a 12 month/12000 mile warranty with the car or i can get the certified subaru warranty for 500 more. do u feel that it is worth it?

 

secondly, how is the sound system in the nonlimited. i have done some research and i know that it has the 6 disc player, but would it be worth it to have the sub put in for around 200 to 250 more?

I got the sub. Sounds OK. I think in hind site, I would have opted for a real amp and sub in the trunk (at the expense of trunk room). That being said, the stereo is just fine for normal listening with the sub as long as you're not hoping to play booming rap music. It sounds very nice with stuff like U2 or pop music. Good luck with it. Mine's been great

I agree on the stereo with the sub.

 

Unless you're friends with the Dealer, I think I'd go with the official Subaru warranty

Also it sounds like the car is still covered under the powertrain warranty for a bit longer

 

If you don't mind me asking, what year and price is the car?

So,

 

I am bit confused here. Is the dealer saying he'll give you a Subaru Certified Warranty for $500 along with the 12/12 warranty? Or is he saying that he'll do the Suabru Warranty for $500 and not give you the 12/12?

 

I would want both. and where is this car? I thought that a used Subaru at a Subaru Dealer would already have a certified warranty with it. If the car's not at a Subaru dealer how is he going to sell you a Subaru warranty exactly? He can sell you an extended warranty. But not from Subaru directly.

 

Would you please tell us what dealer this car is at(Meaning is it a Subaru dealer). Right now as it stands it looks like he's trying to sell you an extended warranty. But I could be wrong. Please clarify for me.

hey,

 

the car is a 2005. sry if i didnt make my original post clear, the warranty situation is a bit complicated haha thats why i came here for some guidance. basically what i understand is that the 12 month/12k mile warranty is offered by the dealer for any used car purchased. in addition theres also the remainder of the original factory warranty . then the dealer is offering to put the subaru certified warranty on it for an additional 500 bucks which would extend the warranty to 6 years / 100k miles from the date of original purchase by the previous person who leased it (which was the end of feb 2005). so i hope that clears things up a bit, looking forward to hear more opinions. also im having a bit of trouble finding exactly what the "certified" warranty covers. and for the most part do the dealers adheer to the warranty or do they try to look for a way out?

 

also it looks like i should go with the sub, is that something that can be done after i purchase it (as i doubt im going to get any discount), or is it somethin you would recommend doing right now before i pick it up.

 

thanks

 

blue2.5gt

Alright,

 

This is confusing even to me who is a stickler for warrantys.

 

I need to know if the Car is at a Subaru Dealer. I don't see how if it's not at a Subaru dealer how he will sell you a Subaru warranty. Thats what I am confused on. Plus most extended warrantys are through secondary companys.

 

And with 39000 miles what Factory Warranty would you have? The Warranty is 3/36 brand new. Maybe some components of the powertrain but that's probably it. So if anything else breaks or goes you will be screwed with the bill.

 

Also u need to ask what the deductable is on the extended or "Certified" warranty. Yes there is one, just like an insurance policy. And ask this dealer for more info on the warranty, he's the one that's selling it. As far as the price thats not a bad price for an extended warranty. But my question still stands, Can you do both or is it either or?

 

As for the Sub, wait until you get the car to buy anything. Make sure financing is in place, and you have funded contract before doing anything. You don't want a situation where they say oh yeah here take the car everything is OK and then get a call the next day saying "We need you to come up with X more down". But yes you can buy it anytime. I think it was $250 from any dealer. You can pick one up on Ebay or possibly here for less.

 

Good luck.

hey sry i forgot to say its from a subaru dealer and they made it clear that the certified warranty is through subaru. if i pay the extra 500 ill get the certified subaru warranty in addition to the 12 month /12000 mile warranty from the dealer. if i dont then i just would get the 12 month / 12000 mile warranty from the dealer. thanks for the info, ill get some details on the warranty and post them up here

OK,

 

No need to post the details on the warranty.

 

If I were buying the car I would pay the $500 bucks and have both the 12/12 and the extended.

 

I would go over the warranty with the finance guy and make sure that what you want to be covered is covered. But yeah man good luck! It's a fun car and you will love it!

My $0.02. The consumer's price of an extended warranty are very negotiable. I'm no expert since I tend not to buy them (but, I'll always negotiate with a dealer on the price before saying no).

 

So, I'd say you are getting a 50% discount on what the equivalent price of a warranty would be for a new car. Big caveat, the warranty price and deductable are negotiable so we've only got the price not, deductable.

 

Unless you are unlucky (and some people are), the odds are against you ever needing to use the extended warranty - especially on a Subaru. Having said that, if you are not cash strapped, $500 is a cheap price to buy some peace of mind - assuming the deductable is not too high.

thanks for the advice so far,

 

just a bit of an update: i spoke to the dealer today and the car is taking longer than expected because apparently there was a "small leak with the turbo". im not too familiar with turbos and i havent spent too much time on the site. so i was just wondering is this turbo leak more of a fluke which i am benefiting from because i get a new turbo. or is it something to be concerned about? also the car is 5eat

I recall a somewhat common problem with the turbo on the 05's

So,

 

Are they replacing the turbo or just fixing it? I would be concerned here. if you will be getting a new turbo before you take posession of the car, then go for it. Did they state they were replacing the turbo or just fixing it?

they stated they were replacing it, his exact words were "new turbo". but i dont have anything in writing in saying that, do u think its good enough? my mechanic is going to be looking at the car, would he be able to tell? thanks

Ummm,

 

IDK here man. If they are stating they will be replacing the Turbo, ask if you can see them do the install. That might not fly however. If they say no, and your mechanic says everything's cool they go for it. If he says there's no evidence of a new turbo being put in, then address this issue with the dealer.

 

If it was me, I would do what I could to watch them put the new turbo it. I don't know if they will throw the insurance thing at you"per out insurance you can't come back into the service area" or maybe the sales manager can pull some strings to ensure you buy it.

 

If they say no, try and get something in writing that states they replaced the turbo. That way any problem, they did the install, they replaced it.

 

Good luck,

 

Hope everything goes smooth.

I'm just going to throw my $.02 in here!! I know I'm new here, but I have experience in the industry!!

 

Firstly, the Subaru CPO warranty has a 6 year/100K powertrain warranty with $0 deductible (on the powertrain). If the car was originally purchased in Feb '05, then you have 2 years left on the powertrain warranty. The question I'd ask is if the turbo is covered by this powertrain warranty (should be!). Assuming it is, you are getting a new turbo and will have a 2 year warranty on it! Had you purchased the car, non-CPO'd and blown the turbo up in say, a year's time, you would have had to foot the bill and only got a one year warranty on the turbo...

 

Link to subaru's website re CPO: http://www.subaru.com/misc/cpo/index.jsp

 

It looks like there are different levels of coverage for bumper to bumper, but the basic "certification" comes with a 6 year/100K powertrain warranty.

 

At $500, my guess is the dealer is making $100-$200 on the certification process... I don't believe that's the idea of CPO and disagree with this practice on principle. Basically CPO is decided by an inspection - the service department will be charging the sales department for this inspection - when the car passes the inspection they can "certify" it. So sales is probably paying $300 or so for the inspection then making some money on it (does that make sense). This is how it works with VW, and I'm assuming it works the same way with Subaru. If that is the case, and Subaru's principles are the same, then the whole idea of CPO is to give the customer piece of mind when they are buying a used car - to encourage them to buy the car. The idea is NOT for dealer to actually charge for the CPO itself - if the dealer can get more for the car because it's CPO'd great, but if you've already made a deal for a car, then they offer to CPO it, you should just be charge the actual cost to CPO it... IT IS NOT A SALE ADD-ON like undercoating, accessories, etc, etc. Actually, thinking about it (I don't know if you can actually do this), I'd probably ask them if you can just pay the service department for the inspection directly and skip the middle man!!

 

I hope that makes sense. About the turbo - there are two ways to look at that: 1) Maybe the car's been driven really hard and it's a sign of things to come - stay away. Or: 2) Maybe it was totally a fluke manufacturer's defect in the turbo and you have the chance to buy a car with a BRAND NEW turbo and a warranty to back it up. No one can tell you if it's 1 or 2, any time you buy a used car you are taking a bit of a chance, right? As Gatvol said above, just make sure they actually DO put a new turbo in it. IMHO I don't think there is no need to stand there and watch them though - that seems a little over the top - no disrespect meant to Gatvol!! All you need to to is INSIST you get back up paperwork (say you won't buy the car if they don't give it to you). What I mean is get the service invoice that has the turbo and labour to install on it (make sure it is the VIN of your car that's on the invoice). With that you are completely covered. An actual Subaru dealership would not be stupid enough to give you that paperwork and not ACTUALLY change the turbo - that would be some lawyer's wet dream!!

 

Sorry I'm going on and on. Bottom line, no one can tell you whether or not to buy this car or not - none of us have a crystal ball. Everything else will just be opinions and experiences!!!

 

Good luck,

-Chris

No offense taken,

 

I have a nasty habit of making sure the job is done.

 

How much is this 05 anyway? With the backup paperwork, I would be a little weary, just because I have personally seen a specific automaker(Not Subaru) say something was replaced on the paperwork and not be replaced.

 

Have you pulled a carfax on this car? I would want to see one on any used car regardless. If it was a leased car it may have been driven hard as stated in the above post, but it may have been babied as well.

 

At this point, I would say let's see what they do. Let us know when you know.