Factory Order

Curious if anyone has experience with the factory order process...

 

I'd like to choose some factory options & specify tires (Michelin's). And, are there other choices that this process allows that are available? Or - are you locked into the limited options on the Subaru website - build your own?

Most options are installed by the dealer, most factories build the cars a few different way's. Then ship them, the dealers will install bolt on stuff.

 

i.e. my short throw shifter was installed by the Dealer.

What options are available is dictated by Subaru, with possibly a few extras that the dealer has access to. Getting different tires typically isn't on the list of options (more on this in a bit).

 

When I ordered my 2012 LGT, I specified what I wanted. Navigation was factory-installed and everything else was installed either in port or at the dealer. Since the LGT came only in limited trim, it had just about any other typical factory-installed option (leather, sunroof, premium sound, etc) as standard.

 

Since you seem most interested in the tires, it is rumored that you can exchange the Bridgestone OEM tires for another set of Bridgestone tires at a discount. However, I'm unable to find a source to confirm this so you'd have to do your own research. No luck on jumping to a different brand, though, unless you take the tires off and try to sell them.

....hmmm. Thanks, I appreciate the insight.

If you order a new Subaru, you get the tires the auto maker chose as standard equipment for the car unless there’s a tire option and there isn’t.

 

 

Don’t confuse options with accessories.

 

 

Options are installed at a factory because of the higher level of technical complexity needed to install them. Examples of options include a sun roof and an automatic transmission. There are also port installed options for cars built overseas. I think the Legacy is built in Lafayette, IN so there shouldn’t be any port installed options.

 

 

Accessories are easier to install and can be done either by a dealership or by you. Examples of accessories include carpeted floor mats, engine block heater, side moldings, etc.

 

 

If you ask a dealership to install a non-Subaru item like an aftermarket sun roof or some other tires, it won’t be part of Subaru’s warranty. I don’t think dealers have to do non-Subaru changes either; they can tell you to have it done elsewhere.

Options are installed at a factory because of the higher level of technical complexity needed to install them. Examples of options include a sun roof and an automatic transmission. There are also port installed options for cars built overseas. I think the Legacy is built in Lafayette, IN so there shouldn’t be any port installed options.

 

Even though the cars are built in Indiana, they still arrive "at port" for a period of time and port-installed options will be completed there.

 

If I recall, my car was received in port at Rhode Island where it spent a number of days before being transported to New Hampshire.

Even though the cars are built in Indiana, they still arrive "at port" for a period of time and port-installed options will be completed there.

 

If I recall, my car was received in port at Rhode Island where it spent a number of days before being transported to New Hampshire.

 

What exactly are "port installed" options? I know how the guys drive the cars off the boats/containers to the yards near port. I also know that they are not skilled enough to do anything more than apply a sticker to a vehicle, and that no port authority has an auto shop wherein such options could be added to an imported vehicle.

 

Furthermore, I don't think I trust dealership interns to add "factory" optional accessories/bolt-ons. I'd rather do it myself.

If you go to Subaru's web site and click on the buttons to build a 2015 Legacy, you'll notice a $300 option called PZEV (Partial Zero Emission Vehicle). It appears to be a "mandatory" port installed option if you live in the following states: CA, CT, ME, MA, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, and WA.

 

I assume that all new Subarus destined to be sold in the New England states have to pass through the RI facility first to have whatever needs to be installed for PZEV. Although New Hampshire is not listed as one of the PZEV states, all new Subarus probably have to go through the RI facility anyway.

Pzev is a factory option. On the website's "build your own" that is pretty much what you can do for ordering a car. The accessories are port installed. The rest is factory installed.