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How to Buy a New Subaru at 2% Below Dealer Invoice Without Haggling


Jon in CT

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I received a reply from the VIP Program after asking specifically if the "National Gardening Association" membership got 2% below invoice pricing and the response I got back was:

 

Thank you for your loyalty as a Subaru customer and for your continued

interest in the SOA VIP Program. As previously indicated, eligible

employees of <insert company name> are entitled to purchase or lease a Subaru

vehicle at special pricing. If you are interested in receiving a Dealer

Visit Authorization, please contact SOA VIP Program Headquarters at your

convenience.

However, please be advised that it is not our policy to disclose

information relating to third party vendors or organizations.

Again, thank you for your interest in Subaru and feel free to contact me

should you require any additional information.

 

Since the VIP people didn't say "No", I'm going to assume that means "Yes", so off I go to join up with the "National Gardening Association". After reading about them on their website it appears to be a worthwhile oraganization so what the heck. Plant a tree so I can get a Spec.B!:lol:

 

By the way, there appears to be a VIP Supplier Program (which I can get through work) and also the VIP Partner Program. Both probably vary in their discounts depending on which of those programs you qualify for.

 

I hope this info helps some people and if anyone knows anything else, please elaborate.

 

Ta ta, I'm off to the garden.....;)

 

The program changed recently. It is 2% under invoice now, however most of the sites have not updated their info to reflect that. I got mine for 2% under invoice through Leave No Trace (http://www.lnt.org) last October. I thought it was just for invoice as well, but when I got my paperwork it all said that it would be 2% under. I asked the salesman at my dealership about it when I went in to order the car I wanted and he said he would call and check on that. He called me the next day and said the program had indeed changed and I would be getting the 2% under invoice deal.

 

You can also check out this document here: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=24228&d=1157857078, found in this thread: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42194 . Joining one of these organizations puts you in the "VIP Partners Program" category of that document.

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The program changed recently. It is 2% under invoice now, however most of the sites have not updated their info to reflect that. I got mine for 2% under invoice through Leave No Trace (http://www.lnt.org) last October. I thought it was just for invoice as well, but when I got my paperwork it all said that it would be 2% under. I asked the salesman at my dealership about it when I went in to order the car I wanted and he said he would call and check on that. He called me the next day and said the program had indeed changed and I would be getting the 2% under invoice deal.

 

You can also check out this document here: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=24228&d=1157857078, found in this thread: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42194 . Joining one of these organizations puts you in the "VIP Partners Program" category of that document.

If you work for an SOA/SIA supplier, then you can buy a Subaru under the VIP program at invoice, not the 2% under invoice available under the VIP Partners program.

 

The VIP Partners program did change last year (for the better) and it can change again or even disappear without any warning.

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Thanks Jon!

 

I just signed up for a membership in the International Mountain Biking Association for $25.00. I might be in the market before 6 months pass, but just in case...plus, it's an organization I'm glad to be a part of regardless of the discount. :)

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there reaaaally needs to be someway to do this without being a member for 6 months :confused:

 

Probably not. This program is meant to be a bonus for the people who want to be a member of these associations. The 6 month minimum is most likely to keep out people who are just looking to save money on their car and don't care about the organization that they join. I doubt Subaru would want to be able to give this deal to everyone so easily.

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Probably not. This program is meant to be a bonus for the people who want to be a member of these associations. The 6 month minimum is most likely to keep out people who are just looking to save money on their car and don't care about the organization that they join. I doubt Subaru would want to be able to give this deal to everyone so easily.

exactly. that is most likely why they do this. otherwise they'd lose money if every joe blow from the street could go run out to his car, sign up and come back with the pwk. it's planning ahead. if you can't do that, well guess it's up to your best negotiation skills. LOL

Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah!!!
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Thanks Jon!

 

I just signed up for a membership in the International Mountain Biking Association for $25.00. I might be in the market before 6 months pass, but just in case...plus, it's an organization I'm glad to be a part of regardless of the discount. :)

and that's why we did a family membership of $60 annual to the American Canoe Assoc. We both enjoy kayaking and white water rafting. We're hoping we can get out there more this year, but not sure as it looks to be just as busy as last! regardless, when we do purchase our new Subie, $150 goes back to the organization. :)

Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah!!!
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and that's why we did a family membership of $60 annual to the American Canoe Assoc. We both enjoy kayaking and white water rafting. We're hoping we can get out there more this year, but not sure as it looks to be just as busy as last! regardless, when we do purchase our new Subie, $150 goes back to the organization. :)

 

I joined ACA well ahead of my purchase, but was able to negotiate a better deal when it came time to buy. Fitzmall.com is a good barometer of deals to be had.....VIP takes the negotiating out of it, but it's sometimes possible to get a better deal. My deal was $950 less than VIP at the time (Nov 2004).

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our current problem at the moment is that our original docs expired on friday. the car just arrived at the port and we should take delivery tomorrow (we hope). however, the pwk says 45 days of the letter date, it doesn't say we have to take delivery or not, just give the pwk to the dealer and SELECT the vehicle that qualifies. So now, we cannot get hold of anyone in the VIP Program office to see about faxing a new letter or if the existing one will work since we had given the pwk to the dealer originally and just awaiting for the vehicle to arrive. :(
Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah!!!
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I got my specb for $300 less than the VIP program, but that was after 3 months of searching and negotiating, and I did not get to pick my options. If I knew about this before, it would have saved me a whole lot of trouble and I could have gotten a STI short throw instead of a rear spoiler.

 

EDIT: Most dealers I contacted were still asking considerable markup of up too $4500 and selling a car at MSRP was not an option. They probably would have told me to take a hike had I went in with VIP paperwork. So I do consider myself pretty lucky to have gotten the deal I did.

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I've checked all the links that were on the first post and most of them point to the respective site's web pages that talk(ed) about the Subaru VIP program. Many of those web pages are very old and impossible to navigate to from the homepage which leads me to think they are defunct offers now.

 

Of the websites where I was able to go to the homepage and navigate to a VIP benefit page, nearly all have changed their wording of the deal to read something along the lines of the following:

 

VIP Partners participants can save up to $3,300* off the manufacturer's suggested retail price (depending on model and equipment selected) on the purchase or lease of any new Subaru from participating dealers.

(* From MSRP. Limited time offer subject to changes without notice. Terms and conditions apply. Certain models may be excluded. This offer replaces all existing offers and is not available in Canada or Hawaii.)

 

Also, the only website I found that made any mention at all about being 2% BELOW invoice was the National Gardening Association link. I contacted that organization by email and they said that their contract with SOA had expired and there was no VIP benefit through them now at all.

 

So, that leaves us with no availability of a 2% below invoice (on any of the listed sites) and the rest alluding to possibly the chance that you might get something similar to invoice-like pricing on a new Subie. Clear as mud.

 

Bummer. Oh well, if anyone hears/sees anything on the contrary, please post it up.

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i honestly don't think it's that hard to get a price 2% below invoice even without any kind of VIP membership. unless you're talking about an additional 2% off the absolute best you've gotten, then that'd be a different story.
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well up here, there are only 3 dealers in AK. 1 in anchorage, 1 in Juneau, and 1 in Fairbanks. being that this is AWD capital, getting a great deal is not easy since you can't just drive 10 miles to the next city or town to another dealership. my LGT i got a great deal because i knew they needed to get rid of it. THey were willing to negotiate with me. The STI is a different story. they will sell it full MSRP along with a 10% dealer mark up. so we paid just under $32K for our STI that was priced at $35,500.

 

the downside with the VIP program is that noone seems to know anything or ever actually answer the phone they give you to call. we're still waiting on some pwk to finalize our deal and it's really annoying! so if you plan to use the program and order a vehicle. don't get the pwk about 2 wks before it's scheduled to arrive because it expires in 45 days from teh date of the original letter.

Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah!!!
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well up here, there are only 3 dealers in AK. 1 in anchorage, 1 in Juneau, and 1 in Fairbanks. being that this is AWD capital, getting a great deal is not easy since you can't just drive 10 miles to the next city or town to another dealership. my LGT i got a great deal because i knew they needed to get rid of it. THey were willing to negotiate with me. The STI is a different story. they will sell it full MSRP along with a 10% dealer mark up. so we paid just under $32K for our STI that was priced at $35,500.

 

the downside with the VIP program is that noone seems to know anything or ever actually answer the phone they give you to call. we're still waiting on some pwk to finalize our deal and it's really annoying! so if you plan to use the program and order a vehicle. don't get the pwk about 2 wks before it's scheduled to arrive because it expires in 45 days from teh date of the original letter.

 

Yea it's a little different up there. Fewer dealers competing=bad for buyers. I find it harder to negotiate a good price here in Michigan too maybe because they sell fewer imports here. Besides using the VIP program, getting the Subaru credit by Chase wouldn't be a bad idea either...it gives 3% cashback towards buying a Subaru and getting services at dealer. Anyway, good luck! :)

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My wife is a speech pathologist - the speech association which handles her licensing, is contracted with Subaru for VIP pricing. All we had to do was call her licensing department, tell them which dealership we wanted to work with, they sent a letter in 24 hours, the dealership contacted us and told us our 2% below invoice pricing AS WELL AS invoice pricing on add-ons, extended warranty, etc. This was the most pain free process I've EVER HAD in purchasing a car and would highly recommend this process to anybody looking to buy a new Subaru. Good luck!
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I ran into my salesperson at Starbucks a little while back, told him I was interested in purchasing a new car, which my wife and I had just talked about over lunch 15 minutes earlier. He told me that he would enroll me in the Subaru VIP program (ofcourse I had read this, so I already knew what it was). No membership fees, no waiting 6 months.

 

We went in last weekend and test drove a new Impreza and placed our order, the car will be here in 30 - 60 days. He will do all the paperwork himself (I had an argument with their f&i guy last time), and I just have to go in to sign and take the car home. The most painless and simple car buying process ever.

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Well hot damn...this actually gives me a good reason to stop messing around and join ACA. I took a course this summer since the girlfriend kayaks and I'll probably be joining her next season as well.

 

Shame it has to be a 6 month wait, because I might not wait that long.

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