Might pull trigger on Legacy Premium

Hi, just signed up for this forum as I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a 2012 Legacy 2.5i Premium (automatic w/ AWP). I want the extra room and HP over the Impreza, and I want the AWP, for the heated seats/mirrors.

I haven't bought a car in 10 years, so I'm looking for buying advice. I got a price quote from a Subaru dealer with a MSRP of $24,089 (even though the Subaru website says a base Premium Legacy's MSRP is $21,295). With the trade-in/fees/tax the total would be $22,479.98.

I know I can get more from my trade-in, but is this a fair price?

I should add, this is for a new car, not used.

what state are you registering in (tax and tags and even trade in process is diff in every state)

what other options? what dealer are you buying from I can look at the invoice to all Subarus

Thanks for the reply. I'm in OH, so the tax on their quote is $1,614.48

This is the dealership with a link to the exact car I'm looking at:

http://www.ganleysubaru.com/new-inventory/index.htm?listingConfigId=auto-new&model=Legacy&trim=2.5i+Premium+w%2FAll-Weather+Pkg&internetPrice=&start=0&sort=&facetbrowse=true

I got the indication they are a "volume" dealership, as they said they wanted to reach a certain number by a certain date and they seemed to have a ton of Legacys in their lot. Actually, I went to a couple dealerships and they all seemed to have alot of Legacys and very little Imprezas. That seems to indicate I can ask for close to invoice, but I'm not sure.

Also, here is the exact amount on the estimate they gave me:

New 2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5i 4dr Prem AT AWP CAD-02 AT

MSRP: $24,089.00

Accessories: $0.00

Adj. Market Value: $24,089.00

Discount: $1,007.00

Vehicle Price: $23,082.00

Trade-in Allowance: $2,500.00

Adjusted Price: $20,582.00

DMV Fee: $33.50

Documentation Fee: $250.00

Tax: $1,614.48

Delivered Price: $22,479.98

I'm trading in a 2003 Ford Focus LX with 84,000 miles on it, so I'm thinking about asking for $6,000 trade-in and see how much they bring it down, since I'm seeing 2003 Focus's being sold for around $8,000 online. That might be a little high to ask for though.

invoice on this car is $22,582, hold back is $456

a sales price of $22,282 or lower would be more then acceptable at my dealership

I dont know what kind of prices they are doing in the Cleveland area, right now in the DC area we are doing below invoice on these cars (almost to the point we are trying to give away the 4 cylinders)

again i dont know the market in your area but try to offer them $22.3 and go from there........ or you can come to me and i will sell you the car, Northern Virginia isnt that far of a drive

don't know about the trade in, but i always have my manager check it then have my customers go to carmax and get it checked out

Gotcha. Very much appreciate the advice and maybe I'll drive down to N. Virginia if I can't get the deal I want. I actually used to live in Ballston and worked in McLean and Chantilly, so I know the area.

BTW, is there a reason there are so many Legacys available and very little Imprezas?

Gotcha. Very much appreciate the advice and maybe I'll drive down to N. Virginia if I can't get the deal I want. I actually used to live in Ballston and worked in McLean and Chantilly, so I know the area.

 

BTW, is there a reason there are so many Legacys available and very little Imprezas?

Legacys just are not that popular, mostly because of "brand" issues people gotta have Toyotas and Hondas cause know other cars can compare

but mostly Subaru didnt think the Impreza would be selling so well, my dealer is selling these before they get off the truck, only Imprezas in our pipeline are sold units. also rumors floating around that Japan had a "cash for clunkers" and Subaru is keeping a lot of Imprezas for themselves.

I am surprised that Subaru didnt see this happening a 36mpg awd car is going to sell like crazy in the US market, hoping they will see this for the 2013 models and just flood us with them, but then same thing will happen with the XV

I was originally looking at the Imprezas, but, to me, if you go with anything other than the base model Impreza (with manual transmission), it makes more sense to just go with the Legacy, with the more HP and additional room, as the price difference is not that much, unless I'm missing something.

it all depends what you looking for, the sedan impreza is kinda pointless, not many people buy it more go after the hatch. but for the price it blows the compition away. try getting a fully load civic for under $23k!

You should NOT have to drive out of NE Ohio to get a good deal on a new 2012 Subaru Legacy now. Ganley Subaru and Subaru of Brunswick like to both say that they are the "biggest high volume dealers, need to move lots of cars, etc." They ARE the biggest two dealers in the area, although I'm not sure which is actually bigger. It was pretty handy that Ganley Subaru of North Olmstead listed sale prices on new Legacies when I bought my 2011. I just used their advertised price (was very close to invoice). I went to Ganley Subaru, walked around and nobody talked to me, so I left. Subaru of Brunswick welcomed me with some enthusiasm, beat Ganleys price (not by much because it was pretty good), and gave me a fair trade-in value. I'm not sure how far you are from Brunswick, but it is worth checking out.

The only NE Ohio dealer that I can find with online sales prices is Park Subaru in Canton (check out their website). They have an identically featured car to the one you are looking at advertised for $22,130 (+taxes & fees and minus your trade), which is almost $1,000 less than they quoted you at Ganley. Any car salesman with automatically think you are insane if you tell them that you think your Focus is worth $6,000 on trade, this will irritate them and they will probably think you are wasting their time and not be as willing to negotiate. I'm not sure what kind of shape your car is in, but $2,500 sounds a little low. KBB list your car at the $3,000-$3,500 range. If you can get the dealer of your choice to match Park Subaru's website price of $22,130, ask $3,500 for your Focus but be willing to take $3,000, this would save you about $1,500.

BTW, is there a reason there are so many Legacys available and very little Imprezas?

The main reason is that the Impreza is a brand new design that only has been on the market for less than 5 months, and the current Legacy has been around a couple of years with no real changes. Hopefully Subaru reacts appropriately and manufactures lots of 2013 Imprezas.

Legacy sales have improved quite a bit since they evolved into a family sedan in 2010, but it is going to take a long time before Camry or Accord drivers catch on about the Legacy...if ever.

You should NOT have to drive out of NE Ohio to get a good deal on a new 2012 Subaru Legacy now. Ganley Subaru and Subaru of Brunswick like to both say that they are the "biggest high volume dealers, need to move lots of cars, etc." They ARE the biggest two dealers in the area, although I'm not sure which is actually bigger. It was pretty handy that Ganley Subaru of North Olmstead listed sale prices on new Legacies when I bought my 2011. I just used their advertised price (was very close to invoice). I went to Ganley Subaru, walked around and nobody talked to me, so I left. Subaru of Brunswick welcomed me with some enthusiasm, beat Ganleys price (not by much because it was pretty good), and gave me a fair trade-in value. I'm not sure how far you are from Brunswick, but it is worth checking out.

 

The only NE Ohio dealer that I can find with online sales prices is Park Subaru in Canton (check out their website). They have an identically featured car to the one you are looking at advertised for $22,130 (+taxes & fees and minus your trade), which is almost $1,000 less than they quoted you at Ganley. Any car salesman with automatically think you are insane if you tell them that you think your Focus is worth $6,000 on trade, this will irritate them and they will probably think you are wasting their time and not be as willing to negotiate. I'm not sure what kind of shape your car is in, but $2,500 sounds a little low. KBB list your car at the $3,000-$3,500 range. If you can get the dealer of your choice to match Park Subaru's website price of $22,130, ask $3,500 for your Focus but be willing to take $3,000, this would save you about $1,500.

Thanks for the reply! I threw out $6,000 to the dealer, but they didn't seem irritated, but definitely weren't going to do it. I don't know why they would be irritated after initially offering me $1,500. Not sure why it's ok for them to lowball me, but not ok for me to highball them.

I'm currently negotiating over email about the price, but I'm throwing out $21,500 and $4,000 on the trade-in and see what they say. I've been to almost every dealership in the area and they all have a ton of Legacy's just sitting there with no one buying them, so I think I can be bolder with my negotiating. I'll probably end up with around what you're throwing out, $22,000/$3,500, but can't hurt to try. The worse they can do it say no.

@riceprotein,

This is true. Dealers are also willing to dip a little lower as the end of a month nears. I usually offer 3-3.5% as a fair profit once I'm reasonably sure I know invoice and holdback. If there are that many units sitting available, you'll get a good deal.

Thanks for the reply! I threw out $6,000 to the dealer, but they didn't seem irritated, but definitely weren't going to do it. I don't know why they would be irritated after initially offering me $1,500. Not sure why it's ok for them to lowball me, but not ok for me to highball them.

To be honest, if you asked for $6,000 for your trade in retaliation for them saying it was worth $1,500, I understand that perfectly and probably would have done the same thing!I had a salesman lowball me by an insulting amount on a trade at the Nissan dealer one time. I got up, left, and went somewhere else to get what I wanted. It seems I never do quite as well as I would like to, but I also realize that the dealership needs to stay open so I try to be reasonable if they treat me with respect. I would say offering $21,500 for the Legacy and asking for $4,000 is probably a good place to start.

Something that will make a huge difference is whether or not the dealership you trade your car in at has to send it to auction or not. If they have a "budget vehicle" lot, or a used car dealer they will send your car to, this will make a big difference in your bottom line. Since they are making almost nothing on the Legacy, they will make the money off of your Focus when they sell it. Just don't be tempted to look up what they are asking for your Focus when they sell it, it will only upset you.

It's all about what the bottom line is, and I would say around $20,700 would be a better place for you to shoot for ($22,130-$3,000+ $1,600 taxes and fees).

To be honest, if you asked for $6,000 for your trade in retaliation for them saying it was worth $1,500, I understand that perfectly and probably would have done the same thing!I had a salesman lowball me by an insulting amount on a trade at the Nissan dealer one time. I got up, left, and went somewhere else to get what I wanted. It seems I never do quite as well as I would like to, but I also realize that the dealership needs to stay open so I try to be reasonable if they treat me with respect. I would say offering $21,500 for the Legacy and asking for $4,000 is probably a good place to start.

 

Something that will make a huge difference is whether or not the dealership you trade your car in at has to send it to auction or not. If they have a "budget vehicle" lot, or a used car dealer they will send your car to, this will make a big difference in your bottom line. Since they are making almost nothing on the Legacy, they will make the money off of your Focus when they sell it. Just don't be tempted to look up what they are asking for your Focus when they sell it, it will only upset you.

 

It's all about what the bottom line is, and I would say around $20,700 would be a better place for you to shoot for ($22,130-$3,000+ $1,600 taxes and fees).

Good advice, simple to understand.

This is the dealers latest offer. They don't seem to want to go down on the vehicle price:

MSRP: $24,089.00

Accessories: $0.00

Adj. Market Value: $24,089.00

Discount: $1,007.00

Vehicle Price: $23,082.00

Trade-In Allowance: $3,500.00

Adjusted Price: $19,582.00

DMV Fees: $33.50

Documentation Fee: $250.00

Tax: $1,536.98

Delivered Price: $21,402.48

I decided my goal is to get $21,500 for vehicle and $3,500 for trade-in. I've already been offered $22,500 from another dealership.

UPDATE: I got a verbal agreement for $21,500/$3,500. I'm going to go to another dealership to see if they will beat it, but at least I got what I was looking for (and hopefully) more. I would not want to be a Legacy dealer these days.

Sounds like you are making serious progress. Hopefully they will put the verbal agreement into a sales contract without any games or drama.

Don't feel too much pity for the Subaru dealer's Legacy inventory; they had a lot of them in early May, 2011 too, and they were all gone by July. Now Dodge Avenger inventory...might want to light a candle for that.

Yea, been making progress, but it has been nerve wracking. I'm definitely not cut out for negotiating. Maybe it's something you get used to.

It's funny because I told the one dealership that I was asking for $21,000 and he basically said I was crazy and gave me a higher offer. I then used his offer to get the $21,500.

So, hopefully I can wrap this up soon, but need a little more advice. My plan is to go to a couple more dealerships and basically say I have an offer for $21,500/$3,500 and the first dealership that give me $1,000 off that I will sign right then and there. If they all say no, I just take the $21,500 offer. I keep thinking about it and based on how fast they dropped the price on the Legacy seems to indicate they are desperate to move these. The dealership that gave me the $21,500/$3,500 offer said "I hope you will give us the business".

Do you think I can realistically ask for more than $1,000 or not push it?

Shoot for 1-2% below dealer invoice. You should be able to get the car for about 22,200 to 22,400 not including tax title and trade.

Well, like I said I already have an offer for $21,500. It seems like an exception with these Legacys, because, as I mentioned, I've been to almost every dealer in the area and they are just sitting on a lot of them that aren't moving.

If I had an offer of $21,500/$3,500, I would probably just consider it to be "mission accomplished", get it in writing, and buy the car. Understand that this is just what I personally would do, and not necessarily advice on what you should do. You are getting the car for well below invoice, and the high end of KBB trade in value for your car, so I don't see how there is much money to be saved by continuing to spend time shopping around.

I guess my only thought would be related to how quickly they are coming down $1,000 at a time. When you get down to where they are unwilling to go any lower, it is usually over $100.

I guess my only thought would be related to how quickly they are coming down $1,000 at a time. When you get down to where they are unwilling to go any lower, it is usually over $100.

That's the thing, they came down from $22,500 to $21,500 with no hesitation after I told them I was going to go to other dealerships, so I'm not 100% if they are unwilling to go any lower, considering the backlog of Legacys that are sitting on their lots. I feel like if I don't try to go lower with another dealer, I'll always think "what if"...

..I'll always think "what if"...

I was actually thinking of asking you that question 2-3 posts ago. If I postulate correctly, going through your dealer list would give you peace of mind & eliminate regrets in the end?

I suck at bargaining myself & would have a stressful time doing so. I guess some people are just "used to it". A mind set thing IMHO.

GL!

I decided to just go with the $21,500/$3,500 offer. It's not worth the extra hassle for what will probably end up no more than $500 and maybe free car washes.

I appreciate everyone's replies, it really help with a sanity check. Hopefully I won't have to go through this for a long time, as the car I'm trading in I drove for 10 years.