[MaStA]

Hello,

Well let me get my sob story out of the way. This morning I went and started my car as usual...came back inside for a few minutes to let it warm up...went outside and my jaw dropped. All I saw was a void...blank...parking spot where my car once sat. My car was nothing special...old 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse...paint sucked, clear coat was pealing off, minor dents, gay little RS 14" dirty rims....gone. Yeah it was my fault to an extent for leaving it running with the key, but heck the car is parked no more than 10 feet away from my front door. A pair of my Air Force BDU's and my restricted area badge was hanging in the car as well...so now on base office of special investigations will be involved. Hopefully they find the bastard and my car...but who knows where it could be now. Anyhow I don't know how to feel about whether the cops will find it or not, but if not I've been wanting a new car for some time now anyhow. I've been saving and enjoying the STI since I first saw it. A lot of people may be like wow how will this guy afford it, but I'm a good saver and will probably put a little more than half as a down payment.

So now if this is the route I go how do I negotiate and try getting as close as invoice as possible? I've never bought a brand new car so this will be a large step for me and I would appreciate help...and help from people who know Subaru dealers and the cars would probably be the best advice. I've messed around with a dealer back in Florida about a Evo and STI before, but they weren't going for the prices I was throwing at them so I walked with no problem. If my car doesn't return I won't have much choice to have to buy something. The new BMW 1 series looks decent, but I can't find any locally from my looking and it seems like they may not even be out yet?? Either way I want AWD without going over $40k and something that won't cost a arm and a leg to repair instead of just a arm. I know my local Subaru just got two STI's in and that is the only one around here so they have no competition, but Dallas isn't too far. Any tactics would be appreciated since my Eclipse will be a total loss if it isn't found because I only had liability on it. I will be moving to Michigan in July to be a recruiter and will have a garage to keep it in there, but till then it will have to remain outside since I am going to recruiter school in San Antonio next month.

If this was the wrong place to ask...my bad. Any questions please ask, any negative comments about me being stupid are fine too.

Thanks a ton,
Jared

[Hitman83]

If I were you I'd offer invoice and negotiate back and forth, stay firm on only wanting to pay invoice and then walk. I guarantee you'll get a call the next day with a better offer. It may not be invoice, but waiting a day will save you some cash. Whatever you do, just don't buy it the day you look at it.

Good luck and not having a trade is a good thing. Sometimes dealers will give you a great deal on the selling price of the car but lowball the trade. They have TONS of ways of hiding money and not having a trade just eliminated one of them.

[USNSTI]

The laws of negotiations don't change, whether you are buying a $40k car or a used tv set off craigslist. Every seller has a price they won't go below. Every buyer has a price they won't go above. Somewhere in the middle lies the "fair" price. Enough with the philosophical crap...

Research to find what you believe to be a "fair" price. Be prepared to walk out if they won't give you that price. Don't walk out without leaving your number though, in case they want to call you back. You have to be firm. Communication is key. Let the dealer know that you know what's up with pricing. That being said, there are some dealers that won't make a fair deal no matter what. If you find one of those, you have to move on to somewhere else, no matter how tough it is. Buying a car can be one of the toughest deals you will ever make. It will be SO worth it though, everytime someone asks you "hey how much did you pay for that car anyway?" It feels so good to tell people (truthfully) that you got a great deal on a great car. Good luck, keep us posted on what happens, a lot of dealers aren't really making deals on 08's yet.....

[MaStA]

Thanks for the tips. I thought a few people said they got invoice or within $500 of invoice which seems to me to be reasonable.

I'm never afraid to walk out because I work extremely hard for the money I make...which let me tell you the military doesn't pay THAT much. I won't say it is bad pay, but I sure won't be rich off of it. People look at me and say I have money only because of the fact I am a penny pincher and know how to save what I do make lol.

My intentions were to move to Michigan with my current car (or past lol) and keep it to drive to work and whatever and have the STI for my fun weekends or evenings but this may not be possible now. I never want the dealer to know how much I am putting down, whether I have a trade in, or what I want my payments to be. Let me worry about my finances and you worry about making me a deal on this car as far as OTD price goes. I hate when people get in my business.

Does the STI qualify for the "All impreza 2.9% interest?" I know there are stipulations like only qualified people and only a max of so many months. Does anyone know how many months the max is? I have a credit score of 742 the last I checked and I think that is pretty good for a 22 year old guy.

What does tax, title, and tag typically come out to be? Oklahoma sales tax is a whopping ~8.375% which is another reason Michigan would of been nicer since they only have 6% and they have a few dealers in Detroit to haggle back and forth with.

Thanks again!

[CGMDan]

Don't go to the dealer. Go to KBB.com or edmunds.com and get an internet quote.
Internet depts usually work from invoice. It's the absolutely easiest way to get a low price.

[USNSTI]

Sounds like you know what you are doing. Remember there are three deals when you buy a car.
1. purchase price of car
2. value of trade in (not applicable for you )
3. financing (like you said, keep that down payment in your pocket until the last minute)
Try to keep them seperate as much as possible, as dealers like to try and screw you buy mixing these three together. never mention your down payment, your trade in, or espescially what you want your payment to be, until the purchase price has been negotiated.

[USNSTI]

Originally Posted by CGMDan

Don't go to the dealer. Go to KBB.com or edmunds.com and get an internet quote.
Internet depts usually work from invoice. It's the absolutely easiest way to get a low price.

Not calling bs, but has this really worked for you? I have never seen or heard of this working, dealerships today will almost never give a quote over the internet.

[MaStA]

Well I called today and the guy told me they have a STI fully loaded with BBS and Nav and just got one in today and the techs just got it off the trailer and are inspecting it now which is a base model. Said the base model is about $35,000 which is the MSRP anyhow. The subaru here just split and now their name is different...called Automax now...so I don't know how they will be about anything. I'm just worried about the issues people are having with the paint and stuff now though. I don't want to deal with that stuff lol.

[MaStA]

Also, does anyone know if a STI will fit on a uhaul car carrier? My intentions were to tow my car behind the uhaul. I am totally against this, but it may be my only choice since I planned on moving my own stuff. Air Force will pay movers to do it, but then I have to drive my car all the way up there anyways. Uhaul looked up 2008 wrx and said it will fit, but clearance could be an issue at the peak of the ramps, but this is fixable if you put wood planks under the edge of the ramps typically to make it not so steep. He didn't mention a WRX STI so I'm not sure, but I imagine a STI is lower than a standard WRX.

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by USNSTI

Not calling bs, but has this really worked for you? I have never seen or heard of this working, dealerships today will almost never give a quote over the internet.

I was given a quote via email on my '06 STI before I bought it. And when the '08 came out, I got a quote by email for that too (from both the dealer I bought my '06 from, as well as another local dealer). My '06 was quoted at invoice, the '08 at $500 over invoice by one dealer and about $700 under by the other.

[Hitman83]

It'll fit, just make sure to get a trailer and get all 4 wheels off the ground when towing it. The 2 wheel dolly thing will destroy your diffs on the trip.

[USNSTI]

Not sure if the chair force does moves the same way as the Navy. If they do you should totally drive yourself and let the movers take your stuff. Way more cost effective. I have moved cross country twice, and driving my car has paid off big time for me. Hell the first time I did it the move paid for my car and the first six months in my apartment.

Sorry its OT but the OP started it.

[USNSTI]

Originally Posted by Rootus

I was given a quote via email on my '06 STI before I bought it. And when the '08 came out, I got a quote by email for that too (from both the dealer I bought my '06 from, as well as another local dealer). My '06 was quoted at invoice, the '08 at $500 over invoice by one dealer and about $700 under by the other.

OK fair enough. Does your dealer know that in five minutes time, you can shop their offer to hundreds of other dealers nationwide? I believe that is the reason why most dealers may not do it. I know I wouldn't do it if I owned a dealership, you are cutting your own throat. Soft ass dealers in Oregon...

[MaStA]

Originally Posted by USNSTI

Not sure if the chair force does moves the same way as the Navy. If they do you should totally drive yourself and let the movers take your stuff. Way more cost effective. I have moved cross country twice, and driving my car has paid off big time for me. Hell the first time I did it the move paid for my car and the first six months in my apartment.

Sorry its OT but the OP started it.

Hey this is my topic and I am all for open discussion especially on things I bring up. Well I think moves are pretty much the same, but what I was going to do is a do it yourself move where they pay you based on the weight you transport not to exceed the cost it would of been to pay a moving company to do it. If I drive my car all I will get is per diem and mileage rates. I figured if I moved my own stuff I should make about a $1,000 or more from the trip which would basically pay for the leather couches I want to get before leaving.

Basically with the car I was planning on putting down somewhere between $15,000 - 20,000 depending on how much of my savings I want to use, get a loan term for the highest possible without getting a bad rate, and make double payments each month on it. I have no debt currently and the car would be all I had to pay then. I will put SSgt (E-5) on August 1st and being a recruiter I will get $450 a month tax free special duty pay. I should easily be able to have this car paid off pretty fast. Insurance for me is a little over $100 a month with USAA.

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by USNSTI

OK fair enough. Does your dealer know that in five minutes time, you can shop their offer to hundreds of other dealers nationwide?

Yup. They got kinda tweaked when they found out it had been posted on IWSTI . I don't quite understand that since they used to advertise those prices directly on a different Subaru forum.

It will be sad when I can't get a quote via email for a car. Gonna be mighty hard to buy one .