Author Topic: First Drive: 2014 Subaru Forester (Read 44879 times)

sailor723 · « **Reply #80 on:** March 20, 2013, 03:19:24 pm »

Quote from: johngenx on March 20, 2013, 02:49:11 pm

If they had a Legacy Wagon GT with the 3.6L, that would be pretty nice. Still would drain the gas tank too quickly, but would be a pretty awesome driving machine. I'd wondered if they were going to make space for the six in the new Forester, but it's turbo or aspro. The 2.0L turbo should use less gas than the 3.6L, but we'll see how it works out. Subaru's turbo engines aren't misers either, though this unit is new. The CVT will play a role too.

Another question with regard to Subaru is what the heck they're going to do about the Tribeca. The present generation is getting pretty long in the tooth but it's had such lacklustre sales I wonder if they'll put the time and money into developing Gen III ? $:-\$ The dealer here doesn't even keep one in stock and hasn't for years.

johngenx · « **Reply #81 on:** March 20, 2013, 03:22:16 pm »

If you want to negotiate on a Subaru, find a dealer with a Tribeca. Some friends of ours were on the Highlander/Pilot/etc track and found a Tribeca and ended up with $7K Subaru cash and $3K dealer cash.

sailor723 · « **Reply #82 on:** March 20, 2013, 03:30:07 pm »

Quote from: johngenx on March 20, 2013, 03:22:16 pm

If you want to negotiate on a Subaru, find a dealer with a Tribeca. Some friends of ours were on the Highlander/Pilot/etc track and found a Tribeca and ended up with $7K Subaru cash and $3K dealer cash.

So, that's a 7K reduction to get it down to where it should be priced and then a 3K discount?

blotter · « **Reply #83 on:** March 20, 2013, 03:58:02 pm »

Quote

I have serious doubts that a dealer would come down $3K on a Forester

Wow! I beleive you guys don't think you should get more of a discount?

I've purchased two new vehicles from Toyot and got at least $3,500 off the sticker price (2009 RAV 4 and 2011 Matrix)
I did have a 2009 Legacy Wagon nearly negotiated with a $3000 discount until the salesman wanted me to sign a contract before taking it for a test drive home and showing my wife! I ended up walking out and buying the RAV 4 instead.

There's also another way to get a good deal with any Subaru (WRX excluded)
it's called the VIP discount.

johngenx · « **Reply #84 on:** March 20, 2013, 05:41:37 pm »

$3K off a Matrix? I call BS unless there was Toyota cash in the deal.

Ex-airbalancer · « **Reply #85 on:** March 20, 2013, 05:53:26 pm »

Quote from: johngenx on March 20, 2013, 05:41:37 pm

$3K off a Matrix? I call BS unless there was Toyota cash in the deal.

It was probably cash deal http://www.toyota.ca/toyota/en/promotions/national-promotions?woSessionId=nru1Aht7M1v8bWdqdfziOM&woInstanceId=37&locale=en

johngenx · « **Reply #86 on:** March 20, 2013, 06:36:22 pm »

Quote from: airbalancer on March 20, 2013, 05:53:26 pm

Quote from: johngenx on March 20, 2013, 05:41:37 pm
$3K off a Matrix? I call BS unless there was Toyota cash in the deal.
It was probably cash deal http://www.toyota.ca/toyota/en/promotions/national-promotions?woSessionId=nru1Aht7M1v8bWdqdfziOM&woInstanceId=37&locale=en

Yeah, Toyota cash, not a dealer discount. No way a dealer offers $3K off a Matrix unless they're desperate to close their doors.

blotter · « **Reply #87 on:** March 21, 2013, 09:50:38 am »

Quote

Yeah, Toyota cash, not a dealer discount. No way a dealer offers $3K off a Matrix unless they're desperate to close their doors.

it wasn't quite $3K on the Matrix but it was more with the RAV.
they wanted to sell me a car (Matrix) that i didn't need or want, so i told them they had to make it irresistable! With each car purchase I negotiate, i've gotten better and this one was pretty good.
At the end of the day i know they did have some discounts available but all i looked at was how much i'm getting off the sticker price. I used every tactic to drive the price down. At one point we had it at a set price and before i agreed I told them, instead of ordering the colour I really want how much better of a deal can i get if a take the one off the showroom floor and get rid of some stock. That help drive the price down a little bit more.

I'm sure it also helped that my in-laws have purchased a number of Toyotas from them and both my wife and I are on our second each.

Noto · « **Reply #88 on:** March 21, 2013, 12:49:12 pm »

Quote from: sailor723 on March 20, 2013, 01:09:22 pm

Thought the same thing myself. If that guy can get 3K off of a Forester i want him negotiating my next car purchase.

though mine's on lease, and therefore I enjoy only half the discount, I got $3,100 off the sticker price on my 2011 Forester XT Limited.

First time Subaru owner. Didn't know anyone at the dealership - no special treatment.

Actually, I was first quoted a price, signed for it, and then got a call the next day and the dealer actually dropped the payments by $20/month because they could. I'd say a very nice experience.

I think we need to treat Dealerships differently from Manufacturers - of course, they are intertwined, but a poor dealership in Alberta (e.g.) does not make a Forester a crap car, and does not have any bearing on what an Ontario dealer would do.

blotter · « **Reply #89 on:** March 21, 2013, 01:07:40 pm »

Quote

I got $3,100 off the sticker price on my 2011 Forester XT Limited.

ah ha!
and there you have it folks! Indeed it IS possible!

on a side note, my dealership experience with Subaru was good when i owned my vehicle.
The service manager at the time was fantastic. Because we no longer had a regional dearship we had to drive from Niagara to Hamilton to get service. The manager would let me use a dealer demo to go out for the day any time the car was going to take more than one hour!!!!
awesome service. Because of that I wanted another Subaru, however the manager was moved to another dealership and the sales guy was extremely sub par. Not only did things start off on the wrong foot with him bashing the competitor's vehicles I was comparing... he kept trying to sell me another model that i didn't want!!! When it came time for the test drive, he said he needed to drive it off the dealer lot for insurance reasons and just peeled out of the parking lot going on about how fast and cool the car was (Legacy GT). I looked at him and said, if this is the way you drive the cars i'm not buying a single one from the car lots, thanks very much.
It all went downhill from there and I went and purchased from another brand.

We have a Subaru dealer back in Niagara now, i'm looking for to visiting and seeing what the environment is like. I'm looking to purchase (long term this time) next year.

Fobroader · « **Reply #90 on:** March 21, 2013, 01:12:58 pm »

Quote from: NoTo on March 21, 2013, 12:49:12 pm

Quote from: sailor723 on March 20, 2013, 01:09:22 pm
Thought the same thing myself. If that guy can get 3K off of a Forester i want him negotiating my next car purchase.

though mine's on lease, and therefore I enjoy only half the discount, I got $3,100 off the sticker price on my 2011 Forester XT Limited.

First time Subaru owner. Didn't know anyone at the dealership - no special treatment.

Actually, I was first quoted a price, signed for it, and then got a call the next day and the dealer actually dropped the payments by $20/month because they could. I'd say a very nice experience.

I think we need to treat Dealerships differently from Manufacturers - of course, they are intertwined, but a poor dealership in Alberta (e.g.) does not make a Forester a crap car, and does not have any bearing on what an Ontario dealer would do.

Was there a bomb threat, ski mask, water boarding.....how?!?!?!!?!?!? The Subaru dealers in town for the most part are kinda crap. The one on the south side, wow, holy crap, it was like Justin Beiber at a girl scout meeting, get off me, let me have a look at a car and one at a time please. The west end one.....cricket.....cricket.....tumbleweed....HELLOOOOOO?!?!?!.....no salesmen to be found and when you did, they didnt have the time of day for ya. Subaru has a great product thats being let down by their dealer network.

blotter · « **Reply #91 on:** March 21, 2013, 01:32:22 pm »

the dealership experience and willingness to deal seems to really be inconsistent and vary by region?

maybe it's time the Subaru Execs ensure some consistency!?

johngenx · « **Reply #92 on:** March 21, 2013, 02:55:07 pm »

Quote from: Fobroader on March 21, 2013, 01:12:58 pm

Was there a bomb threat, ski mask, water boarding.....how?!?!?!!?!?!? The Subaru dealers in town for the most part are kinda crap. The one on the south side, wow, holy crap, it was like Justin Beiber at a girl scout meeting, get off me, let me have a look at a car and one at a time please. The west end one.....cricket.....cricket.....tumbleweed....HELLOOOOOO?!?!?!.....no salesmen to be found and when you did, they didnt have the time of day for ya. Subaru has a great product thats being let down by their dealer network.

Irony: They're owned by the same people. One reason our Subaru dealers suck so hard here is that we only have two and they are just different physical locations of the same dealer.

I love Subaru products, have owned several (four) and would buy again, but not new. (All ours were bought used) I object to our local dealer treatment, price padding, and inflated parts and service costs. (they 2x-3x the MSRP on parts and have their own expensive service schedules that are ridiculously expensive)

Fobroader · « **Reply #93 on:** March 21, 2013, 02:57:22 pm »

Quote from: johngenx on March 21, 2013, 02:55:07 pm

Quote from: Fobroader on March 21, 2013, 01:12:58 pm

Was there a bomb threat, ski mask, water boarding.....how?!?!?!!?!?!? The Subaru dealers in town for the most part are kinda crap. The one on the south side, wow, holy crap, it was like Justin Beiber at a girl scout meeting, get off me, let me have a look at a car and one at a time please. The west end one.....cricket.....cricket.....tumbleweed....HELLOOOOOO?!?!?!.....no salesmen to be found and when you did, they didnt have the time of day for ya. Subaru has a great product thats being let down by their dealer network.

Irony: They're owned by the same people. One reason our Subaru dealers suck so hard here is that we only have two and they are just different physical locations of the same dealer.

I love Subaru products, have owned several (four) and would buy again, but not new. (All ours were bought used) I object to our local dealer treatment, price padding, and inflated parts and service costs. (they 2x-3x the MSRP on parts and have their own expensive service schedules that are ridiculously expensive)

Well, then it all makes sense. I really like Subaru, but my biggest problem is that while its in warranty, I dont want to dread going to the dealer......

blotter · « **Reply #94 on:** March 21, 2013, 03:14:59 pm »

Quote

I love Subaru products, have owned several (four) and would buy again, but not new. (All ours were bought used) I object to our local dealer treatment, price padding, and inflated parts and service costs. (they 2x-3x the MSRP on parts and have their own expensive service schedules that are ridiculously expensive)

interesting.. our "local" dealer when i did have a Subie was really fair on the parts and hourly labour cost BUT i totally agree with the service schedule and ridiculously expensive fees!!!

this is the only thing that worries me on getting another one.

Noto · « **Reply #95 on:** March 22, 2013, 11:54:45 am »

I actually just went into the same dealer this morning to replace the rear wiper on the Foz. $14 installed. Could I have done it? Yeah, but for OEM wiper and I didn't even have to lift a finger...Maybe ya'll need to go to Willowdale Subaru in the North end of Toronto.

While it was being done, I checked out the new Fozzie - no XTs on the lot, but sat in the 2.5i Limited anyway. The interior seating position is sooooo much better (and I don't dislike the SH's). The car does feel bigger, which is a 'bit' of a disappointment because I love the compact feel of mine, but the faster XT, better fuel consumption, and ride that's been tweaked to the previous Forester STi's...I will definitely get the '14 Forester XT next February when my lease ends. I was contemplating the competition - although the Forester is not rear-biased for AWD (60/40 f/r), you can at least feel the RWD in daily driving - something the Tiguan just couldn't match with its slip 'n grip system. Unless I step up to something like the X3 or Q5 (or GLK, etc), I won't get that feeling. Still, for $35k less neg., the loaded Subie cannot be beat.

On another note, I got the dealer to price out a '14 Fozzie XT Limited (no eyesight/gps) for me just for sh!ts and giggles, and the monthly payments were about about $60 less than I'm paying. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe I bat my eyelashes well...either way, I haven't faced any of the issues reported here with Subaru dealers.

blotter · « **Reply #96 on:** March 22, 2013, 04:24:51 pm »

i'm looking forward to testing the experience with the 'new' (return) of the Niagara dealership.

bman · « **Reply #97 on:** March 22, 2013, 11:03:36 pm »

Looking forward to testing the Niagara dealership too. I usually used Hamilton, good set of people working at Subaru of Hamilton.

blotter · « **Reply #98 on:** March 23, 2013, 11:51:04 am »

Quote

Looking forward to testing the Niagara dealership too. I usually used Hamilton, good set of people working at Subaru of Hamilton.

I've great service in Hamilton but in 2009 when I wanted to buy another Subaru to replace by 1999 Forester the sales guy was brutal. I actually ended up walking out in frustration and never going back.
he started by making fun of Toyota (I said I was comparing), then he tried to sell me a model I didn't want. The test drive was brutal with him (he had to drive it off the lot and actually peeled out of it!). Finally once we started negotiating the one I wanted, I informed him I wasn't going to purchase today and needed to come back with my wife. He actually offered I take it home to Niagara overnight and proceeded to pull that after checking with the manager. He would sit let me take it if I sign a deal! From that point on that's all he'd try and get me to do. Pay a deposit!!! I walked out and never returned.

Noto · « **Reply #99 on:** March 23, 2013, 05:16:13 pm »

Quote from: blotter on March 23, 2013, 11:51:04 am

From that point on that's all he'd try and get me to do. Pay a deposit!!! I walked out and never returned.

I've never had that at my Subaru dealership, but I 100% had it at Don Valley North Toyota/Lexus, Richmond Hill Toyota/Lexus, Weitz's Toyota, Richmond Hill Toyota, Sisley for Honda, and Volkswagen Villa. In fact, the only one not to give me that bull was Willowdale Subaru.

This isn't a knock at those dealerships in particular - it's at the "sales bible" that these morons must be trained from. Common sense would only say that if one is not prepared to sign, let them go or you risk alienating that customer. The only thing that bugs me more than asking for a deposit is when they require a credit card and your driver's license to take to the manager to show that you're "serious". Here's a hint - if I'm talking to you, I'm serious. And hey - if I'm not serious, treat me like I am anyway, because a potential customer today could be your actual customer tomorrow...and if you lose that customer to another car manufacturer, it's because the other car suits them better or the buying experience was better - learn/adapt, or fail - jut don't play games with me.

I understand the 'theory' that impulse is the best way to make a sale. It's still a flawed scheme because as soon a you play games or waste the customer's time, you run the risk of losing the customer.

My personal favourite thing to do is to give the sales person 10 minutes to talk and get ready before I'm in a test drive, put down a stopwatch, and leave at the 10 minute mark if the car isn't ready or I haven't been attended to. Then, after the drive, that same clock runs. The 10/10 rule, works very well.