I noticed on E-Bay today that people are paying dealerships as much as $7,000 for the "right to buy" an STI at MSRP! (The $7K is not a downpayment on the car, it just guarantees them one - basically these people will be paying $40K for the STI).

This is not only insane, it is unnecessary.

I remember being on this forum 2 years ago when the WRX was launched and people would congratulate each other for getting a WRX for "only $1000 over MSRP!"

I picked up the phone and called three dealerships in my area and spoke to the sales manager at each place. I offered to place a factory order for the exact car that I wanted with the exact options that I wanted. I ultimately paid $300 over invoice for the car, and got all the options at invoice. I paid cash, so there was no financing or trade-in involved.

This deal was made in the first week of April in the middle of the "WRX buying frenzy". I don't think I got lucky, I just think the fact that I was willing to week 4-6 weeks for the factory order, (it actually showed up in 3 weeks), and had shopped my offer at 3 different dealers and only spoke to the sales manager helped alot.

My point is, I don't think there will be any need to pay over MSRP for the STI either. If you want the first one off the boat in Vancouver, then maybe you need to spend extra. But if you can wait till August and do a little shopping, you won't get gouged.

If you encounter a ridiculous dealer, just walk away and drive an extra hour to find another.

 

Exactly, wait for the hysteria to die down and you should be able to get a decent deal. The cars will be out there, just steer clear of dealerships trying to cash in on this "once in a lifetime, rare car" as they will pitch it.

Who knows, you wait a year and maybe you'll hear word on even better options being offered for the '05.

 

and you wait 2 yrs and even better... 3yrs even better... 4 yrs even better...

 

I'd bet if you wait until you're 65, you would get a very good deal! j/k... There's always compromise... The question is "how much do you really want it?"

 

Well.... if the dealer decides to screw with the price and inflate it over MSRP then he'll have one for the lot and I'll be waiting for the price to come down or if that takes too long just wait for the almighty GT-R to get here, as this is really just a temporary way to satiate that lust. And then it will start again.

 

Well it is a new engine and transmission for this market, surely there are bugs that will be worked out in a year's time. Plus, who's to say the other STi variants that are available in Japan will not make their way over in limited form.

 

i was told that the STI wopuld not be a gougable vehicle (this from the dealership where i bought my forester) The only thing my salesman told me was that yes there would be a little surcharge for ordering yourt car with specific options versus buying what they had on the lot as i am still paying for the loaded forester my dreams of an STI brand new are tunnel/pipe dreams. Hope fully thoufgh a used WRX that has already been tricked out will come floating around just about the time the STI's come out. good luck

 

I was told by my dealer that he would recieve 2 STI's no sold orders yet. But he also told me that he believed that next year the STI would be sitting on Subaru lots everywhere, because to pay for the new engine and other things special to the US bound cars Subaru would need to sell more than what we are hearing is coming to the US . Also there is plans for the 2.5 turbo to go in the next Legacy. Believe me if Subaru can sell alot of these cars, everyone who wants one will be able to buy one. This car isnt hand made like exotics, I'ts just a production car with factory mods easy and cheap to produce. So I'm waiting! Look what happened to the S2000, WRX and other first yr limited prod cars, a yr later they are easy to find for under invoice prices.

 

Nobody seems to want to respond to this so it's either because it's been discussed, in which case nobody will point me to the answer, or nobody knows, in which case nobody will say that no one here knows. But...

What is the pressure for the STi like in other markets, europe, australia, etc.? Are the cars sold as they come in/are produced? Are their deals to be had on every one? What is the resale?

Granted the US market will be crack ***** for a while but what about when things settle, seems like they'll most likely fall into a close approximation of other markets.?.

 

I think they're currently selling for MSRP in the UK (~$37.5k USD inc. taxes) but demand is high so you have to place your order and wait in line.........I don't think price gouging is all that prevalent (I've never paid over MSRP for any new car in the U.K.)

Subaru has recently dropped the price of the STi in the UK (by around $6k) possibly to combat the influx of grey imports from Japan and other parts of Europe; it used to be close to $44k USD.

Resale prices for used cars are pretty good, but the STi's image as a performance car is well recognised over there and has been built up over many years. Also the UK isn't plagued by the current ricer/Honda-boy, fast-and-furious image (at least not to the same extent as the US) , so cars like the STi are taken seriously by the motoring press in comparison to cars like the S4 and the M3 (though bigotry amongst car owners maybe worse than it is over here).

 

thankyou thankyou thankyou....

 

I agree. If you just wait out the markups there's not that much pain, and you'll have a lot of extra cash for modding!

I also agree that you can't wait forever. There will always be something better coming out in a year or two. But, waiting until August or Spetember instead of getting it in May is not bad.

 

i wouldnt blame anyone wanting to fork out a premium to be the 1st on the block with an sti.....i understand that....but i have seen this sorta intro-year-hype just s-o-o-o-o-o-o-o many times...i can 100% guarantee you that i will purchase an sti in the sping of 2004 for dealer invoice plus 200 bucks. optioned exactly as i want.

meanwhile i will chase down and go by the sti with my '86 glhs and go to work in my wrx wagon.

 

Youre absolutely right bro... although theSTI is what we all expect its going to be we have to live in the here & now & like you finished off by saying itll only take $200-300 extra to get what you want not what the dealer received in its first shipment. As i say order a la carte.