Irvine Subaru move-em-out sale

Talked to Desiree the owner of Irvine Subaru this afternoon, and she wanted to let all the LGT.com folks know that she's selling every Subaru, STI included, on her lot (and ordered too) at dealer invoice (minus) her holdback. This sale runs until the end of this month.

You may recall that most buyers on here aren't seeing largely discounted prices from dealer invoice because the Subaru-paid, dealer holdback isn't as robust as it was through most of last year.

As I understand it, during late December, early January, Subaru changed their dealer holdback policy to increase Subaru dealership investment in their parts inventory and product items (which means better availability for us the consumers and offset/lower prices on product sold for the dealers).

What this means is that the dealer now sees only 1/2 of the dealer holdback from Subaru as the remainder goes toward product/inventory investment.

This would have affected my purchase last month (ordered the car in mid-November, arrived in mid-January after the holdback change) since I had put a deposit on the car and we wrote out the Subaru Order Contract and the purchase agreement using the whole holdback ($1188 at the time).

Irvine bit the bullet and gave me the whole holdback because that was the short-term deal they were working for LGT.com buyers at the time. Got to love them for standing by the deal and sending me home happy. They're still giving all of the dealer holdback, but it's ~ half of what it was last year.

If you're shopping for a Subaru, or want to add an additional Subaru to your performance car stable, give Desiree or Jeremy (her son) a call at 1-800-970-5755. They are the number one Subaru dealership in the western U.S. for a reason and they want to stay there. BTW - they're great folks to work with and will match/beat any deal.

Oh, and FYI - they will have the first Easy Street Motorsports street-tuned, 365 HP Subaru STI available in the next week or so, so give them a call.

SBT

Tell Dsi-Dez to join and post here herself. We'd all welcome her.

She's actually on here, Nasioc, and I-Club. She told me what her SN was but do not recall. Perhaps one day, she'll find time in what is a busy schedule to post up.

SBT

Thanks for the info yet again Dale!

So technically it will be around ~$500-$700 under invoice depending on the car?

ChruiSSer, which dealership are you from?

They're not getting rid of everything, they're just doing their typical volume business and staying connected to the Subaru community. Subarus are all they sell. Seems to me they move over a hundred cars a month or more so they are No. 1 for a reason. And every Subaru they sell comes with a free lifetime oil change plan too.

SBT

if they can sell 100+/month in sunny CA (i always thought most CA people don't care about AWD/4WD?), why not open up a dealership in states that snow and sell more? i believe 200+/month is no problem at least here in CO if they are willing to sell at prices like that plus free lifetime oil changes (never heard of such thing from most subaru dealers here!).

Flatirons has tires for life.

So technically it will be around ~$500-$700 under invoice depending on the car?

Yep $649 IIRC for a 5MT LGT Ltd Wagon, that's what was on my invoice when my car came in, but they gave me the full HB because that's the deal we made when I bought the car.

Will be slightly less or slightly more, depending on which model you buy.

gt_ltd - They've built a 20 plus year history of good deals and good service so a lot of their business is repeat business. I'm sure they didn't start out selling 100 or more cars a month. It takes a while to get there. But it would be a great business model to benchmark and implement in a good market.

SBT

Yep $649 IIRC for a 5MT LGT Ltd Wagon, that's what was on my invoice when my car came in, but they gave me the full HB because that's the deal we made when I bought the car.

SBT

That's because you bought a "later" 2005 Subaru. Early 2005 Subarus meaning like June to about August were about 100 to 200 cheaper in invoice and would list the full number of the holdback on the invoice. For Example it's always listed above the base price on the left side and will say something like "HB001288." Since you bought a later car in 05 all the invoices for every Subaru list what the holdback is divided in half. Holdback is roughly 4% of MSRP. If anyone is ever curious on something like that let me know. You can see why Subaru only shows half of it now on an invoice cause its a great tool to show someone for negotiating.

First, if Deseree owns Irvine Subaru, then why is it called "Frank's Irvine Subaru"?

Who is Frank?

I have always had a question about the price of a car.

I went on the Irvine Subaru website and looked up the price of a no-option 05 Leg GT Limited 5MT = $31,000

On Kelly Blue Book, they list the Dealer Invoice = $27,961

If they will sell the car at half the hold out, then it would = $27,661 the price I pay.

Is this correct?

WTF does Dealer Invoice mean? Is this the price the Dealer actually buys the car at from Subaru?

If so, how does the dealer make money if they sell it a Dealer Invoice?

Is the "Holdout" the way that Subaru allows the dealer to make money if they sell a car at Dealer Invoice?

Also, my understanding is that the last shipment of 2005 cars from Subi is in April, with 2006 coming in July.

Maybe this is why Irvine Subi is trying to move cars in Feb-Mar.

Is this thinking real?

Frank Farey is her Dad. She now owns/manages the store. Her Dad stops in to goof off and have some fun with the store team. Pretty cool guy.

I'll try to answer your questions below:

I went on the Irvine Subaru website and looked up the price of a no-option 05 Leg GT Limited 5MT = $31,000

This would be Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) versus Dealer Invoice (or Dealer Cost), which is what the dealer pays to Subaru for the car.

WTF does Dealer Invoice mean? Is this the price the Dealer actually buys the car at from Subaru?

- The Dealer Invoice lists in separate columns the MSRP price and Dealer Cost for the car, any installed options, and shipping/transportation from the factory to the dealer. It also lists how much the Dealer Holdback (HB) will be for that particular vehicle.

- HB varies from vehicle to vehicle, but as Viperenvy mentioned it is 4% of MSRP. The Dealer Invoice also lists a few other minor payments that Subaru makes to the dealer when the car sells too, like gasoline costs and floor plan costs. Oh, and Subaru does charge an Advert fee so expect to pay for that.

On Kelly Blue Book, they list the Dealer Invoice = $27,961

- Without checking I presume that this would be a LGT Limited 5MT Sedan BEFORE options but with $575 destination/delivery added in.

If they will sell the car at half the hold out, then it would = $27,661 the price I pay.

- Dealer Holdback (HB) is the amount that Subaru pays to the dealer when they sell the car. In the case of Irvine Subaru, take 2% of whatever the MSRP for the vehicle in question is and subtract that from the Dealer Cost for the car. That's what you'll pay for the car before Tax, Title and License (TTL).

An example: 2005 Legacy GT Limited Wagon 5MT (hypothetical because I don't know what the exact pricing is today)

- MSRP for the car (w/o options) is $29,595.

- Take $29,595 * .02 = $592.00

- Dealer Cost (including options and $575 Destination/Delivery charge) is $28,871.

- Subtract $592 from $28,871 = $28,279. That's Irvine's sale price for the car, give or take minor cost variances, before TTL.

If so, how does the dealer make money if they sell it a Dealer Invoice?

Is the "Holdout" the way that Subaru allows the dealer to make money if they sell a car at Dealer Invoice?

- As a business model, they do it by holding the line on their own cost of operation, and by selling a large volume of cars with some holdback. Subaru incentivizes dealers who sell lots of cars.

- Compare this to selling only a few cars at invoice or above invoice and pocketing all of the holdback from the sale. You're going to make some money on each sale, you just won't have a lot of sales.

Hope this helps.

SBT

Also, my understanding is that the last shipment of 2005 cars from Subi is in April, with 2006 coming in July.

 

Maybe this is why Irvine Subi is trying to move cars in Feb-Mar.

 

Is this thinking real?

I'm not sure when SIA - Subaru/Isuzu of America plant in Indiana shuts down to change/over retool for their next MY. Since the new MY vehicles come out in late June/early July, I would think a 60 day period (April to June) would be a reasonable turnaround time between MY production. So they've got to build up inventory to get the dealers through April, May and June.

I don't think Irvine is concerned about moving the cars in anticipation of the new MY, especially since you can order your car too if they don't have what you want. My bet would be that they want to move some more cars through their dealership to retain their sales leadership position.

There's a couple of advantages to being number 1 in any production food chain. 1) you get first allocation on any new or continuing models, 2) you get a lot of recognition for your effort, and 3) You're automatically in the running for any special incentives.

I know that the B9 Tribeca is coming out in late May so Irvine could be gearing up for the launch of this new model. They are certainly growing their physical footprint and adding new maintenance and repair bays.

Just a couple of thoughts. You might be on to something so I'll ask the next chance I have to talk to Desiree.

SBT

Just talked to Desiree at Irvine Subaru to see if I could understand what was happening during some of our member's recent expererience with the sales team. It all comes down to one thing. The retail sales team members are there to make money for the dealership, and Jeremy and Desiree are there to sell cars @ wholesale.

So, for anyone interested in buying a car from Irvine Subaru, before the end of the month, please do not go through a buying service or the fleet manager or any of the retail sales team. Give Jeremy and/or Desiree a call and make an appointment to go buy your car (so they can be there when you are coming in).

What happened just recently with one of our members is that the member found a $200 over invoice offer from one of the buying services and dropped by I.S. to work the deal. This was mentioned in the initial contact with the dealership staff who then tried, from all accounts to run a decidedly "retail" sale. The member was unaware of the deals that Jeremy and Desiree are running right now so this was not discussed.

In hindsight, had the member made the appointment, met with J or D, everything would have been great! I'm told that the deal is now getting done and that life is good again. Hopefully we'll hear the good report.

SBT

Hey Subietonic,

Do you know if IS is going to start stocking aftermarket parts for the Legacy?

Hey Subietonic,

What kind of commision is desi paying you to sell her cars?

I'll double it. Give us other dealers some love too.

No commission or compensation of any kind involved. I really like IS and Desi and have personally done business with her store in the past. If other dealerships offered her deals, AND I had personal experience with the folks involved, I'd certainly recommend/promote their store too. Thanks for the offer, but it sounds like you're getting all the promotion you need on the SoCal site....

SBT

No commission or compensation of any kind involved. I really like IS and Desi and have personally done business with her store in the past. If other dealerships offered her deals, AND I had personal experience with the folks involved, I'd certainly recommend/promote their store too. Thanks for the offer, but it sounds like you're getting all the promotion you need on the SoCal site....

 

SBT

That was just a J/K

I try my best to help out as much as I can. But as per deals, we all buy our cars from SOA and we all pay the same money. So at any given day, any dealer can beat the other dealer. It always comes down to showroom sales man and inventory.

If they can hold some gross and make up for the volume that we do then Us the fleet and and Internet can sell more cars and make more customers happy.

Here in the westside, Our showroom does a great job making money on their clients, that leaves me all the room with buttom line to move cars.

That is why I will beat any deal from any dealer with my eyes closed. (including Frank's Subaru / Desi's Subaru / New owners, Maybe)

I love Desi and I think that she is a sweetheart. She is the hardest working gal that I know in car biz. After all this is business and not personal.

Thanks for the reply Bud.

I liked IS a lot more than Ontario. Sorry Rez, didn't get to visit your neck of the woods but I'll give love to any vendor whom actually is willin to hang on these sites and deal with the abuse.

I recently took my car to IS and they really wanna make back some of the money they're losing on sales with service items. i know that's just a matter of business but damn, $100 to change the oil and air filter? that's whack.